NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 186, 7 August 1936, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Miscarriages of Justice. "The worst miscarriages of justice we have in Courts have been clue to wrong iclentl--iication and enthusiastic experts' evidence as to handwriting," declared Mr. H. F. O'Leary, K.C., in the Wellington Supreme Court in an •address to' the jury. No classes of evidence were capable of .being so faulty as identification and handwriting, he said. v

Value of Herd Testing. "Herd, testing is every bit as important as manuring—what is the use of feeding improved and valuable pasture to cows that are not worth it?" observed Mr. W. C. Mcllsop at the annual meeting of the Raglan Co-opera-tive Dairy Company. Efficient farm management and testing went lumd in hand, he added, and the time when the system was most needed was when it could not be afforded.

Junior Rugby Team's Record. A remarkable record is possessed by the sixth grade team of the Auckland Suburbs Rugby Football Club, whose match against Eden sixth grade will be the curtain-raiser at Eden Park to-morrow. During the four years the team lias kept together, through the four grades from "junior boys" upwards, they have scored exact'y 1400 points against 37, and this season, in 14 matches, to date they are unbeaten, with a total of ."WO points to fl. "Suburbs Sixth" lifts a regular following of aty>ut 50 supporters, who include the. parents and relatives of several of the players.

Twin Calf Arrives Late. A case without precedent, so far as can be ascertained, occurred on the farm of Captain D. Dillon at Roto-o-rangi (near Cambridge) this week, when a Jersey cow which had calved a fortnight ago and was being milked gave birth to a second calf (states the "Star's" Cambridge correspondent). After the first calving the cow appeared normal, and waft brought in again in the usual way. The heifer calf which was born 14 days ago is quite healthy, and now has a twin brother younger than itself, both being of normal size. Although both calves, are thriving, the mother is in a poor condition, following her unusual experience. From inquiries made in the district, it appears that this is a unique occurrence in the history of dairying.

Board's First Chairman. A f rat/led portrait of the late Captain William C. Daldy has bden presented by his relatives to the Auckland Harbour Board as an expression of their appreciation of tha action of the board in naming the board's newtug after the first chairman. Jii a letter to the preseftt' chairman of the bbUt'rl, Mr. G. G. 'Macindbe, th 6 dbhbrs " state' tlftt they wish most sittberely" to express their appreciation of the considerate action of the board in its wish to perpetuate the memory of the first chairman Kv the naming of the new tug William C. Da\dy'. The signatories to the letter are Gertrude F. Daldy, Helen »T. Daldy, Jessie C. Wriglev. Mav M-. Wriglcy, R. H. Daldy, K. Daldv, William F. Daldy, J. W. Wriglcy and E. Wrigiey.

" Pat On the Back." High praise for tlio condition and standard of hairdressing saloons .in Napier _is expressed by Sir. It. F. Franklin, organising secretary for the Wellington Provincial Tobacconists and Hairdressers' Association, in the latest, issue of the association's official journal. Mr. Franklin visited Napier recently in the course of a tour of inspection covering all centres in the Wellington provincial district. The standard of equipment with which Napier hairdressing premises are fitted is described by Sir. Franklin as high, being on a plane with that in any centre in New Zenland, while the hygienic conditions m the saloons are second to none. Mr. Franklin comments that j,Napier deserves & 'pat oti the back" for the way in which the trade is con-ducted'-in the town.-

Boniis to Keep Population. Following. Mr. J. D. ftorgpiitiwa's notice of motion that gits And eleetrie cookers be installed free to approved purchasers, the T.yttelton Borough Council carried an amended motion this week that the council install both pas and"'electric* stoves free of costs to approved purchasers for a trial period of twelve months, suhje'et to the appVdvrtl of th» Government Audit Department. The Mayor pointed .out that so far as the Cl>"''tchnr"'! city. was concerned, it was . extending and 'triiuing," rapidly,' while unfortunately the population of the port of Lyttelton was decreasing. The tendency was for the people to Centralise. In the cities) Mr. Sarpentina : : "That is why people are going to live in the cities: because of the facilities. Let jis provide the* same facilities, arrl we can induce them to remain in the port."

An All-Maori Jury. A trial bv an all-Maori jury which is to be held in the Supreme Court at Gi-borne next week will be the first of its kind there for about 35' vein's. The present clerk of the Court, Mr. J.' N. ..Nalder, states that lie has known of no sucli .trial in his time in the Gisborne Court, and Mr. G. J. A. Johnstone, who Was in the Gisbonle Court for 30 years, being,clerk of the Court for a lengthy period, told a reporter that he did not remember any such case in his time, although he could not say for certain that there was none because of" the number of years which had elapsed. Mr. W. A. Barton, who was magistrate in Gisborne for over 20 years and registrar of the Supreme Court before that, remembered one trial by an all-Maori jury there about 33 years ago, but he had no recollection of its nature. He kn<?W of no other such jury being empanelled in Gisborne.

Linnaeus Bicentenary. "Naturalist" writes: —Xext veal* will see the bicentenary of Carl von Linne, the great Swedish botanist, who is better known as Linnaeus, and to whom the world of horticultural science is deeply indebted. His memory is kept green in many . European countries by the Linnaen societies which bear his name, and his life work, that of classifyino* plants and of . simplifying their names, merits the gratitude of the civilised folk in botli hemispheres. Visitors to the Auckland Domain will doubtless have noticed that the rarer trees and shrubs are dignified by small notice-boards giving their scientific names. Prettv formidable they are, too, but they ate 'something more than mere mouthfuls of resounding syllables, for. in accordance with the Lintican° system, they are binominal. Each plant or tree lias two names,, which indicate respectively the genus and the species. A Simple example is "Fiseus macrophilia, the Moreton Bay fig. ■ Modern gardeners are apt to complain, not without reason, of trie jaw - crack in o- lirnies given to plants, but believe it 01- not, D a 3 Mr. Ripley would say, things were far worse before Linnaeus took a hand. An example chosen at random is the "full dress title of the. scarlet geranium, namely, Geranium sanguineum van lancastriense. That is ponderous enough, in all conscience, but it was formerly "Geranium hnemr.todes lancastrense flore eleganter striato." (Who would be a printer!). Carl von Linne was born in the reign of England's Queen Anne, in the year before the battle of Malplaquet. He started life With a botanical name, his father, an ect'inable • country clergyman, >,i!s Ingemaison, having taken to himself the surname Linnaeus, from a certan famous lime ee ("lind," in Swedish), in the town of Upsam. When the boy grew up he devoted himself to medicine, which involved the study of botany , and his works are the basis of the science of plants and flowers. Farmers and gardeners in this as well as other countries owe much to him, for his researches have had a piactical a ltd lasting, value.

War-time Souvenir. ' The Bed Cross ting which flew from the top of tile New Zealand stationary hospital, at Wazernes, near Amiens, during the years of the war, has been presented to the war relics section of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Presented by Mr. A. E. Douglas, the flag has been well cared for. and is in excellent condition. No doubt it will be remembered by Dominion soldiers who were patients at the hospital.

Stud Sheep Worried by Dogs. Two itogs created havoc yesterday among a flock of'7o stud Ryeland ewes grazing on the Palmerston North showgrounds. Practically all the wool and skin was torn /off six of the' animals, while from 50 to 00 were bitten and torn more or less severely. The sheep were the property of Mr. W. O. Shannon, of the Newbury line, who said that his loss, was irreparable. Last week he sold 23 four and five-year-old Ryeland ewes at ten guineas each for shipment to Tasmania. The two-toOtli ewes which were, grazing on the showgrounds were valued sO highly that he would not part with them. The sheep, moreover, were approaching lambing. Both dogs were later captured. One was a half-bred bulldog, and the other was a half-bred Irish terrier.

An Optimist. The suggestion made that the extra cost brought about by a 40-liour week on Wellington's tramcars would probably lead to the ten one-sectfcjii rides on a concession card being reduced to eight has led to at least one Optimist citizen preparing a stock of the tickets in use at the present time (reports the "Post"). This-tram user purchased an extra card while riding on a tramea'r recently, and informed others in his vicinity that lie was going to have a good supply of ten-ride tickets when the reduction in rides was made. He asked the conductor how many cards were in a "book," but when he was told that there were 25 he did not invest. However, lie was evidently optimistic enough to believe that the ten-ride tickets would not go out of circulation if and when'the change is made.

Restrictions on Imported Cattle. "The executive have again strongly objected to lifting the' restrictions on cattle imported from any country that is not free from foot-and-mouth disease," stated the president, Mr. Robert Dawsbii, at the annual meeting of the Auckland Metropolitan Jersey Club. "Not only do we fear the introduction of this scourge, but we also feel that as we have in the Dominion both males and females of all the valuable blood lines in the Jersey world t]iis means that for a century or so we could continue improving the breed without importing new stock. Again, artificial insemination has been Mich a success 111 England and Russia that it is almost tylfe to predict that with more research work space will be conquered, and New Zealand breeders will bo nblo to have the advantage of mating their females with the best bulls in existence."

Tolerance in Afh "All works of art should be noteworthy for their undoubted dualities of design, draughtsmanship , and harmony," remarked Mr. R. O. Gross, oilcof New Zealand's leading sculptors, 111 a broadcast' luncheon address to the Auckland Society of Arts yesterday. "In short, they rest first of all on their aesthetic qualities. If they fail in these first essentials, then I do not think they can ever rank as works of art, and 110 addition of story or meaning can ever make them so. But if either in the so-called modern style, or in a. more traditional way, they measure up to this first essential, we should be very tolerant and Catholic 111 considering the story or literary content with which the artist Is endeavouring to endow his work. There should be rigid standards for aesthetic qualities, but most tolerant ones for the others, and this should apply equally to all schools of design and thought."

Sensible Action by Children. 1 ' Describing it ag a sensible action, the borough electrical engineer informed the Tiillrti'u Bbrough Council at a recent meeting that, a report was deceived from two children to the effect that it was possible to obtain shocks from one of the department's poles in Wai-iti Road near Park Lane. An investigation was immediately made, and it was found that tlie ''hlfrh'tension jumper at the top of the pole had been brought underneath instead of over the top of, the cross-arm, and this fouled the galvnn'sed iron stay supporting tin* cross-arm, the current being caVried to the around through the sapwood of the po'e. Tn his opinion the report possibly snved council considerable oxnenne. r"■' he therefore rewarded the two child "Oil with 1/ e,°ch for thp'r sens'Me nct'on. M r . A. G. 1' n -ke'l if the council thought that the ch'blren had been given a fitting reward. M'\ .T. R. HArt explained that the engineer had done it "off liis own hat," and no action was taken by the h ft matter of siHi importance, said Mr. Foster, it appeared to him that a lai'ger reward might Have boen given.

Foreman and Awards. & In- answer' to the question whether foremen nnint he -members of a union, Mr. H. Campbell. secretary of the Trades and Labour 'Council in Auckland, quotes the late Mr. Justice Sim in the hope that his judgment should Clear any (loubt from the minds of employers. Mr. S'nr said that whether a worker was to be treated as a foreman or a leading hand depended upon the circumstances of The precedent upon which unions act. said Sir. Campbell, was found in a question asked in 1010 and answered by the judge, ns to whether employers, in engaging carpenters and joiners to act as working foremen in charge of carpentry or joinery work, were bound to give, preference to unionists. Mr. Justice Sim replied as fo'lows: "If a workei is really and substantially a , foreman. thin he is not subject to the provision of the preference clause, fhe fact that he may occasionally do' srimt> kind of carpenter's _ work would not" bring him within the operation of the clause. If, however, a worker is engaged substantially in doing the work of a carpenter, although lie may also supervise the work of others, then he is a journeyman, and sitliiect to the award. In other words, a bonafifle foreman is not subject to the award, but 'the leading hand on a job is subject to it.' This answer may be found in the Book ol Awards, Vol. ft.

Art and People. "Civilistttfon and art—what is the ence?" asked Mr. R. 0. Gross, the well-known sculptor, in a broadcast address at a lunelieo 1 ' "■ftthering of' the Auckland Society of Art» •yesterday. It should be the privilege as well as the duty of artists to contribute to the needs of humanity, he said; the provision o more beauty \vas -the first work of art. F" urged the greater use of art galleries, ant made special mention of the needs of the country people, who were possibly more eager to learn to appreciate art than townspeople He commended the. enterprise. of the society in its arrangements for travelling collection* of reproductions from great masterpieces. The people of the country, too,, had excellent opportunities of practising one of the finest of arts —that of the landscape architect. "You will fincl that some understand ! n?t of this Will b" of tremendous advantage when cutting u» your holdings into smaller areas," lie sa.xU "arid you will have the joy of wr.tching you'nlpntntions growing arid increasing the Actual i'ourtds, sWll'ngs and pence value of your place, not only because trees serve a useful purpose; IS\it because the place will be more beautiful: 3rd therefore more desirable to live in. There Can hardly be any field of effort where pleasure and profit can be more easily combined." Returning to the life of the city, Mr. Gross .remarked that he would like to see greater co-operation between artist and manufacturer. With a growing knowledge of art. people would, demand more beauty in life; the I machines must be subdued to man's needs.