NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 188, 11 August 1930, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Headmaster's Resignation.

The Rev. J. G. Castle, M.A., has resigned the head mastership of King's, School, to which he was appointed three and a half years ago. Mr. Castle succeeded the first headmaster, Mr. S. Clifton-Smith, in January, 1927. Before that 1*; had been in charge of the Heretaunga preparatory school, Havelock North, for three years. It has not been decided at what date Mr. Castle's resignation will take effect. Helping Onehunga's Workless. A comprehensive effort in aid of the fund to provide work for the unemployed ex-servicemen of Onehunga is to be made on Friday next. There will be a parade, of decorated vehicles in the main street, and other attractions will be a performance by the municipal band, a troupe of Maori entertainers, a Highland band contest, and a battle of confetti. Next month it is proposed to hold a combined sports day, the events to include races and a burlesque football match. Orange-Lemon Tree. In the garden of a Stanley Bay resident, Mr. JR. L. Cleland, there grows an old lemon tree that produces not only its rightful fruit throughout the year, but, in season, fine sweet oranges as well. At present the tree has a good crop of both fruit. Neither is tainted with the peculiarities of the other. A close examination of the tree gives one no explanation of the freak. The explanation is that an orange root has been grafted to that of a lemon, and the stem of the orange has grown into that of the lemon, forming one tree, No sign of the graft can be detected. "The Bledisloe Hundred." Printed in K535, and now hanging in the i board room of the 'Wellington Technical College, an old map of the counties of Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire has interesting associations with New Zealand. It was acquired by a brother-in-law of the principal, Mr. J. H. Howell, when at Cambridge, and was sent to Mr. Howell as a link with liis own country. In the seventeenth century the counties were mapped out in "hundreds,,, and or the north-west side of the River Severn is the "Bledisloe Hundred," the seat of Lord and Lady Bledisloe. Their Excellencies were , greatly interested when the map was brought under their not',-13 on a recent visit to the technical college. The Modern "Magic Carpet." A party of members of the Auckland Optimists' Club, who were travelling by road to Thames on Saturday afternoon, had a striking opportunity of realising how news can travel in these days of wireless. They came to the Piako River at a point far from the nearest township, and crossed the stream in a punt. The lone ferryman informed them of the progress score of the Rugby Test match. The figures he gave were 19 points to 8, and it was then five minutes past four, so it may be gathered that the informant was pretty well up to date. Arriving in Thames, they heard the final scores, and also part of the relay of the Taranaki-Auckland match. News travels fast by the modern "magic carpet" of the air. An Amateur Showman. On Saturday evening a small crowd was I entertained in Queen Street by one who might have considered himself an amateur showman. He was standing on the kerb balancing a black '•abbit on one shoulder and a white rat on the other. By affectionate pushing and coaxing he would get one to exchange its place with tho other.' The rabbit he called "Bill," and "Fairy" was the rat. Neither appeared at any moment as comfortable as it would have been on the ground, but the rabbit seemed not very much perturbed by the crowd and the bright lights. Finally, when he had coaxed tho white rat to sit m his waistcoat pocket, the man placed the rabbit and a sack he had with him on the ground, opened it, and then bade the pet enter. The rabbit obeyed, and, swinging the sack on to his shoulder, the man sauntered off, saying "Good-night, gentlemen, the show's now over." Unemployment and the Ratepayer. .Mr. M. J. Savage, M.P., who is a member of the Auckland Hospital Board, was in Auckland for the week-end. He had brought under his notice the serious state of things existing in Auckland in regard to unemployment, as revealed at the last meeting of the relief committee, held on Thursday. The chairman (Mr. W. K. Howitt) said tho committee had been appalled by what confronted them, and were concerned with what was going to happen during the next month or two, as things were drifting from' bad to Avorse. The meeting on Thursday had brought them almost to breaking point, and an appeal was made to Mr. Savage, who knew the position very thoroughly, to place the matter before the House so that some speeding up might take place to relieve the already overtaxed ratepayer of some of the burden of unemployment relief. Mr. Savage promised his umost support. He said that tho Unemployment Bill would probably, be "passed, in some form. He was disappointed that it was not going to be made a policy measure by the Government. Whatever was done was not going to give any relief this season. Hβ promised to help the committee as much as he could.

Coolies Go Shopping. A party of Indian coolies from one of the ships in port were walking leisurely up Queen Street on Saturday afternoon, when," arriving at a fish shop, they stopped to stare in at the window. The end of an excited chatter was evidently a decision to buy,; for Wo representatives went in to purchase a fine large mullet that all seemed to favour. Not being able to speak a word of English, fully two minutes elapsed before they were able to make the fishmonger put his stick into the right fish. During the period that this was in progress, those, outside had crowded around and pressed against the window, excitedly gesticulating and directing the man inside to the exact spot. What particularly added to the humour of the situation was the unconscious manner that they adopted. From this one could easily picture the way business would be done in the thronged streets of some great Eastern city like Calcutta or Bombay. Five brown noses, five pairs of dark hands, and five pairs of brown eyes were grafted to the cold glass pane of the shop. Two feet away another coolie was doing his bit, too, but in a different way. He had been given charge of the various other purchases-that they had made, and, though well burdened with newspaper parcels, maintained a rather aloof if not haughty attitude to the people who had gathered round.

The Recurring Wonder. In a few days one should notice a new lustre on the burnished dove, and the young man is due at any moment to break out into amatory verse. The pussy-willows are in bud, and the painters are busy giving the park seats a new coat of "reen. In other words,, spring, is here once more. Usually in the second week of August one expects to see the peach trees blushing'a rosy pink, but this year they seem a little shy of showing colour. The pussy willows, on the other hand, are earlier than iisual, and the weeping willows are showing a distinct tinge of green when seen in certain lights. Tauranga already reports that many plum trees are in bloom, but the Bay of Plenty is always a mild spot, due, it is said, to the incidence on the. coast of a warm current from the tropics. In Albert Park there are two trees which tell with remarkable accuracy the sort of summer that is ahead. Mr. Billingham, who is one of the Veteran gardeners of the park, always keeps his eye on the yellow kowhai near the statue of Queen Victoria, and the silver birch on the slope opposite the Working Men's Club. If the native is the first to show signs of the stirring of spring, we are in for a dry summer, says Mr. Billingham, and if the lovely immigrant is the first in the race, then the summer will be damp and uncomfortable. This year, Aucklanders will be glad to hear, it ; looks like a win for the native-born,-and now that the city water supply has been pronounced drought prooi a Ion"- dry, summer lias no terrors fer people who like to spend most of that pleasant season -in the open air. and by'the sea.