NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 177, 29 July 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Opening of Home. Sunday, August 13, has Leeu set down as tlio duto dii which the. new Homo of Compassion in Trinity Street, Heme P.ay, will be officially opened at a public function. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. -T. Snvape. will perform the. ceremony. The building was erected ;i( u eo-t of £-jf1.2."i0. nnd it marks aimtlier milestone in the work- of the Sislers of Compassion, who are well known for their contribution to the cause of charity. Schoolboys in Court. Buys of the sixth commercial form at the Auckland Grammar School pained an insipht into the 'operations of tho law yesterday when, in company with their master, Mr. W. (\ S. Leys, they attended the Supreme Court and were interested spectators at a. bankruptcy sitting. They listened while various matters were dealt with, and when the Court adjourned they discussed with their master the lepal papers relating to the business of the morning. Budget Dates. The Budget to be presented in the House of Representatives on Tuesday next by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, as acting-Minister of Finance, will be 12 days later than last year's Budget, but earlier than in previous years. The dates on which Pudpots have been presented in recent years are: 1033. November 9: 1034, August 23: 1935. September 17; 1030. August 4; 1037, September 2S; 1038. July 20. Last year's Budget was the earliest since the pre-dep -ession years. Island Frwt Arrives. A shipment inclu ling 10.000 cases of oranges and 2700 cases of bananas arrived at Auckland from the Cook Islands this morning. The consignment of oranges, possibly the last of the season, was smaller than expected, but in spite of this fact the local market is well supplied, as regular shipments are coming in from Australia. The crop of oranges in the Conk Islands this season was considerably smaller than usual, but the <|unlity of ■the fruit supplied to New Zealand has shown ian improvement. Guaranteed Price Issue. The future of the guaranteed price for dairy produce was drscussed by suppliers at j the annual meeting of the Ohura Valley Dairy [Company, held at Matiero. The following resolution was passed: "In \ iow of t lie con stant. rise in farmers' cost-, this meeting n,n- - iders it is impossible for the ("Joverninent to abandon the guaranteed price, but emphasises the necessity for increasing the price to be paid this season in accordance with the recommendation made by the commission appointed last season. - '

Imported Onions Deteriorate. Complaint* have been made by retailers about the condition of Califorpian onions sold this week on the Auckland market. One member of the trade states that the unions were landed here three weeks ago, but were held in (store and allowed to deteriorate till this week, whereas everyone in the produce bu»iness knows that early-cropped onions i-houid i.'o into consumption as quickly as possible, because they will not stand storage. These onions were unusually early, and arrived several weeks sooner than the first Califoruinn onions have arrived in past seasons. They were imported by the Government, and sold under the supervision of the Internal Marketing Oh ision. Behind the Times. That a resident of Punedin should not know of llnncdin's isolation through snowstorms until she heard the announcement made by the Empire short wave station at Davcntrv scorns incredible —but the story is true. The woman concerned lives on the slopes overlooking Kaikorai Valley. On Tuesday morning, when loin of snow blanketed her homestead nnd all the hills as far as -die cnnlil sec. she thought it was ju~t another hill storm. She stayed indoors all day. and not until that evening did she tune in to her radio M't. selecting Davcntrv station for her programme. A "hot" item of news in that transmission was to the effect, that Punediii was isolated from the rest of the Dominion bv the "severest snowstorm in the history ol New Zealand." Then, and then only, did this particular resident learn that the storm vaunt just a "hill" one. Microscopic Writing Feat. A feat of microscopic writing far bevond the ordinary is claimed by Mr. .1. W. Handford, of Auckland, in that he can. and docs, write the Lord's Prayer three times in tinspace of a threepenny bit. The writing or eiipraviu™ of this invocation mice on a Ihreepennv bit. or a space enclosed by the outline of the coin, is not unusual, though it was once considered quite a feat, but Mr. Handford has f-ir outstripped others who have occupied themselves with this hobbv. To "ot tho prayer written three times within the -mall space mentioned he doe-; not use any artificial aid for the eyesbdit. and he uses an ordinary pencil. An engineer by trade. Mr. Ifa ud ford started this hobby to while away monotonous hours at night when on duty in the Indian coastal trade. From writing I lie prayer once within the limited space he "raduallv increased the number to three times. He attributes his skill to good eyesight and dexterity of fingers.

" Australian Hate For N.Z." '"Why do the Australians hate you?" inquired an American visitor to the Dominion, when in a (,)ucen Street shop this week. "They don't hate us."' replied the assistant. "As a matter ol fact, they are very friendly towards us.'' "No, they aren't.''' insisted the American. "They hale you. They won't take your money." Logs on the Beach. ■The high tides of recent days have brought down the harbour many big pine logs. Quite a. number of these have found their way on to the Stanley Bay beach, where young, energetic axemen and sawyers have cut them up and carted them to their homes to enable their families to sit around bright log fires during the present bitterly cold weather. Steam Hose Frozen. An illustration of how cold it was on Thursday evening was that a steam hose on the Limited froze. The carriages suddenly became cold, and the passengers shivered, ("pon investigation it was found that a steam hose, of all things, had frozen. Despite strenuous efforts the ice would not shift. Steam was then used from the engine, but still the ice held sway. Eventually the hose had to be taken off and replaced by a new one. More Scottish Units ? A suggestion has been made to the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, by the Hamilton Caledonian Society that, in order to assist recruiting, the raising of a second (Scottish) battalion to every infantry regiment in Xew Zealand be authorised. Tt is suggested that the first battalions remain as at present, but that the Scottish battalions be dressed in ii uniform similar to that of the London Scottish, as plain as possible, subject to correi ' jss. Each battalion should lie allied to some famous old Scottish regiment. The society also suggests that the pipe bands within each regimental area be regimented and become the official bands for each unit. Infirmary " Alpinists." When the infirmary committee, of the Auckland Hospital Board held its meeting this week it was a bwterly cold afternoon, but that did not deter the members, including the tvyo women members of the board, from climbing in a drizzle of hail and sleet to the top of the three-storeyed women's wards, where an inspection was made to see if any extra accoinniodat ion could be arranged bv erecting temporary shelters at the overcrowded institution. Fresh air, they had been told, was good for the lung-, but a quarter of an hour was enough to chill the party in such all exposed position on the «oof. and further discussion was continued in the warm meeting room where a tire was burning brightly in the prate.

League Links with Rangitiki. On the way down to Wellington with the League footballers. Dave Solomon produced his diary of the All Black tour of 103.">. This was read eloselv by all the members of the present combination. Mr. Redwood, the manager, was especially interested, and said he had picked up valuable hints as to training aboard ship, and added that Solomon would be very useful, particularly during that period. It is a coincidence that Solomon travelled on the Rangitiki when he was with the All Blacks, and as he went up the gangway on Thursday morning he was given a hearty greeting. Another link was revealed when Rex King, the captain, arrived from the South, for this was the ship in which he returned to New Zealand nearly three years ago. He, too. was given a. great reception. But, strange as it may -rpm, this series of happenings was carried vet. further when the ratings of H.M.S. Leith went aboard. They had come out three years ago with King, and soon the Xew Zealand captain was the centre of a crowd of bluejacket friends. Arbor Day Plans. Arbor Day will be observed in Auckland on Wednesday next, when school children and representatives of local bodies will take part in tree planting ceremonies. In the Domain an area adjacent to the ornamental pond will be planted with native trees, arrangements having been made by the chairman of the parks committee of the City Council, Mr. -T. L. Coakley, A number of invitations have lie,-n is-neil by the council to boards and societies t" plant trees, and among those who will take part in (he ceremony will be members of the Auckland Botanical Society. On Wednesday morning the One Tree Hill Borough ( mini'il vvill hold its ceremony, which will consist of the planting of trees in Araliuiga Avenue, off the Croat South Road. while the Mount Kilen Borough Council has arranged for the planting of 00 native trees in Pot tin's Park. In the presence of members of the Mount Mbert Borough Council, school children and Ihe public oil native tree- will be planted on the northern boundary of the nla v ground of (lie proposed new Mount Albert School. Tree planting ceremonies will be held by the Dcvonport Borough Council ill ciin-iniii-lioii with the Devon port District School. Stanley linv School. Yauxhall School, and St. Leo'- (onveiit. Native 1 ices will be planted cither in school grounds or in re>erves nearby. The ceremony at Birkenhead will not b~ held until next Saturday, when trees will be planted at tli ■ local school. Appropriate talks will be given to children on Arbor Da v bv the educational officer of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Mr. K. A. Scobie. The talks will be continued for several weeks. Miss L. M. Cranwell, botanist at the museum. will address school children at Otaliufcu on Arbor Day.