NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 146, 23 June 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Keeping Up Arbor Day.

An appeal to the City Council to assist in the preservation of Arbor Day was made by Mr. J. B. Paterson last evening. He suggested that the council and other local bodies should have a function in one of the parks each Arbor Day and have a regular tree-planting scheme. The proposal was referred to the parks committee, with power to act. Urban Farm Land. The city valuer, Mr. P. F.Notley, has compiled the urban farm land list as required under the Urban Land Rating Act, which states that the City Council shall determine the values. He has incorporated in the list new ratable values which, if adopted, will complete the compilation. The list was referred to the finance committee at last night's meeting of the City Council. Walking the Plank. Speaking of the early days of the Richmond Cruising Club at the annual prize distribution last evening, the patron, Mr. W. J. Holdsworth, who has held that office since the inception of the club 30 years ago, recalled that their first meetings were held in a small boatshed in Cox's Creek, access to which was gained by a single plank. On a particularly dark night, said Mr. Holdsworth,. a prominent member of the committee missed his footing, and landed in thfl mud and water below. Needless to say, he was excused from that meeting. City Bus Terminus. The fact that the licensing authority had decided that the terminus for certain omnibus services be Commerce Street, as formerly, was reported to the Auckland City Council last evening bv the chief traffic inspector. At the same time a, protest against the continuance of this street being' used for taxi and bus stands was received from business firms with premises in the street. They stated that, apart from ';he noise, which at times was very distracting, the fumes and oils from the buses were most annoying. The council was asked to adhere to its previous decision, at least temporarily, to remove the buses to the old railway station site, where there were no buildings. The matter was referred to the town planning committee for a report. Historic Landing Spot. The Takapere, or beacon rock, at Maketu Bay of Plenty, which has been buried in the sand for the last. 20 years, has been a source of great interest recently, as it has become uncovered. The rock is immortalised in Maori history, as the Arawa canoe was made fast to it upon the arrival of the canoe to these shores, and a short distance away a large boxthorn bush marks the spot where tlie canoe was drawn up on the beach and where the Maoris made their first encampment. It is said that at a later period a party of hostile natives burnt the canoe. The cause of the roCK being buried was the bursting of the banks of the Kaituna River, in 1007, at Otaparia, about a mile and a half northward, and the river, bed silted up and the river changed its course. The rock before this stood in niid-stream at the estuary of the rive. - , and as it was under water at high tide a beacon light had been placed upon it. Civic Advertising. "When a recommendation was before the City Council last evening that £S4 should be expended for advertising for one year in a proposed booklet, which would be supplied to visitors free of charge, Mr. W. T. Anderton said it would be far better to spend the money in the Auckland newspapers. The Mayor, Mr. G. W. Hutchison, said the suggested publication would be a credit to the city, and the expenditure was justified, as it would have the effect of attracting people to Auckland. The recommendation was adopted on the voices. A different course was taken when an application by the manager of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Journal for the expenditure of £4 to advertise the Zoo was considered. On the recommendation of the parks committee the request was declined. Seeing Is Believing. An unrehearsed incident proved of interest to the members of the Auckland Fire Board when a visit of inspection was made on Wednesday to the headquarters of the various suburban brigades. Soon after reaching the Mount Albert fire station an alarm came through. The members thought momentarily that it was staged for their benefit,' until assured by the superintendent (Mr. W. L. Wilson), who was accompanying them, that it was a genuine call. The board members saw the local brigade away, also the operation of the backing-up system now used, by which another brigade assists. In this instance it was the Avondalo unit, which, owing to the position of the fire, arrived first. And. as part of the day's inspection, the board members followed the" call. The fire was an outbreak at a house. It was stopped in an early stage by the firemen, and not much damage was done. Three Courses of Action. s "The nations of the world are endeavouring to find a solution to the main (the monetary) problem, and in my opinion they are faced with three possible courses of action. The first is war. A great war would undoubtedly solve the unemployment problem and many other subsidiary problems. I have no doubt that this horrible and ghastly expedient has passed and is passing through the minds of the leaders of the nations. The second method is the development of the policy of sabotage—the destruction not only of world produce, but of the means of production as well. That avowedly has already become the policy of many of the nations in Western civilicatio'n. . . . The quota system is only a part of the general system of sabotage. . . . The third course is monetary reform." —Mr. 11. M. Rushworth, -M.P. for Bay of Islands, at the Town Hall last night. Vice-Regal Speeches. Preservation of the speeches made in New Zealand by his Excellency the Governor-rGeneral, Lord Bledisloe, was suggested by Mr. John Alexander, president of the Overseas League, at the opening last night of the league's new clubrooms. "I saw some days ago," said Mr. Alexander, "that steps were being taken to preserve the speeches, which were made at the recent consecration of' the Colours. I had just finished reading, or rather re-reading, a report of a speech made by his Excellency during the jubilee celebrations of our university. That speech seemed even more cultured and more charming than the high standard of his Excellency's speeches to which we have become accustomed. His Excellency has taken such ah interest in all classes of the community and in the avocations and problems of this little country, that his speeches, if collated and preserved, would in years to come be of great historic value and a wonderful record of our present times." Not Linked With Germany. The idea held by many people that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Zealand is connected with the German Lutheran Church was dismissed as absurd by the Rev. E. A. Noffke, of Wellington, president of the Evangelical Lutheran Concordia Conference of New Zealand, who opened the new St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church at Christchurch on Sunday. Mr. Noffke said that the idea was standing in the way of the solid development of the Church in the Dominion. He emphasised the fact that the Church had absolutely nothing to do with Germany. It was in doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod operating in the United States of America, and wa3 organically connected with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Australia. Mr. Noffke explained that the German Lutheran Church was a State Church, while the Church in New Zealand distinctly separated the Church from the State. In 1839 faithful Lutherans who were being oppressed by unionistic princes emigrated to America to preserve their religious freedom. They were the founders of the Missouri Synod. The'only connection that the New Zealand Church had with Germany was the fact that it was doctrinaliy in agreement with the Saxon Free Church.