NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 209, 4 September 1931, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

"Cain and Abel." The site for the piece of statuary, "Cain and Abel," a gift to the City Council from Mr. Moss Davis, now residing in England, is to be decided upon by the Mayor, Mr. G. W. Hutchison, and the chairman of the parks committee. Value of Exploration. Many people, said Mr. H. Ninnis at the luncheon of the Wellington Rotary Club, questioned the usefulness of Antarctic exploration, but the present development of modern whaling was due to it. Through the work of expeditions a great deal of information had been gained that was most valuable to countries such as Australia and New Zealand. Names of Avondale Streets. A request from the Avondale Development Association that alterations ■in certain street names in the Avondale district be made , was granted by the City Council last" evening. Brown Street, from Station Road to Great North Road, will in future be known as Rosebank Road, St. George's Road will be changed to Taylor Street for its full, length, and New Windsor Road will be changed to Roskill Road. New Plymouth's Anniversary. The ninetieth anniversary of the arrival of the first settlers at New "Plymouth was celebrated yesterday. It was on September 3, 1841,, that the sailing ship Amelia Thompson arrived at New Plymouth from Plymouth, England, bringing 188 Cornish and Devonshire settlers. There are only two survivors of the passengers, namely, Mrs. W. Greenwood, of Wanganui, aged 90, and Mrs. Telfar, of Urenui. The Amelia Thompson took five months on the voyage. Famous Geyser Active. A Rotorua message states that, after lying dormant for a considerable time, the famous Pohutu geyser has been unusually active this week. On Tuesday the geyser played continuously for an hour and a half, and on Wednesday some very spectacular "shots" - were witnessed. The new geyser that was recently active at Ngapuna appears to have completely died down, and all that remains of the scene of its activity is a large pool of discoloured water. Rotorua-Taupo* Highway. Good progress is being made with the construction of the main highway from Rotorua to Taupo. The highway has now been straightened to the lS:mjle peg, and provides a first-class drive for motorists. Many of the difficult bends have been eliminated, and the road has been shortened by one mile. On the Atiamuri-Rotorua Road a distance of 12£ miles has been widened, straightened and metalled, all reconstruction work important to the progress of land development in the Hox-ohoro and adjacent blocks. Historical Flag. The flag carried by Air-Commodore Kings ford Smith and Flight-Lieutenant C. P. Ulm on their flight across the Tasman in 1928 is to occupy a place with other historical flags in the Auckland Town Hall. At a meeting of the New Zealand Women's Association in Sydney on August 26, Dr. J. S. Purdy, Metropolitan Medical Officer of Health, Sydney, presented the flag to Mr. L. J. Schmitt, Tourist and Trade Commissioner, in order that it may be handed over to fhe citizens of Auckland. Maori Relics Unearthed. Whilst engaged in draining operations on his farm at Rangiatea, Mr. H. A. Lurman ' found some interesting Maori relics. These include a large wooden bowl with carved handles, made of totara and smoothly finished inside and out, a rounded block of w od, evidently used for pounding maize in the bowl, and a spear of black hinau. A big Maori population lived in the district in olden times, rnd To Kooti, the famous outlaw, had his home th '.r<?< bouts for many years. Mr. Lurman is send' ig the relics to the Auckland Museum. Our Literary Prospects. "I don't think -.'ew Zealand poetry in the bulk is any more depressing than the poetry of any other country," said Mr. A. E. Mulgan in an address on New Zealand literature at a meeting of the Leys Institute Debating Union last evening. "It is certainly richer in content than that of. Australia." He remarked that before a really outstanding novel could be written in New Zealand, more attention would have to be paid to character portrayal, and less to physical setting. Psychology of Fear. "The ancient Maoris had as great a knowledge of the psychology of fear as modern psychologists," said the Rev. H. J. Fletcher, in an address at Duncdin on the "Peopling of New. Zealand by the Polynesians." This was demonstrated, he said, in the course adopted to impress on the younger men the necessity of learning word for word the traditions of the race, in order that they might be handed down to future generations. If they made a' mistake they died. They were taught during the winter months for five years, and at the end of that time they were required to recite the legends word perfect. In later years one man had conceived the idea of "committing the stories of his tribe to paper, and these manuscripts were preserved to this day in the Wanganui district. At the present time they would not be published on account of a shoVtage of money, but Sir Apirana Ngata had the matter in hand, and in due course the book would be printed exactly as the original had been written. It would be one of the most valuable collections .of Maori lore that the country possessed. Power of Advertisement. In his address on "The Language of Advertising" at the Chamber of Commerce advertising group luncheon yesterday, Mr. J. W. Shaw mentioned observing some visiting ladies who had just received a newspaper by mail from their home town. They opened the paper, and, instead of looking at the news or at the family columns, usually deemed to be of the greatest interest, they turned to the announcement of a wellknown drapery firm and eagerly scanned the items in its advertisement. Mr. Shaw said that the English language had benefited by the impact of commercial necessities. The result -had been greater simplicity, clarity and force in the use of words. He warned advertising men against convention. There was a tendency to the repetition of words and phrases till they came to have a technical signification and lost their force in contributing to persuasion, which was the great end in advertising. Mr. Shaw contrasted the advertiser with the preacher, and said that the advertiser was the lineal descendant of the preacher, whose business it was not only to teach but to persuade. Perjury. "Justices, as you know, have the right, where they think proper, of directing prosecutions for perjury,' against witnesses who, in their opinion have committed perjurv in their Court." said the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in ail address to the Wellington Justices' Association. "It is a power," he added, "which should be exercised with great caution and great hesitation. And the reason is this: You hear people say how prevalent perjury is.' I know—we all know—there is a certain amount of perjury, but, people who talk glibly about the prevalence of perjury are, in my opinion, exaggerating things very much. They seem to think that because statements are made in Court by witnesses which are not, true that that is perjury. But that is not necessarily perjury. They do not make sufficient allowance for the infirmity of the human mind or memory, or for the possibility of honest mistakes; or they do not make sufficient allowance for the confusion in the mind of a person who has liad conversations—first with one, then with another, and then with a third person. The witness is asked to give evidence as to conversations with the first and then with the second and the third. He confuses all three* conversations. But that is not perjury. That is why I say that prosecutions for perjury should only be directed after most careful consideration."