TOWN AND COUNTRY NEWS

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 93, 13 January 1934, Page 20

TOWN AND COUNTRY NEWS

Items of Interest From All Quarters

While there may be an element of mystery as to where the files go in the winter time, residents of Napier South claim that there is no dark secret concerning their whereabouts in the sum mer Many residents of that.area have been complaining bitterly of a plague of house flies, which lately, have invaded homes and have caused consid able annoyance. It is the opinion of many that the bed of the Tutaekuri riven which contains many dry stretches where there are a large number of rotting fish, is responsible for these pests.

Members of the Napier Aero Club have been busily engaged in a glider. This dual-seater machine, which is to be used for the purpose of training pupils, is expected to be completed within a short time now. Club members are at present busy cleaning and coating the metal fittings on the machine with a special preparation. When that work is finished, the coverin'- of the wings will be begun. For this purpose Mr. Nightingale has made available a special sewing machine. An expert, Mr. L. Jensen, will attend to the sewing of the special seams.

Mr. W. Wah, a Chinese student at Canterbury College, who gave an address at the annual conference of the New Zealand No More War Movement, was' asked whether he considered as harsh enough the penalties inflicted on Chinese convicted of smoking opium in New Zealand. “As far as opium dens are concerned the fines have never been harsh enough,” was the reply. “Chinese opium smokers should be kept in detention for a period, and in such a way that medical aid can be secured for them in the prevention of their craving. But what I do object to is the attempts which are made to shift the responsibility from the shoulders of the few opium smokers to the race as a whole.”

“There seems to be a feeling in the minds of many that one thing that does not require recognition is anything connected with education,” said Dr. H. G. Denham, chairman of the Board of Governors I of Canterbury Agricultural College, when conveying members’ congratulations to Professor R. E. Alexander, the director, on having the honour of O.M.G. conferred on him. “Many people look on educational work, as service that is to be given and the value to the community is.seldom assessed,” added Dr. Denham. ‘‘This is the second time in two years that the value of work for education has been recognised. The first was 'Dr. ■J. Hight and the second is Professor Alexander, and this seems to indicate a change of mind in the powers that be. that is all to the good.”

“The case of New Zealand against the Samoan Mau should be. tried by a League court, internal ionajly constituted, with New Zealand and Samoan representatives. The judgment of such a court would be respected by th a .world, whereas the judgment of a court in which New Zealand is accuser, judge, and gaoler, when it should, perhaps. Itself be in the criminal’s box, cannot be regarded as above outside suspicion.” This opinion was expressed by Mr. R. M. Laing, president of the Christchurch branch of the League of Nations Union, in an address on the work of the League of. Nations in the Pacific, given to delegates attending the annual conference of the New Zealand No More .War Movement at Christchurch. v

That the conditions enjoyed by those who worked in offices in New Zealand were in striking contrast to those ruling for young men in similar positions in England, and particularly in London, was the opinion of Miss Nina Daly, an English visitor, when interviewed by the Christchurch “Press.” In London, Miss Daly said, office employees had to live miles away from their work, with the result that they spent their hours away from work during the day in travelling to and fro. During about four months of the year they were lucky if they saw their homes in daylight during the week. In New Zealand young men in similar positions could leave their offices and be engaged' in healthy sport for some hours in the evening, or they could spend the week-end in the mountains or at the seaside. . That form of relaxation was impossible In England.

Nearly as old as Morrinsville Itself, a huge Christmas plum tree about 50 yards from the centre of the town has just produced another crop of red plums. It was planted in 1887 by Mr. F. J. Marshall, one of the first residents of the district, who in 1921 became the first mayor when Morrinsville was created a borough. The tree is about 35ft. in height, and branches spread out like the spokes in a wheel for up to 27ft. from the trunk, which is 3ft. in dipmeter at the base. The task of gathering plums from the higher branches taxes the ingenuity of the younger generation of Morrinsville Mr. Marshall, who still enjoys excellent health, although over three score years and ten, recalls that he took over a butchery business in 1887, and plained the plum tree in the yard behind Ills shop. The business, which he conducted until 1920. is still serving the people of the district, being one of the oldest in Morrinsville. The present shop, rebuilt by Mr. Marshall in 1907, is the oldest brick building in the town.

The unsolved tragedy of the sea in respect to the steamer Canastota, of 4904 tons, is recalled by the death of a Northcote octogenarian, Mr. James Lockie, wljose son. Mr. Andrew Lockie, then 38 years of age, was master of the vessel. The steamer went to Sydney direct from New York, and loaded there a quantity, of general cargo and cases of benzine consigned to New York. She left port with her cargo space about half filled, and was to load at Wellington about 250 tons of general cargo and 60,000 cases of benzine, to be returned to America with that lifted at Sydney. Her complement were all Chinese, except for the officers and engineers. Captain A. Lockie, who joined the Canastota at New York four months previously, was farewelled at Sydney by his father and mother on the departure of the steamer for Wellington on Monday evening, June 13, 1921, Captain Lockie then promised to send his parents, who remained in Sydney until the following Thursday, a wireless message either on the Tuesday evening or on the Wednesday morning. This message was not received, nor was any trace ever found of the steamer, though a vigilant look-out was kept for any sign of her by other vessels on the route, and a search made by the warships Chatham and Veronica. Other vessels which assisted in the search included the Kekerangu, of which John Gall Lockie, a brother of the Canastota’s captain, was chief engineer, the Kawatirl, and the Waihora.

“It cannot be stated too definitely that the best consumption period for lamb in England is the summer, particularly the early summer. While it is true that fair quantities of lamb are eaten in the winter (particularly if the price is low), the real consumption begins at Easter.” This was the opinion of a meat exporter quoted at a conference regarding later lambing Id Canterbury.

Dozens of rats were disturbed when bags of grain stored in the loft of No. 14 shed on Queen’s Wharf, Aucland, were shifted. The rodents ran in all directions, and members of the stall of the Auckland Harbour Board immediately joined in a rat-hunt in the lott. Shovels and brooms were favourite weapons, and in a short period 40 rats were killed.

When Mr. H. R. Dix, president of the Marlborough Boxing Association, addressed the Geelong Grammar School cricketers as “fellow Australians” at a complimentary dinner in Blenheim this week, a good deal of surprise was occasioned. “I am an Australian,” Mr. Dix explained. 1 was born in the beautiful city of Melbourne.” ■ Mr. Dix contributed a further item of interest when he mentioned that he could recall his father, who was a reporter on the Melbourne “Argus,” being assigned to report the capture of Ned Kelly, the infamous bushranger, in 1880. Mr. Dix, senr., afterwards came to New Zealand, and was for many years on the reporting staff of the Wellington “Evening Post.”

One of the charming New Year cards which have arrived from the Homeland to friends in New Zealand is one from Lord and Lady Aberdeen addressed from the House of Commons by Lady Aberdeen, with the best wishes from “We Twa.” It represents in Scottish setting a picture of Ishbel Marjoribanks in 1860, when she was three years old. and was reproduced from Baroness Elizabeth Barnekow’s copy of Lady Aberdeen at that age. The activity and world-wide influence of Lady Aberdeen in women’s movements in ed the 56th anniversary of their wed-known,-and it is hard to realise that she and Lord Aberdeen have celebrated the fifty-sixth anniversary of their wedding. She is ten years Lord Aberdeen’s junior. A holiday trip to Waiwera not long after their marriage, when they were travelling through New Zealand on a world tour, is one of Lady Aberdeen’s most pleasant memories, and she always thinks of Waiwera as one of the most restful places she has ever visited.

Discussing the value of later lambing in Canterbury, Mr. A. Leslie, officer in charge of the Veterinary Department at Canterbury Agricultural College, stated that losses of ewes before and at lambing practically disappeared if lambing was delayed until the ewes b-d had access to green herbage for about two to three weeks before lambing. The vigour and vitality of the new-born lambs and their resistance to unfavourable climatic conditions were Increased, and evidence was accumulating by the work at Lincoln College to show that susceptibility to pulpy kidney or big lamb mortality decreased as the nutritional conditions were improved before lambing. The argument which was usually brought forward that late lambs did not grow as quickly as early ones depended entirely on the feed supply affecting not only the lamb but the ewe before -and after lambing. There was evidence to show that lambs born towards the end of lambing, i.e., approximately four to five weeks after the first-born ones, might do quite as well as earlier lambed ones if feeding throughout was even.

Sub-Lieutenant R. H. A. Kidston, of H.M.S. Diomede, told the “Star” that when he arrived in Auckland from Wellington by motor-car about ten o'clock on Wednesday evening his trip was in no sense an attempt to break the record. He left Wellington about, nine o’clock on Wednesday morning in his super-charged Mercedes-Benz sports car, which he recently imported from England. “The fact that I was driving a fast car probably gave rise to the false impression that I was endeavouring to cover the distance in record time,” he said on arrival. “It was merely a normal holiday trip from Wellington to Auckland.” South of Wanganui the tread of one of the tires stripped, and a stop was made for repairs. Another tire was stripped near Waitara. On the way through Hawera the driver lost his way, and followed the coastal road to New Plymouth. Some time was spent at Waitara working on the car. When passing through the Awakino Valley, south of Te Kuiti, the driver was unlucky enough to break a leaf in the offside rear spring. There were 30 gallons of benzine in the tank, and the back of the car bumped more heavily than usual. On his way toward Auckland, on the Great South Road, Sub-Lieutenant Kidston was stopped by a traffic inspector, who said lie had been sitting on a camp stool on the roadside with a packet of cigarettes since seven o’clock waiting for the Mercedes to pass. After a short chat the naval man carried on to Auckland. He had taken nearly 10 hours from Wanganui.