General News.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20776, 9 February 1933, Page 8

General News.

—* — ! Commercial news this morning appears on page 13, It was stated at the meeting of the Ciiristcnurch Presbytery yestcidav by the treasurer, Mr W. H. Hose, "that the finances of the Presbytery were in an unsatisfactory state, there being a doficit of £723, while the deficit facing tho wl]ole of the Dominion was about £IO,BOO. The matter was referred to the Property and Financo Committee, with full Presbyterial powers. An employee of Borthwick's freezing works, John Keane, of 8 Howard street, Belfast, was attacked at his home by an unknown person on Tuesday evening, and received injuries to his head. He was admitted to the Public Hospital yesterday afternoon. An excursion lias hcen organised from Christchurch to Greymouth by tho Corsair Club for Sunday, ary 26, and already a good number of seats have been booked, so that it may be necessary to run more than qne train. A feature of the excursion will be a visit to clip Rewnnui Stato inine. The train will leave here at 6 a.m., and Kill 'earn Greympiith itgriin at 7.30 p.m., returning to Ohmtclu.rch at two o'clock on Mondn,v morning. The Samoan correspondent of the Press Association writes that German residents are eagerly looking forward to the visit of the cruiser Koln, which is due at Samoa on May 25, and will be remaining until May 2!>. They are arranging featiyities for the entertainment of the officers and men of the cruiser. The admir" -tration is arranging ft reception for tho visitors and 'will do all it can to mako their stay in Samoa as enjoyable as possible. There were three passengers,- including a woman, in the Finnish barque Passat, which arrived at Auckland from the Seychelles yesterday, after a stqriny voygge of 73 days without touching port. They wore: N. Hughes, of Birkenhead, England, who is travelling for his health; Captain M. C. McClenahan, a retired master mariner, who is making the round voyage; and Miss C. A. Nicholls, of Auckland, wljo sonic time ago went for a trip to the Seychelles, and found that the only way of getting back to Auckland was by t)ie barque. —Press Association. Arising out of complaints, made by Christchurch and Auckland manufacturers engaged in the shirt and "white" branches of the clothing trade, that conditions bordering on sweating obtain in the trade in Wellington, Mr ,T. Roberts, secretary of the Now Zealand Clothing Trados' Federation, has written to the Labour Department, Wellington, on the subject. It is alleged j that some Wellington. employers have offered girls less than the minimum rates prescribed in the Factories Act, and as a result Christchurch and Auckland manufacturers consider that there is unfair competition on tho part of Wellington manufacturers. Alsatian dogs havo figured in many "incidents" but few as amusing as that caused when one decided to view Coprt proceedings from tike solicitors' bench »n the Magistrate's Gourt yestercjay morning. The dog's master, a wellknown barrister and solicitor, was appearing as prosecutor in a case before Mr H. P. Lawry and the argument on a legal point had been in progress a considerable time when the dog—a fine speeiuion pf the Alsatifin breed —looked in at tho door. The animal's size and appearance did not encourage interference, as it calmly walked down tho centre of the Court and nuzsled its master's coat. The argument wan too keen to allow any pf the officials concerned to notice the dog's approach so it climbed on to the cushioned seat, and there it remained, apparently unnoticed by the Magistrate, until the case cnijed. Tho old argument between shites and pads for school children was raised again at the School Committees' Association meeting last evening, when Mr 1 (1 . A. McTcigue (Hornby) said that his committee considered that far too nuicli paper was wasted in schools and that many parents, in t|)cse times, could not afford to buy l»ads lor their children. "Could something not be done tp stop this waste and prina the slate more intp general use?" asKcd Mr McTeiguc. Mr J, G. Brown suggested Hornby should do as ••"cnham liad done—use newsprint, which could be bought very cheaply at newspaper offices. Other members remarked that* slates were too easily broken, and were likely to be more expensive in the Jong run than paper, | and the chairman (Mr S. R. Evison) added that thpy were generally eonsidered to bo unhygienic. However, in ' necessitous cases, sthool committees , niiftht take action on their own account.

Because the rise in the exchange rate , affected the coat of the electric fittings and hardware required and increased 3 the total cost by £42 10s, it is reported ■ that a New - Plymouth resident has can- ) celled an arrangement for the erection of a house (says the "Taranaki Daily News"). After plans had been approved and financial arrangements made ' the increase in the exchange rate was ; announced, with the result, it is stated, : that work that would have occupied • about two months was cancelled. ' All efforts to trace Edward. John i Green, at one time a clerk in Welling- , ton, have failed, and the Public Trustiie has taken charge of £395 in cash which ' has awaited claim by the missing wan. It is not even known whether Green is alive or dead. Acting under powers ; conferred by the Public Trust Act, the Public Trustee has taken steps to ta]:e possession of tho money, and notice of this procedure has been given in tho 1 Gazette. The Oreti river during the past month has been the sceno of a slaughter of cols and as a result of the first competition over 3200 eels were taken out of this stream, states a southern exchange. With a catch of 374, Messrs O. Smith and W. Brown topped the list, Mr W. Clark being second with 240, ' and Mr IT. Graham next with OG. These figures, of course, are only of heads accounted for, and in all instances, n large number were not checked. It is estimated that competitors and non-competitors "landed" 'it least 1239. "One thing that has charmed me par ticulaiiy during my tour of the Dominion is the high level of tho speech of New Zealandcrs," said the noted English actress Dame Sybil Tborndiko, at Auckland on Saturday. "Speech in England is a thing of extremes, from the absurd affectation of the ultnOxford accent to the slovenly carelessness of low-class speech. The standard speech is that spoken generally by educated people in London and that standard is probably more closely approached in New Zealand than in any other part of the world. One may miss the variety of dialect, but in Dunedin one can hear as pure Scots speech as is heard in Edinburgh."Without any recorded intervention by St. Patrick, New Zealand is free from snakes, and a writer in the New Zealand Itailways Magazine calls on New Zealand trampers and campers to be grateful and to sleep in peace. "True, we have our mosquito, which is quite a sufficient nuisance," says tho writer, "but it is not everywhere. Camping in such places as the Urewera Country and about the shores of tho Rotorua lakes, I have never heard the buzz of tho little naeroa. The camper-out in the great South Island forests, always moist, finds tlwj mosquito voracious enough, but there are ways of circumventing the night-demon." A striking illustration of the effect of the raising of the exchange rate was provided in a transaction which took place the other day in a Dunedin hotel. An English tourist, who appeared at the office to pay a bill for £1 4s, presented a Bank of England £5 note, says the "Otago Daily Times." The assistance of a bank employee was sought by the office staff, and after the necessary calculations had been made, it was agreed that the tourist should hand over an additional 3d. Then in return for his English £." note he was given a New Zealand £.5 note and a receipt for £1 4h. Reports of big deals by telephone an 3 wiroless are common in these days of mechanical advancement, but bidding at a public auction by telephone is still rare. It actually happened in Thames last week. A lady who resides at Turua had recently set her mind on acquiring a bed which she had seen advertised. to be sold at public auction in Thames. Being unable to be present at the auction sale, she conceived t'na idea of getting in touch with the au?tioneer by telephone and bidding for tho article of furniture when it wft« i offered. A call was put through and [ the arrangements made, an attendant i standing at the telephone and announc- | ing to the lady the progress of lh<? » bidding. The enterprising lady was ■ out-bid for the bed. After losing all trace of their child [ in Russia nearly 12 years ago parents i who now reside in New Zealand have been advised that the child lias been located (says a Wellington message). Tho New Zealand Red Cross Society • arranged with the Comptroller of Cusi toms for a passport, and steps have been taken which should shortly result • in a reunion in New Zealand. The ninttor first came under the notice of the , New Zealand Red Cross 18 montns ago, when tho parents reported that their 1 efforts to trace the child had been futile. The loss of contact had arisen ' in the distress in the early days of tho . Bolshevik regimo when the parents were fugitives from Jtussia. They eventually settled in New Zealand. The 1 Red Cross opened enquiries through the Red Cross Societies, Paris, which ended in the discovery of the child safe and r well at Margoul, Sfctensk, in Siberia. J —Press Association. t Tho Department of Agriculture roi ports having had several requests fur - information regarding a bonus for 1 catching white butterflies, and stales - that no bonus is given, says the "Even- • ing Post." The pest has been aproad- ' ing rapidly lately and is causing 3 farmers concern by its attacks upon 1 swede and rape crops. At tho Feild- > ing Show last week a competition was " held for tho largest number of white 3 butterflies caught and the winner's ' total was 800. A correspondent gtat.es that a number of boys li&vp been catching them and were expecting to get !. 2s Gd a dozen. At this rato it would , bo most profitable employment, as iu j the Manawntu and Hawke's Bay districts the pest, is vpry plentiful. However, no bonus is at present payable although individual farmers might be I willing to do something in the matter. 1 The sudden death of Mr W. I'crr.y- ---• Taylor at the Auckland hospital on ? Thursday recalls very vividly to tlie , oldest residents of early New Zealand the stirring events of Wauganm journalism, in >vhicli his grandfather 3 who was a friend of Sir George firej 3 when lie was Governor of the country. 5 was a leading figure. In 1865 there " were three papers in Wanganui, Hit 1 ''Chronicle," "Herald,'' and "Times, 1 the last beiny the one edited by fit • Perry-Taylor's grandfather. Jlil 2 "Chronicle's"' editor was also named Taylor, but to distinguish the two the "Times" editor was named "the 010 5 horse," because he v was a tireles; s writer, who wielded a vigorous, tren- " chant pen in exposing what he thought " to be the abuses of the day. He bac " little time for the red tape of the I military authorities, and once, attei some severo criticism of one of the regil| rrients, the soldiers connected with ,1 • were so incensed that they marcbec ~ down to the papor office, and, witfc j stout long rones and other equipment used in military engineering, the 3 nearly pulled the little office down intr the street, and the editor had s \ narrow escape from serious injury. ' The drier the season, the shorter th< g growth. That's why you need tb< Boothinac Chain Drum Stripper (Mo! y land's Patent). It works wonders or short growth, including White Clover j Turns loss into profit arid pays toj s itself. Write for particulars Booth Macdonald and Co., Ltd., OEristchurch —H