NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 173, 24 July 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Lunar Eclipse. A partial eclipse of. the moon will take place on the night of Thursday, July 20, and the. following morning. The moon will enter the penumbra on July 26 at 9.20 p.m.. ami will enter the umbra at 10.24. The middle of the eclipse will occur at 14.43, and the moon will leave the umbra at 1.0 the following morning and the penumbra at 2.10. Salvation Army Promotions. Four move officers of the Salvation Army have been promoted under the new regulations to the rank of major. They are Adjutant A. Calcott, of Balolutha; Adjutant W Frasor, of Palmerston North; Adjutant A. S. Podmore, of Waimate; and Adjutant I. T, Briddock, of Christchureh. Lieutenant-Colonel A. Hamilton, the chancellor of the exchequer at Wellington, has been promoted to colonel. The By-laws Say So. Very, pointed attention was called to the requirements of the city by-laws in regard tc the provision of flats by Mr. Andrew Fletcher at a meeting called by the Wellington branch of the Town Planning Institute to discuss the housing problem, "states the "Evening Poet." "When a new block of flats is erected the whole structure must be fireproof, ,, he said. '"Yet almost any old ramshackle building can be converted into flats and transformed into a downright death-trap," New 'Planes for Auckland. Two new 'planes will shortly be seen (lying in Auckland. Mr. L. W. Swan, secretary of the Auckland Aero Club, who returned from Australia by the-Niagara yesterday, boirrht them ill Sydney. One is u wooden Do Huvilland Gipsy Moth for the Aero Club, and the other, a metal 'plane, was bought on behalf of Mr. Martin Scott, of Auckland. The new machines will arrive, in Auckland as eoon ae satisfactory freight arrangements can be made. Traffic Officer's Raid. Officers of the city traffic department who carried out a raid for drivers' licenses in the city and suburbs on Sunday continued their work yesterday, when the "drivers of trade vehicles were stopped and asked to produce their licensee. An almost continuous stream of people filed in and out of the traffic department's office in the Town Hall yesterday, many to produce the licenses which they had not carried the day before, ami many to renew old licenses. * Again to-day the officers of the department were kept busy as the result of the raids by the traffic officers. Sparks from Body.' , An instance of the starting of a ■ petrol fire by a spark caused by an escape of static electricity from the body of a workman is recorded in the "Firemen" for May. The workman wae cleaning car bodies with petrol : soaked rags, the petrol being contained in an open five-gallon pail. By constant rubbing, the workman, it- ie stated, had collected a static charge on his person. He was wearing rubber boots, and was therefore insulated from the floor. On his reaching to the petrol pail, a spark jumped from, his finger to the pail and the petrol caught lire. Hits hands were severely burned. No Offence Intended. The failure of Mr. W. A. McLeod, counsel for the plaintiff, to catch an expression used by Mr. L. A. Rogers, representing the defendant, led to a brief but amusing exchange during the hearing of a civil action in the Xapier Magistrate's Court last week. When questioned by Mr. Rogers regarding a certain document, a witness stated that he had not seen it before. "No, I don't suppose you have," replied counsel. "It came from the cloude." "I do think that counsel for the defence might address me a little niore respectfully," protested Mr. McLeod. "I sa;d 'the clouds,' Mr. McLeod," replied Mr. Rogers. Wanton Damage. The industry displayed by some individual recently on the ground*! of the Palmerston North Technical School in Grey Street would have been admirable if applied in a more profitable direction, comments the "Manawatu Times." A cricket pitch for the summer term was being prepared, the chief operation consisting of turfing. All but two yards of the pitch had been completed, when every turf over an area of 32ft by 19ft was uprooted. Over the remaining area the intruder _du<* his heel into the sward as vigorously as possible, completely marring the job. ' The matter was reported to the Technical School committee, and members expressed disapproval of the stupid action, which the police are- investigating. " Jehovah's Witnesses." A petition for presentation »to the German Consul in Xew Zealand is at present being circulated in Wellington by representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses. * It protests against the "unwarranted treatment of Christians by the German ruling power," and states: "During the past year the German Government, without cause or excuse, has wrongfully seized, confiscated and destroyed the Bibles, song books, furniture and other property of these faithful Christians, prohibited them to meet together and worship God according- to His Commandments, and has cruelly persecuted and imprisoned many of them, and, like Pharaoh of old, that Government has wickedly opposed Jehovah and defamed His name." Sunday Football Policy. Though the Canterbury Rugby League recently played an interprovincial fixture, Canterbury v. Inangahua, 3n a Sunday at Monica Park, it doea not feel disposed to take a similar course with club fixtures, states a Press Association message. A suggestion was made at a meeting of the executive last light that the Vivian Cup match, Addington v. Hornby, be played next Sunday, but no support wae forthcoming. The chairman said the game should not be played on a Sunday. On sonie future occasion the League would want a special fixture, and the privilege should not be The position was different with the recent Inangahua representative game; the game could not have been played on any day but Sunday under the circumstances. " Bricks Without Straw." Amusing experiences of engineering in Samoa were related by Mr. A. Tyndall to the Technological Section of the Wellington Philosophical Society. Us was in Samoa between 1920 and 1023 in charge of the public works, , but it was a case, he said, of making bricks without straw, owing to lack of plant and < facilities. From a public works point of view Samoa had been much neglected, and there was a lot of leeway to make up. The heavy '• rainfall was one factor which made the construction of roads, culverts and bridges some- i what difficult. Nearly nine incites of rain had!.' been known to fall within three hours, and! once O.lin fell in 13 days. Coral roads were I satisfactory until motor cars came along, but • crabs had a habit of making potholes in them I overnight, and in this respect crabs entered, - the engineering field, a thing which they did ) not often do. The island abounded in pigs, i and they had the habit of wallowing in the I roads, which did not tend to improve the surface. Culverts had to be made Inrge, as i they were easily blocked by coconut fronds. ' Corrosion of steel used for bridrcs was very ' great, and Australian hardwoods had been ( found to give the most lasting results. l

An Egg Freak. A Whangarci poultry breeder is debating whether he will keep one of this season's pullets, or do a little axemanship on her behalf (reports the "Northern Advocate"). ; She created a sensation with her first egg. I ] which wns a triple yolker. Since then, howi- ever, she has laid only every third day, on I each occasion producing an egg with three f I yolks. I 1 . •■ Pirating. At the annual meeting of the Wangariui j East Bowling Club strong exception wasi taken to the action of a member of the coni- - mittee of another club, who had used personal - 'persuasion with two members to endeavour to . induce them to resign and join the other club. . Speakers were unanimous that such a method, of recruiting members was quite unfair, and that action should be taken to stop it. It \\ was resolved to lodge a formal-complaint with •I the offending official's club, and also to bring! the whole question of players transferring] their allegiance from club to club before the centre. : The Irreducible Minimum. "Though I do not consider myself particularly extravagant, and although I do not } earn a groat deal I am quite sure that out! , of my princely salary I spend more than £22 j a year," said Councillor Mabel Howard at a } meeting of the Christchureh City Council, when the wages of probationer nurses at the Christchureh Hospital, which average from £10 to £22 a year, were being discussed. "I can assure the. council," Councillor Howard added, "that if any woman with an income of £22 a year has anything left after drese- . ing herself sue oujlit to be prosecuted for , indecency as soon as she appears in the I street." \ . Gisborne-grown Oranges. \ Gisborne-grown oranges, which rival 3ome f of the imported varieties for size, flavour and juice content, are now coming on the market ; in increasing quantities and are selling readily • in the shops, declares the "Poverty Bay Herald. ,, The number of the better rarieitoa available in the district has been increasing each year as a result of these types coining into bearing. Much attention has been given > by several citrus growers to the better type ' of orange suitable for this district, and they find that they are able to supply an ever- ■ widening demand for these sorts,' which are i becoming popular with a section of the public. i Home to Our Mountains. [ ,: If only the Waitakeres could be de-j . veloped," is the cry of an Aneklander who I II has recently returned from a holiday in Aus-j i tralia, in which he visited all resorts worthy of the name in a territory comparatively within tourist reach. The Waitakeres, he . said, were just as good as the Blue Mountains. If only they could be developed, they would ; I provide ideal situations not only for week- ■ end baches, but for homes. As for scenery, i perhaps the Australian mountains were ■ i grander, but the Waitakeres were not want- . ing in scenery, either. Only, while every Alia- '] tralian seemed to know every nook-and cranny . of the Blu-c Mountains, if only by hearsay, ; very few Aucklandcrs knew anything about • ; their own blue mountains. Lambing in Manawatu. Lambing is in progress on the flat lands '' of the Manawatu district (states a local 1 daily), and it is reported that it has not been ' affected to any great degree by the severe ; weather conditions during the autumn, stock ' is in good condition to stand up to the rigor- < ous weather, while there arc also plentiful ' supplies of reserve feed. Mangel crops have been lifted and stored, and are now being fed I' , out to stock on many farms. The past season < was a successful one for the growing of this < fodder, and some good yields were recorded ' in many parts of the district. Over three inche.s of-- rain has fallsn so far this month. 1 As a result, the ground is in a sodden condi- 1 tion, and there has been extremely little 5 paeturo growth. t

Frost Fish on the Beach. A correspondent writes: "I was very interested in the description of this fish and its peculiar habits, in last Saturday's article, 'Ways of the Wild. , I lived 14 years on Great Mercury Island. During that time we often found frost fish stranded on the beach in cold weather. I am inclined to think the epeed with which they pursue the small fish in shallow water is the cause of their running ashore, as I had a personal experience early one morning. I was walking along a pebbly beach close to the water, when there was a great splash, and a large frost fish rushed out of the water well up the beach, and then fell over oh ite side. There was absolutely no chance of it returning to the sea, ae it seemed quite helpless. It was not sick, but in very good condition. My attention being attracted by the splash, I noticed a school of young herrings and sprats getting quickly "away. My impression at the time was that the flsh had misjudged the depth of water in its eager pursuit of the small fry, and so came to an untimely end." Power Loan Conversion. In reporting on his visit to Wellington to confer with the office of the Australian Mutual Provident Society for the conversion of debentures totalling £100,000 now domiciled in Sydney, Mr. W. J. Holdsworth, chairman of tho Auckland Electric Power Board, told the board at its meeting ycsterdp.y afternoon that negotiations were nearly finalised. The present rate of interest of 5J per cent would be reduced by 20 per cent to £4 8/, with the payment of interest and the repayment of principal in Auckland. The chairman pointed out that it was quite voluntary for the society to transfer the loan to Xew Zealand, and the board was not in a position to bargain, but the schedule submitted by the board had been virtually accepted, needing only the confirmation of the society's directors. The conversion would be effected as from September 30, and this would finalise the board's internal indebtedness. It was estimated that the conversion would save the board £1100 a year. A Mercury Bay Mystery. Something in the nature of a mystery surrounds a dwelling at Whenuakite, a dairying district about 15 miles from Mercury Bay, where live some- sharemilkers, two brothers and a eister, another girl and two men. About nine o'clock last Monday two of the mon were in bed talking, when tho door opened. One of the men called out, "Come in if you are good looking." The door immediately closed, and they saw the knob turned. A young man in the next room said, "There is someone in the house." The three men- made a search, hut discovered no one. The following night at about the same time another of the men heard his door open; he tried to light a match, but before this Avas done the intruder had gone, and again a search was made, without result. Tho following night about 0 p.m. the last-mentioned man and one of the girls were in the dining room j playing the gramophone, when they heard! footsteps. Listening, the man took the lamp] and a hammer, and in his room he saw a man ' with a torch. The intruder jumped through the window, and the householder throw the hammer, but missed the man and broke the window. By this time all were alarmed, so ' it was decided to inform tho police. The next day Constable Cannon, of Whitianga, was in the district, but discovered no trace. That night another window was broken, and the j i following night yet another. Xenrby ■ resi-j i dente assisted in keeping a vigil, but were , : unrewarded. Circumstances point to a foolish 1 escapade, as nothing has been stolen. The ) culprit, if caught, is likely to receive a warm : reception. | {