NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 259, 3 November 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Cricket Team For New Zealand. The crickct writer of the "Sunday Sun," Sydney, forecasts that an Australian cricket team will be sent to New Zealand next February if satisfactory financial arrangements can "be made. The team will be composed of the Australian second line after the Test players have been chosen, and will probably include former internationals. The Church and Capitalism. During some observations on the relation of the Church and religion to the Labour movement <it Whitley Church (Waikato), the Rev. Frederick Copeland remarked that it had sometimes been charged against the Church that it was an institution of the capitalists. The answer to that charge, he said, could be found by taking a look in the collection plates on any Sunday. Quest For Trout. With the opening of the fishing season some attention lias been directed by Auckland anglers to the Manga tan gi and Mangatawhiri streams, in the Pokeno district. Both streams rise in the ranges and flow towards the Waikato River, the Mangatangi jimctioning with the Mangamarua on the way. _ So far fishing in both streams has been disappointing. A few trout of small size have been taken, while one Auckland angler spent the day in the district without any reward.

Issue of Cheap Boots. A further extension of the Unemployment Board's scheme for the supply of boots on easy terms to relief workers is announced (says the "Star's" Parliamentary reporter). The issue of boots is to be extended to men employed under the farm camp scheme (4D). As the workers engaged under this scheme are employed for a full week, there will be no necessity for them to work extra time as a "means of payment of the amount required, nor will the restrictions regarding the 20 weeks' registration apply. Mission Funds. The annual report of the Auckland Missionary Association states that during the year £1128 had been passed on through the association to various missions, which was an increase of £SOO on the previous year's total. The amount for missions was augmented through an anonymous donor, who offered through the association a £5 subsidy for every £5 donation given in New Zealand within a certain time, up to a total of £300, to help one of the affiliated missions. Even apart from the special offer there was a large inerease.

Stretching It. "A man interviewed me the other day who claimed that he could make two gallons of tar out of one," the Mayor informed the Blenheim Borough Council. '"I was sceptical, but he assured me he could do it, and was prepared to prove it. Of course, I have heard of making two gallons of milk out of one, but this multiplication of tar is a new thing." Mr. J. Weymss, chairman of the gas committee, said he had not met the man referred to. "However," lio added humorously, "we tried the same thing at the gas works, but we are now doing the opposite, by taking all the \va.ter out of our tar!"

An Estate In Scotland* About four years ago Mr. William Cochrane McLauclilan, one of the "red caps" at the Dunedin station, went to Scotland for identification purposes, holding a power of attorney for his fatiier, Mr. J. C. McLailchlan, who is claimant of the Clippcns estate as next-of-kin to the late Dr. Peter Cochrane, and as such entitled to be 'the heir. The case has now ripened, and the claimant and his son propose to return to Scotland as soon as the necessary expenses are provided to confer with the legal firm that has the matter in hand. The land in the estate consists of two properties, 1122 acres in the parish of Winroc, Renfrewshire, near Paisley, and 900 acres in Ayrshire.

Lights Out. The corridors of a night school are usually sacred to the personal confidences of the scholars, but in one city school last night the corridors were converted into classrooms. Scholars had just settled down in the classrooms to the routine of shorthand, typing and other speed tests when all the _ lights, failed. Clearly the trouble was with the house switch, for the corridor lights remained on, having, by special dispensation of the wiremen, been connected with a separate section of the switchboard. So desks, seats and other paraphernalia were shifted to the corridor, where the evening's tests were concluded.

Comprehensive, Anyway. One hears some quaint forms of address in Court, particularly from persons unaccustomed to its procedure. Some Maoris find perplexity in the way in which they are expected to speak to the judge, often adding a tinge of colour to the comparatively colourless situations which frequently arise. _ A Maori was asked by the clerk of the Napier Supreme Court whether he had anything to say why sentence of the Court should not be passed upon him. The Maori began: "Your Honor, jury and Court, ladies ami gentlemen," to the accompaniment of the subdued merriment of everyone within hearing. "Cabbage, White." Three elderly and much-respected citizens in pursuit of one small butterfly presented an unusual spectacle for the delectation of Remuera residents the other evening. The cause of all the commotion was the butterfly, which was suspected of being of the "Cabbage, white" variety. Citizen number one had seen it hovering near a row of cabbages in his garden, and, having rca 1 something about the destructive habits of this particular butterfly, decided that it must be caught, in order to be identified as "Cabbage, white," or to be acquitted of guilty intent. He breathlessly informed his neighbours about all this, and the hunt was up. After a strenuous chase, during which two heads came into collision, the butterfly was caught beneath a Panama hat, and laboriously secured. Then came anti-climax, for citizen number one wasn't quite sure whether the insect ought to have spots on its wings or not. To settle all argument, the butterfly flew away.

"America" and Canada. Periodically sonic Canadian sits down in wrath to pen a letter to his favourite newspaper denouncing the widespread use of the noun "America" and the adjective ''American,-' but particularly the former, as applied to the "United States and its people (writes an Ottawa correspondent). America, lie points out, includes Canada and Mexico, in the Northern section, and a score of other countries if the great Southern section is added. Perhaps the editor is equally indignant, but more often he points out that in this case common usage throughout the world is stronger than" geography, and whether Canadians like it or not there isn't much they can do about the situation. In the United States "America" is used as a matter of course, and its use in the same meaning is common among statesmen and writers of the Uhited Kingdom. jSTot infrequently it appears even in Canadian newspapers. It is not possible to secure from "The United States" an adjectival derivative by which to designate a citizen of that republic, and so by international custom lie is called an American, and no doubt will continue to be so called. Canadians, as a matter of fact, do not want to be called Americans. They are satisfied with their national names, and would not alter them if they could.

The Maori Way. The Maori has solved tlie problem of driving the pig to market. At Tolaga Bay a few days ago a Maori was seen walking i» front of two pigs, which seemed to be quite happy to follow. A passing motorist was surprised at this, and was interested in the Maori's magic, which, on drawing closer, proved to be two cobs of maize tied to a piece of string and kept moving just out of reach of the pigs.

Matanra's Irrepressible M.P. "When I return to the South and people ask me, 'What do you think of Napier, and how is it populated?' I shall reply that it is populated with Scotsmen, because the whisky is most excellent," remarked Mr. D. McDougall, M.P. for Mataura. "I visited the baths this morning and saw some bonny bathers, so I shall say to my friends, 'Here's a town that none surpasses', for honest men and bonny lasses,'" added Mr. McDougall, amidst laughter. The Team Spirit. Russia has learned a good deal from the. defects and merits in school systems of othei countries, said Dr. ,T. D. Salmond during an address to the Napier Rotary Club. The Soviet has taught to Russian children only those games which were team games, in true line with the Communistic theory of cooperating with other members of the group. Gaines promoted for the benefit of the individualist —golf, tennis and so forth —were frowned upon by the Soviet, he said. Pohutukawas In Bud. "Tree Lover" writes: "Tliougli_ the weather at the moment is not propitious for summer, I notice one good omen. Some of the pohutukawas are already beginning to bud. There is one in Albert Park, just near the Kitchener Street end of the Art Callerv, near the fence, on which the buds are quite well advanced. Some of these trees flower much earlier than others, and trees that have flowered early one year seem to do the same in succeeding ycare."

A Gentle Hint. A Grevmouth tradesman lias adopted a novel scheme to stop his employees wasting their time on morning and afternoon tea. In his workshop he has put up the following printed notice, "The staff and visitors' : "This is a workshop, not a restaurant. In future eat sufficient at home, and work like while you are here. I pay you wages for your work, so that you can go home and eat; not pay you to eat, and then go home and sleep. Failure to observe this request means instant dismissal." New Zealand's Only Marathon. The only full-length Marathon race tliat| has ever been run in New Zealand was con-] ducted by the Wellington Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic and Cycling Association, according to a statement made by Mr. J. W. Heenan at the annual meeting of I the Wellington Centre. Mr. Heenan said that the race took place in November, 1909, from the Basin Reserve to Mason's Gardens at Taita and back. The winner, a man named] Thompson, of the Audit Office, covered the distance in two hours 58 minutes. Tn support of his contention that such races did no harm, Mr. Heenan remarked that the competitors in that Marathon had only a couple of months' training, and yet all were still alive and flourishing. Helping a Russian Child. Contributions in response to the appeal made by the Red Cross Society in Wellington for funds to pay passage and other expenses in order to bring a child from Russia to its parents in New Zealand recently reached £90. The spirit of self-sacrifice on the part of children was shown by the following letter:— "The Waituna Sunday school children are interested in the case of thj young girl you are endeavouring to assist with passage money, etc., to enable her to leave Russia and join her parents here. Enclosed please find postal note for 10/. The children have decided to forgo prizes this year and send the money in aid of the fund."

An Ambitious Gold Miner. It is essential for every prospector working under the gold subsidy scheme to forward to the nearest branch of the Labour Department a plan of the claim he proposes to work, and he cannot move off the claim as given on the plan without notification. One prospector, evidently desiring to keep on the one claim, and yet apparently anxious to prospect more widely, recently surprised a West Coast official when he sent in his plan. It embraced Kumara, Bell Hill and the Kopara, an area pi many square miles. It might have been difficult to move off the claim to another on the West Coast in lees than a week. The only drawback was that no claim under the subsidy may be more than 10,000 square feet in area.

Chasing a Hurricane. The motor ship Winton, which arrived yesterday afternoon from Xew York, via the Gulf of Mexico, was on the tail-end of dirty weather in that region about a month ago. The hurricane, which wrecked the seaport of Tampico, struck two days before the Winton was near the town. The vessel did not call at Tampico, but on her way across to Galveston, Texas, she practically followed the track of the storm. Tampico streets were completely under water after the hurricane, and every building was damaged by wind or flood waters. Several ships were marooned at the port, owing to the silting up of the harbour entrance, eo the Winton was fortunate that she did not have to call there, as is usual when ships are bound from New York to New Zealand via the Gulf of Mexico. Children's Defective Eyesight. . Dr. Elizabeth Gunn, medical inspector of schools for the Wanganui district, who is inspecting the various classes at the Te Kuiti School, commented that too many children had defective eyesight unattended to, and unless treated at the right time these defects would become serious. She pointed out that owing to defective eyesight even bright children might become nervous and backward, both in the classroom and on the plaj'ing field, and they thus lost heart. It was also found tliat a number of children were suffering from enlargement of the thyroid gland. In spite of articles in the Press and the activities of medical inspectors, it was found, according to the children, that the use of iodised salt in the home was almost unknown in the district. The daily use of salt for table and household purposes was held by authorities to prevent incipient goitre and to cure goitre already present.

Maori Shyness. Auckland Press photographers suffered a great disappointment at the recent funeral of the two old Maori chiefs at Orakei. It was learned early in the afternoon that the new young "king" of the Maoris would be present, and attempts were made to photograph him. However, "King" Koroki te Wherowhero had other ideas on the matter, and kept very much to himself during the ceremonies. No one saw him, and it is believed that he spent the afternoon in a hut by himself. The efforts of an aged relative of the king, who was anxious that Koroki should he photographed, failed to persuade him from hia hiding place. Numerous plates were wasted on various jnembers of the colony in an effort to prove that no ill effects would result from being photographed, but after a couple of hours the pressmen left with many pictures of the Maoris of the Orakei village, but not one of Koroki. It was not pointed out to him that the King cf England docs not object to being photographed. |