NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 232, 2 October 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Daylight Saving,

Daylight saving will commence next Sunday at 2 a.m., when officially the clocks will be advanced half an hour. It will continue to 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 18, 1934. The majority of people will probably put their clocks T..^« v next Saturday evening before going to bed. City Baths Opened. The public swimming bathe at Pa moll and Shelly Beach were reopened yesterday after being closed for five months. Though the water is still "nippy," about 100 bathers visited the two baths yesterday, and in a few weeks they will be attracting the crowds which patronise them throughout the Glimmer. The Attraction of Plowers. The display of New Zealand flowers in the Auckland War Memorial Museum last week attracted more than 4000 visitors. Mr. C. K Ford, a member of the Museum Council, who presided at the lecture given by Mr. T. L. Lancaster yesterday afternoon, said that this was encouraging evidence of the interest being taken by the Auckland public in native flora. The exhibition had been held early in the season so that eome of the flowers, such as the kowhai, could be seen at their best. Mr. Lancaster said that the exhibition was the best of its kind ever held in Auckland. Secreted £1 Note. To find a £1 note secreted in a bundle of clothing was the unusual but reassuring experience of a group of ladies at the Palmerston North showgrounds on Monday. The Land of workers was bueily engaged in sorting the thousands of parcels of miscellaneous clothing which came to light during the recent postmen's drive. It was with very real surprise that, on opening a bundle which, from outward appearances, was no different from hundreds of its predecessors, they came upon the note enclosed in an envelope. There was quite a flutter as the "crinkly" came to light. J Young Yachtsmen. The iirst sailing race of the season was held at the week-end oil" Narrow Neck, when eleven boate of the Wakatere 14ft one-design class competed in two events. This class, which was started only last year, became popular at once, no fewer than 40 boats being built. In yesterday's race the. youngest crew sailed in the Windward. Her skipper, Peter Macindoc, is 10 years old, the for'ard hand 12, and the mainsheet "man" only 9. The boye handled their craft well, setting their spinnaker smartly, but they did not succeed in reaching the prize list at their lirst attempt.

A Fascinating Language. "Some of you may have thought that 1 would speak to you in Maori," said the Rev. R. T. Haddon at the Kingsland Methodist Church last evening, "but that would bo only like an ■echo to you. We have a beautiful language, a fascinating language; in fact, it is so fascinating that when we get together and start usino- it we talk and talk and talk." A general smile went round the congregation. English was also a fine language, said tho preacher, but it was more commercial. He was glad that the University had recognised that Maori was worthy of study, and many students were Jio.v taking it as a subject in their examinations. Old-time Wreck. Old residents of Stewart Island sometimes speak of the remains of a wrecked barque on Mason's Beach seen over 50 years ago. One old

resident who was mentioned as having seen the remains told the "Southland Daily News" correspondent that he viewed the wreck only once as a boy. Apparently in those days visits to Maeona Bay were of rare occurrence, When he saw the vceeel, only the stern was showing out of the sand, and the name printed was '•Candid." The sands of Mason's Beach quickly swallowed up any heavy objects, and no trace of the ship could be seen in later years. The history of the unfortunate ship was not known, and it may have been a derelict come to its last resting place. Rare Nativd Plant. New Zealand has a native plant, the Oloaria Haastii, which is much more easily found in Great Britain than in the Dominion. It is thought that early explorers eent some of the shrub's seeds back to England, where it lias been . propagated until it is quite common in eome parts of Scotland. The only hope one lias of , seeing the shrub in Now Zealand is to scale eome of the high peaks in the Southern Alps ! Iheso facts were stated by Mr. T. L Lancaster v head of the botany department of the Auckland University College, during a lecture yesterday afternoon. The shrub grows to a height of 3ft, < and bears a profusion of small white flowers i -Mr. Lancaster had never seen the blant until !ie visjted Scotland, where it thrived well He had seen a hedge of the shrub round a cottage \ at Loch Lomond. Xo popular name has be?n given to the shrub. Unique Rugby Match. * In the blessed name of charity, the Rii"by r and League codes at Hikurangi "ceased .their I rivalry for a day to stage a match, played under i League rules, between Hikurangi Rugby team c the champions of the Whangarei Club compoti- i tion, and Hikurangi League team, the champion o League club team of Northland. The Rugby team r won by 4 points (two goals) to 0 (a try), and 1 through the medium of a large attendance of r, followers of both codes the St. John Ambulance -Hngiuio funds should benefit considerably from the "gate." Such matches between the* rival ( JKugby codes have frequently been mooted in New' Zealand, but this is the iiret official instance of one having been played, as under the rules of the Rugby Union it k "not done," and renders players taking the field in a 13-a-eide match liable to disqualification from further Union usefulness. S 1) "Scotch" Whisky From Japan. P Japanese distillers are said to be ready to „■ flood the United States with synthetic "Scotch" tl whisky as soon an that country is declared I „ officially 'wet." Japanese scientists are proud k ol tnoir ability to reproduce any product made „ m Great Britain. By chemical processes they ' have manufactured a liquid they compare with w ■Scotch wluskv, and to make the illinibn as com- Z tUotc.as poesioie they have reproduced the shapes +i of the bottles of well-known brands with label.? n, s osely resembling in dosign, wording and colour ,' tlioso now used by British distillers l n r.-jilv to wotoßte that the copyright law is being infringed, ? ■hoy .state they have no copyright law. I, Probably America has liad for eonie time past jxpenencc of certain concoctions called under the iKiiiie of whisky, and will prefer real "Scotch" ") .o the chemical output from*.Japan

Work of Lady Frances Kyder.. ' Many a young Xew Zealand University student who has gone t o England remembers to speak with gratitude, even affection, of Lady Frances Ryder, who has done so much in a social way for visiting young men and women. The ligurcs following speak for themselves of the work she is doing. They refer to the period from Juno 1, 1932, to May 31, 1933: —Country visits arranged, 77-1; introductions (overseas people'to hnetcisso3 in Great Britain), 382; calls paid to Lady Ryder's .rooms (men 2932, women 10S1), 4C13; private invitations, dances and expeditions, 751)4; letters and various messages sent out, 17,09.3; overseas men and women introduced, 712. '"The most, salient point in connection with the statistics," says, the circular giving the figures, "is the enormous number of calls paid at Lady Frances Ryder's rooms. The figure has'gone up by 1S")9, which is by far the largest stop forward in the history of the work, and proves very definitely what a haven of refuge the rooms have been to many depressed and disappointed men and girls who came over expecting to find work, and for weeks and months found themselves members of the great army of unemployed."