NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 230, 29 September 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

" Shorts " for Badminton. Wimbledon's style of tenuis dress appears to have readied Xew Zealand, for at the Dominion badminton tournament at the Town Hall (reports the Wellington "Post'') two of the lady competitors appeared on the courts in "shorts." This typo of sports wear is very popular with women in England and on the Continent, for in addition to being light and cool, it affords greater leg action in tennis and similar sports., The two 1 competitors attracted as much attention as if they had been men wearing skirts. Jap. Use of Scrap Metal. The total export of scrap metal from Xew Zealand to Japan this year was 21,577 tons, of a value of £25,091. Tho'.Wma Muni, now loading at Wellington, is taking ."..100 tons, including 2000 tons from Wellington. The Xankura Mara takes j 500 tons next month. It is stated that practij cally all the scrap purchased will be used for reinforcing concrete. A Japanese private company is buying the metal and selling it to strengthen concrete structures, as the Japanese law now requires some metal to be used in building new shops. Man is Lord of the Air. Not only the air of theatres, hut the air of the home, is to be "reconditioned." A technical authority, Mr. S. S. Evans, tells a Sydney paper that a residential air-conditioning system "enables the maintenance of even temperatures throughout the year, and obviates the necessity for fires or radiators in winter and fans and other cooling devices in summer." His recent investigation of United States results suggests that tlie cost of the installation in a new residence costing £1000 would be between £100 audi £200. The plant need not necessarily be an , ! imported one. Contract or Day Labour ? "The question of contract versus day labour is of vital importance to ratepayers," said Mr. 11. 11. Miller, retiring president of the Wellington Ratepayers' Association, at the annual meeting. "The nearer we can get to all work in the city being done by private enterprise, the more efficient we shall be. Government and municipality participation in business always ends in bureaucratic control, and one class of the community striving against the other. It is far better that all work should he done by contract, and that the council should confine itself to its true func-tion-administration. The same labour would be A employed, only more efficiently." '

Body-line Bowling Dying ? Brief reference to body-line bowling was made at hitst evening's annual meeting of the Auckland Cricket Association. "Every chairman i>f a meeting such as this is supposed to say a word or two about body-line bowling," said the president, Mr. F. Earl, K.C. "I am not going into any details about it. but will content myself by saying that the time has come when all that can usefully be said in the matter has Imhmi said, and that anything wo could say would be of little use.*' It seemed, added Mr.* Earl, that the M.C.C., working in its slow but sure English way, was killing body-line bowling. "If tliirs menace to cricket—and undoubtedly it is a menace—is not already dead, it is certainly moribund," eaid Mr. Earl.

l J Overseas Loans Problem. l T In connection with the Sydney decision re- • garding the Wanganui-Rangitikei 'Power Board, . it is stated that there wjis a tacit agreement among the local bodies concerned that whatever the decision of the Sydney Equity Court might be, a final decision should be sought from the Privy Council, states a Wanganui journal. A number of Auckland local bodies are interested. The Waitemata Power Board raised £200,000 in Australia, the Drainage Board £50.000, the Auckland Power Board £102,000, the Takapuna Borough Council £45.000. and the Auckland Harbour Board £150,000. Several of these bodies have paid the disputed portion of the interest due into suspense accounts. No " Kitchen Baptisms." "We are glad to see that as few private baptisms as possible were carried out,'' said the Rev. J. A. Allan, when reporting to the Christchurcli Presbytery on a visitation to Knox Church. '"Unless there is any special reason, all baptisms at Knox Church are carried out in public—there are no kitchen baptisms." Mr. Allan's choice of adjective aroused amusement among members of the Presbytery, and one of them asked the minister, the Rev, T. W. Armour, how lie had persuaded hie congregation to agree to this. "At first some of them tried to dictate to me," said Mr. Armour, "but thev soon found they could not dictate to a dour Scots minister. Xow the baptisms are held in public." Veterans' Home. Of the 25 inmates of the Veterans' Home. Mount Roskill, 12 saw service in the Great War. The house and grounds are in spick and span condition, according to a report submitted to yesterday's meeting of the Auckland Provincial Patriotic and War Relief Association. Under arrangements recently made with the Mount Roskill Road Board, it is constructing on the Mount Albert frontage of the home a new masonry wall. A huge amount of produce is being grown in the grounds," providing useful and congenial employment for the men. Jf the home had to purchase vegetables, fruit, milk and cream, the annual charge of maintenance would be considerably increased. "Experiments have been made in the growing of capers and tobacco," said Mr. A. G. Lunn. "The tobacco is of doubtful quality, from my experience, but the veterans are delighted with the result."

Margin of Subsistence.

I During a luncheon address to mci;i%Srs of ! the Auckland Chamber of Commerce yesterday, afternoon, Dr. E. P. Neale, secretary of the charnber, said that with the .passing of the era of abundant and fertile free land in new countries industrial employment rather than agricultural opportunity had constituted the main motive for population movements to new lands. In the main the migrant had become a seller of labour, seeking the beet price for his services, and therefore not apt to be attracted by a stagnant, market. "It would seem," he said, "that, driven by the bitter necessity of seeking an adequate livelihood elsewhere, many Australians and New Zealanders at times of depression leave for fresh fields and pastures new before their funds are so exhausted as to prevent departure, in many instances no doubt drawing on the 'nest eggs' laid aside over many years. In new countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where income per head of population and standards of living are high, the onset of depression less often means immediate penury than in those old countries where so much of the population lives close to the margin of subsistence." I

Keen Love of Cricket. A confession that he loved cricket more than anything else in the world was made by Mr. F. Earl, K.C., president of the Auckland Cricket Association, at last evening's annual meeting of the association, when he and Messrs. E. C. Beale and J. Watts were elected life members. "If I have done something for cricket, I want to admit that cricket has done a great deal of good for me. I love cricket, and the players of to-day are giving me what I love best in the world," said Mr. Earl. As a man grew old, he said, many sports dropped away from him, but he could i still have his cricket. Personally, he said, he enjoyed the game as much as a spectator as he

had as a player. He doubted whether any player got as much happiness out of a Plunket Shield match as he did. He watched every ball, and enjoyed every minute.of the play. "As long as I can stand up to get* to Eden Park I shall get there to enjoy the good cricket that you provide," he declared. Mr. Beale admitted that with

him cricket was a disease which he could not cure. Keferring to the desirability of having a professional coach in Auckland, he said that if the Lancashire League could afford to take six of the Dominion's best players, the local association could afford to take one of England's best to ensure the coaching of the younger players. Mr. Watte said that he always had done and always would do his beet to help the game along.]