NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 247, 16 July 1935, Page 11

NEWS IN BRIEF

Praise For Y.W.C.A.

On the eve of its “Every Girl” appeal, which is to take place in Wellington to-day, tlie headquarters of the Y.W.C.A. received yesterday the following message from the Hon. W. Downie Stewart (Dunedin) :—“The Young Women's Christian Association has become one of our indispensable social services, and its admirable work deserves the highest commendation and public support.” Newspaper Postage. Tlie executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union yesterday passed a remit urging that the postage on newspapers be reduced to the old rate of one halfpenny. Pakeha Repaired. Repairs having been completed, the Shaw-Savill steamer Pakeha came out of dock at midday yesterday and berthed at the King’s Wharf to continue her Homeward loading. \\ Oman’s Arm Broken. Falling from a chair at her home shortly after 5 o’clock last evening, Mrs. E. A. Keen, 22 Ridiliford Street, Newtown, received a compound fracture of her right arm. She was taken to hospital by the Free Ambulance. Tanker Uinta. The motor-liner Binta, which damaged a compressor on the run down from Auckland to Wellington, is to move to the Pipitea Wharf this morning, and after discharge there will remove to a lay-up berth for repairs, which are expected to take about 10 days or a fortnight. * New Potatoes. One of the first signs of the coming spring is the appearance in the shops of new potatoes. Those now’ on sale at 4d. a pound retail come from the I’ukekohe district, Auckland. Those from Nelson do not usually come forward until the end of August or the beginning of September.

Racecourse Honesty. ' __ Among tlie lucky people on the Trentham racecourse on Saturday was a woman who dropped a £5 note and had it returned to her. The finders of the note were two girls who, with commendable thoughtfulness, waited on the spot on tlie off-chance that the owner of the note would return to look for it. She did so, and was handed her money. A gift of 10/- was smilingly declined by the tinders. Shorter Working Day.

“I believe that the time will come when attention should turn to the necessity for shorter working hours In industry throughout the world,” said Mr. M. E. Lyons, Nationalist candidate in the Lyttelton by-election, speaking a;, Opawa. “This problem should be considered in the Dominion,” he continued. “Largely along the lines of the shorter working day lies our hope of dealing with unemployment. There is the difficulty of securing shorter hours in a primary producing country; but such a difficulty is made to be overcome.”

Down to the Mother Rock. Work on the excavations for the foundations of tlie new • Commercial Bank of Australia on Lambton Quay is now proceeding briskly, although the hitch over the wall which separates tlie bank property and that of the South British Insurance Company’s offices had not been settled yesterday so far as was known locally. It is understood that some of those concerned were in consultation over the matter in Auckland yesterday. While digging in the rear part of the section the mother rock was revealed under a thin layer of rotten rock. This hard grey rock, rather flinty in character, makes tlie going pretty tough, and pneumatic picks have had to be brought into requisition to cut through this formation, which, of course, makes tlie best of foundations. New Storm Water Culvert.

The construction of a new storm water culvert from Adelaide Road to the sea near Clyde Quay involves a good deal of ground testing, which is being carried out here and there on the suggested new line of the culvert. The testing is carried out by sinking pits about ten or twelve feet in the ground, big enough for one man to work in. The knowledge of the ground thus gained is valuable in helping the engineers concerned to determine the line of the new storm water drain, and the conditions likely to be encountered in it§ construction. The making of a new drain means that the old culvert, which runs down Kent Terrace, is not to be enlarged, but that probably a new route altogether will be adopted, probably on the Cambridge Terrace side, which is away from the tramway tracks. Over fifty years ago the old culvert was simply an open canal, which took more than storm water into the harbour. It was about twelve feet broad at the top, and had sloping wooden sides and a wooden floor. That drainage canal was a good place to avoid on warm summer days.