NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 56, 7 March 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Climbing and Character. "I know of no sport that depends so much upon a man's personal fitness, strength of character and power of endurance as does mountaineering," eaid Sir William Ellis, a member of the Alpine Club (England), in Christchurch this week. "A man's banking account does not enter into the matter at all," he added. Napier High School Jubilee. Jubilee celebrations in connection with the Napier Boys' High School are to bo held at Easter. A sports programme has been arranged for Easter Saturday and Monday, and a church parade is to be held at the school on the Sunday afternoon, when the service will be conducted by old boys. A reunion dinner has been arranged for Saturday night, and a dance for Monday night. King's Birthday Review. There will be a military review on the Domain on the morning of the King's Birthday, when his Excellency Lord Bledisloe will take the salute. The marines from H.M.s. Diomede will form the guard with the colours, and companies from the other three warships will be on parade. The territorials and cadets, together with all the secondary schools' units, will also take part, and the parade is expected to number 3000. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Colonel J. E. Duigan, Officer Commanding the Northern Command, will be in command. Another 'Varsity Year. There was a fairly continuous _ stream of young men and women passing up Princes Street and through Albert Park to-day, on their way to take the first lectures of the year at the University College, the first term of which started to-day. For those who were beginning a new phase of their education, distant fields looked green. For others, to whom the University is nothing new, it seemed no time since they were burnin-r the midnight oil over last year's examinations. Still, there were old friends to greet, and new topics to discuss. Moreover, eome had in mind that Easter is early this year. A Junior's Mistake.

Through a junior's mistake a number of invitations issued by an Auckland local body to some professional people of both sexes got mixed up, with the result that sedate males found themselves addressed ae "dear madam" and demure females as "dear sir." The telephone calls that sought an explanation suggested that the women thought little of the mistake, but that the men, or at least some of them, suspected that there might be something sinister in being addressed ae "dear madam." In commenting on the women's attitude, one young woman doctor laughingly mentioned that they could hold their own with the men any day, but that the men appeared to be afraid of the women.

Mischief At Stanley Bay. It ie difficult to understand what satisfaction some individuals obtain by doing mischief in public places. The latest case of this kind is reported from Stanley Bay, where, for some time past, pains have been taken in laying out the park. A footpath bounding the children's area had white-painted scoria boulders set up on one side to warn people at night not to step off the path and fall into the harbour. Recently a number of theeo heavy boulders were deliberately knocked out of place, and those responsible for the caro of the park have had to go to the trouble of putting them back again. There is evidently a section, of young Aucklanders who do not realise that parks and reserves are their own property. Not Enough Speed. It is always unsafe to count chickens before they are hatched, and it does not always give pleasure to take a tally after they are out of the shell. A member of a picnic party who visited a recreation ground yesterday took with him a little dog, which, evidently tired of watching hie owner playing cricket, strolled off to do a little exploring. The dog had been away only a few minutes when the owner of the property put in an appearance at the cricket pitch. He was not looking for a game, but for the owner of the dog, to whom he mentioned that two chickens had not been fast enough to keep in front of the dog, with the result that their interest in the farm was now gone. Three shillings was the price of the- chickens, and the amount was handed over. America Listening For News. An interesting American radio broadcast was picked up by Mr. G. W. Eraser, of Northcote, on Saturday night. The entire N.B.C. network of stations was "on the air" all night, on a special emergency broadcast, to enable the people of the United States to hear the latest news concerning the kidnapped Lindbergh baby. A fine programme of organ music was transmitted from the N.B,C. studios in Chicago, and an orchestra of that city was heard in dance music. Between items any news that had come to hand was broadcast. The stations from which. Mr. Fraser heard the broadcast were:—WENR, Chicago; WBZ, Springfield, Mass.; WJR, Detroit; KOA, Denver; WJZ, New York; WEAF, New York; KPO, San Francisco; KHQ, Spokane; KGW, Portland; and KGO, Oakland.

Newton School Grounds Improved. Considerable improvement has been made in the playground of the Newton Central School, under the No. 5 unemployment scheme. "The infants' playground," states the School Committee Journal, "has been levelled in terraces, stone walls built, and protecting fences erected and the ground covered with fine scoria. Unfortunately this part of the grounds has had to bo left in this state, as no money is available for tan-ing and sanding the area." Labour under the scheme was utilised for levelling a large area with the idea of forming a sports ground. When the work is completed, there will be a level running track of about 150 yds, and plenty of room for the playing of football, cricket and other games. In wages alone £1800 has been spent, practically the whole of which has been paid to the unemployed parents of children attending the school." Axe of Educational Economy. "The axe of economy is being wielded by the Education Department, and has fallen rather heavily in certain directions," states the School Committee Journal, referring to the curtailment of commercial instruction in district high schools. When notice was given to the Auckland Education Board by the Department that a course of cutting down was to be taken at the beginning of the current school year, and that payment of incidental allowance, formerly based on teacherhour capitations, would also cease, those teachers had been appointed by the board in the belief that country children would continue to receive commercial instruction from part-time teachers. "Last year," the journal added, "801 children were taking commercial subjects at district high schools in the Auckland district; we arc unable to say how many of these will be affected by this new form of economy." "Ducking" the Dominie. In the old days the mere suggestion of "ducking" the schoolmaster would have meant a score of strokes to the daring pupils who uttered it. Times have changed, and when the suggestion was made during a bathing lesson at a suburban beach by the school children that they should try to "duck" the schoolmaster, he accepted the challenge, and, swimming out into deep water, told his pupils to try. What the spectators on the wharf saw was a very fine exhibition of swimming. Over a hundred boys and girls set off from the beach, some of them quite strong swimmers, with the lire of battle in their eyes. The schoolmaster ewam towards them and looked an easy prey, but, by diving and manoeuvring, he got right through them, and then, standing on the ehore with a broad smile, shouted out: "You haven't managed to duck the master, but that is the way to teach you chaps to swim!"