NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 244, 15 October 1935, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Visit to Russia. A request tliat lie bo accorded the status of accredited member of the Waikato subprovince of the Farmers' Union during his forthcoming visit to the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics was made by Mr. G. T. Cramp, of Huntly, at the executive meeting of the sub-province. After a discussion the request was acceded to. A Remarkable Spider. Specimens of a remarkable v.-olf spider, _ which dives and swims and captures its prey ™ under water, are being studied by Mr. L. G. S. Butler, the arachnologist (says a Melbourne paper). Unlike the diving spider of Europe, this Australian species does not form a silken dome under water, but is equally at home in two elements. Pedestrians Catered For. "So well controlled was the traffic in London that the pedestrian, even during the busy jubilee time, could negotiate the streets with perfect safety," said Mr. J. Sutherland Ross, who returned to Dunedin from a visit to Great Britain. During 18 weeks in London he saw no accident, and he formed the opinion that, if anyone suffered injury in a London street the fault must be largoly his own. Two Thousand Dairy Factories. "It is hinted at times that a small company the ize of this cannot compete with larger concerns, but'that is not so," said Mr. H. Peick at the opening of the Kaimata Dairy Company. "Denmark is half the size of the North Island, and possesses 2000 dairy factories, compared with S4C in New Zealand. So you can take :t that Kaimata is not a small factory," he added. Those Patriotic Songs. "We must get ricj of some of these patriotic songs," stated the Bishop of Nelson (the Rt. Rev. Dr. Hilliard), when urging upon the Palmerston North Rotary Club the cause of peace and the elimination of the narrow state of mind, ideas of superiority and foolish antagonisms which led to war. "It is about time we gave 'Rule Britannia' a decent burial and placed a tombstone over it. Another song, 'Sons of the Sea,' is passing away. It is an impertinent insult to other nations." New Radio Station. Preliminary work on the site of the new broadcasting station which is to be built at Titahi Bay, Wellington, for the New Zealand Broadcasting Board, will, it is expected, begin shortly. The contractors at Sydney have already started ou the manufacture of the equipment £pr the station. Before the construction of the station is commenced some preparatory roading and other work has to be done. The station is expected to be on the air before the end of 1030. School Record in Slides. A feature of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Marist Brothers, which \yas of great interest to old boys of the Pitt Street school —the lirst brothers' school in Auckland —was a series of slides, which were shown at | the Civic Theatre prior to the jubilee concert. They represented a record of the school from 1885 to 1908, beginning with a photograph of the first director, the Rev. Bro. Edwin, and continuing through the various classes under their teachers down to the time of Brother Borgias. The New and the Old. "I was rather surprised T had not seer the passage until Mr. McVeagh was able ti show it was in the New Testament," said Air. I. J. Goldstinc in the Supreme Court yesterday during the hearing of an action in which the parties were members of the Christian Endeavour Union. Mr. MeVeagh said lie had shown Mr. Goldstine the passage in which St. Paul proclaimed the undesirability of persons, especially those associated with each other in religion, ventilating their grievances in the law courts. Mr. Justice Calhtn said that the passage, if he might venture to say so, might be read with equal propriety to the present appellants and respondent, and added: "The inculcation of forbearance is more marked in the new than in the older book." Power Interruption. As a result of one of the Auckland Elcctrict Power Board's poles in East Tamaki catching fire last week the. power supply in the board's southern area was interrupted for about 50 minutes. Reference to this fact was made at a meeting of the board yesterday afternoon by the general manager, Mr. R. H. Bartlev, who said that a., a result of the occurrence it had been necessary to isolate the area affected. The stoppage, he added, emphasised the necessity for duplicate feeding, which would prevent delay of the kind which was experienced. The trouble had been caused by one of the high-tension wires breaking and the leakage to earth setting fire to the pole. Home Building at Night. "Bird Lover" writes:—What time of the day should a self-respecting bird in search of building materials at this period, when house building is so much to the fore, retire for the night? Last night I was walking up past the Wellesley Street East school when it was just dm wing into dusk, when a starling leapt from one of the eaves and took off in the direction of Albert Park. I did not think it was usual for the bird to jnake flights nl night, so I waited. In not more than twe minutes back swooped the bird—at least, it was a bird, presumably the same one—witli its beak stuffed full of lengths of straw. J had never seen a bird nest-building so late before, and I wondered if it was usual. Memorial Aviation Award. As a memorial to his son, Air. James Armstrong, father o'f the late Mr. Hamisli Armstrong, who was lost while flying in a fo« over the Ruahine Ranges, Ikis given £100 for an aviation scholarship, according to advice received by the president of the New Zealand Aero Club, Mr. G. M. Spence. The money is to be vested in a fund to be known as'*the Hamish Armstrong Memorial Award, for the purpose of providing two hours' free flying for a pilot to be selected each year by * the Wellington, Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay clubs in rotation. Warm appreciation lias been expressed to Mr. Armstrong by the executive of the club. Mr; Armstrong has asked the New Zealand Aero Club to record ! his deep thanks for the unsparing efforts made by officers and members of the several district aero clubs taking part in the search for his son. A Candid Critic. An opinion given "straight from the shoulder" was received by the Onehunga Borough Council last night from a lady residing in Quadrant Road. This stated that for many months the streets in Onehunga had been a menace to life and limb, as well as an eyesore and a reflection on the council and some residents. Many of the streets, she added, were utterly spoilt by the number of orange and banana skins and waste paper of all kinds thrown broadcast, but more especially on the smooth footpaths near the Seddon Memorial at Royal Oak the streets were a disgrace. If the members of the council would "walk" through the streets they wpuld be assured of the need for immediate action. Some accidents had occurred through .persons slipping on orange and banana skins. The lad- enclosed samples of orange peel which had been thrown inside her gate. It was decided, on the motion of the Mayor, to inform the lady that the by-laws prohibited the throwing of rubbish on the streets, and if she would inform the council of any breach coming under her notice the council would be pleased to take action.

! A Pursuit. "The pursuit of ideals should be a happy and not a gloomy business," said the Bishop of Nelson (the lit. Rev. Dr. Milliard), when addressing the I'almerston North Rotary Club. "If you get up to the neck in hot water, think of the kettle and sing. If you get down in the mouth, think of Jonah. He came out of it all right. Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you snore alone." Something in the Soil. An Invercargill resident whose wife had presented him with twins about a week previously went into his garden to pick some flowers. The first daffodil he plucked was a freak—on the one stem grew two blooms with part of their perianth joined. He wondered if there was some peculiarity in the soil at his home. Golf Marathon. An unusual occurrence took place on the Thames golf links during the week-end, when W. Davies and D. Bell played off in the senior knock-out competition. They played three rounds of IS holes, and 011 each occasion they finished all square. The issue is still in doubt, but another 18 holes will be played next Saturday for a possible decision. Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa, the capital of Abyssinia, lias been figuring prominently in the news of late. Like many foreign placc names, one hears several different pronunciations, the most familiar of these placing the accent on the first "ba" as in Ali Baba, or the English word "barber." The pronunciation used by the 8.8.C. announcers, however, accentuates the final "ba"—"Aba-ba."

A Record Rainfall. Mr. J. Gilliand, who returned to Hamilton last week after a five weeks' visit to Suva, said the rainfall in the islands this season was the heaviest for 50 years, the fall for August being double the average, and for September three -inies the usual fall. "However," said Mr. Gilliand, "little notice is taken of the warm, heavy rain; if one gets wet through one just changes one's clothes, and there are no after-effects in the way of colds." Kauri Trees in New Plymouth. In Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, there are 350 flourishing kauri tree., in all stages of growth. Bcneliting from 'proper cultivation, trees planted several years ago have made wonderful progress. One particularly fine specimen is on the western side of the lake just opposite the boatliouse. The tree, which was planted in 101/3, had reached 39ft lOin by 1032, and to-day it is 40ft 2in high. Other trees in the vicinity have grown . foot in the last 12 months. Provision is being made, it is understood, for the planting of another CSO kauri trees. The Opossum Season. "Unless we have more close seasons it will not be worth while taking out a license, for the opossum is becoming very scarce in most localities," says Mr. T. Andrews, ranger of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. "Tile ipossuin season has not been good regarding j the number of skins taken 1-v trappers, but the quality has been much above the average," lie stated. "It was usual a few years ago for two trappers to take anything from 750 to 1200 skins in a six weeks' season, and I have known men to clear from £200 to £300 in hat time." Back to New Zealand. Having been on the staff of the Defencc i Force at the outbreak of war, LieutenantColonel 11. If. Wright, Royal Army Service Corps, has returned after an absence of nearly 20 years, to spend at least half of his year's furlough in Now 1 Colonel Wright, then a captain, was sent out to New Zealand by the Imperial authorities in 1013, and at the• outbreak of war proceeded to Samoa., Later lie acted on the . taff in New Zealand, and subsequently le f+ with the 17th Reinforcements. He left the New Zealand, Division in France in December, 1017, to rejoin the Imperial Army. Australian Lambing Record. The extraordinary productivity of sheep : in Australia was illustrated on a pastoral property in the vicinity of the town of Forbes, ( west of Sydney. The lambs from 700 Border Leicester-Merino cross ewes reached 234 per : cent per annum. The sheep lambed twice within a period of 12 months, and over- a i period of four years had three lanibings every i 24 months. Tt was stated that the results ! were due to tile adequate feed supply on the ] property on which the sheep grazed, and care- j fill management of the feeding lands. It is i thought to be an .Australian record. i t Explosive Shell in Garden. While digging a potato patch at Mr. C. .tJ Mandeno's property at Somerstown, Mr. S. Heaslip unearthed a large brass explosive shell complete with metal cap (reports the "Star's" Te Aroha correspondent). The shell is marked on the end, "Patroncnfabrik Karlsruhe. 1017," indicating its German origin, but how it came to be in the garden section is not known. A returned soldier states that the shell is of the type used by the Germans against the British tanks, as its iron top was calculated to penetrate heavy armour. j Fire Outbreak in Factory.

Fire engines from the Central and WeatI orn Districts stations answered a call by alarm to the premises of Tattersfields, Ltd., bedding and furniture manufacturers, at the corner of Sackville Street and Richmond Avenue, Grey Lynn, just after nine o'clock last night. It was found that fire had broken out in the shaving hopper, evidently caused by a spark from the furnace. The flames were quickly put out with tlio first aid equipment before any dnnr had been done. Street Paving Scheme. The Newmarket Borough Council' is at present preparing to commence its concrete street paving scheme, according to the Mayor, | Mr. S. Donaldson. Questioned concerning the matter this morning, Mr. Donaldson said that the work preparatory to the commencement of concreting was proceeding satisfactorily, and the council hoped that it would-be able to make a start with the undertaking in the near future. It is the council's intention to lay down in concrete many of the pavements of the borough. In the main thoroughfares blocks are to be utilised so as to obviate the necessity of cutting through the concrete when underground service mains require attention. The expenditure on the scheme is estimated at £0500. His Unlucky Day. A Dunedin motorist had more than the usual share of hard luck 011 Saturday. He was returning from the races at Wingatui and had to swing out of a line of cars to avoid another motorist who had pulled up suddenly in front of him. This sudden movement brought a third motorist into the tangle, and he ran into the back of the Dunedin man's car. However, the Dunedin driver "safely reached his home in Stafford Street, and later in the evening was engaged in writing his report of the manney in which the accidenthad occurred. It was then that his second misfortune happened, as somebody seized the opportunity to steal his car. The thief drove the car down Stafford Street and along Princes Street South, and as there were no lights showing 011 the vehicle a traffic inspector set off in pursuit. In the course of the chase the purloined car' hit an electric power pole on the side of the road and then swung right across and crashed into a brick fence, being i badly damaged. The thief then jumped out ofi 1 the car, cleared a fence and disappeared. [1