NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 138, 13 June 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Bogus Coins. Counterfeit half-crowns are again in circulation. Last week two complaints were received by the police, both from "Star" newsboys. One' boy received a bad half-crown on Wednesday, and another, whose stand is at the corner of Wel- 1 lesley and Hobeon Streets, was on Friday night handed a poor imitation of the real coin by a man. The police have possession of both bogus coins, together with the description of one man; .The coins are not nearly as good as the counter-, feit florins circulated some months ago, and can easily be detected. Successful "Drive." As a result of a "drive" held at Mount Albert on Saturday, the relief committee of the borough will be a'ble to-meet many of the needs of the distressed in the district throughout the winter. Clothing and- groceries were freely given by the residents, and in addition a eum of £50 was collected. , About thirty cars were used in covering the borough, . and the work was facilitated by residents having the parcels of clothing ready to be picked up. As the parcels were brought to the receiving depot the collection of clothing and groceries continued to mount up, and when the' "drive" had ended the result exceeded expectations. Tons of Money. If all the silver coins in circulation in New Zealand, weighing about 7SI tons, were collected, they would fill the hold of a fair-eized ship, stated a Southern banker. To shift it in one operation the services of nearly 200 four-ton motor trucks would have to be requisitioned. There are also in circulation 723 tons of pennies and 300 tons of halfpennies. It is estimated that at least onethird of this huge tonnage of money is being carried around daily in the pockete and purses of the people. A bank official said that the issue of new silver was principally to replace that withdrawn from circulation because it is worn. Every now and then the banks put quantities of old and worn coin on the scales, and if the weight had dropped appreciably the coin was scrapped. The issue of silver was not increasing. Footballers as Shepherds. The joys or controlling events on playing grounds in rural areas are not always unalloyed for football referees. Frequently the local "gallery" on the sideline are fiercely partisan and vociferous, and inclined to clamant criticism of the referee. On Saturday, however, the controller of the Papatoetoe-Burnley second grade Soccer match at Papatoetoe had quite a novel situation to deal with. A corner kick was being taken when a large flock of ehecp, apparently taking a lead from the scamper, of the players, rushed acrciss the field and got boxe* 1 . up amongst the footballers. It was not a point covered by the rule book, but the referee decided that the kick be deferred until the woollies had been shepherded off the field of play, an operation which took some little time. Bon Voyage. The week-end was characterised by a series of farewell ceremonies in the sporting world — to the Olympic athletes who left, for Wellington last night, and to All Black footballers, who will entrain for Wellington, this evening. A. J. Elliott, J. W. Savidan (runners}, and Eon Foubister (cyclist) were farewelled by their respective clubs, and R. Purdie (boxer) by the executive of the Northern Boxing Association. A gathering of sportsmen, in addition to the personal friends of the athletes, saw the latter off at the railway station last night. Similarly, F. Solomon (Ponsonby), Palmer (Otahuiiu), Oaughcy (University) arid Corner (Grammar Old Boys) were felicitated by their respective 'clubs on selection for the All Black team to tour Australia. "The End of a Perfect Day." A Titirangi golfer had alternate slices of good and bad luck while playing at the weekend. At the thirteenth hole, well named "The Wrecker," his tee shot struck a tree and he lost his ball. That was bad luck. However, he found another in ite place. : That was good luck. He used this ball to play the fourteenth, and holed out from his tee shot. That was both good and bad luck —it all depends upon the viewpoint! Anyhow, the golf "wireless" got to work—it is remarkable how quickly {,6od news spreads—and there was an enthusiastic crowd awaiting his arrival at the nineteenth, where the ■ captain. of the club, Mr. Harry Kogerson, congratulated the new member of the. "holed-in-one brigade" in a felicitous speech of jiist the right length—about ten words. The reply was seven words shorter, and even more felicitous. It was: "Help youriolveb,, boys." Too Good to be Trua. It will be goo(« news to New Zealand dairy farmers to know tiiat, according to a writer (Frank Taylor) hi the "Daily Gleaner," of Kingston, Jamaica, the local butter industry is being crushed out of existence by imported New Zealand butter. That is, if the statement can be accepted at face value. Grave doubt is east on this, however, by another statement that "the native butter industry is having a. pretty bad time just now; owing to the competition of. New Zealand butter, which I understand comes here with- a subsidy of 1/ per lb." The writer goes on to state that the New Zealand butter could be imported at.l/ 2 per lb, .and was sold at 1/8 to 2/, 'while the local butter cost 1/9 per lb to produce, and that the shopkeepers , pushed the imported article because of the greater profit to themselves. But don't the New Zealand dairymen wieh they had the assistance of 1/ per lb subsidy! Turf-lifting Device. In connection with the work of. levelling the cricket ground' on the Domain at Devonport, an area of an acre and a half will be improved this 3eaeon. . Blocks of turf 12in by Sin have to be marked and lifted with the ordinary spade. Although some 30 men are engaged in the work, progress is slow. It was estimated that the area would occupy the men's time for many weeks. In order to hasten progress, the engineering staff of the Borough Council have constructed a plough for the work. A trial of the machine was made on Friday, and it wae most satisfactory: The whole of the turf in the area will be removed in three days. The plough possesses two flat shares without the mould-board. :It is , so constructed as'to cut the required width of turf in one long strip. The workmen have only'to cut the turf in suitable lengths for easy handling. The head gardener, Mr. H. Pointer, originated the idea. Its use. should become general• for many similar undertakings. .The machine will: mean a • saving of time of at least a month in the Domain job. Summer in Winter. , "Even in summer we do not get days like this" said-the old resident sitting on a scat on the' St. HelicrVßay waterfront yesterday. He was certainly right. . It was one of the most perfect daye'of an autumn and early winter we have .ever "had. in Auckland.. There was not a breath of wind, and the harbour and gulf looked singularlv beautiful. "The water was like glassis a common simile, often an exaggeration, but vestcrday it was quite true, and even when the tide was running the vessels -uichbred in the harbour ca.it reflections. It was so calm and the air was so clear that from St. Hclier's Bay Beach one could see Channel Island, the little rock off the end of Cape Colville, and one could even distinguish the gulliee running down from Mochau, the;highest point on the peninsula. The Great Barrier also could be seen. From the ridge road that skirts the Tamaki River the views over the "u'l'f were enchanting. Brown's Island in the foreground'.-might have been carved out of an emerald,'• Waiheke out of an amethyst, and the distant hills of the Coromandel Peninsula out of lapis lazuli, while the intervening strips of water were of the intense blue that one seldom sees outside the tropics. And the sun, though we' arc only seven dayi3 off the shortest day of the year, shone almost as warmly as on a summer's day.