NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 53, 4 March 1930, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A Bound Trip. "He told me that if I accepted £6 10/ a week, I could go to Auckland, or go to Wellington; in fact, could go to hell for all he cared," said a witness in the maintenance Court at Christchurcli. j "That would be a round trip, wouldn't it?" commented Mr. Thomas, and the Court laughed. Mount Albert Valuations. Heavy reductions in the valuations of some of the properties at Mount Albert have been made by the Assessment Court which assembled recently under the chairmanship of Mr. J. G. L. Hewitt, S.M. With Mr. E. Allan, Government assessor, and Mr. T. B. Clay, ratepayersr' assessor, he inspected some 40 properties yesterday and' on Saturday afternoon. About 25 cases still remain, and the Court will probably conclude its sittings to-morrow. Samoan Rubber Industry. "The Samoans have not yet learned to cultivate rubber, and will probably never take up the culture for commercial purposes," writes "Sulimoni" in the New Zealand "Samoa Guardian." "The rubber plantations are all in the hands of the New Zealand Reparations Estates, who Jiave now leased them to private planters. They are still tapping the plantations, but unless the market price again increases it is doubtful if the work will be continued much longer without a substantial Government subsidy to tide them over the depressed market." Forgetful Shopkeepers. "It is surprising how many Wellington shopkeepers leave their wares outside their shops after closing hours," said a night worker to a representative of the ■ "Dominion." "On my way home every night I pass through the business quarter of the town, where I often see articles of clothing hanging up (men's outfitters are the worst in this respect), and fruit lining the window frames of fruit shops. Perhaps the most amusing lapse of memory was by a fishmonger, who had overlooked an enormous schnapp'er, which had been out all night, and was rapidly approaching the ripe stage." New Telephone Directory. A larger and thinner telephone directory has been issued by the Post and Telegraph Department for the next publication. The new book has two new features—it remains open on the desk or table and the subscriber's number is placed at the end of his name, and not in front as in the old volume. Each page in the - new book is divided into two columns, separated by a heavy black rule. As in the past the otherwise clear numerals still include the flat-topped figure tt\ree. This circumstance has been responsible for ftiatay wrong numbers to be called and the practice is likely to continue. A Pocket Aquarium. With a pickle bottle and contents which at first sight were suggestive of square gin, two Remuera residents called at the "Star" office yesterday to mention that mosquitoes were very numerous in the vicinity of Rangitoto Avenue out their way. They explained that there was a stagnant creek in that locality, and brought proof of it a simple extract of its water. Mosquito larvae in all stages were abundant, queer little creatures which dived when the water was set in motion, to wriggle back quickly to the surface when the ripple ceased. One of the visitors explained that the larvae breathed through their tails, and as proof pointed out their odd method of attaching themselves to the film on the surface. They mentioned that the residents intended to take up the matter with the Auckland City Council which is to be gently urged to spread some kerosene in the creek to check the pest. Traffic at Grafton Bridge. At the approaches to the Grafton Bridge, Karangahape Road' and the Symonds Street intersection, white lines have been laid in Symonds Street, to make two lines of traffic. Travelling from the city, cars wishing to turn across Grafton Bridge keep to the left of the line and may proceed straight, through when the right hand line, which is for traffic straight up Symonds Street, is held up by the traffic control officer. The same applies for traffic coming towards the city, and cars for Karangahape Road by keeping to, the left of the line and close to the kerb are enabled to continue and turn into Karangahape Road without being obstructed by the traffic which is waiting for the signal to go straight through and down Symond's Sreet. A number of motorists have not yet become accustomed to the new system and occasionally motorists wishing to continue straight ahead get into the wrong line of traffic and consequently cause an obstruction. The Auckland Automobile Association makes an appeal to motorists to adhere closely to the marking of the road and assist in preventing delay and blockage in traffic. Young Egyptian Sailors. There are three Egyptian lads serving as cadets on the Cunard cargo steamer Valacia, now in Auckland Harbour. They were four years on the training ship Worcester, then spent two years in Commonwealth and Dominion Line boats, and are putting in a sort of finishing couise of six months on the Valacia. When they qualify they will return to Egypt, being intended for service in government .vessels that do coast-guard duty. One of the lads is such a good English scholar that he topped the list in that subject on the Worcester, being only three marks off of the possible. It is not perhaps generally known that Egypt has a regular coast-guard service ashore, quite as complete as England used to have in the good old days of smuggling. Egypt has a fairly long coast line on the north, and owing to much of it being in practically desert country it is very lonely. The Mediterranean swarms with all sorts of small craft, and smuggling would be very easy. Every evening when the fishing boats return to the Old Harbour at Alexandria there is an armed officer, a sort of combined gendarme and Customs official, who searches the fishermen as they come ashore. It is a rather perfunctory examination, to he sure, and would quite fail to locate anything whose bulk could not be perceived by the naked eye.

The Central Plateau. "Tramper" writes: The other day I was reading Kerry-Nicholls' exciting book on Ms travels in the King Country in 1882. In those days Tongariro (including Ngauruhoe) was strictly tapu, and if the Maoris had caught any white man trying to climb it there would have been trouble. Ruapehu was also tapu, but in a slightly less degree, for it was supposed to be able to protect itself 5 the Maoris having a saying: "He that goes up Ruapehu never comee down." KerryNicliolls ascended Ngauruhoe and was twice up Ruapehu. He climbed both from the eastern side, and his story of the ascent of Ruapehu is more thrilling than Whymper's historic story of the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Vast yawning abysses, razor-edge ridges, vast glaciers, almost inaccessible ice peaks, rocks glazed with ice, giddy precipices with scarcely foothold —and so on. It is really good reading, and one must admit that the writer does full credit to the glorious views from both Tongariro and Ruapehu. His hairraising adventures on Ruapehu and his tremendous nine hours' task in conquering Ngauruhoe, came vividly to my mind the other day when a little girl of eleven successfully climbed Ngauruhoe, and even went down into the crater. To-day parties of ladies regularly stroll up Ruapehu; in fact a woman of nearly fifty went up not so long ago, and made light of it. Oddly enough Kerry-Nicholls foresaw a National Park in this wonderful part of the North Island, which he said had finer prospects than Switzerland, and in a word he writes so enthusiastically that his book makes good reading even to-day.