NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 39, 16 February 1931, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

New Steam Omnibus. The new steam omnibus, which lias been built for the Auckland Transport Board, will be given its trial run to-morrow. An inspection will be made by members of the board. The engine of the bus, which was built at Thames, represents- a novel design for road transport vehicles. Chinaman's Luck. The work of digging in the ruins of Napier was grim enough, but it had occasional "comic relief." Two of the workers heard cries coming from under a heap of masonry and twisted girders. They redoubled their efforts, and at fast unearthed a portion of human anatomy. Further digging released a man, who rose to his feet,' brushed himself, took a deep breath, and then walked away. It was a Chinaman! The workers watched him, too amazed to speak, and then had a good laugh. The man had been under the ruins for two days. The truth of this incident is vouched for in a letter received by an Auckland resident. Earthquake Coincidence. A coincidence in connection with the Napier earthquake is reported by Mr. J. Bell, Beach Road, Foxtou. Mr. Bell has in his possession a diary dating back some 70 years and containing note's in connection with the earthquake which shook New Zealand about 80 years ago. In the diary it is mentioned that at the time of the first" shake a sailing ship named the Northumberland was anchored at Napier. Strange to say, one of the vessels anchored in Napier Harbour at the time of the recent earthquake was the Northumberland. The sailing ship, however, was sunk, whereas the Northumberland of to-day escaped undamaged. New Golf Game. A new golf game is making its appearance (states a Melbourne paper). This involves the use of a special tunnel of metal or wood, suitably lined, and having a number of twists, turns' or coils in its length, with holes at appropriate intervals. The player drives a ball into the tunnel, and the ball travels an appropriate distance, and according to the length and direction of the drive, before dropping into a hole. The full distance represents an accurate drive of. about 250 yards. Golfers, it is contended, will find this game much better practice than the putting of the present miniature golf, and it will certainly give them the joy of being able to open their shoulders. Bending the Twig. A telling illustration of the value of a school library in encouraging boys to "browse" among books was given by the headmaster, Mr. H. J. D. Malion, in his address at the opening of the new library building at the Grammar School on Saturday. 'Mr. Mahon said that Dr. Raymond Firth had told him that he first became interested in anthropology when he was a boy at the school through reading Mailing's "Old New Zealand" in the library. Dr. Firth had taken up anthropology; and one result of his studies was a remarkable book, "The Primitive Economies of the Maori," which was in the library. Interest was added to Mr. Million's remarks by the fact that Dr. Firth, who is on holiday from Sydney University, where he is a lecturer in his subject, was among the old boys present at the ceremony. A Notable Climb. Mount Sefton, 10,350 ft, was climbed by Miss K.-Gardiner, of the English Ladies' Alpine Club, accompanied by tw.o West Coast guides, Messrs. P. Graham and F. Alack, last week. The climb was started from a high bivouac on the Westland side above Welcome Flat, in the Copeland Valley. The following day, Miss Gardiner, with the* same guides, made the second ascent of Scott's Peak, and a first ascent of an unnamed and unclimbed peak in the main divide south of Mount Sefton. Miss Gardiner has climbed extensively in Canada, besides several of the notable peaks in New Zealand in the neighbourhood of the Franz .'Josef Glacier and at The Hermitage, including Mount Cook. She is the second lady to climb .Mount Sefton. The weather was perfect, and ;i wonderful view of the Southern Alps was obtained. Queen Street Congestion. The annual report of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce states:—"The opening of the new railway station has, if anything, accentuated the difficulties of traffic congestion in Queen Street and.at other points, and the chamber has not allowed the authorities to lose sight of the desirability of the early extension of High Street northwards to Quay Street. The question of tramway routing involved was a subject of discussion between the chamber and the Transport Board. Vigilance hna also been necessary to prevent the imposition of parking restrictions calculated to exclude shoppers from the main shopping areas -of the city. Throughout the year the chamber has advocated a policy of caution with regard to tramway extension, and it has reason to believe that its efforts in this direction have been partly successful." Relief Work Wages. The attention of the Minister of Labour, who is chairman of the Unemployment Board, has been directed to a statement reported to have been made by Mr. W. J. Poison, M.P., at a meeting of farmers at Matamata on February 0. "The board," said Mr. Poison, "lias full powers, and I think it made a mistake in setting the wage at 14/ per. day. I think the board should have said it would have nothing to do with wages, but would find work." "Mr. Poison should know," states the Minister, "that at the outset of its deliberation's the Unemployment Board emphatically declared that it would not interfere in any way with the rate of wages paid under any of its schemes, and that it had no jurisdiction in regard to the wages paid on relief works carried out by either the Government or a local authority." # Tale of a Toothbrush. Some weeks ago an Auckland householder bought a new toothbrush. He was going away for a short holiday, and his old brush had mysteriously disappeared. After the holiday he came home and continued to use the new brush until that, too, disappeared. This happening did not disturb him particularly, but when he bought a third toothbrush, and that, too, vanished, he began to wonder. The solution came yesterday, when he spent the afternoon in clearing up the tool shed. On the shelf he noticed two tins of canvas shoe cleaning material, and lying near were three toothbrushes. They had been "adopted" by juvenile members of the family for a. very obvious purpose. He was not too searching in his questions about the others; possibly he remembered the use to which toothbrushes could be put in the army. Shades of "button sticks" and "Soldier's Friend!" Employment for Boys. Proposing that a. conference should bo convened to consider the problem of placing boys and girls after leaving school, the secretary. of the Wellington School Committees' Association, Ml - . N. A. Ingram, has ,'sent a letter to the Minister of Education and the Minister of Industries and Commerce stating that by such a conference it might be possible, at least, to attempt something in the direction of finding a solution of the problem which to-day is exercising the minds of many parents. "Something must be done for the boys and girls of the Dominion who have left school and find much to their disappointment that the industries of the country cannot absorb them," he stated. "Naturally, they become somewhat despondent, and, unfortunately, in some eases, become discontented with their lot, which I think you will agree, though bad enough in elder people, is almost tragic in the case of boys and girls. The Dominion has a duty to perform in this matter, and 1 believe that the whole responsibility should not be cast on the Government, but that industry should bear its fair share of the responsibility."