LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 80, 1 October 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Fire Brigade acknowledges receipt of a donation of £3 3s for its recreation fund from Messrs. Barke and Ramsay in recognition of the brigade's services at their recent fire in Courtenay place.

Afc a. special general meeting of the Eastbourne Bowling Club it was decided to proceed with the erection of a pavilion at a cost of £1100. It is anticipated that it will be ready for occupation about Christmas. It has been arranged to open the season for play on Saturday, 11th October.

A special meeting of the Wellington branch of the A.S.K.S. yesterday passed the following resolution: "That this meeting of members Wellington branch protest against the action of the Government reducing the land and income tax until such time as the wage for Public servants is adjusted; and that the member for the district be advised of the said protest."

" There is very little national spirit in New Zealand in regard to sport," lamented one of the speakers at the smoke concert tendered to the visiting Austrailan Olympic team after the swimming carnival. "We see different things m other countries, but here a few have always to foot the bill of finance while the^ others voice their approval and look on.''

" It is only a matter of time when the Continentals will learn the rudiments of feportsmanship," remarked Mr. ateadman, one of the Australian Olympic team, at a smoke concert after the swimming carnival, in the course of remarks on some of the incidents of the Olympic Uames. "Britain taught them to take part in sports, and now we have to teach them the spirit in which those sports should be carried out."

According to'a return presented to the House of Representatives yesterday, the number of sheep in the Dominion on 30th April, 1924, was 23,775 776 an increase of 694,337 on the previous year. Ihe totals for the two islands were as follow, the figures for 1923 bein» ?nno n "i parentheses :—South Island, 10,297,059 (10,271,776); North Island 13,478,717 (12,809,663). The number of sneepowners in the Dominion was 23,423, as against 23,373 in the previous year.

Several prosecutions for exceeding the speed limit on the Hutt road were brought in the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon. Frederick Field, who exceeded 25 miles per hour, was fined ±■4 10s. Andrew Galbraith Johnstone. who exceeded 12 miles per hour through Kaiwarra, was fined £3. Claude Clarence Hawthorne was fined £7 10s for dangerous driving. Thomas William Uarkson Wilberforce, who exceeded 25 miles per hour, was' fined £4 10s. Roy King, who drove through Ngahauranga at a greater speed than 12 miles per hour, was fined £1 10s. Leonard Norman Williams was fined £4 10s for exceeding 25 miles per hour.

Old boys and girls of the Timaru Main bchool are to roll up again in the school grounds in as great numbers as the passage of years and the transfers from the home to outside towns and districts will allow, for the fifty years' jubilee of the school falls on Wednesday, Bth October. A five-days' programme has been arranged,, commencing with, a general assembly of past and present scholars— with, if good old times are not hopelessly changed, due pains and penalties for those who linger on the way and are •rite to the lines in spite of sp'rmtine. Addresses, drill displays, and so on are to follow, and on the second day the school is to be open for inspection. Evenmg concerts are to be given and a sports gathering is being arranged for the Ph- f-ui-day afternoon. A thanksgiving &V----vice in St. Mary's Church will .conclude tho celebrations on Sunday. Many expupils of the Timaru Main School are now resident in Wellington. ■

As yet nothing definite has been decided upon between tho City Council, Hie Harbour Board, and possibly the Government as to a working arrangement for the paving of Waterloo quay from the Customs buildings northwards towards the Thorndon reclamation, but it is understood that the matter will probably bo considered further'shortly. This length of roadway—unhappily one of the worst lengths in or round about the city—is not a city street, but is under the control of the Harbour Board which, however, considers that it alone should not be responsible for its reconditioning or permanent paving. Thorndon and Waterloo quay between' them are probably the root of tho whole of tho Wellington dust nuisance, or a very great deal of it, at any rate, and with Thorndon quay already in the eye of the paver and with Waterloo quay in the other eye, though still rather in the distance, the ending of the dust nuisance is so nearer realisation. The Hutt road used to contribute :t fow tons of dust to the city per month, but very little now reaches the city. Even so, there is still enough dust to worry the patrolling constable over the dark grey effect of Ms dark blue uniform at the end pf his spells of duty. Dust coats are apparently not included in the schedule of clothing for the New Zealand Police Force.

In the American medical journal, "Surgery, Gynecology, and' Obstetrics," there appears an article entitled "Australia and New Zealand: A Medical Pilgrimage/ Dr. Franklin H. Martin, who was a member of the Mayo medical party which recently visited New Zealand. Some extracts from. the article have already been published in " Tha Post." After referring to the ideal climate and varied resources of the two countries, Dr. Martin concludes as 'follows:—" The people of Australia and New Zealand are our kind of folk. They are predominantly Anglo-Saxon, and they or their immediate forefathers had the vision and independence to select these far-off islands as a future home. They must havo had in their make-up not only a spirit of independence, but as well of' initiative, of ideals, of frugality, and of industry. This combination in any people moulds the character' that will peacefully conquer the world. They are the survival of the fittest of a great civilisation. These people create just that impression upon the stranger visiting their shores—the survival of the fittest The settlers of these far-off countries' after assuming the responsibility of establishing their homes, have exercised their good judgment and insisted upon keeping their stock pure by refusing to mongrelise themselves by unwise intermixture of races. The people of these countries, because of the equable climate live in the open; they develop physically and mentally in the out-of-doors; they aro advocates of friendly contest and sports which engender the spirit of fair play; they are predominantly meateaters, utilising the stock of their treat grazing plains. Physically and mentally tho. men are veritable giants, the wonibn. are strong and self-reliant, and have great charm and culture of person These countries have a future of infinite possibilities, which will aid in balancing the peace and prosperity of civilisation "

The Postal authorities have received advic e that the Waihora, which left Newcastle Yesterday for Wellington, carries a small mail for Wellington. Mr. E. \V. R. Haldane was this morning admitted as a solicitor before the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), on the motion of Mr. P. B. Broad.

The tender of Messrs. J. J. Niven and Company, on behalf of the British Electric Transformer Company, has been accepted by the Government for the supply of seven 1500 k.v.a. transformers for Mangahao, at £11,893 12s each, c.i.f.

The Customs duties collected in Auckland for September (states.a Press Association message) totalled £184 996 compared with £138,586 for the previous September The total for the year to date is £1,667,241, as against £1,582,619 for the corresponding period of 1923

The vital statistics for the month of September, as compared with the figures for the same month last year, are: Births, 182 (170); deaths, 87 (87); marriages, 101 (123). The figures for the nine months of this year are:—Births 1537 (1600); deaths, 701 (792); marriages',

_ The disfiguration of the Hutt road by sign-posts and trade advertisements was condemned by several speakers at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Automobile Union to-day, and the opinion was expressed that a fence should be built along the bank in order to allow^shrubs to grow. This would have the effect of beautifying the road! A correspondent, G. J. Griffin, criticl.s.?f , lhe Post's" comments on the attitude of Mr. de Valera towards the boundary d.ispute\ The writer says: I here is nothing strange or surprising in the position de Valera ' takes up regarding this matter. All along the Republicans have maintained that any agreement which recognises any form of partition or division of the Irish nation to be no solution of the question." A Press Association message from Chnstchurch states that at yesterday's meeting of the Canterbury College Board of Governors, the following recommendation from the College Committee was adopted: "That the board urges the Ministers of Agriculture and Education to set up a Commission to inquire into and report on the whole system of agricultural education in New Zealand, with a view to placing agricultural education on a footing commensurate with the great importance of the agricultural and pastoral industries of this Dominion.

Ihe funeral of the late Rev. Er. Catchpole, pastor of the Berhampore' Baptist Church, took place yesterday afternoon. The service in the church, which was very largely attended, was conducted by the Revs. F. E. Harry (Vivian Street), Radford (Petone), Hollings (Brooklyn), and Lascelles (Baptist Union secretary). The funeral procession to the cemetery was also largely attended. The deacons of the Berhampore Church acted as pallbearers, and the service at the graveside was conducted by the Eevs. P. E. Harry and Edridge (Island Bay). An Oddfellows'- service was read by one of the officers of the Order.

"I don't think I.met a New Zealander in England who was not disappointed with New Zealand's exhibit," said Mr. R. Caughley yesterday. "When the officials arrived Home the arrangements ■were in a much more" backward state than they had anticipated, and it involved a. £jeat deal of night work to get the exhibits to anything approaching expectations. _ On the other hand, English people who- visited the New Zealand court liked it, as the exhibits were new ! to them. But the fruit on sale was very* adversely commented on, both.as regards pnro and quality, and the opinion was often expressed that it would have been i better not to sell any."

According to all the indications there should be a particularly good fishing season this year in the Wellington' Acclimatisation district. Many of the rivers are in splendid ord^r, and the rangers report that there are plunty of good fish, in good condition. The Wellington Society has spent a large amount of money and time during the last few years in heavily stocking the rivers, and some of the benefite are now likely to accrue to the fishermen. The season opened to-day, and there has been a, steady sale of licenses, but tho real rush will set in after the first week-end, or so,i in the season. A season that starts in the middle of- the week, when most people are 'busy seldom opens with any remarkable fervour Some of the rivers and creeks are likely to be carrying too much water for the next couple of days, after the heavy ram of earlier in the week, but jf the present spell of weather continues there ehould be some excellent sport reported from next week-end.

Ihe Finsler comet, discovered .by a Berlin observer of that name on 17th September, was last evening, about 7 30 o clock, seen by Mr. O. G. G Berry hon: secretary of the astronomical sec tion tLi« f h phlcal,Society- Aa a «pec--taele to the man who stands a moment and gazes upwards the newest comet is not outstanding, for it is not yet visible to the naked eye,'though a three-inch telescope trained upon the right spot Of the western sky suffices to bring*! into view The right spot last evening was: Decimation, 2 degrees 7 minutes north; Eight Ascension, 14 hours 7 minutes. It is considered likely, though the calculation has still to be worked put, that the comet will become brighter each evening. A p,-^ Association message from Hawera, states that the comet was seen there by Mr. F. Gawith with an eight-inch reflector. He describes it as « the eighth magnitude with a tail Its position, as seen by Mr. Qawith' was 15 hours 20 minutes Right Ascension and 3 degrees South Declination, neav lieta. Librae, between tliis star and Antares. The comet sets in about the same position as the sun, about three hours later. The local astronomers, tho message says, think it is unlikely to be visible with the naked eye.

Further information regarding the Government displays to be made at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition at Dunedin is given in the " Ota°-o Daily Times." Mr. H. R. Spence, secretary of the company, visited Wellington recently and interviewed a number of the heads of the departments, and all of them expressed themselves as being entirely in favour of the Exhibition. The exhibit to be made by the Department of Internal Affairs, which controls the administration of Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Niue, is expected to be exceptionally interesting, and attractive displays are expected from the Defence, Post and Telegraph, Public Works, and other departments. One of the suggestions by the Tourist Department, whoso display will include photographs of New Zealand scenery, exhibits of deer heads, and other interesting things, is that provision should be made for a comfortable lounge, in which visitors may write a letter or sit at ease. This proposal is being considered by the directors. An exhibit will be made by the Education Department, and it is understood that it will he housed in the General Education Court, which is being organised by' the educationists in Otago and supported by the other boards in New Zealand.