NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 69, 23 March 1937, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Easter Holidays. There will be no issue of the "Auckland Star" on Good Friday. It will be published as usual on Easter Monday, and the Sports Edition will also appear on Saturday night. The v office will be open until 9 p.m. on Thursday for the convenience of advertisers. "Just Married." A new house in Faraday Street, Napier,' brought smiles to th# faces of passers-by during two or three days last week. The house, built for a recently-married young Napier couple, has ateross its front a huge canvas sign bearing the legend: "Just married. On honeymoon. Home soon." Spirit of Christmas. "Do not let us confine the spirit of Christ: mas to ,a few days in the year, but let us practise that- spirit all the year round," said the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, in an address to the pupils of the Palmerston* North Technical College. "At Christmas we preach the spirit* of peace on earth and goodwill towards all men. Why can't we have the same spirit all the year round? There is no reason why we should not do this. How simple it looks. I think it is .simple if we could only get it into our minds." University Team's Departure. To-morrow night the 1937 representatives of the Auckland University College at the 1 annual inter-university tournament, to be held this year in Christchurch, will leave for the South by the Limited express. Approximately 60 strong, the team has a very fair chance of bringing back the trophy for all-round supremacy. Although it has not been awarded the wooden spoon since its last victory, in 1931, Auckland's record has not been particularly imposing. This year prospects are distinctly brighter. Technique of Its Own. A pillow fight staged at the training division sports at the naval base yesterday afternoon was one of the highlights t>f a varied programme, and it has a technique ! entirely its" own. The competitors, two at,a" time, climbed on to a high wooden bar and 1 sat facing each other. Then each was handed a feather pillow. The rules were that the pillow could be held in the right hand only, and. that the left hand only could be used to maintain position. When the order to commence wasgiven, the competitors worked along the bar towards each other, and then it was. a case of hitting as hard as. possible. Usually one of the competitors quickly swung under. the" bar to maintain a one-hand hold in' addition to a foothold. When this stage was' reached the man on top had all the best of the going, and it was usual that before long the competitor underneath had to let go. A swing with a pillow which mi-3ed was often fatal, the impetus sending the .competitor over to the precarious underneath position. Young naval ratings watched the contests with intense glee, and gave much vocal encouragement. Where Six Roads Meet.

The question of the removal of the Seddon Memorial a% Royal Oak, where six roads meet, was brought under the notice of the Onehunga Borough Council last night; when a letter was read from the acting-Commissioner of Transport asking if it would not be advisable to remove the monument to another site where it would not interfere with traffic. The Mayor, Mr. J. Park, said that this particular j junction had been one of the freest' fromlaccident in the Auckland district. The question of the Seddon Memorial, he said, had been discussed by the "Automobile 'Association, and in the opinion of many of the members who were experienced motorists the presence of the memorial was an advantage rather than otherwise, because it made drivers slow down and take care. The removal of the memorial would doubtless mean its demolition. It was resolved to inform the aeting-Commisrbner that the subject had recently been under discussion by the two controlling authorities, the Onehunga Borough Council and the Mount Roskill Road Board, when it was decided to let the memorial remain in its present, position because the cost, of removal, estimated at £250. was too great, and also because of difficulty in finding a suit' able site on which to place the' memorial if it were removed. "Private Inquisition.** "A public inquiry into the quality of the, flour used in the making of the bread supplied to the Auckland Hospital, provided it is really a public inquiry; will be welcomed by the bread contractor." This statement was made by the solicitor acting for the Crown Bakery, in commenting on. the announcement by the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, that he proposed to hold a judicial inquiry under section 13 of the Board of Trade Act. The solicitor said an inquiry into one specific contract did not appear to come within the scope of the Act, as the type of inquiry authorised by section 13 was one "for the purpose of obtaining information which may be required for the duo control, regulation and maintenance of the industries of New Zealand." He also said that an inquiry, such as prescribed by the Act. could hardly be called a public one, in that it was held by the Minister himself in private, the only witnesses were those called by the Minister, and the only publication permitted was what the Minister thought fit to authorise. "A private inquisition, such as is proposed by the Minister, would • certainly not enlighten the public or the Minister," he concluded.

Haven of Rest. The offer of the St. Mary's Home to take the old white horse had been accepted, stated the Mayor, Mr. C. R. Petrie, M.P., at the meeting of the Otahuhu Borough Council last evening. The fate of old "Bill" had become of concern to many who recognised his faithful services to the council, and all will be pleased to learn that he will be given light work~ohly"-on" one day a week, and a good home has been found for him. '-Radio Conference. -Because -jM Palmerstori North's central the' first national conferencep"f Zealand Radio Emergency Corps is to be held there, and will open on Easter Saturday. The corps .is made np of experts who can provide an efficient means of communication by radio in a time of emergency, and a number of matters for the possible improvement of the organisation as a whole are to be discussed. Evening Milk Delivery. At the meeting of the Otahuhu Borough Council last evening Mr. A. J. Sinclair drew attention to the fact that a local vendor had been compelled to stop his second delivery. "I don't know whether it is the subterranean influence of the Milk Council extending to Otahuhu," said Mr. Sinclair, "but it seems that the second, or evening, delivery of milk is being stopped by compulsory methods. It is not being stopped by agreement, as there is bitter competition between the suppliers." Considerable surprise was expressed at Mr. Sinclair's statement, and it was decided to refer the matter to the town clerk for further inquiries. Smoke Nuisance in North. Motorists to the north of Auckland have been complaining lately of the thoughtlessness of farmers in the- vicinity of Dairy Flat and Waiwera in lighting firosto buru off grass at times when traffic on the main road is heavy. Two motorists returning late in the afternoon a few days ago were held up for considerable period's by dense smoke, rendering driving dangerous, drifting across the main road. One described the smoke and sparks as good material for a newsreel short; twice, lie said, there were fully 15 cars parked waiting for the smoke to clear from the roadway. The bolder ' spirits who ventured into the smoke found that visibility did not extend beyond sft. Willow for Cricket Bats. An unusual cargo was sent from Blenheim when the scow Echo carried about two tons of golden willow from tie property of Mr. A. •M. W. Adams, Langley Dale, for transhipment' to Sydney by tse;Wanganella for use in the 'manufacture of cricket bats. The cargo consisted of 51 pieces of timber, and was procured by Mr, W. Dye, a representative of a firm of Sydney batmakers, whp spent several dayj in the district- inspecting willow in various localities. Mr. Dye s»id that there was a shortage of willow both in Australia and Eng' land suitable for the manufacture of cricket bats, because oi trees being affected with blight, and,he remarked that if the consignment came ,up to the standard of the manufacturers further consignments would probably be asked for within a few months. Legion of Frontiersmen Replaced. The Imperial Overseas Legion of Frontiersmen has been replaced with a new corps —the British Corps of (25th) Frontiersmen, which, with headquarters in Wellington, has been registered and is prepared to enrol men with suitable qualifications (states the "Post"). The objects of the corps are the safety and well-being of the Empire and the enrolment of men in time of peace, who have frontier, naval, or military experience, or such other civil qualifications" as may assist the Empire in time of need. The is definitelv non-political, and will not be used during any industrial disputes! The work of the corps "will not interfere with the civilian occupation of any member, and the corps will be ready to render service to the community whenever and in whatever capacity it can. Branches are being formed in various parts of the Dominion. Drainage Scheme. As the result of a desire by the medical officer of health at Auckland, Dr. T. J. Hughes, -to carry out further analytical work, the special meeting of the Auckland and Suburban Drainage Board, which was 1 to have been held to-morrow to give further consideration to the scheme of drainage recommended for the Auckland metropolitan district, has been postponed until . after Easter, according to an announcement made by the chairman of the board. Mr-. Ernest Davis. Dr. Hughes recently suggested that certain further analytical work be done to supplement the chemical analyses of sea water and sewerage already completed in conjunction with the additional investigations carried out by the engineer to the hoard Mr. H. H. Watkins. in connection with the proposal to establish sewerage treatment works at Brown's Island. This, said Mr. Davis, had a bearing ori the proposal to discharge sewerage from the southern area of the suggested new drainage district into the Motnkorea Channel. Mr. Davis added that he had agreed to the suggestion made by Dr. Hughes. who had given much valuable assistance and advice to the board. Furthermore, the engineer desired to incorporate the results of the further analyses in the report which he was preparing. The completion of the report was, therefore, being delayed until the additional information was available. It was now expected that it would be possible to arrange for the special meeting to be held towards the end of April."