NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 91, 18 April 1941, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Footwear Trades School. The Government lihs approved tTie appointment of an instructor and the u<-<-> of promises in Eden Terrace for the establishment of a footwear trades school in Auckland. This fact. was nuidc known to the hoard of managers »f the Seddou Memorial Technical College by the principal. Mr. <>. .f. Park, yesterday. He said that the plant had licpll shipped to Auckland.

Assessment Court's Light Task. Sittings of the Govermnont Valuiition Assessment Court in the Auckland province will be brief this year, ;is the revision of property values lms come to a standstill. Only two districts, Otahuhu and Matnmata. will be included in the itinerary, where the Court will sit probably about the end of May. The work of the Court in other parts of the Dominion will also lie greatly curtailed. Presented to Nelson Town. In order to link the memory of their father, the late Mr. Moss Davis, with the attainment of Kelson province'centennial. Sir KrnCst Davis. Mayor of Auckland, and the Hun. I'liot Davis, M.L.C.. have presented to the town of Xelson the oil painting "Xclson'e Last Sicnal." The paintinp measures 4ft by lift, and tells the story of the famoiihiMoiical epi-ode on the N'irtury. 11 i> 1 >finjr prepared for public inspection. Sand for Fires. Supplies' of l'iv>h water >;md to be liM'd in (ire lightin<; in the event of attacks with incendiary bombs an , to be made available to citizens by the Auckland City Council. The tsUjryestiou came from Mr. J. L. Coaklev. who said that the Wellington City Council supplied one cubic foot of sand per Mngle storey buHcliii.s and one, cubic foot per lloor for dwellings of more than one. storey. Tt whs decided to purchase •">() tons of sand to be i>*ue<l from ten city depots. Rural Property Values. As county valuations in the Auckland province have been thoroughly revised during the past six years, except for the minor areas of Taupo and (ireat Harrier Island, probably no further revision will bo undertaken by tli<> Valuation Department until after the war. In fixing the present, values the Department took into account the effect of the guaranteed price for dairy proiluce. Recent restrictions on exports have obscured the future of .rural values, but no reaction lias yet been experienced in the property market.

Rent Reduction. A reduction of ">0 per ci'iit for the duration of the war is to bo in tide in the routs eliarzed to sportiiifr bodice for the tisp of city roM-r\os for football and lioH«\v. This was a decision made at last night's meetin;i <>f the City Council following; representations on behalf of the three football codes and the hockey organisation. The request had been put forward that the. use of the ground* ehould be "ranted free of rent, as sports bodies were faced with difficulties. It was stated that during the war sport would l>o carried on larjrely by the youth of the community, such as those attending secondary schools. Poppy Day. The annual Poppy Day collection was held to-day throughout the. city and suburbs of Auckland. Although no accurate figures are yet available, it r-»eins, from the numbers of people wearing poppies, that there was a fjood response. Tn the city and some suburbs members of various women's organisations took part in tlie collection. Much of the collecting in the suburbs was in the hands of the. returned soldier*' clubs, and nearly 1000 collection boxes were in operation. Disabled returned soldiers have been engaged throughout the greater part of the year in making the poppies, their output brill? about •200,000, of which number 75,000 are required by the Auckland Association. Crude Italian Propaganda.

Mementos of Western Desert warfare received by Mr. K. IT. Lambert, of Whangarei, from his son. Private E. G. Lambert, a member of the Army Service Corps with the Xew Zealand Forces in the Middle East, include a flimsy leaflet dropped by the Italians in a leaflet raid over part of Egypt and a piece of fabric off the tail of an Italian Savoia 70 bomber shot down by an R.A.F. lighter. The leaflet represents a crude attempt by the Italians to etir up Egyptians of the lower clas-s against the British, and depicts an emaciated soldier, with fixed bayonet, sitting on the bodies of a number of "Gyppos." The purpose of the leaflet is suggested by an inscription in the Egyptian language.

"No Fishing Like It!" "There is no fishing in the world like that to he had at Taupo, as far as number and size of fish are concerned," declares a visitor from Malaya, Mr. \V. P. Crawford, who has spent the past several months fishing in various parts of the Dominion. "I have certainly experienced nothing like it, but, ae a dryfly enthusiast, some of the dry-fly fishing on South Island rivers was more attractive to mo." He told of one instance at the month of the Wanpainii River, on the western side of Lake Taupo. when he and three other anglers took r>7 fish one evening and the following morning. The trout averaged 71b and three weighed 301b. All were taken on the wet fly. Mr. Crawford said that he hoped to return to Xevv Zealand in January next for some more fishing. Maintaining Flocks and Herds.

The importance of maintaining the sheep and cattle industries of Xcw Zealand at a standard which would enable the Dominion to meet oversea* needs iimnediately after the war was stressed by the Minister of Marketing. the Hon. J. G. Barclay, before the Labour Conference. The Minister said that even in time of crisis our potential production should not be destroyed. Primary industry was still the chief industry and source of ■wealth, as was shown by the production of over £70,000,000 worth of exports and most of the food consumed by the people of Xew Zealand. The future greatness of the Dominion would depend upon building up our secondary industries, but it wae certain that for many years yet we should have to rely upon the primary industries. The conference adopted a resolution conveying its thanks and appreciation to the Government for the splendid assistance rendered to the farming community during the present crisis.