General News

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22501, 8 September 1938, Page 10

General News

Unusual Fish Sent to Museum A. blind numb-fish, found inside a ling, has been-sent to the Canterbury Museum. It is a fairly rare fish, and is one of the electric rays, which are capable of giving electric shocks, especially if touched at two points, it is oy this means that it disables its prey, which it would find difficult to secure by any other method, as it is of a sluggish habit and clumsy in its movements. Whether the ling received a shock when swallowing it is a matter for speculation, according to the curator of the Museum, Mr R. A. Falla. Work of Bureau of Industry That the Bureau of Industry was handling many matters but coming to a decision in very few of them was the opinion expressed by the president of the Canterbury Manufacturers Association (Mr H. B. Duckworth) last night. The bureau, Mr Duckworth said, was largely made up of public servants who were more interested in departmental matters and were often absent from its sittings. Moreover, its membership was always changing, so that it was difficult to carry out consistent work. Ihe original idea, he said, was ttoit the bureau should take the place of a tariff board. Improvement to Estuary “It does not seem that the scheme is practicable at present,” commented the president of the Canterbury Progress League (Mr T. M. Charters), when a report was submitted to the executive of the league last night on a proposal to develop the Heathcote estuary for aquatics. The report said that a ,sub-commit-tee of the executive, with the assistance of the City Engineer (Mr A. R. Galbraith), the secretary of the Lyttelton Harbour Board (Mr C. H. Clibborn) and the district engineer of the Public Works Department (Mr F. Langbein), had considered the proposal, but it appeared that there were many serious obstacles. Finance was one of the main difficulties, and before any estimate of cost could be obtained it would be necessary to make an extensive survey. “Taking into consideration the whole circumstances and in view of the many serious obstacles, the sub-committee considers that it would be unwise to push the proposal any further at present,” the report added. Destruction of Deer Near Wellington From October to May a. clean-up will be undertaken of deer in the infested areas of the Wellington district northwards from the Wel-lington-Masterton road to Manawatu Gorge by regular parties of men under the Department of Internal Affairs long-term plan of deer destruction. To ensure that the best results will follow no licences for casual deer-shooters will be issued. “The department does not want to do all the shooting,” an official remarked, “but official and casual shooting do not go together. After being shot over for a time the areas have to be spelled to allow the deer to quieten down.”. The City and Suburban Water Board, whose area is affected, will co-operate fully with the department in withdrawing all shooting permits during the clean-up period and the erection of warning notices.—Press Association. Trade Groups in Industry That there was an increasing desire on the part of industries in Canterbury tcvform themselves into trade groups was mentioned in the secretary’s report to the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association last night. The two latest trade groups to be established were the lime manufacturers and furniture manufacturers, and the report stated, many other industries were m the process of organising similar groups. Fifteen Days from London Fifteen days after he left London Mr H. Seff, a director of Tubular Steel Constructions, Ltd.. England, arrived at Wellington yesterday by the Maunganui. He flew out to Sydney m 10 days and it took him the other five to cover the remaining 1200 miles as he had to wait a day in Sydney for a steamer connexion. ILe left Southampton, he said, by the airliner, Corinthian on August 21, and was in Sydney on August 30, two minutes before the aeroplane was officially due. “It was disappointing having to take so long over the last part of the journey ” he said. “It rather took the edge off the thrill.” —“Tho. Press” Special Service. Halswell River Deviation A subsidy of £ 1200, £ for £, has been offered to the Ellesmere Lands Drainage Board by the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) to enable it to accept the lowest tender for the proposed diversion cut near the mouth of the Halswell river, where it enters the lake. Recent improvements in the upper reaches of the drainage system have so affected the efficiency of the scheme that water from above is now reaching the lake between 36 and 48 hours sooner than before and the outlet at the Halswell mouth is not able to take the sudden increase if serious flooding occurs. The new cut will lead away water from the Gebbie s Valley area direct to the lake instead of leading it into the Halswell some distance from its outlet. Advice of the subsidy reached the board by letter at its meeting yesterday. Leander Returns to Auckland After visiting several South Island ports H,M;S. Leander returned to Auckland yesterday morning and joined the flagship of the New Zealand squadron, H.M.S. Achilles, at the Devonport Naval Base. H.M.S. Leander carried out routine exercises in the Hauraki Gulf on the way from the last port of call, Picton. Two other ships df the sea-going squadron which are away from port, the escort vessels Leith and Wellington, will shortly return from ocean cruises, the Wellington being expected on Friday and the Leith on Monday.— The Press” Special Service. All Maoris? “Are all the players in the New Zealand team Maoris?” This was an amusing question which Mrs Bain Challis. of Invercargill, chaperon of the New Zealand basketball team, was asked during the team’s recent visit to Australia. The question was asked in all sincerity by an Australian girl and s,he was quite surprised when Mrs Challis informed her that only one of the girls had Maori blood ,in her veins. Forty-hour Week Blamed The 40-hour week was flamed by one member of the Southland Rugby Union recently for the falling off in attendance at Rugby games played in Invercargill on Wednesdays. You won’t get the people off with this 40-hour week ” he said. “The bosses won t let them off, and you can’t blame them. Even if you start the game at 4 o’clock you will not get them there. They are getting enough leisure now. “Never Learned to Think” » “As a community we go on swallowing through our mouths and through our minds whatever is given to us because we have never learned to think,” said Mr R. M. S. Taylor, when addressing the annual conference of the New Zealand Dental Association at Wanganui. “We learn to play football, not because it is a good exercise and a good game, but because we are told that an All Black is a national hero. Some of us never get over the idea.” Power Failure at Wellington Trams, trains, lifts and all electrically-oper-ated services on direct current were halted in Wellington yesterday for several minutes shortly after 1.30 p.m. and again a few minutes later The source of yesterday’s trouble was a blow-out of an 11,000 volt brush at the Tuai power station, at Waikaremoana. The blow-out caused a surge of power throughout the interlinked systems of the North Island and in Wellington it had the effect of cutting out the rotary condensers and shutting off the direct power. Trams stopped unexpectedly, and lifts were suddenly stopped where they were to the annoyance of business people returning to their offices from lunch. The services spon resumed, but a quarter of an hour later came to a second stop for a slightly longer period. This time however, they resumed their normal operations for the rest of the day.—Press Association. Dance Bands Too Self-Conscious “New Zealand orchestras and dance bands are very good frpm a musical point of view, but they lack the necessary rhythm and are inclined to be too' stiff,” Mr Tut Coltman, leader of the Australian Swing Band, when on a visit to Hastings and Napier with his band. “They would be far more effective if they let themselves go a little more and forgot that others are listening or dancing to their music.”