NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 118, 21 May 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Inviolable Tongue. "The racial and cultural variations are the very things in the world which make life worth living," declared Bishop West-Wateon at a meeting of the League of Nations Union in Christchurch. "These things we want to keep in an international world. Who would like to hear the Ybrkshirenian and the Cockney speaking the saino tongue?" he asked. "'What about the Scotsman?" a member of the audience asked. , ''The Scotsman's tongue is inviolable," said the bishop. Briefly Disposed. A circular letter from the Palmerston North City Council, protesting against the introduction of sustenance payments in Palmereton Noi'th and elsewhere, an<l asking for support in the matter, was briefly disposed of at a meeting of the Ilutt County Council. "I think there is far too much criticism of the Unemployment Board," said the chairman, Mr. D. R. Hoggard. "They have a big job to do, and they do their best. I think we should just receive the letter." Without further comment this course was adopted.

Orakei Approaches. Strong dissatisfaction was expressed at a meeting of residents of the Orakei garden suburb on Saturday afternoon at the neglect of the various approaches to the suburb, and it was decided to draw the attention of the Auckland City Council to the dangerous nature of the paths and steps giving access from Tamaki Drive. It was stated that the steps were difficult to negotiate in daylight, and that the path ran through heavy undergrowth. Rougher roads could not be found in any other district in the city area. Schools Reopen. The second term of the year for the primary schools of Auckland began to-day after a two weeks' vacation. Most of the secondary schools and technical schools in the province and city observe the same holidays as the primary schools, and those which did not reopen to-day will do so to-morrow. Owing to extensive building operations, the Seddon Memorial Technical College will not reopen until next Monday for either tjay or evening classes. The Grammar SeJioole resume work to-morrow.

His Fatal Beauty. A hurst of laughter was caused in the Invercargill City Police Court by a reply from couneel representing a defendant in a Sunday trading case to a question from the Bench. It was remarked that the defendant, a woman, had sold a packet of cigarettes on a Sunday to a constable. "What made her sell the cigarettes 1" asked Mr. E. C. Levvey, S.M. "Sho wouldn't have, but she eaid the constable was such a nice-looking man," replied counsel, Mr. Gorman Reed. Even tho Bench smiled. Auckland Loans Conversion. A special meeting of tho Auckland City Council will be held next Thursday to paea a resolution authorising the issue of new securities in conversion of the 'debentures or other securities in respect of loans aggregating £1,707,275 comprised in the first schedule of the Auckland City Loans Conversion Order, 1034. The new securities will bo iseiied and the conversion effected in terms of the conversion order, 1934, with the proviso that the council reserves tho right to exercise the powers contained in clause 1C (1) of euch order by stipulating in respect of new securities maturing after the firet day of January. 1944, for their redemption at tho option of the council at such earlier date as the council may specify.

Abbreviated Lunch Hour. At the height of the mid-day rush on 'Friday, a failure of the Wellington city power eupply caused complete stoppage of .trams and general dislocation and inconvenience to firme and private houses dependent upon electricity for lighting and power. The cause of the failure was the breaking of a copper tubo connection, due to the high wind, at the Khandallah eub-station, and the power was restored after a delay of 18 minutes. Coming just after 12.30 p.m., the break caught many shop and office workers in trains en route for the usual hurried lunch at home, and they made a delayed appearance at home to find the lunch also delayed by the same cause, with the result that the mid-day refreshment had to be cut down to. the historic "cup of tea and a. kiss." The King's Fault. His Majesty the King was, unknowingly, the cause of a number of gueste being absent from the jubilee dinner held in London by the Waitaki High School Old Boye' Association. The circumstances were humorously narrated to a gathering of the Christchurch branch by Dr. a". J. Harrop, a member of the London committee. In describing the dinner, Dr. Harrop mentioned an imposing gucfit list, and said that Lord Jellicoe, Lord Rutherford and Sir, William Bird wood would also have been present had it not been that the dinner coincided with a Royal Court. "It was not our fault," said "Dr. Harrop. "It was the King's, for we had arranged our dinner before the King fixed the date of Court. Of course, there is no doubt that Hie Majesty had not heard about our dinner." Friend or Foe?

An irritating feature of the ManukauCollego Kiflee match alt Eden Park on Saturday was tlie similarity in the coloiire worn by these teams. Manukau, in black jerseye fincl an indistinct grey hoop and black and white hooped socks, were in the scrummages indistinguishable from their opponents, in near-bl£iek jerseys and dark eocke with white tops. Spectators found it difficult to sort out the teams, and from several incidents observed tho players, too, were often at a loss to distinguish friend from foe. Perfect passes were more than once eent to the- opposition, and several forward passes were unseen by the referee, who was no doubt also confused. An amusing incident, which can be directly attributed to the similarity in colours, occurred when Heazlcwood, the Manukau fullback, took a mark, and vigorously fended off one of liis own' men, whom he thought was rushing him down. One gentleman on the terraces expressed himself in no uncertain terms. "The Rugby Union ought to have foreseen this mix-up," he declared. And then with a smile: "It's worse than watching a horse race without field glasses."

The Cautious Traveller. A Maori carrying a bulky parcel of blankets caused a good deal of fun in a motor bus at the week-end. It was raining very heavily, and lie would insist, despite the fact that the bus was crowded with passengers, in laying the parcel down on the seat beside him. He said he did not want to lose sight of his parcel, because he had read in the papers about a couple of weeks before that the poor j people of the city were short of blankets and that 2000 pairs were needed. Ever since he had read about it, every night when he went to bed he had felt very cold, and he thought he was one of those who wanted more blankets. That morning he had sold his fowle and got a good price for them, so that he was enabled to buy the blankets. He did not want to lose sight of them now he had them, for with 2000 wanting them it might be very easy to lose them. In these days it was every" man for himself, mid one did not know who luh neighbour in the bue might be. He would sooner do without egys than be cold at night, and, ae the pumpkin and kuinara crops had been good ones this season, he had plenty of "kai" and plenty of blankets, and what more did any man want than that, till Ngata I or Gordon Goates brought back good times 1 again*, ".j ■ _

Public Telephone Sought. Callers at all hours of the day and ~igi.t with a request to use the telephone have been a source of trouble to residents of the Orakei garden suburb, who have decided to ask the Poet and Telegraph Department to supply a public telephone for the district. Memorial Light Plate Stolen. A particularly despicable theft was- referred to by the electrical engineer _ in his report to the Timaru Borough Council this week, when lie stated that the brass inscription plate which wan attached to the electric light Standard on top of which stands the Wrecks Memorial light, on Benvenuo Cliffs, had been removed from . the concrete base. The screws also had been taken. The committee decided to refer the information to the police for investigation.

Overseas Mails Expected. Within the next week- three ships are expected from overseas with mails for New Zealand. The Wanganella, due from Sydney to-morrow evening, has 103 bag* of Australian mail and 35 bags of parcels for Auckland, and a total of 517 for New Zealand. The Mataroa, expected on Thursday at Wellington from London, has 380 bags of English mail and 22j bags of parcels for New Zealand. The Maungiinni is due from San Francisco at Wellington next -Monday with IGB bags of English and American mail and 12 bugs of parcels for Auckland. Limiting Taxis. When the question of granting new taxi drivers' licenses in Mastertou came up at the borough council meeting last week, the Mayor said that there were five or eix ratepayers trying to get a living with their taxis. Are we BoinK to allow outsiders to come in? he aeked. "Are we going to restrict the number of taxis or license as many as apply 1" Messrs. Barr and Russell said that they considered t ie number should be restricted to local people. Mr Free said that the present number was ample. Mr. Barr moved and Mr. seconded that the three men who applied be refused licenses. The motion was carried. Abolishing Factories?

Quality was the first essential of dairy produce, said Mr. C. G. C. Dernier at the annual meeting of the Cheltenham Co-opera-tive Dairy Company. He commented that the dairy industry had dragged along on parochial lines for 50 yeare, and factories had been competing with one another for supply. Factories took poor supply butter rather than divert it to another place. Probably 50 per cent of the factories operating in Jfew Zealand could quite well be abolished. Xow wan the opportunity, which might never occur again, of placing the industry on a sound basis.

" Forget-me-not Day." A street collection will be held next Friday on behalf of the Auckland Community Suntshine Association. During the past nine months, for which the association's health camp lias been open at Motuihi Island, over SOO children have passed through it. J. he camp will be reopened in December. More than 1700 children have been affected by the association's various activities in the past season, including the largely-attended evening classes for boys at the Nelson Street school, at which attendance now totals 45. Friday's collection will signalise what has come to bo known here as "Forget-me-not Day." A Hawera Cyclone. Shortly after 0 o'clock cm Tuesday evening Inst week tlie residents t#" Ohawe Beach settlement, Hawera, experienced the effects of a minor cyclone, which swept inland on a narrow path from the sea, accompanied by torrential rain. The residence of ill". A. H. Mulligan was completely unroofed, and the sheet iron carried a distance of 20yds. The next building in the path of the storm was an iron shed on the property of Mr. E. Bray. It was demolished. An unoccupied cottage alao had the roof lifted. Several tanks were blown down, and garagee were shifted off their foundations. A section of a boxthorn hedge is reported to have been lifted bodily out of the ground. Quick Work. Erection of a new school at Mangapurua Valley, Wanganui River, one of the isolated spots within the Wanganui Education Board's district, was carried out in something like record time. Mr. E. It. Hodge, architect to tho board, hud the structure built in the board's yard, conveyed 100 miles, and the job wiis done within a week. lA letter was received by tho board from the committee at Mangapurua expressing appreciation of the work of the architect and carpenters. A very fine school had been provided, the letter stated. Tlicre was a need, however, for a shelter shed. The board decided that euch should be erected. Mr. J. Aitken: "A committee that writes like that will get anything." Mr. M. 11. Oram: "Wifciin reason, Mr. Aitken."

Port Sydney's Voyage. Suflicient coal for the round voyiigc from Tyne to New Zealand ports and back to Kngliuid was loaded before the Commonwealth and Dominion Lino steamer Port Sydney left Great Britain. She arrived hero on Saturday night, after a non-stop run from Xewcastle-on-Tyne, the passage taking 49 days. The vessel is in ballast, and started the trip with 0000 tons of coal in her bunkers. It is unusual for a vessel to tiavel the .13,000 miles from England to Xew Zealand without making a call for bunkers en route. The Port Sydney experienced a generally good-weather passage, except for the last three days, when a south-west galo and high following seas were encountered. She is to load Xew Zealand produce for London and West Coast porte of Great Britain.

The " Gas Cure." An amusing incident occurred during the sitting of the Conciliation Council at Waihi, on which it was facetiously alleged by one of the oflicials that as a protest against the prolonged deliberations of the council someone had decided to apply the "gas cure." The council sat in the borough chamber*, in which burned a gas lire, and all the windows were closed. When the- council resumed after luncheon on Friday the chamber was found to be full of gas, and an investigation showed that the tap of an extension on the gas fire 3iad been turned on, with the result that for nearly two hours the gas had had free outlet. The culprit turned out to bo the Conciliation Commissioner himself, 'Mr. P. Hally, who, being the last to leave the room at the adjournment, had inadvertently opened the tap of the extension, thinking that he was turning off the gas fire. Royal Family and Spurgeon. In calling upon Lord Bledisloe. to read the lesson at the Spurgeon centenary ■ service in. the Town Hall last night, the Rev. Dr. J. J. North, who presided, said his Excellency had expressed a desire to take part in the service, and Baptists all felt that that desire was in harmony with the practice of His Majesty the King. When the British national celebration, over which Mr. Ramsay ilacDonald presided, was held , in the Royal Albert Hall, King George, as a mark of his sympathy, had had the Royal box opened for line on the occasion. There was on the platform last night, said Dr. North, one who as an elder of Spurgeon's Tabernacle had ushered Queen Mary to her seat whfeli she attended a service there. 11l Spurgeon's archives there was a letter from Queen Alexandra to the great preacher, telling him that in tho Duke of Clarence's fatal illness she had react to him one of Spurgeon's sermons, which had' greatly comforted him. The Royal Family had thus throughout the yeare shown itd interest in the great Baptist leaden *■ ■