NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 134, 8 June 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Farm Interest Rates

"It is generally admitted that throughout the world there is likely to be a period of low interest rates, and it seems probable that «e in New Zealand shall see money lent out at lower rates than have ever been experienced here," said Mr. Norton Francis, speaking at the Mid-Canterbury Farmers' Union Conference. "Nothing will benefit the farmer to-day more than a further reduction in his interest payments, as the latter on so many farms is the biggest item on its budget," lie added.

Meat on Special Train Journey. The unusual procedure of sending a special trainload of frozen meat from Wellington to Auckland to be loaded into a'.i overseas vessel was taken last week-end. lhe consignment filled nine vans, ami left Wellington at 3.4."> p.m. on Saturday, and on Monday it was loaded into the Avelona Star. The meat is part of a shipment that was to be placed on the Avelona Star at Wellington, where the vessel had been loading. Owing to rain which fell in Wellington delaying work, it was not possible to complete the loading there and maintain the vessel's schedule. Museum Windows Design. The sketch design for the proposed stained glass windows in the shrine of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, prepared by the well-known artist, Mr. A. T>. Ward, has arrived in Auckland from Enghhid. and was considered at yesterday's meeting of the roll of honour committee. The committee decided to submit the sketch to the council of the Auckland Institute and Museum and also to other persons whose opinions it was desired to obtain, before any action wa~ taken. The Giant Wellingtonia. A Nelson visitor to Palmerston North remarked with pleasure to a local journalist upon the fact that, among the now closelvbuilt portions of Broadway, a beautiful Wellingtonia gigantea, though within a few feet of the footway.-has been spared from the axe. This variety is known to attain such a size that it is the largest tree in the world. The oldest and largest specimen in New Zealand is in front of the post office at Queenstown. Jt grows in this country just four times as quickly as in its native soil of California. The Right Spirit. The non-arrival of the appointed referee in the School-Clifton third grade Rugby game at Waitara on Saturday led to sonic confusion. both before and during the game. Mr. E. Andrews, of Waitara, a bystander, was pressed into service, but after the game had been in progress for some time he had trouble with a rib injury experienced earlier in th" week and had to leave the field. The whistle was then handed on to R. Broushton, of the Clifton senior team, who rcfcreed to everyone's satisfaction and then played a good game in the senior match. Seagulls and Rugby. The seagulls which make the Petone Oval their headquarters on a uct day arc either well trained or else they have a great deal of intelligence (says the "Dominion"). Five minutes before the Petone-Eastbourne game commenced on Saturday, the referee, Mr. Paton, gave the teams warning with a blast of his whistle. There was not a soul near the oval, but the hundreds of seagulls rose to the signal, filling the air with squawks and the loud flapping of wings, and adjourned to No. 2 ground. They made no move at half-time, but immediately play ended the seagulls returned to the oval. Arbor Day. The chairman of the Auckland Council of the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, Mr. N. R. W. Thomas, has received advice from the Minister of Internal Affairs tlict Arbor Day this year is to be celebrated on Wednesday, August 1. Arbor Day was first celebrated in 1892, and since then the date has been changed from time to. time. Last year it was observed in various Auckland schools on .different days. The difficulty has been to have a planting day which suits the whole of the Dominion. August is regarded as fairly late in the Auckland Province for planting, but not too late. General Election this Year. In a prc-sessional address delivered at the Trades Hall last evening, Mr. W. E. Parry, M.P. for Auckland Central, expressed the opinion that a general election would take place at the end of the year. "If the Labour party gets into power, the policy it is now propagating will be put into operation." lie said. "We have 24 members in the House now, and if there is an election this year we expect to' get another 20," said Mr. Parry. The meeting, which was presided over by Mr 11. S. Marten, drew an attendance of about 1.30. Mr. Parry said that in the (vent of the Labour party getting into power it would take control of currency and credit, and would strive to improve living conditions for working people and provide increased spending power. The party was opposed to the wage cut, but was unable to combat it because the party was in a minority in the House. A vote of confidence in Mr. Parry and the Labour party was carried. Ngauruhoe Active.

More than usual activity at Xgauruhoc and the Ketetahi hot springs, on the northeast side of Tongariro, has been noticed during the past few dnyn, reports a Waimarino correspondent. Steam clouds lising to a height of about 3000 ft were observed on Tuesday to be coming from Ketetahi, as viewed from the Chateau, while smoke was issuing from the crater of Ngauruhoe on the same day. On Wednesday, before clouds descended, it was noticed that Ngauruhoe was again active. A distinct black rim on the iced edge of the cone was also plainly visible. Smoke was rising from the crater in short bursts on Thursday. Lately there has been a strong smell of sulphur, presumably from Ngauruhoe and the lake on Ruapchu. A flight earthquake was felt at the Chateau on Monday night, and more pronounced shocks have been reported from Taupo.

Train Tickets Sold Out.

So well patronised were the excursion trains to Hamilton on the King's Birthday that stocks of special printed tickets at stations en route proved inadequate. MOl- - station had only 100 tickets on hand, but 320 tickets were sold in the morning, the extra 220 having to be written out on the blank forms kept for such occasions. It isj stated that 250 people boarded the train at Thames, and the stock of ;">0 printed tickets was soon sold out. Railway officers are naturally pleased with the way the trains were patronised, this being the lirst occasion that the Department's "zone fares system of low fares .was- put into operation. On future occasions they will no doubt anticipate full trains by ordering larger supplies of tickets, but this year, not knowing how the public j would respond, they ordered tickets on a Conservative basis, so as not to be left with j unsold stocks. A particularly long train or, 20 carriages took S2O people home from Hamilton to Morrineville and stations on the Thames line, while the train which followed a few minutes later bound for Katorua comprised 14 carriages. These two trains took a total of about 1500 excursionists home. Trains bound for stations on the Main Trunk line were equally well patronised. A feature freely commented on was that the cheapness of the railway excursion fares had prompted many country car owners to leave their ears at home and travel by train. ,

Lost Watch Recovered. While out pig shooting about a couple of months ago, a New Plymouth man, with a party of three others, in the Kohuratahi district, lost bis wristlet watch. The same party was again out shooting in the same locality recently, when one member picked up the lost timepiece when travelling along the top of a ridge, after three other members of the party had passed over it. The watch had rusted considerably through exposure. Overlapping Inevitable. It is stated on reliable authority that in Palmerston North there are no less than li<> milk vendors, states the "Manawatu Times" An average of six carts traverse each principal street once, and in some instances twice a day. The principal difficulty in obtaining co-ordination is that many clients prefer to deal with the vendor they know. One of the largest suppliers says that by coining together in "a spirit of friendly co-operation six such men could effect a net saving of, say, £25 per annum each. Tramcars and Trolley Buses. "I consider the tram the best means of transportation in cities with a population of half a million or more, and in such cities they will always be needed. However, in small cities, especially where the population is scattered, as it is in Christchurcli, the trolley bus is the most suitable, and I think that it is only a matter of time before they entirely replace the trams." This opinion was offered by Mr. R. A. Keir at a meeting of the Engineers and Associated Craftsmen's Guild at Christchurcli. Mr. Keir added that his opinion was also held by leading engineers in England and Australia. Migration of Swans. The annual report of the .North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society states that, a* for some years past it had bean the opinion of prominent sportsmen that the black swan migrated to other parts of New Zealand and to "the Chatham Islands, the game committee decided to mark a large number of the birds during the moulting season. Over 400 swans were ringed, the old birds' with a green, and the young birds with a blue ring cn the leg. Other societies had been advised of the marking, and it was hoped that as a result of these efforts more would be learned of the habits of the black swan. A Fireman's Hobby. A remarkable power-driven spinning wheel has just been constructed by Mr. P. Frasor, a member of the Dunedin Lire Brigade. It is a very compact affair, and is a wonderful improvement on the old style spinning wheel. The parts of the new invention are of aluminium and polished oak, and a very fine finish has been attained. Mr. Fraser claims that his invention is capable of turning out more than double the work of the old foot power wheels, and can be run at a very low cost, something like 1/4 per hour. The wheel is very easily operated, the power being supplied.by a small motor fixed on the base of the stand. Building Industry. The value represented by building permits issued in the larger towns during April was £140,822, a decrease of £-100,475 as compared with the exceptionally high (for recent vears) figure recorded in March, reports the Government Statistician. The greater portion of this fall is accounted for by the inclusion of an exceptionally large undertaking in the March figures, the total for "other buildings' falling from £520,769 in March to £105,320 in April. At the same time, permits for new dwellings fell from 13G iii March to 107 ii April, the total value represented by such permits being £81,917 in March and £OS,IIS in April. Counterfeit Florin Detected. An excellent imitation of the new Dominion florin was detected by a teller in th? Bank of New Zealand this week. The counterfeit coin is lighter than the genuine one, and has a leaden appearance, but in all other respects it is similar. A bank officer with long experience regards the imitation as one of the cleverest that has come under his notice. Last month it was reported that spurious half-crowns were (in circulation in Auckland and also in Paeroa, and in March a message from Christchurcli stated that a number of imitation threepenny pieces had been noted in that city. In those cases, however, tlio work of the counterfeiters was not regarded as particularly clever. Living Dear in Sydney. With the exception of boots and clothing, living was very expensive in Sydney, said Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., on his return from Australia. 11l fact, he had come to the conclusion that it was one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to live. Rents were high. The people were largely flat dwellers, and their rents ranged front £2 to £10 a week. Foodstuffs were all dear, with the exception perhaps of grapes, which were cheaper than in New Zealand. Everything else was dearer than in the Dominion, so far as he could gather. Except in the poor part of the city, a visitor could not get a meal under 2/ or 2/0. In that respect the people in the New Zealand cities were much better off. Unsuccessful Application.

Scant consideration was given by the council of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association on Tuesday to an application for inclusion in the Empire Games team which was made by Miss Esther James, who described by Mr. H. L. Towers, secretary of the Auckland Centre, when forwarding correspondence concerning her request for nomination, as having "walked from North Cape to the South Pole about two years ago." Among the correspondence was a letter from Miss James'at North Sydney to the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, beginning, "Dear Mr. Coates," and saying that she had now walked 1200 miles from Melbourne to Brisbane. All through Australia, the writer said, she had lectured about her New Zealand walk and the beauties and scenery of New Zealand. As there was 110 girl going to the Games to represent New Zealand, she wished to enter in the 440 yds and 880 yds relays. "My time for running 100 yds is under 12 seconds," Miss James continued. After the Games she stated she would give lecture tours about New Zealand primary products all over England. The council speedily carried a motion that 110 action be taken.

The Onlooker Does Not See Most. A neat point is made in a Wellington City Council report upon street accidents — that the onlooker very often does not see as much as he may think when an accident occurs. He may see the accident, but often lie takes 110 interest until the cause of the accident is past and gone. A little reflection .upon the length of time that elapses between the moment when one or both parties involved in an accident receives the final danger signal through ear or eyes, and the moment of impact is sufficient to show that much may occur in a very short length of time, probably under two seconds, and unless both parties are already prepared for emergencies, the chances of avoiding the accident are remote, states the report. Also, during this small period of time it seems hardly possible that either party could gain a clear conception of the cause of the accident. As the cause of an accident occurs before the impact, and not at the impact, not very much .reliance can be placed upon the views of witnesses as to cause, for the first indication of an accident to persons other than the parties concerned is usually the soiuid of the impact or the squeal of brakes, and, assuming that the final danger signal-is. two seconds before the impact', it is' fairly safe to say that the actual cause occurred or commenced before the final danger was registered.