NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 257, 30 October 1929, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Church Building at Point Chevalier. Holiday-makers going to Point Chevalier on Monday must have been surprised to notice some sixteen men engaged in building work in Montrose Street, making it a real Labour Day. They were Point Chevalier residents who, under Mr. T. Daly, have been working voluntarily to erect a Catholic church, the work so far having been done at week-ends. It is hoped that this new church, much* needed in the district, will be finished by December. False Fire Alarms. Owing to the number of false fire alarms received of late, the Mount Eden Fire Brigade has decided to offer a substantial reward for the conviction of offenders. Recently one of the Mount Eden firemen was severely injured in a collision between his motor cycle and a motor car while hurrying to a call which proved to be false. A number of false alarms have been given from the street alarm system, but in one instance the telephone was used. The Neighbourly Spirit. The friendly help of neighbours lias got a New Plymouth family out of a serious difficulty. During the gale last Thursday a partially completed house in which the family was living was blown down, and the furniture was badly damaged. Later in the day, when the gale had subsided, two or three neighbours arrived with claw hammers, and without the slightest fuss proceeded to dismantle the remains of the fallen building and to stack the timber and iron neatly at the sides. Next day more helpers arrived, and throughout the week-end many willing hands built a new dwelling. The householder and his family are recent arrivals from Tasmania. Needless to say, they are very grateful for the assistance that has been given them. Papatoetoe Post Office. Suggestions that the Papatoetoe Post Office should be modernised have been made to the Postmaster-General, the Hon. J. B. Donald, by the Papatoetoe Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Donald, in his reply, states that representations were previously made to him from another quarter to • have the. post office moved to a new site, and he therefore proposes to visit Papatoetoe after the present session of Parliament. In view of the importance of the matter, the Papatoetoe Town Board decided last evening to call a conference of delegates from the board, the council of the Chamber of Commerce, and the executive of the Welfare Lea,cue, to be held on November 19, to prepare definite proposals before the Minister's visit.

Seeds that Come Back. At a sitting of the Disabled Soldiers' Employment Commission in Dunedin the chairman, Mr. J. S. Barton, SAL. said one of the things the commission was vitally interested in was the seed-raising industry. Recently a Government paper mentioned that £3.50,000 a year was sent out of New Zealand for seeds. Seeds were originally sent out from the Dominion in bulk, and they came back in small packets, at greatly increased prices. Mr. D. Tannock, who was giving evidence, said that in addition to that it was frequently six months from the time the seeds left New Zealand till they came back. That was not as it should be, and many seeds died on the voyage. Appeals to Privy Council. "The Prime Minister of New Zealand has officially announced that this Dominion has no intention of altering the present position, maintaining the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council," comments the English "Law Journal." "The news is good hearing, for, if the appeals from New Zealand have during the past few years been infrequent and rare, a somewhat difficult situation of the longer past (the blame for which was, in the main, at the home end) was very happily cleared up during the course of a series of appeals heard three or four years ago. and a very happy relationship was then established between the far-removed jurisdictions. The present Chief Justice, Mr. M. Myers, K.C., as he formerly was, came over to argue in all five appeals; and, save for a small loss in that in which he appeared for the respondent, and in which he for the most part held the judgment, lie succeeded in them all."

Reservoir Emptied. The startling discovery was made yesterday morning that the Papatoetoe reservoir at McLaughlin's Hill was empty. It was found that ill rough heavy rain the pipeline had sagged where it crosses the Puhinui Creek, near the concrete bridge in Cambria Park —a crescent-shaped break which had allowed 130,000 gallons of water to flow away to the Mariukau Harbour. The report was received from the turncock last evening, and it was explained that the heavy rain of the week-end had caused the supports over the stream to give way. No one had any knowledge of the mishap until the water had nil flowed away. The chairman, Mr. T. R. Smvtheman, remarked that the board proposed to charge 1/6 per 1000 gallons, and, at that rate, the loss, was almost £10. The board was of opinion that this should be borne by the contractors, who were under a liability to maintain the pipeline for three months. Norway's Shipping. ''The statistical surveys of Lloyd's Register and the Norwegian Veritas provide some very impressive information about the tremendous expansion of Norwegian shipping interests which has taken place since the Great War, and which lias particularly manifested itself during the past two or three years," says '"Norway," a Norwegian commercial publication. '"The Norwegian merchant marine has now increased so much that both Holland and Italy have been outdistanced in the list of seafaring nations, and it is probable that France, too, will be left behind before this year is out. Norway will thus be subordinate only to Great Britain, U.S.A., Japan and Germany. Some idea of what this feat means will be gained if we remind our readers that Norway is a country poor in capital, inhabited by not much more than 2,500,000 people, and that the home market does not provide employment for more than a fraction of our merchant marine." Technical College Students. Light was thrown upon the number of technical college students at present being placed in employment at the monthly meeting of the Southland Technical College Board, when the following clause in the principal's report was read: "In view of the present labour conditions and the statement made as to the difficulty of placing boys, I think board members will be interested to know the position so far as it affects the school. Since the beginning of the second term some IB boys have left from our second-year and senior engineering classes. Of these, 11 have found satisfactory employment in engineering works, one has taken up building work, one painting (with his father), two in accordance with plans have returned to the farms, one is in temporary office work, but has a definite promise of early engagement in plumbing, and two are awaiting employment. From our second-year and senior building classes ten boys have left. Of these, five are at the woodworking trades, three have returned to the farms as intended, and two are at miscellaneous work. Of 13 boys who have left the corresponding commercial classes for work, ten r are in offices, two in shops, and one is on the home farm. 1= have not yet made a complete statement of the position in regard to girls. The above figures, however, would seem to wive, pretty complete evidence that boys of the mlit type are able to get suitable work if they are prepared to go. through the-necessary training. Of all boys enumerated above, practically i alf who live within reach of the school are | attending evening classes."