General News.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19357, 9 July 1928, Page 8

General News.

An Auckland organisation recently held its annual meeting in a railway carriage. When members of the Auckland branch of the Federated Association of Superannuated Public Servants assembled at the usual meeting place, they found it occupied and therefore a railway carriage was used in the emergency. Mr T. B. Strong, Director of Education, has advised the secretary of the W.E.A. that owing to pressure of Departmental business he will not be able to give his promised address next Saturday. Mr C. H. Hewlett has consented to give another of his delightful gramophone concerts in place of Mr Strong's address. An Order-m-Council, made under the Fisheries Act, 1908, prohibits the taking of fish by Danish seine nets or by purse-seine nets, and the use of such nets in Queen Charlotte and Pelorus Sounds within straight -lines drawn from the West Head to East Head oi Tory Channel, and from Cape Koamoru to Cape Jackson, and thence to Harding Point. Any person, committing a breach of this regulation is liable to a penalty not exceeding £2O. With visions in his mind, perhaps, of Sunday school entertainments or Church socials, the Bishop of Wellington (Dr. T. H. Sprott) momentarily forgot where he was at yesterday's session of the Diocesan Synod (says Friday's "Evening Post"). "The next item on the programme. . . he began. But a growing volume of laughter caused him to pause, and then, realising that his phraseology was not quite in keeping with the occasion, he laughed and corrected himself, saying: "We will now proceed with the consideration of the next item on the order paper." By the last mail from America Dr. E. Marsden, Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, intimated that he had wasted no time in investigation of the many problems which he has gone to the States and Canada to enquire into. He has already inspected a large number of meat works and has been investigating cold storage methods as used for meat, fruit, poultry, eggs, and other produce. Several researcn stations have been visited by him, and much valuable information has been gathered. One important aspect of his investigations has been that of utilising byproducts in fish and meat works.

The plight of city parishes was referred to at the session of the Diocesan Synod at Wellington. They were suffering, it was said, from old and stalwart Church supporters departing to more salubrious suburbs. Their place was taken by boardinghouse-keepers and business firms. These people were difficult to collect Church revenue from: they perhaps put their humble coin in the collection bag, but when spoken to about a subscription they usually declined as being nere to-day and gone to-morrow. All city it was added, were suffering in the same way. and now needed some endowment fund to keep the finances going. "Considering the fact that accidental deaths in the majority of the more highly civilised countries of the world show a decided tendency to increase in numbers, it is both surprising and satisfactory to record a decrease in the rate for New Zealand for the past year," states the Government Statistician. "The number of deaths recorded from all accidental causes in 1927 was 656, corresponding to a rate of 4.77. This compares with 708 and 6.23 for the previous year. Still more satisfactory, however, is the fact that deaths from motor-vehicle accidents record an appreciable decline. The number of deaths attributable to such accidents during 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, and 1927 are 59, 94, 108, 149, and 138 respectively."

A number of additional roads have been declared as main highways according to the Gazette of July sth. They include the New Brighton road from the junction of the ChristchurchChaney's highway to the western boundary of New Brighton, part of thg road commencing at the eastern boundary of Kaiapoi and terminating at Saltwater creek, portion of the street commencing at the junction of North road and Beach road, Kaiapoi, and terminating at the eastern end of the Borough, part of the road commencing at the northern boundary of Temnka and terminating at its junction with Orari road, and part of the road commencing at the junction of main highway at Arundel and terminating at the north-eastern corner of the rural section, 18,281, block 11., Orari Survey District. A would-be intruder who thrust 'his hand through the letter slot in the door of a house in Rose Btreet, Spreydon, in an attempt to f unlatch the door, retired sadder and burnt, as the lady of the house thrust a hot electric iron on his hand. Husband and wife were going out motoring, but a business matter required the husband's attention, and he left for town with the intention of returning within half an hour. To fill in the time the wife switched on the iron and was busily engaged over the ironing board' when an unusual sound at the front door attracted her attention. Looking up the passage she saw a hand groping for the lateh, so she switched off the current, picked up the iron, walked noiselessly to the door, and planted it fair and square on the back of the hand of the would-be thief, who lost no time in piaking himself scarce.;

"The cancer death rate in New Zealand is a direct antithesis of the tuberculosis death rate," states the Government Statistician, in a review of "Causes of Death—l 927." "In 1875 the rate for cancer," he says, "stood at the low figure of 1.98 per 10,000 of population, as compared with the extremely high rate of 15.64 for tuberculosis. The paths traced by those two diseases rapidly converged, until about the year 1910 they crossed and the cancer rate assumed the ascendancy, the margin between the rates for the two diseases gradually growing wider. Foi the current year,the cancer death rate stands at 9.63, as contrasted with the tuberculosis death rate of 4.86. Even so, it is of interest to note that the rate for cancer for 1927 shows "a decrease of 2.83 per cent compared with the previous year, the rate for 1926 being 9.91 The location of the disease according to the primary site of the affection was as followsßuccal cavity (mouth), 4:83; stomach and liver, 31.27: intestines, peritoneum, and rectum. 18.65;; female genital organs, 10.50; breast, 9.29; skin, 2.27; other or unspecified organs, 23.19." The long, cold, winter evenings and the ensuing frosty mornings emphasise the demand for a really good heater to make your room bright and cheery One of the best displays of British built electric heaters to date is on view in the windows of J I. bmail Careys Rw'ldines. Colombo street In addition to making a full line of agricultural implements and machines, most o* whicb are the be«t in the world, we make repairs and improvements t all sorts and makes of farm machinery. Extras made . for every sort of -imported implement and machine. Awkward or difficult jobs a speciality nth us. P. and D. Duncan, Ltd., Christchurch. —6