General News.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20498, 17 March 1932, Page 10

General News.

For the week to ciul on March lUth the Christchurch City Council's allocation for unemployment relief works '*s £1260.

Tho Grocers' Assistants' Union, at its mooting on Tuesday evening, instructed the secretary (Mr W. J. Green) to write to the Prime Minister strongly protesting against the Government's retrogressive step in proposing to abolish the Court of Arbitration.

Infantilo paralysis cases notified for the week ended March 14th totalled twelve. Of these, oight were in the Canterbury health district, two m central Wollfngton, one in Otago, and one in Wanganui-Horowhenua. No deaths were reported.—Press Association.

Staff changes likely to take place as a result of the transfer of the former Eastern Extension Cable from Wellington to Auckland are not yet announced. It is expected that the full Wellington staff of 24, including 16 operators, cannot all be absorbed. Tho cable, which is to bo changed, still contains sections of the first trans-Tasman cable, laid in 1876.—Press Association.

"In all my travels I have never seen s>:ch concentrated beauty as there is at th© Franz Josef Glacier in the Waiho Gorge," said Mr Hallister Sturges, of New York, who has lately been visiting the glacier on his sixth tcur of tlie world. Mr Sturges was very much impressed with the walks through tho bush to and from tho glacier, and also with the view from the window of the now church at Franz Josef.

The ten per cent, penalty on unpaid Waimairi county rates lias been imposed, Saturday having been the last day of grace. Of the total levied, in round figures, £45,080, the amount collected up to Saturday was £36,020, leaving £9066 outstanding. In 1930-31 the total levy was £50,803 12s 3d, and on March 31st, 1931, the amount outstanding was £6959 63 Bd, the amount collected up to that date being £44,844 5s 7d.

Enrolments at the Auckland University College for the winter sessions are slightly ahead of those at the same ttage last year. It is, however, somewhat early to make definite comparisons as enrolments will be continued for some days yet. There lias been a marked increase of students beginning their medical course. Last year there were 15 first-year medical students, and this year 27 have enrolled already. The course _ for the diploma in public administration, which proved so successful last year, is being continued under Professor H. Belshaw and his assistants.

"What I want to know is, what has happened to sheep-breeding in this country!" asked a member of the New Zealand Sheepbreeders' Association at cho annual meeting lapt night. "This room used to be crowded," he added, "but now there are only four or five of us hero besides the Council." After a brief discussion, it was decided to urge on the incoming Council the iu-cessity for maintaining the standards of quality even moro than in the past. A motion was passed in support of Professor It. E. Alexander's scheme to eliminate the scrub sire.

The Council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society decided last night to write to the Central Research Committee and ask to be supplied with a report of its activities. Mr P. J. Molloy, who moved in the matter, said that the Society was entitled to know what had been done with the £l4O voted to, the committee. Professor E. Percival said that two reports prepared by the committee, making about 80 pages of the official bulletin of the Marine Department, were being printed at present and would be out before long.

The Christchurch Branch of the Town Planning Institute of New Zealand has received between fifteen anci twenty suggested schemes of productive work suitable for unemployment relief works. The general committee, which the meeting held on Monday afternoon decided should be set up, it is anticipated, will be functioning shortly after Easter, and it is expected that tlie Technical Committee will be constituted in a week or two later. The suggestions received will be submitted t<> the Technical Committee for its report on them.

The steamer Brunswick, bound from Wellington to San Pedro, called in at the Gisborne roadstead yesterday, and sent ashore a stowaway, Jack Hanson, aged forty-two, a native of Sweden. Hansen was brought before the Magisthate's Court and remanded for a week. Hansen stowed away in a lifeboat at Wellington on Tuesday, and .remained hidden till tho ship was well at sea. His calculations went astray, however, -and when he emerged o Q Tuesday night, convinced that the ship was two and one-third days from New Zealand, Hansen discovered that the coast was still within easy range. Wireless instructions were given to the ship's master to call at Gisborne where the police were waiting in a launch and took the man into custody.—Frees Association.

An instance bearing out the value nf resuscitation work at competitions in surf life-saving was cited at last evening's mooting of the Canterbury Surf and Life-Savins; Association bv the chairman, Mr W. H. Benson. A rescuer at "New Brighton recently, he said, had been so exhausted when he had brought a girl ashore aftor she had been in difficultv that, he was unable to give her further assistance. A young boy who was the only other person nearby successfully resuscitated the girl, and stated afterwards that the only knowledge he had of the method was what he had gained from observing demonstrations given on the beach during the competitions. MiBenson stressed the necessity for including resuscitation drill in evary competition so that observers might gain some knowledge therefrom.

"To my surprise the powers-that-be are asking our children to pay a penny for the school journal," said the chairman, Mr C. H. Pinnoek, at a meeting of tho Wellington School Committees and Educational Federation. "Well, that's about what it's worth in any case. It's a poor rag at any time, in my opinion."

Thirty-five volumes of newspaper clippings concerning tho Great War have been presented to the Wellington Public Library by Sergeant-Major E. Bezar. When war first broke out SergeantMajor Bezar started liis collection of clippings as a hobby, but with no idea of the huge proportions liis hobby was to assume before peace was declared, in addition to the gift to the Public Library he has presented numerous volumes to other institutions.

Ninety-one years ago on Monday Captain Hobson made his official landing at Auckland as Lieutenant-Gover-nor, the site of the city having been selected by him in the previous September. He was received by a guard of honour, and the tiny community welcomed him with such ceremony as its scanty resources could furnish. A procession escorted the Lieutenant-Gov-ernor to the newly-erected official residence. Shortly afterward, on May 3rd, 1841, New Zealand ceased being ,a dependency of New South Wales and was proclaimed a separate colony. Captain Jlobsou accordingly became Governor instead of Lieutenant-Gover-nor.

Members of the St. John Ambulance Association, at their meeting last evening, commented on the fact that 184 calls had been received by the ambulance in February, 1932, as against only 98 calls during February, 1931. Tho chairman (Dr. J. Restell Thomas) said this was probably due to the fact that the ambulance service was now an absolutely free one. Another member pointed out, however, that since 1927 accidents had greatlv increased in New Zealand —out of all proportion to the increase in previous years. Agreeing with this, Dr. Thomas said that undoubtedly traffic was becoming thicker and thicker every day, on roads which were not becoming wider.

The reference by Tahu Wiremu ltatana, the Maori religious leader, to the union of interests of Aotea-roa, the North Island, and those of Te Wa'ipounamu, the South Island, in the course of a speech at a native assembly at To Kuiti, draws attention to the many names applied to the Islands of the Dominion. Aotea-roa is the general name among the Maori tribes for the wliolo of New Zealand, only the peoples of a portion of the North Island west coast, near Wanganui, using the word, as Ratana has done, to describe tho North Island, which is ordinarily called Te Ika a Maui. An abbreviated form of Aotea-roa, Aotea, is tho Maori term for Great Barrier Island. New Zealand was once known as Tiri Tiri o te Moana —"placed at wide intervals in the ocean"—and the Raroton g*ms know this country as Avaiki-Tautau, ono of tho Pacific Ocean's many Hawaikis. There, is also a modern expression, Niu Tireni, which is merelv a Maori pronunciation of New Zealand.

Bargain-hunters were in their element at tho annual salo in Wellington of goods left in the city tramcars and never afterwards onquired for. Great stacks of gloves, attache cases, umbrellas, walking-sticks and overcoats were sorted into bundles, which went at a shilling a time. There were some strange souvenirs of absent-mindedness. One person had left behind in the tram a couple of spare tyres and a car jack, one a steel shovel, and yet another a "Brownie" camera, and had either suffered complete loss of memory, or had not bothered to recover the articles. The highest price of the sale was 14s for a gold ring with a half-sovereign attached as an ornament.

Beferring at a meeting of the Otago Electric Power Board to certain indefinite reports regarding the interference with wiroless reception caused by power leaks, Mr A. E. Bussell said that, as the Post and Telegraph Department collected wireless license feeß on behalf of the Broadcasting Board, the Department should be responsible for seeing that no such interference occurred. Mr Bussell moved that the chief postmaster should be advised that the Power Board regarded the Post and Telegraph Department as responsible for the location of power leaks which were interfering with wireless reception, and that, when such leaks were definitely reported to the Board, they would bo attended to. This course was . approved by the meeting.

Those conversant with present-day land values in the Dominion will view with interest the following paragraph taken from a newspaper of many years ago and found recently among some old papers:—On September 27th, 1839, the present site of the city of Wellington and all, or nearly all, the country in the rear was purchased by W. Wakefield from seventeen natives for the following consideration: 100 red blankets, 100 muskets, two tierces tobacco, forty iron pots, two cases soap, fifteen fowling pieces, twenty-one kegs powder, one cask ball cartridges, one keg lead slabs, 100 cartouche boxes, 100 tomahawks, 40 pipe tomahawks, one ease pipes, twenty-four spades, fifty steel axes, 1200 fishhooks, twelve bullet moulds, twelve dozen shirts, twenty jackets, twenty pairs trousers, sixty red nightcaps, 300 yards cotton duck, 200 yards calico, 100 yards check, twenty dozen pocket handkerchiefs, two dozen slates, 200 pencils, ten dozen pairs scissors, one dozen pairs shoes, one dozen umbrellas, one dozen hats, two pounds of beads, 100 yards ribbon, one gross jews' harps, one dozen razors, sixteen dozen dressing combs, six dozen hoes, two suits of superfine clothes, two dozen shaving boxes and brushes, twenty muskets, two dozen adzes, and one dozen sticks of sealing wax. Biehard Barrett and his mate, B. Lowry, were witnesses' of the sale.

From the Military Secretary (Major R. W. Eussell) to his Excellency the Governor-General, Mr JVW. Crampton, of Christchurch, has received a letter setting forth that his Excellency had been much interested to read the particulars forwarded by Mr Crampton of the plan for the absorption of all the New Zealand unemployed. The writer added: His Excellency would be glad to hear in due oou rijo whether the plan meets with sympathetic support, and whether it .is deemed really practicable.

In tliia issue the Railway Department advertises particulars of express and relief express trains running during the Easter holiday period. Large crowds are seen every day at the Railway Station on the arriva!l of trains, going across the Toad to the Gold Band Taxis Garage opposite. "Whyt" because they know they are saving money by doing so, and every means is being applied to try and put the Gold Band Taxis off the road, so support the firm that supports you. Thank you. —3

Ijicreaso your income. Do not put up with obsolete, wornout Ploughs, Cultivators, and Harrows, The latest efficient, and most up-to-date implements are now more than ever necessary. Don't waste time with out-of-date gear, see about our new low prices. Write for details. Booth, Macdonald and Co., Ltd., Christchurch.

Brides book up early with the Gold Band Taxis for their Bridal Cars, which are the best and the charges the lowest from 7s 6d per hour. 'Phones 34075 and 35572. Thank you, —1