NEWS OF THE DAI

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 126, 1 June 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAI

Tawa Flat Deviation. The question of the Tawa Flat deviation was brought up at a meeting of the Council of tho Wellington Chamber of Commerce last evening. Mr. H. C. South said it seemed to be necessary that something should be done. Ho understood that another local body had received a statement from the Public Works Department that it was not intended to go on with the work, at any rate at present. That statement might not, however, be authoritative. Mr. A. Fletcher said that a letter had been sent to the chairman of the Railway Board, and a reply would no doubt be received in due course. The chairman' (Mr. C. M. Bowden) pointed out that the Prime Minister in a recent speech had said that the Tawa Flat deviation was one of the works which would be undertaken. When the reply of the chairman of the Railway Board was received further action could be taken by a committee in time for next meeting of the council of the chamber. War on Eels. The damage done by eels to trout was stressed at last night's annual meeting of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, and it was made a recommendation to the incoming council of the society to appoint a special committee of three to go into ways and means of destroying them. The appointment of a paid eel destroyer was mentioned, but for the initial effort it was recommended that united efforts of anglers be first tried, and that special prizes be given to anyone who liked to compete for the greatest number of eels destroyed, and for the biggest eel caught. It was recommended that a considerable sum of moneyl be devoted to the eradication of eels, attention being devoted to one stream at a time. Ten Cars Held Up* What the stoppage of a tram car for a few minutes in Lambton quay means during the rush period was shown last evening, when shortly after 5 o'clock a motor-lorry collided with a Lyall Bay car. As is the case with the other main streets in the city, traffic is always heavy on the Quay at that time. A little over three minutes passed before the lorry was removed .from the tram tracks, but in that short time ten tramcars proceeding south were held up. '■ , . Opossum Restrictions. "Since it seems to have been conclusively proved that the opossums do not destroy the forests," said the chairman at the annual meeting of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society last night (Mr. E. J. C. Wiffin), "I think, and many others also, that the time has arrived for the Government to consider the removal pf restrictions on opossum liberation, in order that the many suitable forests in our district at present unstocked, may assist in returning fur and revenue." '-' First Port of Call. . A lotter has been received from a business man by the Wellington Chamber of Commorco drawing attention to what ho regards as "the totally inadequate direct shipping service now existing between the ports of London and Wellington. I can assure you," he says, "that Wellington importers aro complaining bitterly of the troatment that our port is receiving at the hands of shipping companies, as practically all steamers from Liverpool make Auckland their first port of calK *nd steamers that used to make Wellington their first port have been diverted to South Island ports, calling at Wellington to land passeugers only." The chairman (Mr. C. M. Bowden ) remarked that the matter had been before the chamber on other occasions. It was felt in a good many quarters that the loading programmes were fixed by representations of certain boards exporting our produce. It appeared to him that it would be worth having a report on the whole question. Mr. A. Fletcher said he thought fewer direct boats were making Wellington their first port of call than some years ago: Tho chairman said Wellington had no cause of complaint in regard to the number of boats which made it their final port of departure. Tho lotter was referred to the Importers' Committee for consideration and report. "Not Game to Prosecute." "Tho Salvation Army persist in holding moetings in' the Cathedral Square, despito the bylaws, and none of us is game to put them in gaol," said the Mayor of Christchurch, the Rev. J. K. Archer, yesterday, in replying to a deputation of the unemployed who asked that they be granted permission to hold meetings in the Cathedral Square, instead of "Victoria square, as at present, telegraphs "The Post's" Christchurch correspondent. "If any of us tried to emulate them we would Boon'find ourselves in gaol," added Mr. Archer. Tastes in Music. Interesting impressions of tho music world abroad, gathered during a recent tour, were given by Dr. S. K. Phillips, in an address to the Auckland Rotary Club. English people, he said, were very conservative, but he found changes, one of them being the popularity of jazz. There was no reason why jazz music should not be good, for it was only exaggerated syncopation, and syncopation was known hundreds of years ago. However, it was very seldom that jazz music was good. Jazz, in his opinion, was only a fashionable craze and one could not tell how long it would last. He could not help noticing when in England how dead the old ballad was becoming. England was not an opera-loving country, and only on occasions at Covent Garden could one hear first-class opera. ' Church music in England to-day was not as good as it was fifteen years ago (reports tho "New Zealand Herald"). The broadcasting of music, and the advent of the gramophone and the pianola had done much to broaden musical appreciation. Proposing a vote of thanks, Mr. Maughan Barnett, city organist, who recently returned from a trip abroad, said that while there had been increased interest in music in the United Kingdom, he thought the outlook was black on account of broadcasting. .. Access To Dairy Farms. The opinion that it was the duty of the Government to provide better roading access to dairy farms rather than over-expend on main highways was expressed by several speakers at the North Auckland Dairy Conference on Monday. "I know of settlers who were born on the farms which they now occupy as middle-aged men, yet they have difficulty in taking a perambulator on to. the place," was one remark which delighted the conference. A remit urging the Government? to adopt a more vigorous roading policy, especially in the direction of giving access to farms, was carried,