NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 93, 20 April 1936, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Anzac Day. There will be no publication of the "Auckland Star" on Saturday next, Anzac Day. The magazine section will this week be issued with Friday's paper. Tribute to Tom Mann. "Tom Mann can with reason be claimed as one of the outstanding men of the workingclass movements of the world." This tribute was paid by Mr. W. J. Lyon, INI.P. for Waitcmata, in speaking last evening at a gathering in the Town Hall to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Labour and trade union movement pioneer. Mr. Lyon said Tom Mann had the courage of his convictions, and had always adhered loyally to his expressed opinions throughout the whole of his career. The history of the progress of the working-class movement was the history of Tom Mann's life. Conditions for Wild Game. The fact that conditions for wild game were not now as favourable as in the early days of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society was pointed out by the president, Mr. F. E. McKenzie, at the annual meeting of the society on Saturday night. The clearing of the country and closer settlement had had their effects, and a great deal of work had been necessary to keep numbers up. Splendid work had been done in the society's 09 years, and it was gratifying to note a definite increase in the number of pheasants. During the past year over 3000 sportsmen had taken out licenses for shooting and fishing. Miraculous Escape. Two West Coast miners, Messrs. S. Havill and J. Havill, recently had a marvellous escape from being blown up. It appears that the two miners kept their supplies of gelignite in an iron box, .and also kept their acetylene gas lamps in the same box. On going to the box to got their lamps they made use of a naked light, and on opening the door of the box a violent explosion took place, caused by one of the gas lamps leaking. The moment the naked light came in contact with the gas the explosion took place. One of the brothers was badly burned. However, they were fully aware of the danger, and ran for safety as fast as their legs could carry them. They had barely got clear when a terrific explosion took place. The box and all the tools stacked around the box were blown to atoms.

A Minister on Cabinet. The Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, lias a liappy habit of suddenly interjecting humour into a serious discourse. Speaking at the twenty-first birthday meeting of the W.E.A. on Saturday niglit, he remarked that in the early days of the association some people went to the classes to learn to speak —"and unfortunately some of them did," he added. The point of the joke was that the audience had just been told that the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser himself and other members of the present Cabinet were old W.E.A. students. However, a few moments later Mr. Fraser worked in a compliment. Recalling that in its early days the W.E.A. had been "accused of furthering advanced thought," the Minister remarked, "and when you look at some members of the Cabinet, there might be ground for that suspicion." ' Hitler's 47th Birthday. Herr Hitler will celebrate his 47th birthday to-day, having been born in Austria on April 20, 1880. Following the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler in August, 1934, assumed the joint position of President and Chancellor, and later took the titlo of Fuehrer, or Leader of the German Nazi State. This title was subsequently confirmed by the Reichstag. Herr Hitler is the youngest of the world's four best-known dictators. Signor Mussolini, who was named Prime Minister by the King of Italy in October, 1922, and took the title of II Ducc of the Fascist Corporation, is 53 years of age; Kemal Pasha, who was chosen President of the new Turkish Republic in October, 1923, is 55; and Stalin, who became the virtual dictator of Soviet Russia after the death of Lenin, is nged 57. Hitler was the son of a railway employee, Mussolini the son of a blacksmith, and Stalin the son of peasants.

Maori Penmanship. It is a fact well known to teachers that, given exactly equal opportunities of tuition and practice, Maori pupils usually excel Europeans in penmanship. An interesting proof of this is now given by officials in charge of the census returns in districts where there are many Maori residents. Mr. G. Nelson, Chief Postmaster at Gisborne, and census enumerator for the Gisborne district, states that not only was the writing on the Maori census forms as a rule more legible than the European, but the forms themselves were generally filled in in a neater fashion. The staff handling the returns found the Maori papers easier to read, and the meticulous cure' with which they were filled up was milch appreciated by those engaged on the long and tedious job of enumerating. Probably the Maori instinct for craftsmanship with the pen will also be appreciated by officials in Wellington, now perusing and noting the national returns for general statistical purposes. Is the Sparrow Übiquitous? That the common house-sparrow does not always live up to his reputation for being an übiquitous little fellow has been exemplified at one farm house on the ranges. Sparrows so throng the verandah of a neighbouring residence, a quarter of a mile away, that the French doors have to be closed sometimes to keep them out, though there seems no particular reason why the.v should be so plentiful there. At the farm house, however, while a large variety of other birds is plentiful, the sparrow seems disinclined to take up his abode there. It was four years after the house was built before the first sparrow was seen, perching on the verandah rail last spring. Only just recently have sparrows come in any numbers round the house, and their cheerful chirp is still something of a novelty to the inhabitants. Perhaps their adoption of the new home this season is due to the presence of a larger supply of grass seed, as the adjoining paddock has not been cut for hay, and birds are specially noticeable and vocal followers of their food supplies.

The Confiding Kingfisher. "Naturalist" writes:—Tlic increase in tlie number of kingfishers seen within the city limits has been markedly noticeable during recent years. They are in every park and reserve, and are, especially numerous in the Domain, where the cultivation of the big area sloping down towards Stanley Street has evidently provided a permanent supply of natural'.food. When any part of the vegetable gardens is beinir dtif over, at least one kingfisher will put in an appearance, swooping from the branch or fence from which it watches the proceedings, to pick up a worm. Where the birds breed is somewhat of a nivsterv Their natural habitat is a deep hole in" the 'face of a cliff—the rocky outcrops on Waiheke Island are excellent examples, and are lon "-established resorts—but the birds are by no "means averse to the proximity of human beings, and it is known that broods have been reared as near the centre of the citv as the sloping bank rising up from Blanclfol',l "o«..I- to the back of St. Pauls Church. As the name implies, tlieir diet in unfrequented areas is exclusively fish, but those who live in the city are equally partial to worms or slugs, while occasionally they will venture closc enough to pick up a scrap of fruit or cake from picnickers. They are a true native bird, and possess that, fearlessness of man that is typical of many indigenous wild creature;.

The Lucky Number. The lucky number on Saturday at the Avondalc Jockey Club's meeting was 4. Three horses carrying No. 4 saddle cloth won, while in another racc a second place dividend was returned. Tho total dividends returned by Xo. 4 amounted to £2.5 10/. Light Criminal Session. Present indications are that the next criminal session in Auckland, which commences at the Supreme Court on May 2, will be a short one. At present there are only four cases on the calendar. Two of these are charges of indecent assault, one of dual voting at the recent elections, and the fourth illegal supplying of medicine and an instrument. It is expected that further cases will be committed from the lower Court before the end of the week. Escape Through Window. After he had ransacked two rooms in the house of Mr. 11. Surman, Mount Eden Road, a thief, when disturbed by the owner on his return about 10 o'clock on Saturday night, smashed a bedroom window and jumped out. The intruder had gained entrance by breaking a window at the roar of the premises. He was engaged in ransacking the third room when Mr. Surman returned and surprised him. After breaking another window the tluef jumped out, ran round the back of the house and disappeared through an adjoining property. A small sum of money was stolen. Rearing Native Birds. A proposal for tho rearing of New Zealand native birds in captivity deserved every support, stated the president of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, Mr. F. 15- McKenzie, at the annual meeting on Saturday nJ Attention had been drawn to the possibility of rearing many varieties in this way, and it was a thing which could without doubt be carried out with success. There was a rapid decrease in the numbers of many native birds, and their rc-cstablislimcnt was greatly desired. The present ban on the keeping ot native birds in captivity should be lifted for the purpose of breeding, Mr. McKenzie said.

40-Hour Week and W.E.A. Surprise that the W.E.A. classes in Auckland were not larger in a city of over 200,000 people was expressed by the chairman of tho Auckland University College Council, Mr T. U. Wells, at the twenty-first birthday gatherinn- of the association on Saturday night. "One can only hope that with the increased hours of leisure to which we are all looking forward some of them at least will be devoted to tho opportunity for cultural advancement offered by W.E.A. classes." It was a matter for "Teat hope to all connected N with the association, he added, that several members of the present Cabinet, including . the Prime Minister and Mr. Eraser, were old W.E.A. students. .

Jellyfish by the Thousand. There five so many jellyfish about some of the wharves at present that they look like a solid mass. When the ferry came in this morning it simply had to plough through a jcllv, and the screw churned up as much solid matter as water, or so it seemed. The surface of the calm water looked like a mosaic, lho wind has been blowing steadily from the north-east for the past ten days, so that may have brought them in. Hacl they come in during the swimming season, as they have done in other years, small boys would have used them to wage battle royal with each other, as they have dona in other seasons. Queer tastes small boys have —and sonic not so small, either.

Not Strong on Details. At least one census paper at Greymouth was filled in by proxy. A Chinese member of the community did not see the need for a census, but was persuaded that his participation was essential. He was incapable of doing the job himself, and a European came to his rescue, and asked many questions. After an approximate spelling the name of the Chinese was readied. He was asked how old he was, but apparently did not remember. He did remember Iving Edward V 11. and Queen \ ictoria, but he also replied that he remembered Henry VII. He admitted that lie had at least one son, but could not give his ago, although he described the son as a "welly old man." The effort to ascertain information as to his finances was totally unsuccessful, the Chinese being emphatic that he was '"bloke." Appearance of Carlaw Park. Very solicitously the Auckland Rugby League officials left the grass 011 Carlaw Park long for the opening games 011 Saturday. The result was that players found that being tackled was not as painful an experience as it might otherwise have been. In a few places the main ground has not responded to topdressing during the off season, but generally speaking the park is in good order. When tho club games commence in about a fortnight's time it should look a picture, for by then the grass will have been cut to a length which should make for fast, open football. Several improvements have been made to the park, including the setting back of the picket fence at the foot of the terrace in order to p-ive the players more room to work in, and the forming 'of steps behind the stand leading to the "hill."

Ministers' Minus I.Q. s. The Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, takes pleasure in destroying academic idols, and be had a. tilt af one in his address at the meeting of the W.E.A. on Saturday night. "Equipped with «" : -'<mee quotients, mental ages and complexes." he remarked, "people descend upon our children. T pity the poor children." Mr. Eraser then disclosed that he had once submitted himself to a test. "My mental age was less than one," he confessed, "and mv intelligence was a minus quantil v. 1 failed in every one." However, it appeared that he was not the only unintelligent Minister of Education, for part two of hfs stow related the downfall of one of his predecessors in office. This Minister of Education was a firm believer in the tests. His assurance was in inverse ratio to his knowledge of the subject," So Mr. Eraser put the test questions to him. It turned out that he also had less than any intelligence at all.

AH Out in One Over. Of the talcs of cricketing .curiosities there is 110 end. From a Kaitaia correspondent comes the account of an over, played, in an ex-servicemen's friendly match, which saw the whole of an eleven dismissed. "I think this deserves to rank among the classics of cricket," writes the correspondent. ' "One would consider it quite impossible for a whole side to be 'outed' in one over, hut here's what happened the other day. In among the eight balls of an over sent down by Bill B— there were three no-balls, and from each one a batsman was run out. I think it must have been a case of nerves, for Bill started off with the hat trick, and from his fourth ball—a no-ball —there was a mix-up in the running, and the next man was out. Then came another victim, for number five put up a simple catch, aiul the rot set in properly wlicn numbers six and seven were eleani bowled. Then, 'believe it or not/ as Mr. Ripley says, there were two more no-balls, and two more mix-ups, which resulted in run-outs. By this time the players as well as the onlookers were roaring with laughter, all except Bill, who —with the amazing analysis of three runs-outs, live clean bowled and one caught off Tils deadly 'slow one'—was seeing visions of his name in Wisden's." All he had to do to make imperishable history was to get the last man out with the Inst delivery, and this he proceeded to do, number ten being caught at the wickets. So there we were. What a pity it wasn t a Test match!" The correspondent naively adds: "I know this sounds too good to be true, but cricket's a funny game." One might remark that it ccrtainly was on this occasion.