NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 108, 8 May 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Schools to Assist. I The Auckland Education Board has! arranged for the placing of collection boxes in the primary schools for the King George V. Memorial Fund to establish health camps. Bowlers, Official and Unofficial. Two teams of bowlers from fireat Britain —one oilicial and one unofficial—will visit Xew Zealand next season. It was reported to the meeting of the Christchurch Bowling Centre that one party was sponsored by a travel company, and would make a tour'doscribed as unofficial. The International Bowling Board, which was sending the oilicial j British team, had protested against the visit of the other party, but the New Zealand Asso- , ciation had decided to welcome both sets of! players. | Praise for Glow-worm Caves. High praise for the glow-worm caves as a tourist attraction in New Zealand was expressed by Mr. A. G. Argo. a South African business man at present on a tour of thei Dominion, in an interview with the "Press."! Mr. Argo said he had been very favourably impressed by the attention which tourists! were given, by the forest scenery, and by I Rotorna, but what had impressed him most | was the glow-worm caves. He had visited j caves in England, in* Australia, and in many! other parts of the world, but in his opinion] there was none to approach those he had seen j in New Zealand. Purchase of Painting. The purchase of a painting by W. .T. Leech for the Robert MeDougall Art Gallery, Sehlesinger Bequest, has been approved by the Christchurch City Council. The finance committee reported that while the purchase did not quite fulfil the intention of Miss. Sehlesinger, the picture was considered to he a fine work of art, and a number of people were anxious that it should be added to the collection. The price of the painting was £125. Of this £63 had already been promised, and on the committee's recommendation the council decided to place the balance, £62, on the estimates to cover the purchase. The Hardy Annuals. The recent cold snap has diminished the number of bathers on all the North Shore beaches. On Wednesday morning, when hail j was piled high on the sides of the' bathing sheds at Windsor Reserve, in Devonport. only two hardy bathers put in an appearance, and both enjoyed a good long swim. One was an old resident, who answered to his name at the recent jubilee celebrations as having been born iil the 'sixties. When he was congratulated on his stamina in facing the elements in such cold weather he replied that he thought the young fellows were not so hardy as they were in his youth. The other bather was a grandfather who had not long retired from the Civil Service after having put in 40 years' service there. Hospitality .Acknowledged. The Consul for France, M. Edouard Joubert, has sent the following letter to the Rev. H. K. Vickery, of the Missions to Seamen, Auckland: "On leaving the shores of NewZealand Commandant Moron asked me to convey to you, and I have great pleasure in doing so, his" very warm thanks for the generous hospitality extended by you. and for all that you have so kindly done for the sailors of the Rigault de Genouilly, during their stay in Auckland. The variety of the entertainments and the cordial welcome given to our men have been deeply appreciated by my countrymen, who will keep the most pleasant memories of the Seamen's Institute, over which you preside with such kindness and so successfully." City Speedsters. "With winter here and rain frequent, the dangers to pedestrians in the city are not lessened by intolerant motorists," writes a correspondent. "The crossings so elaborately marked out by a considerate traffic department are no check to some drivers —mostly young men. The wet weather obliterates the white marks to some extent, but there is no excuse for the way some drivers act. The young cyclist is even a greater terror to the pedestrian, because, keen to see an opening, he dodges in and out to the danger of all. No regulation daunts him. The tramwaymen are careful, generally speaking, and give every attention to the traffic laws. Farther out. on the New North Road, between the top of Symonds Street and Dominion Road, it is difficult to cross the street between hVo and six o'clock at night. The thoroughfare is a whirling mass of fast-moving traffic, with hungry lad-s on bicycles and youths on motor cycles all racing home, to the danger of any person who is unfortunate enough to be nut and desires to cross tln> street. A traffic officer on this sector of the pity after the liv o'clock whistle blows might deter the speedsters." Training 'Planes. The low-wing, high-performance trend of modern aircraft demands a. trainer of similar characteristics, and the New Zealand Government's order for four Miles Hawk trainer aeroplanes for issue *o aero clubs should amply satisfy training requirements in the Dominion. Two of these machines are now en route to New Zealand from England, and the remaining two will probably be shipped next month. The word "trainer" has, however, been displaced from the original description in favour of "Magister." This type of machine is being manufactured at the rate of 10 a w.eek, and 20 a month are being supnlied to the British Air Ministry. The Miles Magister is now known as the special Royal Air Force version of the Miles Hawk trainer. and the machines coming to New Zealand will be similar in every respect to those in use in England. This latest version—first flown on March 20, at Reading. England—is powered by a 130 h.p. Gipsy Major engine, and is the only one of its type, in production to be approved by the Air Ministry for ah initio instruction of Royal Air Force pilots. The wings of the machine fold and the trailing edge flaps operate mechanically. There will be duplicate set? of blind-flying instruments as well as the normal instruments in the New Zealand machines. They are capable of a speed of more than 150 miles an hour.

Symonds Street Vista. Citizens who walk down Symonds Street on the western • side have Appreciated the glorious views and magnificent autumn tints in the cemetery gully at tlie present time. The views through the fine oaks to the blue and purple distance, and under the archee of the great bridge, are worth a fair journey to enjoy. Direction of Whirlpools. It has been noted that whirlpools caused by dams or other obstructions in rivers move in a clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere and in an anti-clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere. This fact was mentioned during a tour of inspection by members of the Waimakariri River Trust, and the engineer, Mr. W. 11. Harris, said that it had been borne nut by observation 011 tlie river. The currents were in a clockwise direction except when there was a special disturbing factor. Saturday Work in Cemeteries. Tile Christclnuch City Council decided at its last meeting not to allow monumental masons to work in the city cemeteries on Saturdays (states the "Press"'). It made this decision after the reserves committee had reported that a letter had been received from the Canterbury Association of Master Monumental Masons protesting against Saturday work being allowed in cemeteries under the control of the council. The association considered that men working at their trades during the week should not lie allowed to work in the cemeteries 011 Saturdays, find suggested that the council prohibit any such work on Saturdays unless the circumstances were exeept ional. Printing Trade Craftsmen. Composed of executives actively employed in the printing and closely allied industries, and having as its object the development of a co-operative spirit of friendship and mutual assistance to members, the first general meeting of the Wellington Club of Printing House Craftsmen was held the other evening, the chairman, Mr. IT. W. Lattcy. presiding over a large attendance representative of every city printing house. Following a welcome and dinner, the chairman stressed the advantages which membership held, and his appeal for co-operation to improve the status of the craft by the interchange of knowledge was heartily endorsed. Goblets for Coronation Ball. For the purpose of drinking the King's health at the Coronation ball, in Dunedin, several gold-cased goblets will lie in use at the ollicial table. The goblets were imported by a Dunedin firm at considerable cost some 3 r ears ago from Great Britain, but it is only on special occasions that they are released from the firm's strongroom. They have been used at some very exclusive functions. On the occasion of the visit to Dunedin in 1020 of the present King, then the Duke of York, the goblets were in use on the tables of the Fernhill Club, where the Duke was staying. Loyalty in Speech. The speech of New Zealand is English, but the speech of Australia is "Australian,'' according to Mr. .T. P. Perry, a retired Viennese banker, who arrived in Christchurch on his first visit to the southern Dominions. "Xew Zealand is, I think, the most loyal of Great Britain's possessions," he said. "She is very much more loyal than Australia. My impression was that the Australians were more selfcontained —they are Australians first and foremost. In Xew Zealand the people are British. You can tell it by the language. In Xew Zealand they speak pure English, but in Australia they speak —well, Australian." " Glorified Clerks." Speaking at the complimentary luncheon tendered to the Hon. W. I". Banian! at Te Arolia, a member of (he Legislative Council, the Hon. .T. Cotter, said he was of the opinion that people f to-day were making too mu'li use of their Parliamentary members. He thought electors should be more like the old pioneers, and stand more on their own feet. He had observed in the Empire City that members <>f Parliament v&re writing day and night, replying to correspondence from all j over their constituencies, and they had become 1 little more than glorified clerks. ' Postal Arrangements for May 12. Special arrangements have been made bv the Clii'-f Postmaster for both the postal and telegraph departments for May 11 and the day following. Coronation Day. In the former department 011 May 11 an over-the-counter delivery of correspondence, including i registered letters, will be made from the i postmen's branch, first floor. ('.P.0.. between 1 7 p.m. ami S p.m.. while tin* uieht clear Mi.-es o f posting boxes will b- made ;• - 11 mil. ('■iro. nation Da v \v : <! observed as p ho! : .liv. , Mails u-ually d : -i-i ■ .-he-l on V.Y ':v-da vs be fore 7.1 a.m. "do •" at -1 a.m.. and 1 lio- ■ . dispatched after T.!"> a.m. will close th" la'ter hour, with the i'\n'i'liuii that mails • for southern oflr-es f> ■ r dispatch by the Limited express will close at the Chief Post Office. Am-klaiid. at. ."1 p.m. Letters marked "late fee" will be received at the ('.P.O. up to (i.l."i p.m., and at the railway stat'on box !up to (;..-»<) p.m. The chief telegraph office will be open from 0 «.m. to 2 p.m. and from j 7 p.m. until midnight. ! Appendicitis Coincidence. For HI members out of a family of 11 to be operated upon for appendicitis over a period I of years has been the misfortune of a Par--1 nell family. The patents were the mother j ami nine children, whose ages range from '21 ■ to four, the youngest child at present being in the Auckland Hospital. Tin- husband was recently taken to hospital, w'etn it was first thought that he. too. was snT"riiig from appendicitis. but a diagnosis proved the : trouble to be ( >f another iciture. "The hos- ' pital has been consid -ring reserving a special : ward for this family." jocularly remarked the .children's gra ml fa t her to-day. An Auckland : doctor stated that tie case, although exceptional in that si, large a family suffered appendicitis, w;i.i purely a matter of coincidence. There was no evidence- 111 the medical world that one family was more prone to appindicitis tl.an another. Appendicitis was fairly I prevalent, but was not hereditary. Another doctor mentioned that a not uncommon cause of appendicitis was swallowing particles from a chipped eating or drinking utensil, 01 bristles of a cheap toothbrush. Inflammation would result and appendicitis develop.