NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 252, 24 October 1944, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Mahinapua as Deep-sea Harbour The Government will be asked to give consideration to the possibility of Lake Mahinapua as a deep-sea harbour for the West Coast, according to a decision made at a meeting of the Hokitika Business Men's Association. It was stated at the meet, ing that a cut of 1000 yards would connect the sea and lake, which had a large area of land-locked water, and which would also be useful as a seaplane base. Famous Paintings Safe From the New York United Press correspondent at Maastricht comes the report that 1800 paintings from the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, including Rembrandt's "Nightwatch," after having been moved from place to place, were finally safely stored in an air-conditioned cave on the outskirts of Maastricht. This is not the complete collection of the Rijks Museum, but it includes the most valuable paintings. It is believed that the remainder are safe in some other hiding place..

Te Kuiti Flood-larks The flooding in Te Kuiti township and district on Sunday afternoon, due apparently to a cloudburst about 11.30 a.m. following heavy rain, provided unusual fun for children and others, although it caused damage to roads, shop premises and private dwellings. Canoes were paddled up and down Rora and King Streets, a sight never before Witnessed in the main streets of Te Kuiti. Both children and adults were seen paddling up to their knees, and many young people donned bathing suits to dive from the bridges into the swollem river running through the town. Horticultural Training Because of the absence of training facilities, many boys and girls who wished to study horticulture in New Zealand were obliged to enter other avenues of employment, said Mr. J. A. McPherson, director of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and Domains Board, in an address to a meeting convened by the Dunedin Amenities Society. Most of the Dominion's cities had excellent local gardens, and some centres, such as Dunedin, had done valuable work in the training of horticulturists. The scope for such vocational training was too limited, however, and he expressed the hope that the establishment of national gardens, with training facilities, would shortly be undertaken. American Attitude to Britain "Nothing has made the American people more sympathetic towards the British people than the flying bomb," said Mr. L. -Mason, of Wellington, in an interview on his return from a business trip overseas. "I found the American people just as angry about it as those who were having actual experience of attack. I would say that any chance that Germany might have had of a little mercy being shown at the peace conference has been disposed of by the flying bomb." The average American was very • liberal in his praise of Britain's part in the war, and Mr. Churchill was looked on in the United States as the personification of the average Britisher and as a man whom they admireti and whose opinions they respected.

Rangitikei Flood Control The first of a series of cuts in the Rangitikei River bed near Flock House has been completed by the Public Works Department in connection with the scheme for preventing the inundation of adjacent low-lying areas during periods of high flood in the river. The initial cut involved the removal of between 80,000 and 90,000 cubic yards of material, and present indications are that it is already operating satisfactorily in carrying the normal flow of water. Further flood control work is in progress. Mr. Savage Remembered Fine weather for Labour Day yesterday saw a continuous stream of visitors from a fairly early hour to the Savage Memorial on Bastion Point. Cars were a good deal in evidence and there was a sprinkling of Americans with cameras, making the most of the sun. The spring show in the gardens is dominated by the brilliant yellow of massed Black-eyed Susans and red and yellow iceplants which make a picture well worth the run from the city. Despite the exposed position, the previous boisterous weather had not noticeably affected the gardens.

British Cloth Trade British manufacturers have been granted larger allocations of woollen raw materials for export purposes in the four months now beginning, reports the Yorkshire Post's industrial correspondent. The new allocations are believed to represent a considerable proportion of the total exports in 1941, which was a fairly good year. In particular, various restrictions on exports to the United States of America and Latin America are removed. As a result, manufacturers will be able to produce cloths their customers require and also new types of fabric incorporating the latest developments in British textile production. Wool control stipulates that execution of orders shall not interfere with priorities such as relief programmes, but these are not expected to affect to any extent the type of fabric required by American consumers—high-grade cloth. Other allocations announced for the period cover Middle Eastern markets, Belgian Congo, Turkey and an Empire programme.

No Smoking! - Though the practic- of passengers smoking in "non-smoker" carriages is, as a rule, generally overlooked by the railway authorities such was not the case on one main trunk express recently. Several travellers not only earned the displeasure of the guard but they were also rebuked and threatened with prosecution. A few minutes after the afternoon express had left the Auckland station passengers were surprised to hear the guard address them: "Ladies and gentlemen, please get this right. There will be no smoking in this car; it is a non-smoker." All went well until early evening, when two young women caught smoking were rebuked and told that their names and addresses would be taken for prosecution purposes if there was a recurrence. Later in the night when the lights had been extinguished the tell tale glow of a cigarette held in a man's fingers as the guard passed through the car resulted in a strong rebuke. When the guard was relieved shortly afterwards half a dozen passengers immediately "lit up," he new guard overlooking the breach of the railway regulation.