NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 251, 23 October 1935, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Tung Oil Trees. Considerable interest is being taken in local tung oil plantations. About four or five-year-eld trees are in flower for the lirst time (reports the "Star's" Dargaville correspondent). One tree has over 30 flowers. The fruit is setting in a number of the trees. Land Tax Payment. The Commissioner of Taxes draws the attention of taxpayers to a notification appearing in this issue that the clue date of payment of land tax for the current 1 year is on Thursday, November 7, and that ' the demands will be posted ort or about October 31. Riverhead's Hospitality. The hospitality' of Riverhead has been proffered to the band of English crickqters shortly to visit New , Zealand on tour. • Just affiliated to the Auckland Cricket Association, the Riverhead Cricket Club communicated with the A.C.A. last night offering to entertain the visiting cricketers, adding that "a fine line of pigs and ducks are being fattened in anticipation of the event." , The A.C.A. executive is referring the would-be hosts at Kiverhead.to the New Zealand Cricket Council, which is arranging the entertainment of the English visitors.

Mortality Among Lambs. The 1935 lambing season in Gisborne and coastal districts was one of the worst for many years (reports the - "Star's" Gisborne correspondent). This is shown in, the official estimates made by the senior stock inspector at Gisborne, Mr. P. R. Bould, giving the average percentage for the whole district as about 77. Only, in one instance, that of Uawa County, does the estimate exceed 80 per cent. Lower averages have been experienced in individual counties in recent years, but it is a long time since the general run has been so poor.

Cyclists at Night. A letter seek inn; the support of the Papatoetoo Town Board in the matter of the better regulation of push cycles, particularly with regard to compulsory registration, riding several abreast on the highway, nnd lighting was received from the Automobile Association and was considered by the Papatoetoe Town Board at its meeting last .evening. The chairman, Mr. ,W. f 3. Nicholson, stated that he understood-that the Commissioner of Transport nas.considering in the regulations the matter of compulsory Registration, riding abreast and correct lighting of push cycles. The board, decided to support the association and to -write to the* Commissioner of Teansport to ascertain whether these matters were becoming , statute law. ■ . - - <,-> ■-,■■•' Old Home-made " Tote." A discovery of historical interest to racing has been made in Cambridge, where the original totalisator ■: machine, which "was used at',the first race meeting held by the Waikato Hunt Club in 1885, has'been brought to light. It was lying back, of Messrs!■■•W. Souter and Company's premises ih Duke Street, overgrown with blackberry and honeysuckle. This machine .was made in Cambridge by Mr. J. Arnaboldi and operated by him with the assistance of Mr. J. McCann, who is still a resident of Cariibridge. It was operated on similar lines to the present-day totalisator, but it was made from various odds and ends of metal, the, numerous cogs being cut out of sheet iron. When in use the tatalisator, which measured about 10ft long by sft ; high and lft Bin wide, stotx 1 . on two boxes ,in the" open field. The machine allowed for betting on 21 horses. Mr. Arnaboldi died some years ago at Devonport.

The Perfect Pontoon. . An amusing debate was staged as part of. the annual meeting of the Stanley Bay Improvement. Association on the. topic of providing a pontoon for. the swimmers of the bay.. Messrs. W. oT.eary,S. Weller and JF. J. Dawson. took the affirmative, and Messrs. S. W. Lund and A. McGowan negatived the proposition. The negative arguments centred round the obvious -.' objections of repairs and-.maintenance, obstruction to anchorage and possibility " of breakaway. Mr. McGowan also made a "point of the danger tl> bathers of skin abrasions from mussel growths. The affirmative laughed to scorn these practical considerations. Mr. Weller visualised a "pontoon commensurate with the importance of Stanley Bay," which was to serve as the magnet of "hundreds of ferries and thousands of bathers." Mr. Dawson pictured "the youth and beauty of the bay disporting themselves joyfully in the briny," while Mr. CLeary, in his summing-up, postulated a pontoon fitted with "a centre mast which, anchored it firmly in its place, which scintillated ■ with electric lights, was- upholstered with pneumatic cushions, and provided with a central heating- system." These picturesque animadversions jof the perfect pontoon resulted in the honours of the debate being awarded to the affirmative side by one point. Mr. E. Aldridge officiated as judge of the debate. -

Tourist Prospects Bright. Although the Italo-Abyssinian situation as it affects the Suez canal has caused some alarm in shipping circles at Home, New Zealand and Australian passenger bookings to England have no A been influenced to any appreciable extent. Mr. W. W. Service, passenger superintendent for the P. and O. Line in Australia, told a Timaru "Herald" reporter! that. intending tourists sometimes mention the situation, but so far have not expressed any cQn'cern. Mr. Service said that passenger traffic was now booming, and bookings both to and from England were heavier than was the ease at the corresponding time last year. The increase in traffic from New Zealand was an indication . o,f returning'confidence in the Dominion, and people who had delayed trips for the last three years were now g'oing abroad. 'There Had been an impression that sooner or;.'later the exchange rate would be lowered, but people now seemed reconciled to the idea that the.high exchange had come to stay and were travelling. During, the depression' business men , had hesitated to leave their interests In' New Zealand, but now that commercial stability was returning , many postponed trips were materialising. All these factors were combining to make passenger traffic' heavier than it had tjeen for some time. • ' - : ' • Britain and Prosperity. Mr. J. H. Hides, representative in Melbourne of a London.firm, who recently made a : trip'to the Far East, England and the Con;tirient>,is visiting. New Zealand. Speaking to a Timaru "Herald" reporter, he said that the rise m commodity values had been reflected in Australia and New Zealand, and in his opinion there would soon bo' a return to prosperity if the i Italo-Abyssiniau trouble was settled. Referring to his visit to the Dutch East Indies, JJalaya and Siam, Mr. Hides said he was very much impressed. "John Bull" had| a wonderful influence in Siam, where 85 per cent of the chipping activity; was British. The Japanese were endeavouring to make headway in the country, but the British influence was very strong indeed. All' trading in Siam was in the hands of the Chinese, who were ,born traders, the Siamese being content to occupy administrative posts, such as mem-, bers of the police force. Why they elected to keep out of trade he could riot understand, i but: there was no.doubt that the Chinese traded most efficiently and -were scrupulously honest in their dealings. "Although T travelled a.good deal there seemed no place as , prosperous aa the Old Country," aded Mr. Hides, who mentioned that all the seaside places in England were thronged, and the hotels were crowded with people.

" Gome To Stay." Painted in large lettering on the verandah of a shop in the city aro the words, "I'm .like the British flag, I've "come to stay,," ~The owner could not have anticipated the depression, because' on a; placard pasted, on tJis window are the words, "To let." Campbell's Bay Post Office. A money order office and bank lias now been added to the post office at. Campbell's Bay, one of the popular East Coast bays beyond Milford and on the bus route to Brown's Bay. This bay, with its quarter-mile beach, free from iron sand, and convenient for bathing at any tide, may be termed the Takapuria of the East Coast bays. Old Faithful. ,' Old Faithful sat on the wharf all by himself in the rain. He did not even sit in the waiting rooms, but out' where ho could inspect all newcomers, and if necessary warn them off. He. was on. guard for hours until his coat became soaking wet, and the water ran , .off and made the wet wharf still more wet. Still Old Faithful did not* give up his duty. Arid the curious thing, about it was that 'this iduty, this time ipi waiting out in the rain, was self-imposed. There was no shadow of compulsion; not • even ;a vain-glorious ostentation.- He just ca'm'e quietly down. to the wharf, no oiie quite knew when, and there he stayed, no one quite knew why. He did not seek to make friends-. In fact, he was rather suspicious of newcomers. He spoke to them in a loud and gruff Voice, and off they hurried in surprise. Old Faithful was a dog; the newcomers warned off were seagulls..

Elocution of the Bible. "There is no finer training: for the elocutionist than iri reading aloud from the Bible. Its prose style is magnificent; it is a storehouse of beautiful and poetic imagery of infinite variety.' Its. language is of the simplest, and yet it is the worst read of all our literature," remarked the Rev. W. Lambert, who judged the Scripture reading class at inter-Bible class competitions in Wanganui. "As a clergyman myself let me say that as a class we are responsible for the bad voicing .which generally.;accompanies the public reading of the Scriptures. The parsonical voice is a byword constantly caricatured. It is unified by some, sing-songed by others—fiattened, breathy and forced. The clergy have passed on this unnatural diction so that many of the best of our lay speakers are also guilty." ,-f

Progress or Snooze. The relation of private considerations to public ..interests was amusingly illustrated by Mr. F,- J. Dawson last; evening at the annual meeting of the Stanley Bay- Improvement Association. The topic; under discussion was .the" desirability of .creating an air-pprt in Ngataringa Bay by reclaiming the tidal lands wrst of Lake Road. Mr. Datyson claimed that this project was of vital 'interest to Devonport, and to Stanley Bay ■in particular, and he Urged that there should be made a combined effort qf all public, associations in thc> borough-to keep the scheme in view. In this connection he advocated the construction- of a harbour tunnel as being a corollary scheme, which would provide the necessary filling for the reclamation works in the bay. Mr. Dawson expressed surprise that there should be tiny opposition to a project of such value, and related a passing challenge to his advocacy. When he a'sked his interlocutor for his reasons he was told that if Ngataringa Bay were an airport the residents would lose their Sunday morning sleep—-"they would be awakened at six o'clock with the noise of ' aeroplane engines." "There you are," concluded jlr. Dawson, "you've got to choose between ! progress and a" Sunday morning snooze."

Another View of Milk. "How shall, ( we restrain,,our cows?" asks Miss Rose writing in the "Spectator" on the embarrassing surplus liquid, milk supplies in Britain. She'continuest'''The thing grows serioue. When it comes to opening milk bars in Fleet Street (with the object, no doubt, of turning out a race of inilklivered journalists) one begins-to realise K the gravity of this milky menace which is streaming, an ever-broadening galaxy,; over, these islands. Let us pause and collect our minds before giving ourselves wholly over' to this miiky inebriation, before, permitting ourselves +o be turned into a lactivorous, a lactescent people. Consult your dictionary; how do.you find, this liquor described? 'An opaque white or bluish-white fluid secreted by • the" mammary glands of the female mammalia, and adapted for the nourishment of the young.' Piecysely. After reading' that, do you really wish to drink the stuff? If so, turn up yourj encyclopedia. There you will find, an article! on milk, over half of which is devoted to the various diseases occasioned by it. In the improbable case of unmaleficent milk ever being obtainable, It is admittedly a suitable diet for mammalian infants. Milk for babes, meat for men. Are we, then, still in our lactiige, that we should drink a discouraging bluishwhite fluid designed for sick persons and young • children and cats?"

" Bully " Hayes in New Zealand. A Sandringham resident, Mr. Jas. F. Kearsley, writes:—A paragraph in the local column of your issue of Saturday, 19th inst., recalls to mind an incident which happened 08 years ago* I was then living in Lyttelton, and had a position in the office of a wine and spirit merchant named Fleming. On one windy and wet morning there sailed into port a brig called the Rona, of which the master and owner was the famous buccaneer, "Bully" Hayes. Soon after arrival the captain 'entered our office and greeted Air. Fleming, of whom he seemed to have had a former acquaintance. This was in 1807, and his last appearance in New Zealand. His last port was one of the Fiji group, and he had a cargo of oranges which he wished us to dispose of. This being foreign to our line of business, Mr. Fleming at first demurred, but after a little persuasion consented to trade. Wholesale lots were sold in Christchurch, Dunedin and other South Island towns, and the whole cargo was disposed of. The packing and shipping occupied a week or more, so that we had a lot of the captain's company. He was a very jolly man, full of humour; was not much over 40 years or age, good looking and well built. His wife lived in Lyttelton,- and was a tall ladylike person of about 30 years.' The brig remained in port about four weeks, and "on a Sunday, evening, without notifying harbour officials or getting a clearance from the Customs, he quietly slipped out of port, after having taken his wife on board, together with her furniture, etc. Whilst the Rona was in harbour a tragic event occurred. Included in the crew -was a .Fijian boy of about 19. years, and on a Saturday evening this lad, accompanied! three-or four sailors and .lie cook for a run of a few hours on shore, most of which was spent in public houses. The Fijian and cook had a little tiff over some trifle, but soon got over it. About' 11 o'clock they all got into their boat to return to the 'brig, the sailors rowing whilst the cook and boy sat in the stern sheets facing each other. Presently the boy asked the cook for the loan of hie knife, which the latter handed to him, and with it the boy stabbed the cook to the heart. Dca.th must have been instantaneous, for he flever moved, but sat quietly without a struggle. On getting alongside, the men all scrambled'up the rope ladder to the deck, and seeing that the. .cook never moved thought he was asleep" and began "calling hirr. With that the boy began to cry, and said, "Poor cookey dead " The boy stood'his trial, but this being his first visit to civilisation, h; , act was deemed that of a savage taking revenge' for a o affront. He was kept in gaol until an opportunity occurred of deporting him to his own country.