NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 236, 5 October 1937, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Is it a Weather Omen? A jiair of wild duck frequenting the Mangapiko Stream, near Te Awanmtu, nesting this season in ;i plantation of high niacr<K > arpjt. It wan xiifrpested tliat this portends a icry wet npring and summer, lint a close observer holds the view that the duck have chosen the iiiiustml nesting place to avoid pllkeko, weasels and other ground pests, who have a strong penchant for duek eggs. He added that he had. in other seasonn, found wild ducks' nests that had been "raided" by pukeko, every egg Iteing smashed. Maoris' Tribute. A graceful tribute to the memory of the late Mr. 11. K. Holland, leader of the Labour party in \c\v Zealand until IJKS3, was paid by the Wainta Maori concert party while on their tour of Australia. Mr*. Holland yesterday told how. while living with a daughter in Adelaide, she was giirprieed by a visit by the whole party. They told her that they had learned she was liviiifr there, and that they had come to pay their respects in memory of her husband, who had died while attending the funeral of their late king. They gave her a private concert during their visit. That Tasman Record. An interesting aspect of the Awatea's record Tasman crossing was mentioned to-dny by an Auckland business man. Within the comparatively short space of ten years, he said, the time occupied by the voyage iu transTasman steamships had been reduced by onethird. This was a very important fac'.or in improving trade and social relationship between Now Zealand and Australia; of even more importance than the amazing development of air traffic, because of the subsidiary factors of safety and regularity in transit. "It ie astonishing." he said, "to reflect that the average crossing time had been reduced from three days in 1027 to approximately two in 1937, and that the reduction had been accompanied by no loss in safety and comfoft." The Amende Honorable. A prompt protestation from the New Zealand Manufacturers" Federation that a letter last month to the Auckland Electric Power Board respecting discrimination against the Xew Zealand-made electric stoves was merely an inquiry, not a challenge, evoked a smile at a meeting of the Power Board yesterday, although the chairman remarked, in acknowledging the apologv, that hin recollection was the terms of the original communication were in the nature rather of a statement than of a question. The fact remained, however, that (there was 710 discrimination against the Xew Zealand-made article, and this was emphasised by ft letter from Messrs. Scott Bros., Ltd.. of Christchurch, stating that they drsired to dissociate themselves from any such suggestion, which they knew from experience to be untrue. Public Service Examination. After having been in abeyance since 19.32, the Public Service examination is again to be reinstated, from tine year. An announcement to this effe't has been made by the Public Service Commissioners, Messrs. T. Mark anti J. H. Boyes, and the examination will be held in secondary schools towards the end of next month. This is the test which those wishing to enter the Public Service have to bit for after their second year at a secondary school, and the'standard fc, therefore, about thn same as that of the intermediate examination, the passing of which confers what is called a senior free place, and gives the right to another year at school. Separate papers of a slightly higher standard may be set in English, arithmetic, Latin, French, mathematics and history. A Wrestling Scrum T If weight alone counted, an ideal pack of Rugby forwards could have been selected at the Town Hall laet evening, when Joe "Kopach" Woods and Don Noland were matched by the Auckland Wrestling Association. Those two were in- the ring, but there were another five "heavies" looking on—and the combined weight of the seven was 117 st 61b. Jack Forsgren (17st 41b), Don Mclntyre (16st lolb), and Hal Rumberg (17st 21b) were pausing through Auckland by the Aorangi on their return to America from Australia, and in addition there were present Francis Fouche (17st), Frank Judson (17»t), Don Xoland (Ifist 101b) and Woods (l.">st 81b). They might hnve been a useful combination against the Springboks— particularly with a jolt or two thrown into the scrums! Y.M.C.A. Work Extended. In a circular letter accounting for its stewardship of the money raised by public subscription in the recent Coronation appeal, the Auckland Y.M.C.A. intimates that a 1 rt has been made with renovations of the Y.M.C.A. building, which will cost £1050, u sum of £500 has been set aside for extending the association's work in the suburbs, £:{."io has been allotted to the boys' camps, part of the money wTI enable a second assistant to be maintained tn the boys' division, and an extra assistant in the general work, and the rest will be devoted to liquidation of the mortgage, £4800 of which will be paid off by the end of the year. This i-tatement, which is being forwarded to all local bodies that made donations to the fund, was received yesterday by the Auckland Klectrie Power Board.

Birth and Death. A birth and a death have taken place at the Auckland Zoo. The one emu chick successfully hatched by the patient male bird out of a sitting of eight eggs has died, but this loss is in part made up by the birth of a Rhesus monkey, now the centre of interest in the pit community in the middle of the park. Hamilton Traffic Bridge. Signposting of all main routes by the Hamilton branch of the Automobile AssociaHor'. will complete the preparations for the closing of the Hamilton traffic bridge for repcii*. at 8 o'clock on Wednesday morning. The brlilge will remain open to pedestrian traffic, for the six weeks which the repairs are expected to take, but all road traffic will lie prohibited while the men are at work, and will have to cross the river by the Fairfield Bridge. A Pensioner's Hoard. Workers in the Rotorua Public Hospital laundry made an unusual and unexpected discovery yesterday when a parcel of clothes was sent in to be washed, reports the "Star's" Rotorua correspondent. On going through the garments before placing them in water, an employee was astonished to find a roll of bank notes in a well-hidden place. The undoing of the bundle revealed a sum of £349, every note being o f an old denomination, the oldest one issued in 1005. Inquiries were made, and it was later revealed that the clothes were the property of an elderly woman who had recently been admitted to the institution. The patient was an old-age pensioner, and generally believed to be in poor circumstances. New Zealand's Boy Patient. When the Rangitiki sailed from Wellington on August 3 her passengers included Frank Murphy, a lud of 12, who was being taken to London for an operation on the brain, his trip Home in company with his mother having been made possible by a community effort on the part of the people of Dunback and surrounding farms, who at a public meeting subscribed £300 within 20 minutes. A few weeks ago a Press Association cable message was received from London stating that the lad had entered hospital for observation by a ist. A progress report has now been received by private cablegram in the following terms: "An operation disclosed a stricture of a channel in the brain. As yet no improvement is in sight. The patient is now undergoing X-ray t r eatment. He is walking about, happy and contented. Possibly further operations may be necessary." Change Not Approved. The announcement that specialist sections of secondary school cadet corps would be abolished has disappointed headmnsterw of schools which will be mo-t affected. They say that boys, being naturally interested in the mechanical side of tilings, will resent having these technical interest*! withdrawn .and having to go back to infantry drill. It is also argued that the Territorial Force has looked tn the schools for its best recruits, and that the abolition of specialist training from the schools cannot fail to affei't the Territorial Force. Specialist Bections were abolished at the Takapuna Grammar School last year, and King's College, which concentrates on infantry training, has only a email Lewis gun division, but the Auckland and Mount Albert Grammar Schools and the Technical College have artillery and machine-gun sections, and the Technical College has also a field engineering division. How Far Does He Fall? If a man falls from a standing position on the plane of his feet and hits his head, how far does he, or his head, fall? This is not a riddle, but a point which arose in the Arbitration Court yesterday during the hearing of a compensation claim. According to the Workers' Compensation Act, a person muet be doing work where there is a possibility of a fall of 12ft before a claim can be brought. In this case there was argument of fact as to how far plaintiff might have fallen. Plaintiff was standing on a ladder when he fell with it, breaking his thigh. Mr. Schramm, who appeared for plaintiff, submitted that it did not matter which part of the man fell the 12ft; that the entire length of the man did not have to be 12ft above the ground; and that as long u» part of him was. then be had satisfied the provision of the Act and had fallen 12ft. Hi« Honor Mr. Justice O'Kegan said he would like some authority on that,, but unfortunately there was no authority. Convenience to Clients. The convenience to users of electric light and power in Auckland of being able to pay their electric power bills and to order fittings on Friday evenings, will be instituted this week. Tn future the Auckland Power Board office will be open for this purpose on Fridays tn 9 p.m., and will be closed on Saturday mornings. This decision was made by the members of the board yesterdav afternoon, those of the office staff concerned having intimated that they desired to take their turns on the occasional evening duty in exchange for the five-day week privilege. This will be included in the conditions of the local bodice' officers' award. The office for t'.e purpose is located on the ground floor of the Power Hoard building, which has been in use for cash receipts during the past few weeks, a facility to clients which Mr. M. J. Bennett commented on yesterday hk a payable attraction to the board's business. "Xinety installations last week, more than two-thirds of which v ore stoves,"' was the chairman's report, indicating that business is brisk.