NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 285, 1 December 1936, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand's Unknown Soldier. It is not generally known that in tlie Wanganui old cemetery is the grave of an unknown soldier. A tombstone dated ISGS bears the names of two soldiers who fought in tlie Maori wars which were in progress in the Wanganui district. The inscription on the tombStone states also that another soldier is buried there whose name is unknown. Unusual Animal Pals. A unique and charming study in animal life may be seen at a service station at Putiki, where an Alsatian dog acts as fosterparent to a young opossum (reports the "Star's" Wanganui Correspondent). The latter appears thoroughly to enjoy the protection of the larger animal, and rides about on its back, at the same time eating an apple. Should the opossum happen to stray too near the road traffic, the dog carefully chases it back to safety. Shop Early This Christmas. Never lias the old cry, "Shop early this Christmas," been more applicable to Auckland than this year. All the indications are that Christmas will be brighter and busier than ever. It has not been usual in recent years for the' Christmas rush to start with the beginning of December, but a stroll through city shops to-day shows that already tlieie is feverish Christmas buying, in spite of the fact that Christinas Eve is three weeks away. There is obviously a realisation on the part of shoppers that there is certain to bo an excited last-minute rush to buy the family presents. Shopkeepers are hopeful that there will be no lull in Christmas shopping now that it has begun, and that buying will be steadily spread over the next three weeks. The Ferry Building Fence. What are by-laws for, but to he broken? A careful traffic department decided to eliminate accidents in the vicinity of the 1' cr }y Building by erecting a chain fence along its whole length; the project was carried out, and beyond a' little comment the innovation was taken philosophically enough. Now the youths of several North Shore areas have withstood the temptation long enough, and have decided that the fence has been put there solely for the purpose of allowing them, to cultivate an easy hurdling style. .Nearly every boat that comes or goes during the rush hours brings several smart hoys, who blithely approach and either step or lea]) over the '> al " rier according to length of leg. Perhaps they will try it when traffic officials are using- tlie loud-speaker apparatus on the opposite side of the road. Architects Concerned. In the annual report of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, presented at last night's annual meetin", concern at the expansion of some of the Government and local body architectural departments was expressed. The increased grant for public buildings had made it necessary to greatly increase the staff of the Government Department, it was stated. It was felt that the better course would have been for the Government to place at least some of its architectural work in the hands of private practitioners. These private practitioners were organised and capable of carrying out all classes of work. In recent months about 20 young qualified architects had left New Zealand for other countries. Their ability was shown by the fact they were eagerly sought overseas. Negligence of Motorists. "I am unable to distinguish from negligence the wording of this new section of the Motor Vehicles Regulations, which says 'not exercising due care and attention when driving,' " observed Mr. F. H. Levien, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court at Paeroa. "There has been all sorts of wriggling throughout the centuries to get away from the definition of negligence. This charge visualised negligence, the inevitable accident and an error of judgment. Whichever way it was tried to qualify the definition, negligence meant only an omission to take the care a reasonable man would have taken under the circumstances, doing something a reasonable man would not do, or not doing what a reasonable man would have done." After reviewing the evidence in the case before him the magistrate said that it wa§ defendant's duty not to jeopardise the pedestrian who had been involved. Defendant had taken a risk, and an accident had occurred, therefore he had not exercised due care and attention. Making " Sissies " of Firemen. A rather novel objection to the introduction of gas masks as standard equipment for firemen in Christchurch was. raised by Superintendent C. C. Warner at a recent meeting of the Christchurch Fire Board. Mr. T. Girling Butcher, chief inspector of fire brigades, attended to explain an objection thai had been raised when the masks were discussed previously. He said they were of the military type, purely for use as smoke masks. • Superintendent Warner, however, still had an objection. PressecV to explain it, he said that he had been 25 years in charge at Christchurch, and he did not think the smoke in future would be any worse than in the past, when they had found they could get along quite well without them. To use them „owr he said, would make the men a "lot of sissies." The board did not take the objection seriously, and when the discussion continued Superintendent Warner said he hoped that they would give him a photograph of the men the first time they were used, "just as a souvenir."

Newspaper Publicity. The view that newspapers are still the basic vehicles for the dissemination of information was expressed by Mr. F. C. Spratt, at tlie meeting of the New Zealand Road Safety Council. "There is an impression that other methods are superseding tlie newspapers, but tlie adult education and propaganda committee feels tliat newspapers are still the basic vehicles for the dissemination of information," he said. "Newspapers are tlie public's library." Power Board Difficulty. Difficulty is being experienced by the Auckland Electric Power Board in obtaining materials from overseas, according to a report to the board yesterday by the general manager, Mr. R. H. Bartley. Orders for some goods had been placed many months ago, and the board was being forccd to purchase wherever possible from stocks held in the Dominion. Mr. Hartley explained that orders so far not fulfilled we're for switch gear, insulators, copper cables, underground cables, transformers and meters. -English factories were working at high pressure, and deliveries were bad. A Melting Motor Car. Regular users of the Raliu deviation of tlie Paeroa-Waihi road have formed the habit of giving a derelict motor car at Mackaytown more than a passing glance, and there is speculation as to whether the former owner abandoned it altogether or, on finding that it could not make the grade, decided to get it home ill pieces (reports the "Star's" Paeroa correspondent). In the first week or so the windscreen disappeared. Then followed the hood and the cushions, and since tlieii every detachable part has gone. Now, after several months, the owner has got down to the difficult sections, or the thieves have become holder,, for the regular users of the road were astounded to note last week that the rusty nuts had been unscrewed to permit the removal of the cylinder head. Air Mails Popular. The popularity of air mail services for the rapid dispatch of correspondence is reflected in a Post Office report, which says that for the first time tlie total number of letters handled by the inland air mail services in one week has exceeded 20,000. On three previous occasions the postings touched 19,000 a week. The report does not include the "novelty" rush when the service was inaugurated last March. On that occasion 30,793 letters were sent by air in tile first week. Outward dispatches on the Australia-Singapore route .to the United Kingdom and the Continent were doubled in one year. The number in October of last year was 10,180, compared with 21,784 in October of this year. Figures for inward air mail arc about the same. Water in Swimming Baths. Perhaps many visitors to swimming pools have wondered how many gallons of water it takes to fill a standard-sized swimming bath. At the meeting of the Otahuhu Borough Council last evening the borough turncock pftsented a report on the filling of the new baths at King's College the other week. According to the report, the bath holds about 100,000 gallons, while no fewer than nearly 50,000 gallons had to be run off owing to discoloration. This discoloration was noticeable all over the borouih, and was the cause of many complaints, but it was pointed out that the drawing of 240,000 gallons at one time would have a scouring effect on the water mains, and would have the same beneficial effect as would be obtained by flushing the mains. More Post Office Records. The motor registration branch of the Post Office, in recently surveying the growth in registrations this year, showed that in seven out of nine months' records were made for these particular months. The October registration figures disclose.that not since tlie passing of the Motor Vehicles Act has there been so large a number of registrations in the month of October. They comprised:—Cars, 20f>0; commercial vehicles, 799; and motor cycles, 320; making a total of 31/u, which heats any previous October record by 458. October was also a month of records' in the telephone branch of the Post Office, the number of.new connections, 1500, never before being reached iti any month, and the total net 'gain in subscribers in October, 900. was mother achievement which has-not previously been reached. Wages for Ragwort Eradication. In the opinion of many farmers the rate of wages fixed for men employed on private farms ir. the eradication of ragwort at £4 a week is too high, and it will result in farmers dispensing with this class of labour. The labour is subsidised, the Government subsidy being .C 2 5/ a week for married men and £1 10/ for single men. Fanners using this type of labour are allowed 17/0 a week for the men's keep, and are required to find the balance of £1 12/0 for single men and 15/ for married men. The class of labour was ranked officially as 'A 2 men, farmers pointed out. which comprised men not fit for heavy work. In those circumstances, it seemed absurd to pav such men the same rates as those fixed for Public Works employees, who were classed as fit for any work. Further, it was stated that farmers did not think it equitable that they should have to pay more for a single mini than for a married man, each of whom would give the same return in labour. Tt was little wonder that dismissals of men engaged in clearing out ragwort were becoming general. It seemed likely that, as a result, the pest might spread again where it had been partly eliminated.