NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 122, 25 May 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

King's Birthday Service. A special King's Birthday service will be held in St. Matthew's Church on Sunday, June 5, at 11 o'clock in the morning. It is understood that the Governor-General, Lord Blcdisloe, will attend. An invitation to be present at the service was accepted yesterday afternoon by the chairman and members of the Auckland Harbour Board. Mount Eden Unemployment Vote. A sum of £1000 was set aside for the lelief of unemployment by the council of the Mount Eden borough at its meeting last night, when estimates of receipts and for the year ending March 31 were considered in detail. A proposal to allow only £500 was made by Mr. J. J. Mulvihill, in view of the strained finances of the borough, but the majority of the council considered it too low, and the Mayor said that so long as he was in oflicc he would do all in liis power to assist the unemployed. In Johannesburg. No fewer than seven New Zealand men are working on the literary staff of the Hand "Daily Mail," the South African paper which was founded and first edited by Edgar Wallace (states the "Otago Daily Times"). They include the editor, Mr. McLeod, of Oamaru, and the news and assistant news editors, Messrs. Constable and Williams, both of Ashburton. Mr. E. Murray Fuller said at Dunedin last week that he was warmly received bv these New Zealanders during his lccent tour of South and East Africa. Playing Cards For Camps. Books and magazines are welcomed at the unemployment relief depot in ITobson Street for dispatch to the men in the unemployment camps. Up to the present there has been a fair supply, for which the committee at yesterday's meeting expressed gratitude. It was stated, however, that there was a dearth of playing cards, with which the men could amuse themselves in the evenings. These are wanted badly, and the chairman of the committee (Mr. Geo. W. Hutchison) made an appeal to all clubs and similar organisations to help. Piper Fishing and Seasons. A seasoned old piper fisher, who claimed to he nearer 80 than 70 years of age, was fishing on the Stanley Bay wharf when he was appealed to recently to settle an argument whether piper was a summer or a winter lish, one fisher claiming that they were caught more freely when the water was warm, and the other saying that the}' were more readily caught in the winter time. "You are both right," said the old fisher. "They can be caught equally well all the year round, but those caught in the cold weather are the better fish, because the flesh is then firmer." "Unique and Unpleasant." "Should every ratepayer in the borough pay his rates this year, after the external charges are met and payment made of liabilities left by our predecessors, also payment of the contract for street lighting and refuse removal, the small sum of £428 will be left for the council's requirements for the year," said Mr. '1. McNab, Mayor of Mount Eden, at a meeting of the council last evening. "Last season rates amounting to over £11,000 were unpaid, uml we cannot hope for anything better this year, so the services of the borough are wholly dependent upon outside revenue for their continuance. Surely this is a unique and unpleasant state of affairs." They Kept Count. The oft-repeated statement that the children of to-day are less observant than were those of former generations cannot always be sustained. For instance, the older folk attending a local suburban church were greatly struck by the close attention paid to their minister by the young members of the congregation, and the loss of interest when a visiting minister took his place. Eventually it leaked out that the young folk had noticed that their minister had a habit of moving from side to side of his pulpit during his sermon, and that each Sunday he did this exactly the same number of times. By keeping count,' those in the know could forecast the end of the sermon, and their close attention was more in the count than in the sermon. Children and Influenza. When winter comes round each year, much is heard of remedies for colds, and adults wrap themselves up in large coats. Some women wear gaiters, or a modified edition of gum boots. Men turn to extra heavy golf shoes and thick stockings. School children, back at school again after the holidays, provide a decided contrast. It was raining this morning, and the rain was cold. Two urchins, barefooted, not content with paddling along in the gutter in the downpour, must needs carefully block up the gutter, and then sit down in the miniature dam. What was the risk of a cold or influenza compared with definite evidence to be produced later to a teacher, of clothing well and truly wet, so that to be scut home was imperative? Yet they seldom seem to take cold, like others who wear golf shoes and gaiters. A Commercial Jubilee. Empire Day this week (Tuesday) marked the fiftieth anniversary of the safe arrival at London of the first shipment of frozen meat from NewZealand. It was on May 24, ISB2, that the little ship Dunedin (1250 tons register) docked in London after a passage of 98 days from Port Chalmers, thus crowning with complete success a bold enterprise that started the Dominion on the road to prosperity. Of the Dunedin's arrival in London it has been said that "it was nflt . merely a scientific achievement, nor a new method of marketing, nor a new kind of food; it was a step in the founding of a trade system of far-reaching economic significance." In February, 1882, the Dunedin carried 4009 carcases of mutton and lamb; in February of this year the shipments totalled 1,328,740 carcases. Aorangi's Record. Mention of the consistent runs made by the motor liner Aorangi in the Sydney-Auckland-Vancouver passenger service is made in the latest issue of "The Motor Ship," a maritime journal published in London. The Aorangi was built in 1924, and at the time of her launching was the largest and most powerful ocean-going motor vessel in the world. Recently she concludcd her forty-third voyage, representing nearly 700,000 miles. "The Aorangi has always arrived ahead of schedule, and has never been delayed by engine irouble in leaving port," says the journal. "Iler best speed over 24 hours has been 18.2 knots. In January she made a record passage of 72 hours 57 minutes from Auckland to Sydney, her average speed being 17.85 knots." Warships' Overhaul.

The sloops Laburnum and Veronica were to go into dock to-day for annual overhaul. It is expected that they will remain in dock for ten days. The Laburnum is to leave port on June 13 for Suva, and will not return to port until September 27. A slightly shorter Island cruise has been planned for the Veronica, which is to sail for Noumea on June 20, and is due back at Auckland on September 5. H.M.s. Diomede, which will also spend the winter in the'wanner climate of the Islands, completed an extensive overhaul in the dock last week. At yesterday afternoon's meeting of the Auckland Harbour Board, the engineer reported that a number of machines installed in the dock workshops had recently been tested. The tests had been carried out in conjunction with a number of naval officers, and certain recommendations for the purchase of new machines and the reconditioning of existing plant at a cost of £1250 had been made to the board in committee. On the recommendation of the board in committee, it was decided that the work be completed. The chairman, Mr. G. R. Hutchinson, remarked that the decision would bring to an end a difference of opinion of four years' standing. It was worthy of note that the engineer had reduced the estimated expenditure by £2500.