General News

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21717, 26 February 1936, Page 10

General News

More Rain Approaching? The strong, cool southerly wind which sprang up last night brought only one light shower during the evening, but the weather forecast and reports from southern districts indicated that before many hours had passed Christchurch might expect rain. In Timaru a very strong and gusty south-west wind brought showers at intervals, and there was much the same weather at Ashburton. At Rangiora the southerly blew and the sky was overcast, but no rain fell. Next Press Conference? There is a probability that Hanmer Springs will be selected as the meeting place of next year's New Zealand press conference, to be held in February, 1937. The vote will be taken at Napier to-morrow. Repairs to Bridges Bridges in the Waipara county, which were damaged during the recent serious floods, have now been repaired and the £oad from the Waipara river to the Hurunui will be open to nght traffic at 8 o’clock this morning. Heavy traffic will be able to use the road after midday. Motorists are advised to use great care in approaching the bridges, as men are still engaged in repairing them. The two bridges mainly affected are those over the Greta river in Friday’s cutting and the small bridge over Telegraph gully, just before the Hurunui river is reached. Before this latter bridge a slight deviation in the road has been necessary. A Cosmopolitan Party The Young Men’s Christian Association in London has earned a reputation for the welcome which it gives to all visitors from overseas, and particularly from the Dominions of the British Empire. At the last Christmas party, writes Mr J. Harvey, who recently left Christchurch to take up a position in England, there were 105 guests, representing 21 nations. Some of them were New Zealand, India, South Africa, Canada, Australia, China, Spain, Italy, Trinidad, Peru, Uruguay, Denmark, Holland, and the United States of America. The War: First-hand Knowledge An eye-witness of the activities in Abyssinia has arrived in New Zealand. He is an American, Captain E. H. Gerrard Maisson, who until recently has been correspondent and photographer for the United Press of America. Because of his job he has had to keep close up with the advances and retreats of the Abyssinians. He was doing this work for some months, until last October, when his aeroplane was shot down. His opinion, as told to a North Island interviewer, is that the war will continue for at least another year. It seems to him that the Italians will be driven back to their borders. “Then they may start all over again,” he said. Italians he considers poor fighters. Their only advantage in the present engagements was an air force. Newspapers in New Zealand Interesting comment on New Zealand’s newspapers was made by Lord Trent, chairman of Boots Pure Drug Company, Ltd., England, who is visiting Wellington, when addressing members of the Rotary Club yesterday. “The wonderful thing about your newspapers,” said Lord Trent, “is that they are so extraordinarily like our newspapers at Home. I don’t mean merely that they are well printed, on good paper, and made up in much the same way; but the subjects of which they treat are the same as the subjects treated in any of our first-class provincial newspapers. Cricket or football, Jean Batten or the British navy, they belong to all of us. The fact is. in these days when distance has been abolished by the telegraph cables, the news that interests us is the same news that interests you. Apart from local news, we share other interests in common, and we share those interests in common because we are one people. That is to me, a visitor from the other end of the world, a very remarkable and significant fact. London is your capital as much as mine. It is the centre of your world as much as it is the centre of ours.” —Press Association. Cicadas Invade Akaroa Swarms of cicadas, commonly known as crickets, have invaded Akaroa since the storm on Thursday. Perched on posts and tree trunks, they chirp almost incessantly from dawn until dark. It is quite common to see 50 to 100 of these insects rubbing their wings and making a great din. Not for years have they been seen in Akaroa in such numbers. Fewer Concerts In 1934 it was suggested in an article in “The Press” that the musical societies of Christchurch were giving too many concerts. At the annual meeting of the Christchurch Harmonic Society last evening the motion that only two of the usual three subscription concerts be given this year was carried unanimously. To Replace the third concert an invitation concert, limited to subscribers and members only, will be given. This innovation, which greatly relieves the work of the choir, has been widely adopted in other countries of the world. In seconding the motion, Mr Victor C. Peters, the society’s conductor, said that the standard of performance should be the first consideration of any musical society. By having two concerts, clashes witli concerts given by other societies would be avoided. An Unusual Friendship An extraordinary friendship has developed between a collie dog owned by Mr W. J. Ball, of Wellington, and a young opossum. The opossum has accepted the dog as a foster parent, and rides about clinging securely to his back. Frequently the two are to be seen walking in the vicinity of Courtenay place. The opossum maintains its seat on the dog by grasping the collie’s hair with its claws. Even when the dog leaps into the air to catch a ball thrown by its master the opossum is not dislodged. Pigeons as News Carriers In these davs of wireless and telephone communication, the method adopted by a team competing at the Napier Rowing Club’s recent regatta at Clive to convey news of the various events to their home town was something of a novelty. When they travelled to Napier the, coxswains of the Wairoa crews took with them a number of homing pigeons. After each race a bird was dispatched with the result written on a cigarette paper tied to its leg. It took approximately half an hour for the pigeons to make the trip from Clive to Wairoa. Sailing Ship and Aeroplanes The full-rigged ship Joseph Conrad, which has arrived at Auckland on a voyage round the world, left Harwich, England, in October. 1934, almost simultaneously with the start of the Melbourne Centenary air race. A contrast between old and new modes of travel is provided by the fact that some of the aeroplanes whicli took part in the race made the return trip to England in a few days, whereas to-day, after a lapse of 16 months, the little Joseph Conrad is practically just starting on her leisurely homeward trip. Her owner and captain, Mr A. J. Villiers, does not expect to reach England until the end of the year. The Waiau Caves “It is quite possible that if the Waiau caves were electrically lit and examined by an expert it might be found thatjthey are a potential tourist attraction,” said Mr Charles Campbell at a meeting of the executive of the Southland League. He suggested that the Minister for Tourist and Health Resorts (the Hon. F. Langstone) should be asked if he were willing to have the caves examined with a view to ascertaining their scenic possibilities. The chairman (Mr W. Hinchey) agreed that the suggestion was a good one. There used to be some very fine stalagmites and stalactites in the caves, he said, but unfortunately vandals had destroyed many of them. If the caves were lighted they might draw many people there. Explosives Unearthed on Aerodrome Site On two occasions in the last few days quantities of gelignite and detonators have been unearthed by unemployed workers in the excavation work on the Greymouth aerodrome site. Both lots have been burned, but only the caps exploded. It is thought that the explosives were a portion of those used some years ago in the blasting work that was carried out on the steamer Lauderdale, which was stranded near the locality.