NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 27, 1 February 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Justices of the Peace. The Minister of .Justice, the Hon. J. Gr. Cobbc, in replying to the sujrgeetion that recommendations should l>e obtained from local bodies regarding appointment of justices of the peace, informed the Birkenhead Borough Council that this could not bo adopted, and there was no reasou to depart from the practice followed.

Wairau Estuary. The Takapuna Borough Council has ap-j proved the terms of an agreemnt with the Devonport Steam Ferry Company in connection with improvements in the Wairau estuary. This involves a modified scheme of improvement, by which a retaining wall will be built in the estuary, and the reclamation of an area behind the wall. Later a swimming pool will be constructed. Auckland Vital Statistics. Compared with the month of January last year, there was an all-round increase in Auckland in births, deaths and marriages for the month which ended yesterday. The figures for the month were as follows (the figures for January, 103;?. being given in parentheses): — Births," 233 (201); deaths, 155 (124); marriages, 166 (155). Last month 41 couples were married by the registrar, compared with 44 in January twelve months a^o. Japanese Enterprise. Prominently labelled 5n red, "Arawa Maori," a safety matchbox was shown a journalist yesterday. Underneath was a coloured representation of a wahine holding a cooking basket in a hot stream. Inconspicuous in a bottom corner weve the words, ".Made in Japan." A similar appeal, per means of kangaroo labels, to Australian sentiment has been oliserrablc in Japanese-made matches-. Apparently no means of pushing trade is overlooked by the Japanese. Better Off in Bed. Stating that he was one of those men who took no stock in school attendance certificates and never would, Mr. J. Wallace, chairman of the Otago Education Board, contended at a meeting of the board that people should be satisfied to know that their children were in good health. Although they would Ix; far better off in bed, children sometimes went to school for the simple reason that they wished to say they had never missed. Prime Minister Saws Wood. At the Browns Sports, Southland, spectators were privileged to see the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, in a new role. At the request of Mr. T. O'Bryne he shed his coat and Ministerial dignity, and with Mr. O'Bryne" gave the crowd an exhibition of log sawing. Mr. O'Bryne was himself a woodsman of repute some years ago, and waxed enthusiastic over the prowess of Mr. Forbes, slyly insinuating that he had missed his vocation. Patriotic Funds. The difficulty of securing the release of patriotic funds 'to provide comforts for exservicemen in mental hospitals was the subject of some comment at last night's meeting of the Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association. It was stated that although patriotic funds had been lent to individuals and to public bodies whose ability to repay was doubtful, it was not possible to obtain even a few pounds for patients in mental hospitals. The Public Trustee administered the pensions of such men, and he could not release any money until the discharge or death of the patient. It was decided to refer the question to a committee appointed to investigate the position of patriotic funds throughout the Dominion. Cleaning Takapuna Mains. After much discussion at a special meeting of the Takapuna Borough Council last evening, it was decided to flush out a test portion of the water mains in the borough. Mr. J. Waddell said that the objection that had been raised by the works committee to the expense of cleaning the mains was overruled by the urgent need of action. Action would have to be taken at once to improve the condition of the mains and to find out whether the water or the reticulation was at fault. Authority was then given to the committee to adopt, if. it thought fit. the recommendation of the foreman, Mr. F. Finch, for the frequent flushing of mains and the fitting of valves for the purpose. The sum of £2.30 was voted for use in the experimental flushing. Napier Harbour Increase. "It is very gratifying to see another increase last month," remarked the chairman of the Napier Harbour Board, Mr. T. M. Geddis, when commenting at Monday's board meeting on the fact that the earnings for the month of December showed an improvement over the figures for December, 1032. "It is gratifying that the trade of the port of Napier, despite the difficulties encountered since the earthquake, is being satisfactorily maintained, and that there have been welcome increases in trade in successive months. The month just completed has been a very heavy one for the stafF. There have been many boats in the roadstead and at the Breakwater —as many as five or six boats at the Breakwater at once, with one boat waiting for a berth. It must be very satisfactory to the board and to the district to see that, despite the difficulties, the trade of the port is being carried on." A Mutual Surprise. A house owner in an Auckland suburb which enjoys the double distinction of being one of the most desirable residential areas and a favoured hunting ground of burglars had. the efficiency of the police surveillance brought home to him this morning. Returning on Monday night to his home, which, the local constable had been keeping an'eye on, he found that he had misplaced the. key. The hour was late, and he had no choice but break one of the windows to gain entrance. This he did with the efficiency of the cracksmen, apparently, for the neighbours close by were not disturbed. Unfortunately he forgot to notify the police next day that he had returned from his holiday, and that the window had not been renewed. 11l the small hours this morning he suddenly awakened to .find his room a blaze of light and a man in blue in his bedroom. The surprise was mutual. The constable, it is hardly necessary to add, attracted by the broken window, had gained an entrance, and w'as in quest of the intruder. Returned Soldiers. The Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association hopes to increase its membership to 2500 this year.. It was reported at the quarterly meeting last evening that there had been an increase' of 650 for the three months ended December 31, bringing the strength up to 2381. Shortage of funds had been responsible for the cancellation of the medical scheme, which had been run in conjunction with the City Mission clinic since May, 1933. Negotiations had since been entered into with the St. John Ambulance Association in the hope that certain Red Cross funds might be made available for the purpose. "If the Auckland share of interest on these funds can be secured, there will be enough to provide free medical treatment for all ex-servicemen in need," said Mr. J. W. Kendall, acting-president. A motion was carried protesting against the action of the Minister of Internal Affairs in ordering the cancellation of naturalisation papers in the -Tamasovic case, and another expressing strong opposition to the sending of ex-soldiers to relief camps, J

Lasts Well in Scotland

An unusual tribute to the quality of New Zealand cheese has been received by a 'Hawera resident, who recently sent a South Taranaki factory-made cheese to a relative in Scotland. In reply to an inquiry from the sender regarding the keeping quality of the cheese, the Scottish recipient replied: "It kept all right to the very .end. It must have la-sted for the best part of two years."

Good Spenders in North Island. "I consider tlie standard of living in the North Island its higher than that in the South ( Island," said a visitor to Timaru the other day. He remarked that the people in the North probably did not have any mor.e money than those in the South, but they seemed to spend more. "The hire-purchase system is 'all the rage up North, and I believe you could even buy a hammer this way." Making the Best of It. Foxton's unemployed have formed a cooperative society, and are handling the distribution of groceries, meat and milk among themselves. Members were addressed on behalf of the New Zealand co-operative movement. The society has been formed on sound business lines, and is reported to be progressing. It is announced that the society intends to create a distress fund from profits for the benefit of members. Located in Auckland. The Auckland police yesterday located in the city two girls, aged 17 and 15, who were reported missing from their homes in Wellington since January 22. The girls set out to walk from- Wellington to Auckland and arrived in Auckland on Sunday last, after receiving occasional lifts by motorists on the way. On arrival here they got into touch with Major Annie Gordon, of the Salvation Army, who arranged accommodation for them. This week one of the girls secured employment. Sign of Upheaval. An unusual occurrence was noted in the Motueka Harbour on Wednesday last week, when at low tide, at 11.30 o'clock, the height of the tide was Oft 9in, when in ordinary circumstances it should have been 3ft lOin. At the turn of the tide it rose to 7ft 4in, and immediately it fell again to just under 7ft, after which the normal process of making followed. In the experience of the harbourmaster such occurrences as this have either preceded or followed some earthquake upheaval, similar conditions prevailing after the Murchison and Napier earthquakes. Oars Burnt. An unfortunate incident following the Wanganui Regatta was the destruction by fire of a number of oars and sculls, the property of the three Wellington clubs. Ihe damage occurred while boats and oars were being returned by rail to Wellington, and was caused by sparks from the engine igniting the scrim in which the blades were packed. The Star Boating Club had two oars and two sculls so badly burnt that they were unfit for further use. A number of other oars were partially burned. The Petone and Wellington Clulis sustained the loss of three oars and two sculls respectively. Other oars belonging to these two clubs were partially burned. Jazzing of " Auld Lang Syne." " 'Auld Lang Syne' is the moat abused song that was ever written," declared Mr. W. Wood at Christchurcli, in making art appeal for the preservation of what he claimed to be the most frequentlv-sun? song in the world. "There is never a carousal broken up but they sing it; there is never a mothers' meeting but they sing it. I would not mind so much if they really did sing it; but they do not. They sing the first verse and then they get tired and jump into jazz. 'Auld Lang Syne' was written to bind Scotsmen the world over. It was never written to be abused, and I appeal to you to preserve the language and the meaning of one of the greatest songs we have." The; Hardy Pioneers. In the course of his remarks at the Fernhills School jubilee, Mr. R. J. Anderson said that on one occasion he went to visit Mr. Michael Murphy, the only surviving member of the original committee of sfeven, says the "Southland Times." Mr. Murphy, who is between 80 and 00 years of age, was engaged at the time in ploughing a niece of land, while Mrs. Murphy, who is but little younger than her husband, was busy making butter from the milk of eight or nine cows, which she milked daily herself. In addition to doing his own team work, Mr. Murphy still shears his flock and sows his own crops. Such people as these, Mr. Anderson stated, were responsible for the present prosperity and self-reliance of the Fernhills settlers. Birkenhead Vehicular Traffic. During portions of the days on which the Takapuna races were held, the vehicular steamer on the Birkenhead and Northcote service was run to Northcote only. Objection was taken at the meeting of the Birkenhead Borough Council last evening to this practice on certain holidays. It was pointed out that the time-table to Birkenhead was ignored on such occasions and the traffic diverted to Northcote. It was agreed to write to the Auckland Harbour Board, requesting direction of how to proceed to ensure the observance of a satisfactory time-table for Birkenhead vehicles. Mr. F. Morris put forward the suggestion that the Minister of Transport should be requested to place the Devonport Ferry Company under the jurisdiction of the Transport Board in respect to enforcing a proper time-table and service. Quite Frank and Friendly. There was a delightful air of frankness and nonchalance in the attitude of an elderly defendant who appeared at the Hastings Police Court, charged with riding his bicycle on a footpath. "The traffic inspector was only doing his duty in pulling me up," he said, "and I don't blame him at all. My reason for riding on the footpath was that I wanted to get away from the dust of motor traffic and to save my tyres. But if the inspector is going to chase me, then I had better stick to the roads." "We admire your good resolutions," said Mr. F. C. Wilkinson, •J.P., who was one of the presiding justices. "Make the fine as easy as you can, Mr. Wilkinson," said the defendant. "Things are pretty bad just now." The ingenuous request found the ijustices in a kindly mood, and the defendant was ordered to pay only 10/ to cover Court costs. Business Revival in U.S.A. A letter from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to a Dunedm firm contains some encouraging news, states the "Star's" Dunedin •correspondent. Flock owners of California, Utah, Nevada and other Western ■ States are joyous over the advance in wool prices at the New Zealand sales, and it: is noted that America is increasing its. wool importing because of the revival in manufacturing. Inquiry from New Zealand as to. how soon certain manufactured articles could be supplied was answered that goods would be dispatched on the return trip' of the vessel that brought the letter. Renewed confidence' as to business generally is indicated by recent sales on "Dollar Day" in Los Angeles. Stores joined in offering special bargains for one dollar, and it is estimated that 5,000,000 6ales were made on this one day. The crowds were so large that some stores had difficulty in handling business, j