NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 31, 7 February 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Speaker's Chair.

It was mentioned recently by Mr. H. H. Sharpe,. inspecting engineer ,to the Public Works Department, that most of the Speaker's chair and canopy in the House of Representatives is made from stout puriri stringers, which were in the original traffic bridge over the Waiwakaiho Biver at New Plymouth. Mr. Sharpe, recalled the hunt for suitable puriri timber which engaged the attention at the time, and .-einarked that, notwithstanding the long time the stringers were in uas on the' bridge, the wood required a considerable amount of seasoning before being ready for fashioning into the chair, •* Close Season for Opossums. The Auckland Acclimatisation Society has decided to declare a close season for opossums, states the "Star." Close to Auckland the opossum has got a fair footing, and round the Albany district it is anything but popular owing to its penchant for ripe fruit. However, a close season will not be unduly restrictive upon orchardists, as they have legislative permission to wage war within certain Hmits should the opossum prove unduly troublesome.. New Plymouth's Telephones. "It would be quicker for a man to put his coat on. and go out to transact his business," said Mr.'.A. F. Sandford at ; .a meeting of the council of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce in New Plymouth when, referring to delays ill obtaining telephone connections. There were a great many old telephones in the town, he said, and they should not allow the Department to bluff them. On a complaint being made a man was sent along to put in a new cord, and five minutes afterwards the trouble was as bad as ever. This was a most important matter for the businessmen of the town. On the motion of Mr. J. M'NeiU, a sub-committee was set ap to report to a special meeting of the council, probably within a fortnight. Further action in the matter Y/ui then be decided on. An Unusual Accident, During the progress ot- a TimaruOamaru shooting match a remarkable incident occurred. At the third shot, the riflo of Mr. Willcocks (Timara team) oxploded at the breech, blowing the I breech block out. The bolt was smashed, and pieces flew in every direction. Luckily no one was seriously hurt, Mr. Willcocks escaping .with slight concussion. The cause of the mishap is a mystery, members stating that such an occurrence ib very uncommon.

Rescue From Drowning. Further details are to hand regarding the rescue of Mrs. W. H. Nicholson, wife of the Mayor of Sumner, from drowning on Saturday. Mrs. Nicholson was bathing opposite Grafton street, a section of the foreshore regarded by many people as most treacherous because of the scoured channel close to the rocks. In the outgoing tide, Mrs. Nicholson, who could swim a little, got beyond her depth. She called for help and then proceeded to float, the current meanwhile carrying her out beyond the breakers. A boy ran to, the boathouse and the siren was sounded. Mrs. Kose, of the Beach Boarding-house, summoned the lifeboat men. Hearing the siren, Mr. C. Bowman, a motor engineer, and C. Hinds manned a dinghy, and pulled out from the pier. Mr. J. Browne, a grocer, whose shop is within four doors of the home of Mr. Nicholson, ran to the beach on the east side of the cave rock. There he found several lads with the reel, the use of which was strange to them, and no one seemed to be able to swim. As they stood helplessly by, watching and. waiting, My. Browne, fully dressed, went into

the water, but returned, and went out with the lifebelt. No mean swimmer— having won a championship in days gone' by—Mr. Browne reached Mrs. Nicholson after she had been in difficulties for twenty minutes—a trying ordeal for a woman past middle age. As Mr. Browne assisted Mrs. Nicholson the dinghy approached. It was ten yards away when the boys on the beach workc'd on the line, but the rescuer, encumbered by his boots and clothing, in addition to the weight of, Mrs. Nicholson, started to feel the strain, and he signalled to those on shore not to drag on the line. He had to let go the line, and in a few moments the dinghy reached the pair and Mrs. Nicholson was landed safely. The Girl at the Counter. Should the girl behind a draper's counter have a seat? "A Draper," after a visit to a great retail establishment in Melbourne, writes to the "N.Z. Draper" pointing .out that "Victorian and New South Wales law insist on seats for girls behind the counters. The New Zealand law does not specify whero the seats shall bo. In San Francisco I was surprised to see the sates girls sitting when ticketing and doing other work. I interviewed a manager and was informed that Califomian State law insisted upon seats for girls behind counters. Having been in business for over twenty years, I have found it good policy to allow each girl a seat when ticketing, blocking laeo, etc., as I find it keeps the girls 'fresh' for customers, whereas a girl, owing to her physical make-up, is apt to get irritable, footsore, and nervy with ciiatoniers if she is standing long hours.'?

Flags at Half Mast. Hags on the Parliament, Government Buildings, and other administrative offices are being flown at half mast today out of respect to the late Emperor of Japan, whose obsequies are concluding to-day. Not Known Yet. Notwithstanding all New Zealand's publicity efforts—or perhaps for lack of them —the topography of the Dominion and its relation to Australia seem to be but little known in England. Prom the following paragraph by "Rolling Stone*" which appears in the "British Australian and New Zealander," even the London "Times" can err geographically.—"The bush fires in New South Wales, though uot so bad as last year's in Victoria, are serious enough, and supply the necessary sensation to entitle them to columns in the English Press. The 'Times'man editing the cables, anxious to make their topography quite clear, helpfully adds the bracketed words ' (near Auckland) ' to a mention of Eden, New South South, said to be threatened by the fires. There is no Auckland in New South Wales, but I believe there is an Eden near Auckland, New Zealand, a

housand miles away, and the addendum

to the cable looks intelligent, anyhow, and serves its purpose for those who neither know nor care.'' '

Covered-ill Buses.

According to the report presented to the City Council on Thursday, Wellington's buses are being run at a loss.: While there is a feeling on the part of many people in the suburbs of Wellington that the Corporation is looking for an opportunity to dispense with the bus services because they are not showing profits, there are other parts of the ■world where buses, and still more lmses, and buses of an improved typo, too, are in popular demand. A writer in the "British, Australian and New Zealander" says:—"Every day one sees more covered buses in ■London —buses having top decks with cushioned seats and shelter from the wind and rain. Number eleven, the pioneer in this bus reform, was looked at askance, rather laughed at and despised, when it made its appearance in summer on the road. Now it and the scores of covered buses' which have' appeared on other routes are popular. Hardly an omnibus which can get its top story roof beneath the bridges on the route assigned to it will be without that roof in future. Every nail in at is a nail in. the coffin of the tram —that lumbering rail-tied, odorous vehicle whose only virtue was that it sheltered two floors full of passengers where the bus sheltered only one."

A Dangerous Spot.

Probably the most dangerous place in Wellington for the humble pedestrian, is opposite Lambton Station. Incessant motor traffic, buses always arriving or departing, trams from four directions, all make the task of reaching the station alive oil foot one that calls for nimble feet and a steady nerve. In the midst of this hostile country until a few days ago stood an island as a place of refuge for the pursued pedestrian. But the bent and scarred posts on its boundaries'testified to the acute hunting powers of pursuing vehicles. It has therefore teen removed, giving the tram catcher a lengthy run for his life and tho motor and other vehicles an unobstructed speedway. Discoverer of Pigmies. The reported discovery by an American expedition of an extraordinary primitive race of pigmies in unexplored territory in New Guinea, recalls the fact that one of the first Europeans to penetrate the interior of that mysterious country and report the existence of pigmy races to the outside world is a resident of Auckland. Captain T. C. Kerry, 3<\K.C.S., who recently returned to Auckland from a trip abroad, lias been explorer and navigator for thirty years, and was the first white man to' discover the pigmies of New Guinea. The revelations of the recent American expedition therefore cannot be accepted, as entirely new discoveries, as much of the material gathered was collected 45 years ago by Captain Kerry during the 22 expeditions he has made into New Guinea. , Back to College. "Wellington College reopens its doors to-morrow, when new , pupils will be enrolled; on Wednesday the boys already attending will reassemble,' and the year's work start in earnest. The first term of the 'Girls' College begins on Monday for new pupils and on the following day for old ones. The Wellington East GirlS' College also opens on Monday next. The Technical College classes in commercial subjects resume on Monday next, but evening classes in other subjects will not begin again until 21st February. The Technical College High School has already reopened. Man's Ingratitude, Among Auckland's army of unemployed was a man who secured a day's work in clearing up aff empty section, on which, thcowner was about to build (states the "Star").'' Weeks of hardship on scanty fare had made him eager to show that he could work when given a chance. All' day long he toiled on tho plot, which was far out in the suburbs. When he could no longer see, he boarded a tram for home, happy in the knowledge that the section was now clear of weeds and lupins. Next I day he went' to a city office to collect his wages, only to be informed by the section owner that he had cleared the wrong place. So he went back, found the right section, and did. another day's work, for which he was paid.. However, when he approached . the owner of ,the section which had been, cleared in mistake, he was told to depart to regions supernatural where cooling draughts are not.. The owner thought it a great joke that he had had his section cleared free of charge, and refused to give the labourer even so much as a shilling to cover his tram

far«s.

Walton Memorial.

The future of the New .Zealand "War Memorial Tablet, which has been situated on the wall at Mount Felix, is under consideration by the "Walton District Council (state! "The. Post's" London correspondent). It is suggested that the tablet should be placed on a structure to be erected at the apex of the triangular piece of ground where the "Walton "War % Memorial stands. Mr. 3?. C. Byde has put forward a scheme for the erection of a dwarf wall at the apex of the triangle for the erection of the New Zealand tablet. In view of the divergence of opinion regarding the situation of the tablet, no definite scheme will be adopted until the whole question of a suitable memorial for tho 27,000 New Zealanders who passed through Walton during the war has been considered in. all its aspects.