NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 269, 12 November 1937, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Boiled the License. Recently a traffic inspector stopped an old .Maori near a Hawke's Bay town, and asked hi in to produce his driving license. After inucli fumbling, the Maori extracted from the pocket of his shirt a piece of pulped paper "By korrv, has been an accident."' said the Maori; "te wahiiic she boil the shirt. with te driving license still in te pocket." The Maori had to go to the trouble of buying a new license.'' Loss by Sheep Worrying. A serious loss through sheep being worried by dogs is reported from King Bros.' Rangitanuku property at Hinuerii (reports the "Star's"' Matamata correspondent). While ridiup round shorn sheep at the back of the farm on Monday, after about a week's alienee from this area. Mr. (!uv Kin" found that ten shorn hoggets had been worried to death by a dop or dops. and about 20 others were badly mauled. At least half of the injured sheep are not expected to live. The sheep are valued at about £2 each.

Voice pf the Railcar. "I will rejieat what 1 said before, that I think these railcars siiould have a more efficient warning device." said Mr. Raymond Kerner, S.M.. in the Magistrate's Court at tJreymouth on Monday, in fining a man 10/ and costs for crossing the New Kiver comliined railway and traffic bridge when the line was not dear. '"Here is a case where a man was evidently preoccupied by alterations and inequalities of a highway in front of him." continued the magistrate. "He ran into a position of danper. No rlonbt his duty to look for the railcar was prevented by the necessity for having, a close repaid for the condition of the highway. It was certain that he would not have run into the position he did had he heard the warninp device of the railcar." However, he was in Court, ami must lie convicted.

Timber Milling Proceeds Apace. Timber milling operations arc active in the vicinity of the highways in various parts of the Hotorua and South Auckland districts, where the timber indmtiy is now operating on a profitable basis iim i|;: to the higher prices ruling. Miss L. M. Cr.mwcll, botanist of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, said to-day that the beautiful bush on the Kaiinai Kanpes was rapidly disappearing, and that there were numerous other areas where milling was proceeding vigorously. Axe. saw. hawser, power hauler and motor lorry were being lined to good effect in the denuding of slopes and valleys, where building timber was to be obtained.

" London, Mother of Merchants." At the Church of All Hallows. Burking-by-the-Tower, the annual service of the f'ort of I»ndon was held. This it- attended chiefly by seafaring inen. During the service the "bidding" prayer is recited, and contains this: striking passage: "Therefore I bid your' prayers for this old mart of nations, the harvest of whose river is her revenue, that in her port lie praise and the continued fame of honesty, a city's crowning honour. You shall here pray for London, mother of merchants, and for the storied tideway of the Thames, for troubled pools, her conduit to the oceans, for chains of lakes, Inward from either bank, stirred by the traffic to and from the stream for every vessel, leant as well as greatest, finding fair haven here, and for all the small craft occupied amid the sudden dangers of these lower reaches."

Purging the City Roll. In the most thorough purging of the Auckland city electoral roll for many years, 14,000 names are being struck out, and the individuals concerned are being advised that if they are still resident in the city it will be necessary for them to apply for re-enrol-ment by January 1 next. This action is being taken by the City Council under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1933, which empowers it to remove from the roll the names of all electors who have failed to vote within a specified time. It is stated that the 14,000 affected did not take any part in the city election of 1035 and the by-election of 1936. In the process of revision a considerable number may apply to have their names reinstated, but it i« expected that the total roll will be reduced by several thousand below the present total of <10,038 names. Thus the number of those with the right to vot« at the municipal elections to lie held next May will be considerably smaller than at the past two or three polls. Stanley Bay Domain. An example of the way in which the tenure of public land may be taken for granted for a long period and then suddenly called in question was afforded recently in Stanley Bay. For over 50 years the open area at the heed of Stanley Bay wharf has been assumed to be borough property, and has been planted in trees, gnjss and garden, had a public shelter and bathing sheds erected on it, protected with a seawall, and provided generally with the amenities of a harbour beach resort. The building of a block of flats adjacent to the Stanley Bay jetty, together with a proposal for the exchange of a small piece of land, made necessary the search n the title of the small reserve. It then transpired that during the half-century of the borough's existence this plot of land had remained a Crown grant, and had never been transferred to the borough of Devonport. Steps were immediately taken by the local council to remedy this condition, and at its last meeting information was given by the town clerk that the area in question had been gazetted as a domain, and would in future be nnder the control of the Devonport Domain Board.

Four-way Railway Junction. It is interesting to note in connection with the Paeroa-Pokeno railway that when this line is operating Paeroa will be the only junction in the North Island with lines open | in four directions —to Frankton, Auckland, Taneatua and to Thame*. Kven riankton Junction, Marton and Palmerston North have only one branch from the main line. Scrub Fires at Taupo. Scrub fires have been raging round Taupo' since last Friday, particularly on the Napier Road. So far no damage has resulted, but at one time it was thoypht that the State forest try plantations would be endangered. However, a change of wind directed the fires toward Waitahanui. A fringe of flame blazing between the two-mile |>eg and Waitahanui provided a weird spectacle on Wednesday night. Reflections on the lake were such a wonderful sight that a larpe number of sjiectators were Attracted to the lake front. The wind yesterday was driving the tires Lack toward Opepe, the Napier Road, and they were still burning freely. Taupo so far is clear of danger. Free Transport Suggested. _The opinion that both local nnd national transport was a social service and should be free was expressed by Mr. P. M. Butler at a meeting of the Wellington City Council. The tramways were not paying, and never would pay. he said. If transport were free, people would be induced to gu out to the suburbs to live, thus reducing housing congestion in the city; the expense would be recouped in additional rates. "I make the suggestion in all seriousness as an individual opinion," he said. Not so long ago Bernard Shaw had suggested free milk, and everyone had laughed, but today there was free milk in schools; the day would come when transport would be regarded as a «oci«l service and would be as free as water and other such services.

Old Folks' Outing. 0 Some liW) old people, under the auspices of the Dock Street Mission, in Freeman's Bay, are to visit Xorthcote on Saturday afternoon for an outing. Many of the old folks have spent their lives in the depressing surround- c . ings of Freeman's Bay. and some of them 1 have never been on the harbour. The Dock *' Street Mission, while under Church of Eng- , land control, caters for all denominations, and ' is doing laudable work. The Devonport Ferry 1 Com[*iny and the Waiteinata Itus Company have made concessions in fare*, and the picnic: has been arranged and financed l>y St. John the Baptist C'hurcli and the ladies of the Xorthcote parish will provide afternoon tea. ' The Xorthcote girl guides will furnish part of I the entertainment, and the »lil folks them- j selves will give items, including selections "by 1 their piano-accordion band. The visitors will 1 leave Auckland by the ferry at 1 .3.1 p.m., and 1 will so first to St. John's Church, where a ' short service will be held, and then to the parish hall. The Rev. H. A. Johnson, who is 1 in charge of the mission, will accompany 1 them, and he will have a staff of nurses on 1 duty. Impressions of Japan. That the cry of high wages and shorter hours for happiness was a misnomer was one of the indelible impressions left with Mr. A. Hopwood, of Palmerston North, when he vi-ited Japan. There were no restrictions regarding hours of work, and both day and night shifts were operating without the payment of overtime, the payment received by labourers being the equivalent of about 2/ daily in New Zealand currency. Everyone appeared to be happy and contented, and the children were well dressed, well nourished and kept remarkably clean, said Mr. Hopwood. Japan had made wonderful industrial progress, possibly never paralleled by any other country in the world. Provided they did not interfere with the liberties of others, the people were remarkably free from restrictions. Shopkeepers, should they so desire, kept their premises open 24 hours daily, and every day of the week. "There is no chance in Japan of going near industrial factories, aerodromes or fortifications," said Mr. Hopwood. "I was refused admission to factories, and it was evident that Japan jealously guards her industrial organisation and technique." Mr. Hopwood said he was convinced that if negotiaI tions were properly handled, Japan could be J made one of New Zealand's best customers for wool, meat and fruit. There were markets awaiting development in Japan, Hongkong and Singapore. Pigeonholed f The usefulness of the mass of data collected by the inspectors appointed under the Housing Survey Act is a matter of concern to many local bodies. The details of every dwelling were carefully inquired into, and copious notes were made of sizes and heights of rooms, the area of sleeping accommodation, the density of residents per house, equipment for bathing and cooking, the age of the dwelling, its external and internal condition, and a host of other items too numerous to men--1 tion. This information had to be collected at the expense of the local bodies, and the amount involved varied in comparison with 1 their respective populations. The cost to ■ Auckland city was over £2000. and to ' boroughs like Devonport about £2."»0. When completed, all the cards were forwarded from 1 all over New Zealand to & central bureau in Wellington, for what purpose has not yet been made apparent. At this week's meeting ■ of the Devonport Council, when considering ! an alleged complaint of an overcrowded i dwelling, the question was raised relative to » the availability of the housing survey inforl mation for borough inquiry. The Mayor re- - plied that all the data collected had been i pigeonholed in Wellington, and that borough I councils had no authority to take action in ■ remedying any undesirable conditions revealed : in housing.' The council decided that the I Minister in Charge of Housing should be asked • to formulate some principles of guidance to help local bodies in solving this problem.