General News

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22436, 24 June 1938, Page 10

General News

Power Shortage at Dunedin Because of the fault at the Lake Coleridge power station, Dunedin’s load was short on Wednesday, as the Waitaki current, normally used to boost the Waipori output, had to bo diverted to Christchurch. Consequently, the entire Dunedin load yesterday afternoon was thrown on to Waipori, augmented by the corporation steam and Diesel plants.—Press Association. “A Slump Mind” “I thank all the gods that are that I do not possess a ‘slump mind’,” the Hon. R. Semple said when he addressed a large meeting at Temuka last evening. “Some people say if it rains there will be a flood. Then when the sun shines they look for a drought. What a sorrowful state of mind that is. If a man is like that, it is time he is in cold storage.”

Aeroplanes as Assets “Since 1935 the assets of the club have moved from pounds, shillings and pence to machines. Money will not crash when it is in a bank, but the same thing cannot be said when it is invested in aeroplanes,” said J\lr Denys Hoare, the club’s auditor, at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Aero Club last evening. Mr Hoare bore this out by mentioning that in 1935 aeroplanes belonging to the club were valued at £IOOO, while in the present balance-sheet they were shown at £3262. Receipts from commercial flying, however, had dropped from £IBOO in .1935 to £llOO in 1938. Facial Eczema on the Wane A definite statement was made by responsible officers* of the Department of Agriculture in Auckland yesterday that no fresh cases of facial eczema in sheep or cattle were being reported, but that deaths were still occurring cf animals that had been badly affected by the recent outbreak. Stock which had taken the disease badly, both sheep and cattle, were still being sent to Westfield for boiling down to save them from dying on farms. “Cattle and sheep affected by the disease show slow improvement, and many are still in the convalescent stage on farms,” said one officer. “It will be a long time before the aftermath is entirely cleaned up, but there is consolation in the fact that the disease is not contagious, and no new cases are occurring.”—Press Association. Foundation Stone Encased in Zinc

The lonely isolation in which has stood for the last three months the foundation stone of the new law courts building which Christchurch is eventually to have was slightly modified yesterday. The stone is now hidden from the public view. In the pouring rain yesterday, two workmen were engaged in covering the complete stone with a casing of zinc. When the task was completed, those who did not know that the foundation stone had previously stood in front of the Supreme Court building, would have had some difficulty in guessr ing the use or purpose of the new zinc obelisk that now graces the Court grounds. All trace of the foundation stone is hidden. It was stated yesterday that the reason for covering the stone wap to protect it from the weather, so that it would be in new condition when there was attached to it the new building. Trends in India “Englishmen are playing the game in their government of India and Indians are steadily learning hov/ to govern themselves,” said Professor Jagan Nath (manager of the Prince uf Manavadar’s hockey team which is touring the Dominion), in an address to the Palmerston North Citizens’ Lunch Club. The Indians themselves, he said, had difficulty in meeting their comolexes. On the whole, the newest complex, Communism, had very little effect on the people. Agents were watched carefully and rigid measures were taken to restrict their activities. He did not think the movement had much hold, but some influence was coming into force from Congress, the younger leaders of which had Socialistic leanings. Even so, the doctrine of Socialism had little hold on the people as a whole. “We Have to Spend” “Everywhere I go I am met by county councils and borough councils. They are all imploring me to help them, and yet we have been accused of spending too much,” said the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) at Temuka last evening. “We have not spent a copper more than we have to, and there is no mistake we have to spend that.” Counsel’s Retort “I do not agree with counsel’s contention. The driver of the car was a woman. I think it is sufficient to leave it at that,” said SubInspector J. Dempsey, during the hearing of a charge against a woman motorist in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, recently, of failing to give way to a pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing. “I would like to point out that the informant was also a woman,” said counsel for the defendant, amid laughter. Relief for Auckland Soldiers Since the establishment of the funds in 1915, nearly £700,000 has been distributed to disabled former servicemen or their dependants ,by the Auckland Provincial Patriotic and War Relief Association, according to a statement by the chairman of the executive (Sir James Gunson) at the annual meeting. He said consideration would shortly be given to the suggestion of using the balance of the fund to provide a form of permanent assistance for former servicemen in need. Sir James Gunson said that expenditure during the year amounted to £BBOS, and the funds'of the association had been reduced by £5886, leaving a credit balance in the sick and wounded soldiers’ fund of £24,200. An undertaking had been given on behalf of the association that the fund would be administered over a period of 21 years, and the trust had been carried out.— “The Press” Special Service.

Financing of Housing Scheme To discuss the financing of the housing scheme proposed by the Christchurch City •Council for old age pensioners and others in poor circumstances, representatives of the council will wait on the Minister for Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) while he is in the city •next Monday. The council will be represented by the Mayor (Mr R. M. Macfarlane), Cr. G. Manning, chairman of the finance committee, and Cr. J. S. Barnett, who is a member of the sub-committee set up recently by the council to prepare proposals for housing. Diver Probes in Sand The work of the Bluff Harbour Board’s diver in probing for rock beneath the sand on the Davey Bank was reported to a recent meeting ol the board. The engineer’s report stated that, to test the nature of the bottom so as to ascertain the length of piles required for the proposed new beacons to be erected on the Davey Bank, the tug was anchored in position and the diver sent down. Equipped with a 5-inch diameter galvanised pipe fitted with a nozzle and coupled to the tug’s firehose, the diver was able to probe to 15 feet from the surface of the sand, without finding rock. That depth of penetration was sufficient for the purpose. Killing of Trout by Shags Arguing that all species of shags do not destroy trout. Captain E. V. Sanderson (president of the Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand) has made a statement in answer to recent remarks of the Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) about the alleged killing of trout by shags. Captain Sanderson says: “In an apparently officially inspired article headed 'Hawks and Shags,’ Mr Peftry directs attention to alleged killing of trout by shags, without in any way indicating the species of shag referred to. Such statements are apt to lead the public to believe that all species of shags attack trout and people feel incited to kill all shags, including protected species which do not frequent rivers. Included in these absolutely protected shags is the rare spotted shag, which is not structurally equipped to swallow a trout, and which has paid a heavy penalty, as the result of sweeping statements such as the one in the article. Such remarks cannot be regarded seriously by those who expect research to be accurately conducted by people competent to analyse stomachic cdntents and give the credit or discredit as the case may be to the species concerned.”