NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 303, 23 December 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Holidays. The "Auckland Star" will not be published on Monday next, Christmas Day, nor on the following Monday, Hew Year's Day. Tke Shortland Street office will be open till 9 o'clock this evening to enable advertisers to make suitable arrangements for Tuesday's issue and for the convenience of inquirers. Readers who will be away from home during the holiday season are reminded of the necessity for informing their newsagent of the period of absence, and where possible of their addresses during the interval, so that they may obtain the paper without interruption and be covered by the free accident insurance service. father and Son Die. Within a day, the father and a son of an Ellerslie family have died. On

Thursday Mr. John Andrew Bell, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. James Bell, died in the Auckland Hospital at the age of 37, and yesterday his father, who was head gardener at the Auckland Racing Club's nurseries, died at his home. The double funeral took place this morning. Land of Chiefs. The beautiful blaze of colour along the iainaki Drive as more and more blooms of the pohutukawas, which fringe the road, burst into flower, presents a real New Zealand Christmas scene. It recalls, too, the impressions of the Maoris when they first landed here and saw the blaze of scarlet. "This must be a land of chieftains," they said, for in the country w'nonce they came red was the sign of a chief. Ten Thousand Travellers.

About 10,000 persons passed through the Auckland railway station vesterday, approximately 0000 of that number leaving the city. More than half of the total number leaving Auckland travelled to Wellington, where the Centennial Exhibition is attracting large crowds. Trains to other centres, however, were well patronised. Large numbers of visitors reached the city, to-day, when eight expresses arrived from Wellington and a further ten from other centres. Pamela's Chocolates.

"Dere Santa C'laus: Please bring me some chocolats.—Pamela, Eden vale Koad, Mount Eden." This is the message of a little girl which was found in the "replies to advertisements" box at the "Auckland Star" office yesterday. Assistants remembered that the girl had come to the office with her mother, who bad been replying to an advertisement, and that the tiny tot had asked for an envelope, which was given to her. The appeal to "Santa" was the result, and it did not fall on deaf eats, the "Star" sending Pamela a 21b box of chocolates.

The Dawn Patrol. There was fun and games at Gladstone Road, Parnel], in the small hours to-day. At 3 a.m. a milkman and his float became parted when a bevy of bolstering lads and lasses decided to stage a Ben Hur act through the silent streets. When the milkman returned from the back door of a house he found a lad and lass mounted on his steed and the remainder of the party packed into the float. With a wild tally-ho they were off down the hill, with much laughter and cracking of whips. The milkman set off in pursuit, but he did not have far to go, for the pace was too hot for the charioteers and they disembarked at the bottom of the hill and made off into the night. There was no damage done, and the milkman later—a long time later—saw the joke.

The Longest Day. There is always some confusion as to which day is the longest day, and all three days between December 21 and 23 arc claimed for that distinction. This year it is to-day that the sun reaches the most southern point in its apparent journey; therefore, astronomically speaking, December 23 is the longest day. As a maticr of fact, the actual time that the sun is above the horuon is practically the same for several days about now. It will be well on into January before the sun sets any earlier in the evening than it dors now. Hence there need be no misgivings about the days beginning to draw in, and experience shows that most of and the best summer weather comes after rather than before the longest dav. Two complete summer months have "yet to run their course before it is time to think about autumn. <

Persecution of Religion. Before the declaration of war the Rev. tather P. T. B. McKeefrv, private secretary to Bishop Liston, * was in Southern Germany. He said yesterday on his return from a world tour, that I persecution of the Catholic Church in Germany was real. It was open persecution as far as schools, colleges and youth organisations were concerned. As far as the people as a whole were concerned, tile persecution operated in an insidious fashion, affecting their stomachs and pockets. A person giving utterance to religious views would promptly be deprived of the means of livelihood. He considered that 40 per cent of the people of Germany were solidly behind Hitler and another 30 per cent supported him because of favour® received or because of benefits to come. The opposition to the Government was without leadership, and Father McKeefry came to the conclusion, after investigation, that there was no immediate fear of internal revolution. A major defeat at sea or on land might bring about a revolution of the Left, he added.

Modern Helsinki. Helsinki, which has come so prominently into the news, was founded by Gustavus Vasa, of Sweden, in 1550. It was then three miles from the present site of the town, but was rebuilt in its present position in 1639, and became the capital of Finland in 1812. Before that date it was a little town of three or four thousand peasants and fisherfolk living in wooden cabins. The city was planned by a. German architect, Engel, "the father of Finnish architecture," who designed it like a chessboard, with straight parallel streets crossing each other at right angles. Among the many fine buildings is the great railway station, probably the most suitably conceived structure of its kind in Europe. The Natural History Museum and the University are two other buildings of which any city might be proud, but the most impressive specimen of Engel's art is the great Lutheran Church of St. Nicholas, reached by a flight of 45 steps. It is in a wonder- [ ful position on a high rock, and dominates the whole city. Like so murfi in Finnish art, ,it aims at strength rather than grace; there is not a curve in it except the arches over the doora*

Christmas Weddings. Confetti was liberally strewn in the passageway at the office of the Registrar of Marriages yesterday, ae during the day 15 weddings took place in the building. So far this month there have been 79 marriages at the registrar's office.

Modern Conveniences. Apparently Remuera sparrows are partial to kapok nests. Rising early this morning, a. young man noticed six sparrows congregated round a cushion that had been left near an open window and which had been slightly torn. The sparrows had evidently been at work for some time, for the kapok contents of the cushion had diminished considerably. Open on Christmas Day.

It has been decided by the director of the Xew Zealand Centennial Exhibition Company that the exhibition will be open on Christmas Day from 2.30 to 9.30 p.m., and all exhibitors have been invited to give their co-operation. "Plavland" will bo operating, and the only facility not available to the public will be the restaurant and cafeteria, though there are many stalls selling food and drink in the grounds. Count the Caravans.

I Not so many years ago children in motor cars passed the time away on a long journey by counting the number of cars they passed. To-day the number of cars on the road has increased to such an extent that the job has become "too much of a fag." A new pastime is counting the number of caravans that pass by. The numbers that went along the Great South Road last evening and early this morning indicated that many ' holiday-makers' are taking their homes with them nowadays.

Unwelcome Christmas Present. A Mil ford resident has received his Christmas present early this year—a hive of bees in the chimney, and he is not pleased about it. The swarm took po.sMession of their new abode yesterday afternoon, and refused to be dislodged. 1 lie chimney is a double one, and with consideration for the householder the bees selected the one that led from a disused kitchen range. Smoky and sulphurous fires lit in the other fork of the chimney had no effect, and to-day the bees held undisputed sway, consolidating their gains and apparently preparing for a long siege.

Haymaking in Waikato. Excellent weather has favoured the farmers pf the Waikato during the past 10 day s in connection with their haymaking, and large quantities of hay have been cut and stacked, reports a Hamilton correspondent. The weather has been warm and dry, and after the rain which fell a fortnight ago the hay has ripened rapidly. In the Mataniata and Xirau districts the crops have been heavy, but in the Hamilton and Lower v\ aikato areas there has been a good deal of variation, from light to fair, in the weight of the harvest. A great deal of ensilage has been made this year, and that work is now practically finished, while haymaking is generally well advanced. There has been a marked improvement in the production of butterfat during the last few weeks, and on the whole the dairying season is expected to be a satisfactory one.

Anxac Evacuation. I*st Tuesday was the twenty-fourth anniversary of the final evacuation of Ansae on the Gallipoli Peninsula, after the Allied forces, including the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, had fought for possession of the peninsula for nearly eight months. General Sir lan Hamilton was opposed to abandoning the campaign, but when he was replaced by General Sir C. Monro, the evacuation of Suvla Bay and Auzac was recommended. Field-MarsJial Lord Kitchener then visited the peninsula and tile decision to remove the troojis was conveyed to General Monro on December 8. The evacuation was carried out with entire success and was completed on the night of December 18-19, 1915. The Allied army at Hcllea was evacuated early in January, the last of the men and stores being removed on the night of January 8-9, 1916. First Cyclist Stoned. ' The motor car section in the guide issued by the United Kingdom Governj ment. pavilion for their display at the exhibition commences with Gurney's steam coach, the first automobile or horseless carriage, which made its appearance on an English road in the year 1827. "The first public trial was from London to Bath and back, which was made at the rate of 15 miles an hour. The public objected to steam carriages on the roads, and at Melksham, Wiltshire, a mob attacked and stoned the machine, knocking Gurney unconscious," states the article. In another paragraph in the motor car section, the fact is recorded that the first order for a motor car to be received in the United Kingdom from abroad was one from Sultan Abdul Hamid, who ordered an electric dog cart about 1890 from Mr. Magnus \olk, Brighton. Among the later models mentioned in the booklet are included the famous racing cai"S the Golden Arrow, 1929, the Bluebird, 1935, and the Thunderbolt, 1938.