General News

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21708, 15 February 1936, Page 14

General News

Week-end Fishing The secretary of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society received advice at noon yesterday on the condition of the following rivers:—Waimakariri, clearing; Ashley, dirty but clearing; Rakaia, clear, suitable for fishing; Hurunui, milky. Council Makes Grants The Heathcote County Council, at a meeting over which Mr W. W. Scarf! presided last evening, decided to grant £2 2s to the Canterbury Progress League’s fund for the Dobson, memorial at Arthur’s Pass, and £1 Is to the funds of the Canterbury Roadside Beautifying Association. Burr on Sheep “It seems a pity that sheep should be allowed to come into New Zealand and wander all over the country with a burr like, this on them, said the president (Mr Roland Guinness) at a meeting of the committee of the Timaru Agricultural* and Pastoral Association yesterday during a* discussion on a sample of wool, which the secretary (Mr H. H. Fraser) produced and which he said had come off the back of an Australian ram recently imported. Mr H. B. S. Johnstone said that the committee had discussed burr a considerable time ago, when it was stated that the pest was growing beside the railway sidings in Timaru. He understood that burr was worse than bidi-bidi in that the mills at Home were unable to pull it out of the fleeces as easily. It was decided to write to the Stock Department asking that action be taken; to ensure that in future no sheep oe allowed to enter the country so affected. Traverse of Torlesse Ridge ■ A traverse of the five peaks of the,Torlesse range was made on Thursday by tw° members of the Canterbury College Tramping Club, Messrs B. W. and N. W. Collins. The climbers left Christchurch on Wednesday and camped in the upper Kowai river, after ascending the Little Kowai river and Happy Valley and crossing Rubicon Saddle. The next day they ascended Castle Hill Peak, the summit of the range, by a spur from the Kowai river. They found on the top the record of an ascent in April last by a party which included Mr M. Townsend, who was recently drowned in the Rakaia river. The party then climbed Red Peak, Back Peak, and Otarama Peak, and returned to Rubicon Peak by sidling round the Amphitheatre below Back Peak. They descended into Happy Valley by the Hurtle Beauty Couloir and camped after 13 hours’ climbing. A strong, cold wind made climbing on the high ridges rather unpleasant, but the slight sprinkling of snow which covered the range was helpful. One of the party had attempted the traverse twice previously, and the other once. Acclimatisation Problem Perch, it was reported at a meeting of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, had spread from Lake Wairarapa up the Ruamahanga river and into the Waipoua and Waingawa streams, creating a menace to trout. Perch are not surface feeders to any extent, and the Waipoua and Waingawa are fly streams. It was mentioned that 13 perch had been caught in a short time in one spot in the Waipoua and that they were very plentiful. The Wellington Society was asked by a representative of a Wairarapa sub-committee what action could be taken. At present the license for these streams prohibits worm-fishing, but it is on the worm that the perch are taken. Worm-fishing is not looked' on favourably by acclimatisation societies. The thinning out of the perch would be in the interests of trout, which are earnest ground feeders as well as surface feeders. The problem set is not an easy one, but “will receive consideration.” Early Preparations Although the centenary of Waitangi will not take place until 1940, the Maoris are already making preparations for the celebrations. Last week the main carving for the whare runanga, or meeting house, which is to be erected near the Residency on the National Trust Board’s! estate, was completed. Expert carvers, assisted by younger ; Maoris of the Ngapuhi tribe, have been working on the whare carvings at Motatau for the last 18 months and it is said that the work is very rich in native symbolism. This week the main carvings were to be transported from Motatau to Waitangi. At present a lookout is being kept for the toitoi stalks which will form the background for the extensive panelling work to be done inside the whare. Several thousand are required. Meantime, other aspects of the construction of the whare runanga will steadily be proceeded with until the foundations are completed. Unemployment Taxation That any increase in unemployment taxation would be grossly unfair to farmers, in view of “the extreme scarcity of farm labour,” was claimed by members at a meeting of the Auckland provincial executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union. Saying that an increase in unemployment charges was expected in some quarters, Mr V. Simms said the position was absurd for farmers who found it almost impossible now to obtain farm labour. “The whole matter needs thorough investigation,” he added, “and there is no doubt if is grossly unfair to farmers.” So scarce was labour in the Waikato that harvesters had been offered 4s an hour. It was decided to arrange for a deputation to wait on the Minister for Employment, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, about unemployment taxation as it affects the farmer. The Long Arm of Sanctions Two days before sanctions were imposed on Italy the firm of Magnoni and Tedeschi, of Turin, dispatched an order for Messrs William Strang and Company, Invercargill, When the Italian firm will receive payment for the goods is a matter of conjecture. Messrs William Strang and Company have been flooded with correspondence about the order. Some of the Italian letters and declarations are not easy to follow, but one point has been made perfectly clear by the local customs authorities—the money banked by Strang and Company in payment of the goods will not be sent to Turin, but will remain in the Reserve Bank, Wellington, to the credit of the League of Nations. No difficulty will be experienced by the firm clearing the goods. Messrs Magnoni and Tedeschi have forwarded a certificate from the Turin Chamber of Commerce saying that the goods, although shipped from Marseilles on December 2, left the mills in Turin before sanctions were imposed. Messrs Strang and Company will not suffer in any way, but the Italian manufacturers will regret that the Ethiopian adventure has caused the League of Nations to receive payment instead of them, even though ultimately they may be reimbursed. New Zealand Tourist Trade The view that New Zealand alone could not compete against the tourist resorts nearer the Old Country and that a wise move would be for the Dominion to combine with Australia and make arrangements with the shipping companies for world cruises in the luxurious liners demanded to-day was expressed by Dr, J. A. Pottingef on his return to Invercargill after a tour abroad. Nowadays, he said, people on world cruises wanted variety—several stops at different ports within a reasonably short period and that, at present, New Zealand could not offer. The trouble was the four weeks’ sea voyage, which spoiled the trip. If New Zealand were to combine with Australia, large, fast, comfortably-appointed vessels could come through the Mediterranean and, thence, Via India, Java, Sumatra, and Australia, a series of attractions being provided en route. It is to Australia that Dr. Pottinger thinks New Zealand should look for an influx of tourists. “Australia I believe, is our main tourist market for the immediate future,” he added.