General News.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19461, 7 November 1928, Page 10

General News.

The retail drapery establishments of this City will be open until 9 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday), will be closed all day Friday, and open until 12.30 p.m. Saturday. The traffic inspectors hare donned a new head-gear for-the summer, which brings to the city an atmosphere savouring somewhat of the tropics. Tlifey have taken to Sun helmets, of khaki—the same colour 08 their uniforms. As the result of a special effort made by the branches of the Mothers' Union in Lichfield diocese, the sum of £6OO was presented on September 14th at a service in Lichfield Cathedral for a missionaries' house in Melanesia. The Building Fund of the Veterans' Association of Army, Navy, and Auxiliary Forces, through the efforts of their vice-president, Sister McMurtie, to whom the sincere thanks of the Association are due, has benefited to the extent of £33 4s. The Railway Department has opened a tourist bureau on the Christchurch railway station. It is housed in the spaoe previously occupied by the bookstall and is in charge of an officer of the Department, who has visited almost every part of thq Dominion. On the O. A. Larsen, which brought Commander R. E. Byrd and fifteen of his party from San Pedro to Wellington, is "Igloo," his fox terrier which accompanied him to the North Pole.

"Igloo' is 3J years old, and is never very far away from his master. The dog will have to remain aboard during Commander Byrd's stay in Wellington, for the quarantine laws prohibit his landing. When it gets cold enough "Igloo" will be put into his Arctic clothing, of which he has a complete suit, the same as all the other members of the expedition. Pointing out that in the past some small exhibitors hnd "eaten" their fees in free meals, the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association decided that in future ordinary members and exhibtors whose fees totalled less than 10s Would riot receive free luncheoa tickets. This action was taken as the result of a letter from the North Island Agricultural and Pastoral Conference giving the decision of the Feiiding Association to issue free tickets to officials only. It was suggested at the meeting that the question should be dealt with as a Dominion question at the next North Island Conference.

The following extract from a letter written by a prominent Sydney journalist to a Christchurch friend indicates the nuture of the impression made by the Christmas number of "The Weekly Press" upon people outside New Zealand: "Thank you so much for the Christmas number of the weekly, which my wife and I read with much interest. It is a great production—we certainly do not turn out anything so good of its kind in Australia. Many congratnlati6ns." Copies of the Christmns number are still obtainable from booksellers and newsagents, but as the number printpd' is limited, purchasers should give their orders at once.

After-dinner speeches were one of the terrors of the tour in Britain of' the New Zealand bowlers' team, according to a member of the team, Mr J. Lorimer, in the course of a talk at the meeting of the Canterbury Builders' Association last night. For three months, he said, they had an official luncheon and dinner daily and in some cases murder would nave been quite easy. On one occasion the chairman spoke for 45 minutes, and the mover of a vote of thanks took 35 minutes 1 "France impressed me as a dying nation; France's glory has gone, or consists of the glory of the past,'' remarked Mr J. Lorimer, a member of the New Zealand bowling team in the course of a chat to the Builders' Association last night. England, he continued, he did not think, had ever been better. There were more working in industry than in 1914. One in 169 was out of work, while one in 400 were out of work in the United States. Scotland was holding its own. but, strange to say, was going back in agriculture, owing to the difficulty in getting genuine farm labour. Mr Lorimer said that he enjoyed his stay in Edinburgh so much that he "nearly missed the bus." Interesting and valuable gifts to the Auckland Museum are included in the bequests of the late Mrs Rachel Barclay, of Huia street. Devonport She has bequeathed to the institution the whole of her collection of coins, together with Maori and Pacific Island examples of native craftsmanship. The Maori portion of the collection includes a fine Maori kilt, a Korowai cloak, and a carved paddle, while the Pacific Island articles, chiefly from Santa Cruz and the Solomon Islands, are canoe models, shields, paddles, spears, bows, and anows and fishhooks, as well as an intricately woven ceremonial bag from Santa Cruz. Of considerable interest are a carving knife and fork with stag's horns for handles, said to be made from the first steel manufactured in Aucklaml. Carnival Week has brought a number of one-time residents of Christchurch back to their own city, and j some of these have visited the work ' being done in connexion with the riverside boulevard. They have expressed great admiration for the scheme and some are of the opinion that it is the finest contribution of recent years towards the beautification of the City. The footpaths on the residential side have been formed and asphalted, and the banks have been graded to the water's edge. Grass is to be sown this week. It is hoped that the electric ljght poles, which do not harmonise with the general scheme, will be replaced b.v modern lighting equipment. Visitors who desire to see what has been done should take the Avonside bus, the terminus of which is almost on the boulevard. During the course of an address in ■instfMurch North, last night, the United Party candidate, Mr E. Andrews, spoke of waste in Departmental offices and gave an example which greatly amused his audience. Producing a foolscap-size envelope, he explained that it had been given to him by a City business man. It was printed, and inside was a printed form asking the firm to quote for a requirement. "What waß the quotation sought?" asked the candidate. '' It was for a quarter of a pound of Belgian carrot soed! Probably the same thing was sent to half a dozen merchants—six printed envelopes, six stamps, six printed forms, and the time of the typist. And the merchant informed me that the carrot seed could have been bought for Is 4d." (Laughter.) "Glasgow was the worst example 1 saw of the effects of the population of living under congested conditions," remarked Mr J. Lorimer, a member of the New Zealand bowling team in the course of a chat at the meeting of the Builders' Association last night. At least 20 per cent, of the population, he said, were deformed —bandy-legged, or long-bodied and short-legged. Those who lived in tenements lived like rabbits in a burrow. The tenements of stone looked as if they would last for ever. He did not want 1 to _ hear of building in stone or brick and was more and more in love with the timber house because they would fall down sooner or later. The typical Scottish house —the "butt and hen"—was straight, ugly and, he thought, was built to last till Judgment Day. On the other hand, the English cottage, though usually out of plumb, was beautiful and delightful. The tenth anniversary of the taking of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealand troops fell on Sunday. The battle occurred a week before the conclusion of the Great War, the New Zealand Division advancing six miles during the day and capturing 2000 prisoners and 60 guns. Le Quesnoy was surrounded by 60ft double walls and an intricate system of moated defences. Following an intensive bombardment the New Zealanders sought an opportunity to scale the walls in face of heavy ma-chine-gun fire, and eventu&lly succeeded irt placiiig a scaling ladder against a knife-edged stone conduit which spanned the water of the inner moat. It is recorded that the first men up the ladder were Second-Lieutenant L. C L. Averill, a son of Archbishop Averill. Primate of New Zealand, and Second-Lieutenant H. W Kerr. The stronghold was entered, and in a quarter of an hour the town was in the hands of the New Zealanders. "I noticed a great change for the better in England, except in the coalmining districts, where the conditions are depressing. The people generally seemed happy and optimistic," said Mr H. O. Nolan, on his return to Auckland after a nine months' trip abroad, in contrasting his impressions to those formed on a previous visit three years ago. "The summer was a record one in England, ' Mr Nolan said. "There were good crops, and agriculturally the Old Country seems to be lifting up its head again. I was greatly impressed with the much better feeling existing compared with three years ago. We were astounded at the large amount of building going on ah over England, and this, I think, is always a sign of prosperity. New Zealand has a won'- i derful name at Home. Our credit on I the London market is as good as that of any other country in the world Regarding prices for produce during the coming season, I think the prospects are as good as last year. There is talk of a drbp in wool, but from what I could gather I think prospects are good." When your "A" battery runs down you want it charged again with as little delay as possible. Bring it to J. I. Bmail's, 734 Colombo street, who have their equipment running night and day, and can let you have your battery fully charged within 24 hours. —6

North Canterbury Farmers are invited to inspect the celebrated MasseyHarris Implements on view at Johnston's, Limited, Rangiora, Catalogues on application. P.O. Box 1; 'Phone 4.

Dear Sirs, —We have now used your Potato Planter with Fertiliser attachment for planting about 40 acres and consider the machine almost perfect in both the planting of the seed and the fertiliser at least four acres can be planted by one man with three horses in an 'B-hour day Frank Heron, Ohoka. Mr Heron considers he will save the cost of the machine in one season's work.—P. and D Duncan, Ltd., Ohristchurch. —6

Hay Making Machinery will be a feature of our exhibit at the Show tomorrow and Friday. We make all we can and import what we cannot advantageously make. See the Booth Sweep Rake —also the Swinging Stacker. See also the Osborne Mower, Osborne Rake —also the Albion (British) Mower, and Ransome (British) Rake, etc., Don't forget the Booth Double Drive Top Dresser also, which we make from the ground up! Pamphlets of nil at the Show, or post free fin request- Booth, Macdonald and Co., Ltd. 06