NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 36, 12 February 1929, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

ynsmrmii? An old lady recently called at a Southern lower hoard oflice to explain that she was a >roperty holder on the river below the power tation, and wished to know exactly what effect t had on the water, taking all tha'f electricity out ot it, and if it was likely to injure the cows.

Mayoral Purse. Demands on the Mayoral purse have been found an embarrassment bx Mr. W. C. Coldicutt, -Mayor of Onehunga, who intends to move at the next meeting of the Borough Council that the honorarium be increased from £150 to £200 Last evening Mr. Coldicutt informed the councillors that requests for subscriptions to charitable institutions, sports organisations and other interests were .so numerous that the present honorarium was inadequate. Mount Eden Transport. Dissatisfaction was expressed at a meeting of the Mount Eden Borough Council last evening in conned ion with the bus Services for the-por-tions of the Mount Eden district bevond the present tram termini. "Tl ie position 'is really serious said one of the councillors. The Mavor (Mr. K. 11. Potter) said he hoped to see both the Mount Hoskill and Buckland Road areas catered for by private enterprise. He considered the proper policy would be to allow private enterprise to serve the areas outside the tram termini. Panmure-Howick Road. The total annual maintenance on the section ot li-i miles of the Panmurc-Howick lload beyond the Mount Wellington district has increased 300 per cent in the past four vears, and is now itiOO a year. The chairman of the Manukau County Council, Mr. K. M. Waters, informed the Mam Highway* Board yesterday afternoon ot the- rapid mcrea.se in traffic, on the road, and in,'.n ai ■ y tuk, ' M lccentl y showed there were 1000 vehicles a day. He. asked the board to assist the County Council in providing a concrete road by contributing O n the basis of"£3 to £1. Highway Subsidies. -If we dealt with retrospective applications tor subsidies, we would have a request in immediately from a groin* of counties in Taranaki tor a quarter of a million pounds," said the acting-chairman ~f the Main Highways Board Air. A K .lull, yesterday. On behalf of the One free Hill Kottd Board it was submitted that 1L7.0U0 had been spent on concrete loading in the district without any assistance from the hi-hwav tunds. Mannkau Hoad and the (ireat South Road, the two roads concerned, were both on the boundaries of the One Tree Hill district. Anti-Cyclone. Auckland is at present under the benign influences of an anti-cyclone, the typical conditions of which are blue skies in the daytime and cool starry nights, during the summer, and bright sunshine, with cold, frosty nights, duriinj late autumn and winter. Briefly described, an anticyclone is the opposite of a disturbance. It is as mild as a cyclone is turbulent and violent. In the case of a cyclone the winds blow into the centre where the barometric pressure is low, and in an anti-cyclone they blow outwards from an area Ol high pressure to spread in gentle breezes over a wide area. The present anti-cyclonic conditions set m last Saturday, and began to have their pleasant effects on Sunday. Taihoa. After a long lapse of time the proposal to build a model Maori p u ue .ar the summit of Mount hden is again under discussion. At a meeting of the Mount Eden Borough Council .ast evening a letter was received from the Akarana Maori Association asking whether anv iurtJier move had been mtulc. and "ivjng ;; 'n assurance of the co-operation of tlie association The Mayor (Mr. E. H. Potter) said that it was lor the Akarana Maori Association to make the next move. The association had previously announced an intention to approach Sir Apirana Agata in order to gather certain information hi regard to the matter.

Twins and Examinations. If the knack of passing examination-, has anything to do with the old idea that twins have a smaller endowment of brains than the rest of the human family, an Auckland parent claims to have discovered an exception. The case is one of twin sisters of Newton Road, who are now Hi years of age. Towards the beginning of last year they passed an advanced commercial college course in book-keeping, shorthand and typewriting. During the year they passed the terms examinations in dressmaking and milliuerv at the Seddon Memorial Technical College. In August last, at 15 years 10 months, one obtained a partial pass, and the of her a complete pass in the first section of the teachers' 1) examination and in December both passed matriculation. Suburban Minority. Concern about the attitude of city members on the Transport Board was expressed by -Mr. F. S. Morton at tho meeting of" the (jnehunga Borough Council last evening. As a suburban member of the board, he said, he had noticed the policy of the city representatives was just a continuance of that of the City Council. He and other suburban delegates were unable to make any effective efforts towards a better service for the outer districts, as they were continually frustrated by a block vote. Six years a«o, he added, Onehunga had a ten-minute'service,°\vhile to-day they had an eleven-minute service. The explanation given at the last board meeting was that the passenger traffic was not coming forward. He said it was in the interests of the whole transport, district that a fair deal should be "iven every citizen in the area. Power Board Finance. To those who are not familiar with the organisation of the Auckland Electric Power Board, a return prepared by the manager, Mr. H. H. Bart ley, is enlightening. In the past twelve months the board paid to the coal mines no less than £7(5,000, representing 120,000 tons of coal consumed. Jt paid to the Railway Department for carriage £70,400; to the New Zealand Government, for bulk supply, £lt»,000; and in rates £9.500. The amount of money which was available for distribution for the ' purchase of materials was .£500,000, and the value of materials purchased overseas, and on which Customs duty had been paid, was £95.500 for the year endin'oDecember 31, 1928, and £217,000 for the yearending December 31, 1!)27. The purchases were purposely restricted last year on account of the policy in connection with loan moneys. The amount expended annually in free service to consumers is £5000. The total wages t>l.ll amounts to £143,000, and the total number of employees is 570. Sinking fund charges are £55,000, and interest, charges £135,000. Another Pest. Xot a little coHcern was caused' in Gisborne the other day. when it was announced that grub infestation was discovered among imported kuinaraa on sale in the town, and fear \yaa. expressed that the parasites might contaminate locally-grown tubers i,f immediate were not taken to counteract the presence of the imported grubs. Thjs matter wars taken in hand by Mr. Mclndpe, orchard instructor, who subsequently announced .that the grubs had been divided into two classes, the Cyclas formacarius, and the Euscapes batatae. Both burrow into the kumara while they are in the grub stage,. eventually hatching out into insects, the former taking a shape like a greatly enlarged ant, while the other has a beetle-like appearance, though on a small scale. Asked concerning the possibility of further infestation, Mr. Mclndoe informed a Press representative that it was highly improbable that the local crops would become infested, for the appearance of the grub was discovered in fairly good time, but he maintained that concentration would be necessary in preventing the further sale of infested imports, and preventing such lots from coming into the country.