NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 221, 18 September 1929, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Tenders Soar High. Twelve tenders received by tin $ Papatoetoe Town Board .last evening for wate« .supply service connections to consumers shoi /,ed a range of over £1200. Prices .varied from-' £729 10/ to £1930 for 500 connections. The estt mate of the engineers was £750. The tenders" w ere referred to the engineers .for a report. ' A Freak Calf. Afreak calf was born last week on the proi perty of Mr. C. Scott, Turua, HauraHf < Plains, but the animal did not live. The a rtfmal had " four hind legs, perfectly formed, wj ijlst there were two bodies, joined at the rump and at the shoulders, there being a division ou' the bodies between the rump and shoulders. , Tli e fore part: of the' calf was quite normal, there- 'being two front legs and-one head. Most Popular Girl. Extensive improvements to St . Michael's j Church, Remuera,. have been made pd ssible as a result of a "popular girl eompetiti 0n.," which concluded last evening. The effort,, thiough. it; included only a small number of social functions, brought in £1724. Considering the obj|.,. : e.cttive was. £1000,. the church ■ authorities were dt lighted at the result. Miss Elva Maedonald wai i t lie successful candidate,'' receiving 68,254 vqj es.. Miss RjU Henley, the.school children's can! id: ite, re-; ceived 43,112, and Miss K. O'Leary 26jl ;19. Bating Borden. .r' ' In view of the amount of local body bo crow-ing-in-many districts in New Zealand,, the question of rates is an important one ft Ir tri wtees and executors of estates, said Mr. Rv F. Fv r ard. at the Creditmen's ■ Club yesterday. In *ome : places rates had reached such a figure 1 { thai the annual charge had a serious effect on ti 'ie saleability of the property. Values were con 4 clerablydepleted as a result, and trustees would '\ Teed- to be particularly guarded in making their investments. ,'..'.' Re-erection of Beacon. The black cage beacon that used to bli ok at nights off Kohimarama wharf has been kti c»cked down by some vessel unknown, and, in vk !\y.of the fact that the ferry service to the m istern bays has been discontinued, the harbour* laater to the Auckland Harbour Board sugges U 'd to yesterday's meeting that it be not re-eti 'ctcd. Mr. G. JR.. Hutchinson said the beacon had! b.fen of service to small craft and pleasure vti ,s<tis,and he thought it should be replaced, at a. '<?o»t of from £40 to £50. At the suggestion of J\tr. C. O. Macindoe it was decided to re-erect the beacon. ,/.'..' \ Back o' the Lake. "Back o' the Lake" has T>een the comprak eftsive name for a long time for the. big area. f/n the North Shore on the harbour.* side of Ta| •ja.puna, and with the steady development of '< (ie; district it has become a. somewhat indeftoii 'ite place. There is now a suggestion to define t ho area and give it the name "Parklands," one tk ftt is singularly appropriate in view of the pleas k Ig landscape there. The Borough Council recenfl |y decided to submit the question to a. plebiscite i »f residents in the district, and the* replies alreat lly received'show aii overwhelming majority in iav •"- our of the change. The plebiscite will close nei t; Wednesday, and the .result will probably be mad t\ known at the council meeting on the evening a I that day. ' Farmers and Wills. Farmers are inclined to be absent-mindeti when they are required to assist in drawing uf a will, said Mr. R. F. Ward at the Creditmcn'« Club yesterday., One had 11 children, and wa* able, after taxing his memory, to give the name* of teh; the eleventh'child had to be represented by a Wank until a later date. The farmer next asked what stock he had. Ho. began: "Strawberrr, Mary, Tulip," and continued without hesitation to give .a long list of names. In another case the will had been prepared', and the: farmer's attention was being' drawn to certain ■ powers contained in "machinery clauses" to facilitate the administration of the estate. "Don't worry about them, mister," said the farmer. "We have no machines on the farm. All our milking is done by hand."

Bridge Over Hobson Bay. Representations have been made to the Public Works Department thitt the inner area of Hobson ■ Bay ■ dissected by : the waterfront road should be reserved as a boat harbour for yachts. As this would necessitate the raising by 4ft of the bridge that it was proposed to construct in order that the tide might flow in and out of the bay, the Department asked the Auckland Harbour Board at yesterday's meeting if it would contribute towards the cost of the extra work. It would cost £3437 to raise the bridge to the extent suggested, and £5700 by sft. The engineer (Mr. D. Holdcrness) said that the bay was dry except for the channel at low water spring tide, and he was not inclined to recommend the reservation of the bay as! a boat harbour, particularly as provision was being made for yachtsmen elsewhere. The matter was referred to the board in committee for consideration. Membership of the Auckland Institute. When reporting yesterday to the Council of the Auckland Institute a large number of 'new members, Mr. H. E. Vaile said that he had now canvassed all his personal friends in the matter, of membership. "I hope you haven't estranged . them," commented Professor Segar. "You'll have to begin on your enemies," said another member. ; Appreciative reference was made to Mr. Vaile's zeal in augmenting the membership of the institute, which now numbered 663. In reply Mr. Vaile said that he regarded active membership as the lifeblpod of the institute, and he was definitely aiming at a membership of a thousand. Compared with Wellington's list of 214, Auckland's membership ranked high, but there was still plenty of room for more, as the burden of responsibility,was greater. He stated that the institute now possessed 150 life members, and would welcome any number of applicants with the requisite ten guineas. Maori Girls and Women. What may be looked forward to as a colourful report on the industrial relationships which exist in the Auckland district between members of the Maori, Chinese and Hindu races will shortly be forwarded to the Minister of Native Affairs by the special committee of inquiry, which has now completed its investigations. The committee, of which the chairman is Dr. T. J. Hughes, examined at length European, native, Chinese and Hindu witnesses. Five days were occupied in hearing evidence: at Auckland, and one day at Pukekohe. Tours of inspection were also made of all districts around Auckland in which Maori girls and women are said to have been employed at one time or another in market gardens conducted by Chinese and Hindus. Having completed the tabulating of evidence, the committee is now preparing its .findings, and these will go direct to the Minister. Tobacco Culture.

Writing of tobacco culture in the Nelson district, a travelling correspondent of the "New Zealand Smallholder" states there is a great increase in the area planted in tobacco, and those who have had contracts appear to have done well out of ;their crops. Flue drying appears to be the usual method, but there is still a certain amount of air-curing in" vogue. It is hard ,to gain precise information as to the different varieties of the leaf grown, for the contracting companies usually supply the seed under number. There has been a great deal of permanent as well as casual labour absorbed in this comparatively neW industry, states the correspondent. Its development, not only in Nelson, but elsewhere, will be followed with the-keenest interest. Judging by opinions expressed, there is yet much to learn, not only of varieties, but of nursery and; cultural and drying practice, which, when!better understood, should lessen the cost of production, increase the cropland make the cured product of greater value. While there does not appear to be any fortune to be made in growing the leaf, there is ample evidence that the industry will become a remunerative one to jthose engaged in it. 1.. . . ;.....