NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 117, 20 May 1931, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Mount Albert's Overdue.Rate^ The new Mayor of Mount Albert, Mr. W. F. Stilwell, said at a meeting of the council last night that one of the biggest tasks of the year was the collection of overdue rates, particularly those that had been outstanding for a long time. The bank overdraft was in the vicinity of £27,000, and the collection of the overdue rates was the only effective means of reducing the debt. It was resolved to engage a collector of rates. A Varied Collection. Ten meals, three pairs of shoes, £3, £o worth of goods, 2/ and a verbal lecture on the BIMe was the result of a collection made in Queen Street business firms by the secretary of the Women's Unemployment Committee of the New Zealanders' Association. These facts were presented to the committee in a report by the secretary at a meeting last evening. The secretary explained that when she went into one shop she was told how bad times were, and was given 2/ and an impromptu lecture on Bible history. London Orphans' Gift. The Government has received from the High Commissioner for New Zealand in London a parcel of clothing made up by the children who are inmates of the Royal Soldiers' Daughters' Home, a well-known orphanage, situated in Hampstead, London, for distribution amongst children who have suffered as a result of the Hawke's Bay earthquake. The Government has asked the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board to undertake the distribution of the articles of clothing in accordance with the wishes of the dono>;s. Inconvenient Court. Long experience has accustomed the members of the legal profession to the inconveniences of the upstairs Supreme Court in Auckland. On busy days the small landing at the top of the stairs is crowded, and, at the rising of the Court, the jury has to pass out through a gathering of waiting witnesses, litigants and others around the entrance. This is in contrast with the position downstairs, where there are three separate entrances and the jury is kept apart from the public. In civil claims counsel attach much importance to this, and it is considered that another entrance should be provided by structural alterations upstairs. There is a light space which could be covered in and a floor constructed to serve for the needs of the jury. During criminal trials the prisoner has to pass in and out through the crowd. Change in Engineering Course. The deletion of four subjects from the associatcship diploma in engineering was confirmed by the University College Council this week on the recommendation of the Professorial Board. The subjects deleted were mathematics 11., applied mathematics, freehand drawing and chemistry. The change was necessary, said the president, Sir George Fowlds, as the diploma course was overloaded at present. Professor S. E. Lamb, of the School of Engineering, explained that the course had been instituted in 1912 on a lower standard than that of the degree course, as the school was not then qualified to instruct students for the degree. In 192G the diploma course had been extended, but following the University Senate's recognition of the AucKlaiul Engineering School for degree purposes, it was thought advisable to lower the diploma gtandard. The deletion of the four subjects would bring the course to the same standard as when it was instituted in 1912.

Historic Anchor Stone. A wedge-shaped stone, which is believed to be a historic Maori anchor, has been discovered near the mouth of the Manawapou River, a few miles from Hawera. The unusual shape of the stone, which was seen .protruding through the sand on the seashore at spring tide, was noticed some months ago by Mr. W. Hayward, a resident of Xormanby, but it could not be recovered until last week-end. Maoris in various pas around Hawera contend that the relic is an anchor stone which was lost by the Xgatihine tribe living at Ohangai. According to the tradition of the Maoris, there was once a deep pool at the mouth of the Manawapou River, in which fishing and war canoes used to anchor. The pool was gradually filled up with sand. The Maoris say the anchor stone was lost about 1709, before Captain Cook arrived in Xew Zealand. They regard it as a sacred object. Young New Zealander. A fourteen-year-old Grammar School boy, who was almost as tall as the police officers in thi; Supreme Court, was called as a witness in a collision case yesterday. His Honor, impressed by the height and build of the boy, asked him whether he was only fourteen years of age, and, assured that lie was, remarked that he was a good example of a young Xew Zealander. Mr. Xortheroft, counsel for one of the parties, agreed that the witness was a good advertisement for the country, and said: "I wonder what his nickname is?" Mr. West, the opposing counsel, who is the tallest man at the Auckland Bar, remarked laughingly, "If it is anything like mine was, it will be 'Shorty.'" When the boy had completed his evidence, his Honor, who was obviously pleased with his demeanour in the box, said that, as the school holidays were on, the witness need not wait until the case ended, but would be allowed to go. Protection of Wild Life. The protection of wild life in Xew Zealand was discussed at last evening's annual meeting of the Auckland Zoological Society. Mr. F. F. McKenzie suggested that the society might do more than it had been doing, and, in agreeing, the chairman, Mr. H. E. Vaile, said that it was not unusual to hear people boasting that they had shot wild pigeons in the Waitakere Ranges. The damage done to wild life in the Waitakeres by settlers' dogs was mentioned by Mr. L. T. Griffin, who said that in one day he had seen three kiwis that had been killed by dogs. He thought that the society would be doing a real service if it could interest the settlers in native bush life and obtain their co-operation. "Unless the City Council will help by closing the area to dogs and by controlling vermin, nothing can be done. The whole trouble is the lack of a proper sentiment in regard to Xew Zealand wild life. Sentiment, in fact, is dead, and there will soon be no native bush or birds left," commented the chairman. The town clerk, Mr. Brigham, said that the council rangers exercised a rigid control in that part of the Waitakeres controlled by the council. A definite case of pigeon shooting brought to his notice would be promptly and effectively dealt with.

Man as Shopper. Some good advice was given by the new J Mayor of Auckland to the manufacturers yesterday at the ahnual meeting of the Auckland Manufacturers' Association. Mr. Hutchison said he thought there was a great scope for educating the man behind the counter. Only once had he been told, when shopping, that an article was "made in New Zealand." There was surely something wrong there. The man behind the counter should be encouraged to put forth the merits of the New Zealand-made article. Men were notoriously poor shoppers. Mr. Hutchison said his wife had once told him that "he would take anything that was offered to him." While that was perhaps not quite the case, still men w ere very easy to persuade when they entered a shop, and that was all the more reason why the man behind the counter should be end-ouraged to boost New Zealand-made goods. Mr. A. M. Seaman, president of the Chamber of Commerce, suggested that the manufacturers were not blameless lor not getting the best out of the local market. The other day he went into a shop and was shown an article made in Auckland, but it was branded "British made." The manufacturers should be proud of their goods, and should not be ashamed to say they were made heie. The} should make their goods known not only by the fact that they were New Zealand-made, b»t y reason of the fact that they were beet. If that were done, the public would come back for more , of the same