NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 11, 14 January 1929, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Distinguished Soldier on Holiday. Brigadier-General M. E. Willoughby, of London, arrived by the Aorangi last evening for a fishing holiday at Rotorua and Taupo. General Willoughby has had a long and distinguished army career, having served in India, Tibet and North China, and during the last war in France and Mesopotamia. Papyrus from Africa. "Lee-Fore-Braee" writes:—"Tramper" will be interested to know that the plant he describes as pampas or elephant grass which he found growing on the banks of the Northern Wairoa is really papyrus, or, as it is known in Africa, hieratica. This is the rush plant from which the ancient Egyptians made their paper, hence the name. In October, 18S2, three vessels, the Esk. Dartmoor, and Wive arrived from the Benin River in ballast to load timber for London, and their ballast, which was supposed to contain the seed of the papyrus, was discharged inside the old Aratapu wharf.

Seeing a Star in Daylight. An exceptionally good opportunity to see the planet Venus in broad daylight will occur this afternoon, and again to-morrow. This brilliant planet has for a long time been easily visible to the naked eyo during the day, but it is most difficult for any but astronomers to know where to look. This afternoon, however, the planet ie just a little to the right, or eastward, of the moon, at a slightly lower elevation, and by to-morrow the moon will be on the planet's right, apparently nearly as far away from it as it is to-day. By nine o'clock to-night the crescent moon 'should present a pretty appearance, as it will be quite close to Venus, by far th« brightest object in the sky at present. Trade with Japan. The, possibilities of trade between New Zealand and Japan were impressed upon Mr. A. B Roberton. who returned yesterday from a totir of the Far East. Mr. Robert on, who is hon. consul for Japan in Auckland, said considerable quantities of Australian produce, principally butter, cheese and tinned fruits, were exported to the eastern empire, but Xew Zealand trade was being held up for lack of direct shipping services "Those will come in time, however," said Mr Roberton. Whilst in Japan the Auckland consul' saw some of the ceremonies at the enthronement of the Kmperor Hirohito at Kyoto. He also renewed acquaintance with Prince Takamatsu. who visited Auckland last year with the Japanese training ships Idzumo and Yakuino. Learning the Language.

Some of tho Australian bowlers taking part in the New Zealand tournament have Rained some knowledge of Maori words, states the "Dominion " and, even although they are not too <jood with the pronunciation, they apparently find them very expressive. During the progress of a panic in the rinks championship at one of the city <r,eeiiß on Saturday an Australian skip sent down a K ood shot, and' his effort was greeted by the members of his team with "kapai, kapai," although it sounded something like "copy, copy." Then'a little later on the skip of the opposing team sent down a beauty ' upsetting all calculations, which led the Australians to exclaim with a wealth of •waning, "ka kino, ka kino," which means no

Soldierly Efficiency. •<r, A " • Kn % Vl * h correspondent writes tn the Dominion : One comfortable bachelor establishment I know is run entirely by an ex-soldier. He has sometninp of the solemn dijrnitv of the old-time butler as he opens the door; lie cooks an admirable dinner, never forpets to nut fresh water in the flowers and the goldfish, feeds the parrot, the turtle and the cat. He serves afternoon tea, and draws the curtains with a deft touch, and scrubs and polishes with ardent thoroughness. This little household moves on oiled eo K s, and its hospitality is never marred by excuses or apologies. Thi* fortunate bachelor told me that when he advertised for a man for the job, he had over 30 applicants. Busy Bess.

In Saturday's issue was published ft para* graph ronrorning a swarm of bees which on Friday caused a commotion on hoard n motorship at present in port by settling in a ventilator. It appears that bees were α-buzz in other fields on Friday. From Kp*om comos a report that another swarm took possession of a two-storeyed house and dofied all efforts to eject them for the best part of live hours. The bees, before they swarmed, are snid by the lady of the house to have presented the appearance of a black cloud hanging low over the front lawn. The one occupant of the house who welcomed the advent of (he honeymakers was the family canary, which nearly hurst his lmigs in trying to make his whistlin'" heard above the incessant buzz of the bees. A Famous Name.

The launching in Auckland of the yacht Valkyrie will bring back memories to the'•'oldtimers'' of the unpleasant finish to a race for the "Cup of All Nations,'' commonly termed the America Cup, off Sandy Honk, sometime in the 'nineties. Lord Dnnrnven challenged with his yacht Valkyrie 11., and had won the first race, and when leading home in the second nice he was headed off and blanketed by a hip three-deck passenger Mteamer, carrying a load of sightseers. The Valkyrie 11. had to make an extra tack to clear the steamer and in the meantime the American yacht slipped in and won the race. Lord Dunraven claimed the race, but his claim was disallowed. He then offered to race it over again on a clear course, but getting no satisfaction he sailed his yacht home and never again attempted tc win the cup. Our First Meat Shipment.

A correspondent, Mr. Forbes Eadie, writes:— "Fro/en Meat" is perfectly correct in statin-, in last Friday's issue of the "Star" that the ship Dunedin was the first vessel to carry frozen meat from Xew Zealand. She was chartered, by the Xew Zealand and Australian Land Company on January IS, 1882. was loaded at Port Chalmers and dispHtched from that port on February 15 of the same year. She was under the command of Captain Whitson. The Dunedin was owned by the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company. She arrived at London on April 17 and was discharged at the South West India dock. The Mataura, belonging to the Xew Zealand Shipping Company, was the second vessel to be dispatched with frozen meat. She was chartered by the same firm as the Dunedin was, but did not leave Port Chalmers until June 12, 1882, or nearly six months after the Dunedin. She was under the command of Captain Greenstreet. The Mataura was the first vessel to sail from Auckland, on Mav (5, 1883, with frozen meat, lienee the reason whv it is claimed that she was the first ve3sel to sail from the Dominion, or Colony, as it then was.

Keep Cool. "They say that the Americans get more like the Rod Indians every days,' , writes "Cynicus," "the theory being that the soil fixes the type of human beings, and that no matter what' kinds you send along Mother Earth will eventually mould them to the most suitable shape and kind for that particular spot. If that is true it explains the young woman who walked down Queen Street the other afternoon in shoes, but without stockings. Present-day hose is so tenuous and so very flesh-like in colour that at a distance it is difficult to say whether the women are wearing it or not and there was some doubt at first aa to whether the young person was bare-legged or not, but a closer inspection and the titters of some 'other young things' clinched the suspicion. It was a very sensible costume, considering the day, and as a matter of fact it has been adopted from time immemorial, or at any rate since the pakeha invasion, by Mrs. Pukunui, of Te Kainga. The old-time Maori dame never thought of wearing stockings. If the modern miss follows Mrs. P. in the matter of colours we may expect some even more startling mixtures in Queen Street than we see to-day—and to a Parisienne even the present hues would appear sufficiently near the sudden contrasts beloved of the dusky folk whether at Panama or Pukewaiwai."