NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 115, 18 May 1927, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Tawa Flat Deviation Belay.

Speaking at a meeting of the council of the Wellington Chamber o£ Commerce last night, the chairman (Mr. C. M. Bowden) said that recently quite a considerable amount of publicity had been given to the suggestion that the Tawa Flat railway deviation was either being held up or unduly delayed. Mr. Bowden suggested that a letter be sent to the chairman- of the Railways Board asking-for a statement as to the position of the proposed work. After receiving his reply, the question of what further action should be taken could be considered. It was desirable to know whether a portion of the six million loan was to be dovoted to this work. It was resolved to write to the chairman of the Hallways Board, and, if necessary, subsequently bring the question under the notice of the Government. Late Hours and Speeding. '.'This man would never havo been caught but for the fact that Constable Morrison keeps late hours on the Hutt road," said Mr. J. F. R. Wallace in .the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon, when Bernard Vincent DaWB admitted a charge of speeding. "The defendant is quite a reputable citizen —he is a young school teacher," added counsel. '' School teachers should know better," observed the Bench (Messrs. I. Salek and H. Price, J.P.s), in imposing a fine of £3 and costs. Medical Examination. Complaints have several times been mado^ at recent meotinga of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce as to the alleged unreasonable delays which havo taken place in connection with the modical examination of passengers coming to New Zealand on intercolonial steamers. The mattor was referred to a committee for inquiry. Mr. Andrew Fletcher stated at a meeting of the council of tho chamber last evening that investigation showed that the delays were not so serious as had been represented, and that the care taken by tho authorities in preventing the introduction of infectious diseases from overseas was in the right direction, and in tho public interest. The committee, therefore, recommended that "no action be taken by tho chamber for the elimination of tho medical examination on intorcoloniaJ steamers." Tho report was adopted. An Educational Questionnaire. To obtain the opinions of people who aro qualified to give opinions of value upon educational matters, tho syllabus revision committee which is now overhauling tho school curricula is addressing a questionnaire to certain prominent commercial, professional, and industrial and other business men. They are asked to give such answers and information as may to them seem important. The questions are as follow: Are you in favour of widening courses for all pupils who completo Standard IV. t Are you in favour of retaining Standard V. and VI. as such with additions to the curriculum? Aro you in favour of contral schools for all pupils who complete Standard IV. with courses in (a) academic (including French), (b) commercial, (c) manual (practical) aubjecta with differentiation for boys and girls? In towns like Timaru and Napier, should high school and technical school be one school? Should school age bo raised to 15? Should "central" schools bo attached ito primary schools or to secondary schools or be separate* The. committee will resume its sittings in Wellington next Tuesday. "Grow Every Tree Possible." "Tho world cannot rely on America indefinitely for its timber supplies, and my strong advice to New Zealand is to grow evory tree it can." These I words of warning wore voiced in j Auckland by Mr. B. R. Streets, a passenger by the Aorangi, and a proininont l Californian timber merchant who has observed forestry conditions in many parts of tho world. America, said Mr. Streets, imports as much timber as sho exports, but he did not think there would be a. world shortage of timber "in our time," although that shortage would come eventually if something were not done on a largo scale to replace the forests now being cut away. Mr. Streets thought that the Japanese were adopting tho most sensiblo policy by conserving their forests and in the meantime obtaining supplies from other countries. When the time was opportune they would draw.upon their own resources. Of particular interest to New Zealanders wai the fact mentioned by Mr. Streets that sap timber may be nscd for weatherboarding in the States. "Provided sap timber is put in in good condition, we find that it is suitable for houses. Of course, it is painted over, and we find it very durable,* .

To Combat Crime in Auckland. To copo -with tho serious increase of crime in Auckland, the Commissioner of Police (Mr. W. B. M'llveney) has transferred the following officers to that city:—Detective-Sergeant Bickerdike. Uiristchurch; Detective Allen, Christchurch; Detective Hunt, WellingtonDetective Sinclair, Wellington; Detective Eoyeroft, Dunedin. The transfers will be given effect to immediateChoral Festival. Not so large a Christmas choral festival, perhaps, as the Wellington Choral Union would like to make it, still a move in the right direction. The annual performance of "The Messiah" by tho union this year will have the assistance of the choral forces of the Palmerston North and Levin Societies. On other occasions the union has had the co-operation of the Napier and Hastings societies, and the Hawera Stratford, and New Plymouth societies. The movement is all in the direction of establishing the choral festival as an institution in Now Zealand musical life. Publicity Film Production. A contract has been let by the Government Publicity Office to Mr. A. A. P. Mackenzie, of Wellington, for the execution of its cinematograph work. Over an acre of land has been acquired at Miramar, where a brick and concrete laboratory, building, comprising some twenty-one rooms, and a large studio, are to be built. It is hoped that the building will be ready for occupa-1 tion towards the end of this year. It will be one of the most up-to-date establishments in the Southern Hemisphere The taking of the films will continue to be in the hands of Government cameramen, and the selection of subjects and the building up of the pictures will be carried out as at present, at the direction and under the supervision of the, Government Publicity Office. . For Better Roads. Hutt road and heavy traffic fees are Jr/« £«»«• estimated to bring in about £40,000. Last year's total was £34 259 of which Hutt road fees accounted for 5fe.13,424, and heavy traffic fees £20,----830. So far the Hutt road, fees collected come to £12,403 12s 6d, and it as estimated that the amount will be brought up to £14,000 -or £15 000 Heavy traffic fees now total £11,918 2s Id, but this is probably a good deal less than half the amount that will be collected for the year. The comparatively small amount so far collected is accounted for by the fact that owners of heavy vehicles generally prefer to pay their fees in half-yearly instalments. Practically the whole of the fees collected under these two headings are applied directly to the improvement of city and suburban roads. Burst Tire Causes Damage. A petrol pump and stand outside Messrs. Cotterill's garage, Lower Hutt. was completely demolished .yesterday afternoon, when a motor-car, out of control through a bursting tire, mounted the footpath and crashed into it. The remains of the pump were flung several yards away, but beyond this, and a damaged radiator on the car, no further injury was caused. ', A Novel Turnout. While tho Hon. B. F. Bollard (Minister of Internal Affairs) was visiting Gisborne, he and other residents of the town, viewed a rather ingenious turnout devised by a local youngster, Mastor Tom Witters. Master Witters put in an appearance driving five black sheep, yoked coach fashion in a threewheeled miniature cart manufactured out of odds and ends found around the farm. The two back wheels were made from a discarded mangold sower, the front swivel wheel from a scarifier, and the iron seat from an old mower, while a ti-tree pole had also been made uso of. In tho cast were swags containing blankets, hob-nailed boots with flax laces, and well-smoked billies, and the Minister, when congratulating the boy on his ingenuity, remarked that he had often made use of similar articles in the earlier days. The "sheep coach" attracted a great deal of notice in tho jubileo procession." To Look For the Lost The suggestion haa been made in a letter to the "Stratford Post " that St. Bernard dogs should be in readiness to track those lost upon Mount Egmont. For many years, says Mr. Cecil Wright, the correspondent, St. Bernard dogs have been specially trained for finding those lost in tho snow, and would therefore work • with muck loss training than other breeds. A dog could scent out a person even in thick bush, whereas a, search party might pass within a few feet of a man and yet not find him, particularly if ho were unconscious, and unable to respond to shouting. Time, too, was the essence of the contract, when looking for anyone lost in the mountains, and dogs could cover in a few hours country which would take_n party perhaps days to oxplore. TUo Word "Carillon." Tho pronunciation of the word "cavlllon" is discussed in a recent issue by "The Union Kecorder," the official journal of tho Sydney University Union, which is installing a War Memorial Carillon of 49 bolls in Sydney University. ' "A word about the word carillon itself," says the "Recorder": "It is Irench, m tho process of becoming English. According to the latest form of our chief dictionary, its '-lion' is to be pronounced- '-lyon,' exactly like the 'hon' of tho precisely similar word pavilion.' But the same authority prefers to accentuate the first syllable car- instead of tho second syllable -ill. We have followed other authorities, in that vespect, and made the word completely English, accenting the '-ill' as in 'pavilion,' 'vormilion,' 'cotillon' etc. One Sydney newspaper already spoils ' c-a r illioa' just as many writers spell 'cotillion' The [ spelling does not matter very muchoften 'correct' English spelling is theoVetiea ly bad. The corresponding word | Willomst' is familiarly formed, yields its meaning at once to an English ear, and M as easy to pronounce ! w,J?*f*!•?*' i llusionist>' and other words of like nature. It is sure to oust the difficult French term 'carillonneur' whicsomo people aro still usimr though most of them have been no Pnhv,- ST essful with it; the Ephraimites were with 'shibboleth'right. The Sydney carillon will be playing as from March next, and will bo played impressively in the next An zac Day celebrations in Sydney