General News

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22005, 1 February 1937, Page 8

General News

Recording Systems for Radio Stations The Director of Broadcasting (Professor James Shelley) intends to establish recording machines in each of the four YA radio stations shortly, according to a statement he made in an interview last evening. Professor Shelley said that records would be made of performances of more than usual merit or interest and where the artist could not visit other centres the record would be used. The introduction of the scheme would also be useful for keeping records of items or performances of historical interest. Suggestions from England Two matters in which the Dominion might learn from England were mentioned on Saturday by Mr C. A. Newman, a former Post Office Savings Bank inspector, who has returned from a visit to England. "I am convinced," he said, "of the need for planting trees anywhere and at any time. There are trees all over England, and in many places they form long archways along country roads." Mr Newman's other suggestion was that the English practice of having bands playing in the parks and public gardens during the day, with chairs for the public for which a small fee of Id or 2d was charged, should be adopted here. They would make the city more attractive, he said, and considerable revenue could be obtained, as one of the chairs would often earn as much as Is a day. Blue Gums or Red Gums "I have seen a considerable number of gum trees in New Zealand," said Senator A. J. McLachlan, Postmaster-General in the Australian Government, who is visiting Christchurch, but they are nearly all blue gums. Why haven't you imported our best gum? The blue gum seems to thrive well enough, but it is not the type that contributes much to the beauty of the landscape, nor is it particularly useful. Our red gum makes excellent timber and is very beautiful." Senator McLachlan said his advice to the people of the West Coast would be to plant more trees. There was a danger of deforestation and Ne.w Zealand would have to conserve her timber resources. Praise for Christchurch Gardens For variety and their colour scheme and general lay-out the Christchurch gardens take first place in the eyes of Mr George Jaquiery. of Invercargill. Mr Jaquiery has just returned to Invercargill from a visit to Auckland, and on the way he visited the gardens in the main centres. He is enthusiastic about the Christchurch gardens and their picturesque beauty. "And," he remarked to a reporter, "they are superintended by our former curator, Mr J. A. McPherson." Opening of Oyster Season The prospects for the 1937 oyster season, which will open to-day, are regarded by Invercargill and Bluff merchants as being quite as good as in recent years. Last year the season opened with prolific catches from wellstocked beds, and orders from northern centres exceeded previous years. By the middle of this afternoon many Southlanders should be able to eat the first of the season's oysters, for, in ordinary circumstances, the first catch for 1937 will have been trawled from the beds in Foveaux Strait, sorted, cleaned, and delivered to the markets in, Bluff and Invercargill. Municipal Radio Sets A proposal that radio receiving sets should be installed in the public halls attached to Auckland city and suburban libraries for the benefit of the citizens was made to the City Council by the Hon. T. Bloodworth, M.L.C. He said that by this means subscribers to the libraries would be able to lake advantage of the cultural developments as outlined by the Director of Broadcasting (Professor J. Shelley). The suggestion was referred to the library committee for a report. Maoris Seek Assistance Poetic phraseology was used by Maoris who welcomed the Minister for Lands (the Hon. F. Langstone) at Te Kao, a native settlement on the shores of the Parengarenga harbour, last week. Eru Ihaka, paramount chief of the Aupouri tribe, said in the past they had been promised that the Government would take over part of their burden of debt on the development scheme. He concluded by exhorting the Minister to give them their daily bread. "My prayer." said Hemi Huitera, a young man of the tribe, "is give us work, and we will earn our daily bread." "Don't you worry about your debt burden." said the Minister. "The British Empire cannot pay its debt to America, so why should you in Te Kao worry about your small debt? .Your work is to make Te Kao the most successful native settlement in New Zealand. You play your part and co-operate with the Government, and we will do our part." Little Butter in England Tiie opinion that the sale of New Zealand butter in England could be multiplied many times if the English people "were taught to eat butter" was expressed by Mr C. A. Newman, formerly inspector of Post Office Savings Banks in New Zealand, who returned on Saturday from a visit of nine months to England. He said that the amount of butter given in restaurants was very small, and was very surprising to New Zealanders, who were accustomed to eat butter in large quantities. He did not consider that New Zealand butter was sufficiently well advertised in England. Another thing that struck Mr Newman was the quality of the bacon which they had for breakfast on seven days of the week. It had a much finer flavour than that of New Zealand bacon. Drought in Queensland Brisbane, and indeed almost the whole of Queensland, has been suffering from drought during tlie last six months, according to Mr A. G. Silvester, of New Farm, Brisbane, who arrived at Wellington from Sydney by the Awatea on his first visit to New Zealand. He wore an overcoat, and considered that the weather was cold in Wellington. When he left Brisbane the thermometer registered 98 degrees Fahrenheit, in the shade, and 78 degrees humidity. That was fairly torrid, even • for Brisbane, and as a result, there had been six deaths from the heat in three days. "That would not be so bad were it not that we are short of water in Brisbane at present," said Mr Silvester. "There are very severe restrictions on the use of water. We are hardly supposed to use the house or garden hose at all, and people are not allowed to wash down their motor-cars.. We have had no rain since July last, and supplies are running low. Such restrictions during a hot summer do not make for comfort." Soldier as Governor-General A practical illustration of the value at present of a soldier Governor-General was given by the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, M.P., at Feilding in his speech during the first official visit of Lord Galway. Mr Cobbe said that he was Minister for Defence when Lord Galway took office. Shortly afterward his Excellency sent for him and in the. kindliest way pointed out certain weaknesses in the administration of his department. The result was that there was effected a closer and more effective liaison between the branches of the defence service. In his speech at the opening of Parliament in 1935 Lord Galway, though warmly applauding efforts being made at world peace, referred to the need of taking effective steps fpr the protection of New Zealand. Lord Galway was a soldier, the possessor of a distinguished decoration for Great War service. Consequently in this time of world unrest the practical experience and wise counsel of his Excellency must be of the greatest value to his Ministers. Tennis Incidents There were two unusual incidents during play in the Auckland lawn tennis championships. During the women's singles match between Miss Margaret Beverley, of Matamata, and Miss D. Nicholls, of Wellington, Miss Beverley failed to return a backhand shot. The ball struck the umpire of another game. He was sitting high on his seat between the No. 1 and No. 2 courts, and the ball lodged in his left-hand coat pocket. For a second or two the crowd wondered what had become of the ball, and there was general laughter when the umpire was asked to return it to the server. In a later match the spectators saw the unusual spectacle of a New Zealand champion, D. C. Coombe, of Wellington, serving underhand in an effort to surprise his opponents.