NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Issue 17, 21 January 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Treat For Children. Over 3000 children of the unemployed in the boroughs of Dcvonport, Mount Eden, Mount Albert, Onehunga and Otaliuliu and the Manukau County were given an outing at the Auckland Zoo yesterday. The children, who were in parties according to the district in which they lived, commenced to arrive shortly after 10 a.m. Luncheon was provided. The City Council granted , free admission, while the Transport Board provided free transport. Monster Cabbage. In a recent issue of the "Star" it was mentioned that Mr. A. G. Yardley had grown a monster cabbage, and would like to know if it had any rivals. Captain D. Savident, of Te Kopuru, cut a Savoy cabbage last week. It measured 12ft 9in in circumference, giving the spread of its outside leaves about 4ft 3in. The heart weighed 141b when cleaned of green leaves. The , whole cabbage was not weighed, but it is considered the weight would have been close on 301b. Large Snapper Caught. Two line snapper, weighing about 121b each, and measuring about 2ft Gin in length, were caught by two unemployed men Ln the harbour this week. They were fishing from King's wharf, and landed their catches within five minutes of each other. One of the fishermen said that the largest snapper lie had caught from the wharves weighed 201b, out of which lie made a little money by means of a raffle. He also said that for two such snapper as they had caught that afternoon they could probably get anything from 15/ to £1 in Sydney. Inquiry for Farms. A steady demand exists for farms in the Waikato, and inquiries by the "Waikato Times" this week have shown that where quality and price were right, little difficulty was experienced in finding a ready market. The demand was for farms from anything between 50 and 100 acres on a small deposit. The inquiries were mostly from "new cluims," . one agent remarked. His opinion was that men who were going to make their sons doctors and professional men were beginning to realise that they would be better off on the land. Work of S.P.C.A. The monthly report of the activities of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, presented at a meeting of the executive last evening, is typical of the beneficial work of that organisation. The cases dealt with included those in which warnings were issued for over-driving horses, under-feeding cattle, and keeping livestock without an adequate supply of water. In each instance the warning was effective. Such items as "destroyed sick cow," "destroyed sick cat," "arranged for home for stray dog," etc., etc., give some idea of tfie value of the work done by the society's inspector, Mr. J. Hollingworth. A Pleased Passenger. A man joined a suburban train at Papakura recently and seated himself in a first-class car. When his ticket was checked, and the guard found that he was holding a second-class ticket, the former drew the passenger's attention to the fact that lie was in a first-class compartment. He willingly paid the difference, remarking that lie was only four days in the Dominion from England, and that lie had been told before he left the Old Country that the New Zealand guards were flic most courteous in the world. During the four days he had been here he was quite satisfied they were. He said, also, that ho had been in many parts of the world, and the guards in this country were the cleanest and best-dressed lie had ever seen. Dominion's Year Book. In bulk flic 1932 New Zealand Official Year Book is some 150 pages smaller than its immediate predecessor, owing to the dictates of strict economy, Various factors have combined to make it difficult, and occasionally impossible, to retain the full detail of previous issues. Within the limits of economic restrictions the task of condensation has been given the most careful consideration, and the Government Statistician. Mr. Malcolm Eraser, expresses the confident belief that the value of the Year Book is not greatly impaired. No new material of major importance could, under the circumstances, be introduced. ; In the section on prices an important revision has been made by modernising the base period to which the index numbers of retail prices are related, and the application of data derived from the "household budget" inquiry of 1930. Railway Passengers Increase. "The board has been much interested to note the effect of the recent general reduction in fares," said Mr. P. G. Rousscll, the new genera! manager of railways, in his "message for the New Year." While the period of their operation ' had been too short for any definite statement to be made regarding the "ultimate effect upon i i evenue, it was pleasing, ho said, to find that ' whereas the decline in passenger revenue was appioxiniately £40,000 per month during the current railway year uj> to the time of introducing reduced fares, the decrease per month during the last two months had been lessened by £30,000. There had been a still further improvement noted i in the position regarding the number of passengers carried, the improvement compared with , the first four mouths of this year amounting to over 100,000 in the November four-weekly period. Holiday figures showed even a greater increase. Lifts to Pedestrians. _ Motorists have boon known to. refuse to take their friends oil motor tours or offer pedestrians a lift because of the risk they run of becoming financially involved should the passengers be injured in an accident. This point was brought under the notice of the council of the Auckland Automobile Association last evening by its Hamilton agency. A suggestion from Hamilton was that the law should be amended to provide that passengers travel in private motor cars at their own risk, thus exempting motorists from liability. Members pointed out that under the ■ present law a claim for damages could be made by a passenger if it could be proved that the driver was reckless or negligent. There was nothing, however, to prevent a motorist taking out a special insurance policy to cover risk on his passengers. It was decided to submit the matter to the North Island Motor Union for an opinion. Eight-oar Racing Trials. Eight-oar rowing is becoming increasingly popular in Auckland. Last season, through the generosity of its vice-president, the Auckland. Rowing Club put on the first club trial eights rowed on the Waitemata. The contest created much interest, and the racing was witnessed by a large number of people who lined Tamaki Drive. The harbourmaster, Captain Sergeant, had . marked out and buoyed a special course for the event. This year a further fillip to eiglit-oar , rowing has been given by the same vice-presi-dent, who happens to hold a similar position in the West End Club. He has given a set of ' trophies for trial eights in that club. On Satur- ' day next the West End and Auckland Clubs 1 will hold a gala day, and each club will hold its 1 own trial eight races over the same course, which again has been buoyed and marked out by Captain Sergeant. At the end of the races the re,-, spectivc winning crews will compete over a. mile and a half course for an inter-club trophy which has been presented by the dual vice-president. : Ihe day's sport will begin at 2.15 p.m., and the guests will include Rear-Admiral Geoffrey Blake, ' R.N., and the officers of His Majesty's ships in port. The course is from the Orakci wharf to near the foot of the eastern reclamation and 1 Tamaki Drive, and the race can be watched with case from start to finish. 1