General News

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21582, 19 September 1935, Page 10

General News

Fishing in Victoria Lake Before deciding whether or not to permit fly-fishing by women and boys in Victoria Lake this season, the council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society will arrange for some of its members to fish the lake to obtain data for the New Zealand Fresh-water Research Committee and also to ascertain whether the size of the fish is likely to be such as to justify the lake being opened to anglers. This, decision was made at the meeting of the council of the society last evening. Summer Hockey At last night's meeting of the Canterbury Hockey Association it was decided that arrangements for a summer hockey tournament should be left in the hands of the emergency committee of the association. It was reported that several clubs had expressed willingness to take part in such a competition. The matches will probably be held on week day evenings, commencing immediately after the resumption of summer time in New Zealand. Advertising.New Zealand Meat Advertising in butchers' shops throughout Great Britain was no doubt playing an important part in the extension of New Zealand trade, said Mr John Fraser, the general manager of the New Zealand Meat Producers' Board, on his return to Wellington by the Mataroa from London, where he attended the meat discussions. New Zealand lamb, he said, was so highly thought of that butchers were pleased to advertise that they stocked it.—Press Association. China and Great Britain There is now among the Chinese a strong feeling favourable to Great Britain, according to Mr A. Fryer, a medical missionary from the Kwang-si province, who was interviewed after his arrival in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Fryer said that for some years after the incident on the Yangtse-Kiang river in 1926, when a British gunboat fired on a number of Chinese, feeling had run high against the British. The Chinese had kept a national day of humiliation for anti-British demonstrations. More recent events had changed the meaning of the day, however, and the demonstrations were now against the Japanese.

Christchurch Courthouse

One item in the Public Works estimates—the grant of £3OOO for additions to the Magistrate's Court at Christchurch—has now become a hardy annual. For at least four years this sum, or an amount approximating it, has been set aside by the Government for the purpose. But while there have been frequent complaints about the out-of-date building now used for the court, and its lack of facilities for dealing with rapidly increasing work, the grant has not yet been expended. Recently a departmental inspector made a thorough inspection of the building, and following his-visit there appears to be more optimism about the possibility of something being done. But it is now considered that £3OOO would hardly be* sufficient expenditure to meet the big changes which would be necessary if the plans were restricted to additions and renovations.

Affiliated Bodies Differ

Difference of opinion between the two bodies on the proposal to drain Lake Ellesmere caused some opposition at the meeting of the council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society last evening to a motion that the society should continue its affiliation to the Canterbury Progress League. After a brief discussion, however, it was agreed to continue membership of the league and to make the usual donation of £2 2s to the league's funds. Mr C. J. Holsey declared that in its attitude to the proposal to drain Lake Ellesmere the league was entirely opposed to the society's interests. "We would be penny wise and pound foolish if we ended our membership with the league," said Mr C. R. Russell. Other speakers agreed that although the league might be opposed to the society in the respect mentioned it could be of great service to the society in many other ways. Aerial Survey Planned Arrangements have been made with Mr A. Gerrand and Mr Piet van Asch, of the Hawke's Bay and East Coast Aero Club, to undertake an aerial survey of the Hawke's Bay district as soon as the weather permits. They will operate from a height of 10,000 ft, Mr Gerrand is fully conversant with this type of work, as he has made similar aerial surveys in Australia. From the aerial mapping it will be possible for Dr. L. Grange, of the Geological Department, to organise the work of a ground party to be engaged in a soil survey. Dr. Grange is expected to begin his survey next month after meeting the provisional committee of the Hawke's Bay Development League. The work which it is proposed to undertake forms a basis for research into problems involved in the industrial and agricultural industries. ft Nation's Destiny Echoing the sentiments of a famous American, Mr M. J. Savage, leader of the Opposition, when speaking at Johnsonville, told his audience that the purpose of a nation would decide its destiny. "Destiny," he said, "is not a matter of chance; it is a matter <?/ choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; ,-i is a tiling to be achieved. Unexpected events may retard or hasten our progress, but there is no reason why we should not mould our future as we will it, and ultimately march hand in hand to a common destiny with the people of the British Commonwealth of Nations." The American was William Jennings Bryan.

Flight of the House-Fly

The distance which a house-fly will travel is an important factor in any investigation of fly-borne diseases. Some remarkable experiments into this have recently been carried out involving nearly a quarter of a million flies, states the "Manchester Guardian." The flies were captured in specially designed . conical traps, and while in the traps they were sprinkled with finely powdered red chalk or paint pigment. The insects were then released. Traps had previously been placed over a wide area, at varying distances and in different directions from the point of liberation. Some of tlu marked flies were found as far away as 100 miles from the starting-point. A considerable number managed to journey 50 miles, while thousands were trapped at points at least 20 miles away. One curious point is that 75 per cent, of the flies had flown west; for some unexplainable reason fewer went south than in any other direction. Within a few minutes from being released marked flies turned up at certain traps which were about 1000 feet distant. On an average the insects seemed to fly from five to nine miles in the two days following their release. South Island Tourist Traffic. "It is refreshing to see what the Lyttelton Harbour Board is doing in conjunction with the Canterbury Progress League and the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce to bring overseas cruise ships to the South Island," said Mr R. L. Wigley, managing director of the Mount Cook Tourist Company and a member of the Tourist Advisory Board, in an address to members of the Royal Empire Society, the Navy League, the Victoria League, and the Overseas League last evening. In urging the rest of the South Island to wake up and help, Mr Wigley said he had been told by a reliable authority that a ship like the Franconia or the Strathaird would leave more than £IO,OOO in Auckland on a visit of three or four days. The Melbourne-Bluff service was a great asset to the South Island, since it enabled tourists to call at one end of New Zealand and leave from the other; but a better boat and a more frequent service were required. The building of the tunnel to Milford Sound was going to do a great deal for the tourist traffic in the South Island, and the Hon. Adam Hamilton was to be congratulated on his foresight and keenness in having the work done. " ' -•.