NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 28, 2 August 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Trade of Ports.

_ A summary for all ports in the Dominion showing, for the calendar year 1926 the total tonnage of cargo handled inwards and outwards, appears in the report on Trade and Shipping issued by the Statistics Office. The figures for i 04fi°n4 P *illcipal ports are:—Auckland, 1,948,0,9 tons; Wellington, 1,790,981 *°™i Lyttelton, 697,971 tons; Otago, 426,002 tons. The total for the Dominion was 7,589,171 tons. Road v. Railway. Commenting upon the competition between the motor and the railway services, the "New Zealand Railways Magazine," m reviewing the position for the past year, says:—"Road eompefation is still severe, both in passenger and goods traffic, but the board has received indications from many quarters that the railways are regaining lost ground, particularly where uneconomic competition was most marked, and its own experiments with road services "are .supplying valuable data which will enable the competitive phase to bo handled with more assurance in future." Pillaging at Pire|. Pillaging by the übiquitous small boy is the common aftermath of a firo, a fact that has been demonstrated again by raids made on the burnt-out premises of the Fluenzol Pty., Ltd., in Willis street. Entering from Boulcott street, a number of boys burst open several cases and made off with the contents. The greatest damage done, however, was to advertising matter, metal signs, leaflets, and showcards which had been saved from the fire and carefully packed in crates for removal to new premises. These crates were ransacked by the culprits, and the contents were thrown about the charred remains of the building. Over £15 worth of goods was stolen, and about £50 worth of damage was done by the wanton destruction of the advertising matter. The police have the matter in hand, and the owners of the goods consider that the attention of parents to this form of thieving is desirabls. Fern Eradication. _ At least one farmer in the district is making good use of- fern-infested country, and at the same time eradicating the menace (says a King Country paper). On one farm a herd of 200 pigs is being carried, and the fern (in addition to turnips intermixed) is being eaten out by the pigs. The pigs are in excellent condition, and the experiment is proving a successful one for the farmer zn question—so successful, indeed, that if the pigs realise what they promise to do on the market many other farmers in the district may become interested in swine-raising as a profitable industry and as a means of fern eradication. Some wiseacre will then doubtless come along in future years, when the industry has possibly become a flourishing one, and say: "If only we had more fern." A Price on His Head. Up' to the present there has been no response to the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society's offer to pay Is for each head of the black shag, accused of taking trout, says an exchange. Ihe society has offered to pay for heads taken in its district. The black shag, almost' a cosmopolitan bird very plentiful in New Zealand, as well as in many other countries, is the only member of the shag family outlawed by the society. As evidence against'it, Mr. C. W. Hervey, the society's secretary, has in his office, .preserved in spirits, twenty undigested small trout and two larger ones, partly digested taken from a black shag destroyed by Mr. T. Wallet at Lake Ellesmere on 12th June last. Mr. Hervey states that all other societies in New Zealand that have placed a price on the black shag's head find that, as a result, trout have improved in their districts. Use of Radium. Having received a letter from a wellknown physicist who is attached to a London hospital, Dr. P. C. Fenwick included an extract in his report to the last meeting of the North Canterbury Board. The letter (says the "Press") which dealt with the use'of radium' was as follows: —"I had the pleasure of witnessing a cinema demonstration of Dr. Canti's latest results. Dr. Canti, it seems to me, has supplied the last decisive blow against all who doubted that radium can have any effect at all, either for gopd or bad upon the tissues. The meeting of the' Roentgen Society was crowded. . . . Dr. Canti first showed as the normal cell' and by a method of speeding-up, which is well known in the field of cinematography, we were able to follow out the complicated processes of the division; to watch fibroblasts growing in a piece of tissue of chicken embryo and see the advancing wall of smaller active cells pushed out as a kind of advance guard. The second part of Dr. Canti's work dealt with malignant cells, and one saw these twisting and twirling about in all directions, boring here and Micro, apparently attacking one another, subdividing, and showing great activity. The very striking result produced by bringing some radium near to these active things 'was then clearly demonstrated, for after twenty minutes' exposure all inotivity had ceased. The cells were seen to shrink up, and there can be no doubt as to the disintegration produced by this means.". ■ ' ■

Ngaio Believing Tamahine.

The Union Company announced this morning that, owing to the falling-off in the traffic iv the Wellington-Picton service, arrangements have been made to charter the Ngaio to relieve the T;,aahine on this run. The Tamahine will withdraw from the service on Saturday, and lie up at Wellington, the Ngaio taking over her run on Monday. Trade with Germany. New Zealand trade with Germany, go far as imports are concerned, continues to flourish, according to the Statistics Office report on Trade and Shipping. Goods of German origin which came into the country during the year were valued-at £673,472, an advance of £172,997 over the 1925 figure, due to" increases all round. Exports to Germany dropped very considerably—from £1,614,090 in 1925 to £364,629 in 1926 Wool, which is the predominating item' fell by £1,107,226, while butter exports' valued at £117,858 in 1925, do not anpea.r at all in the 1926 records. Germany is rapidly recovering her prewar trade with the Dominion, particularly in the direction of fancy goods and toys, drugs and chemicals, musical instruments, time-pieces, glassware machinery, paper and stationery, and manures. More Drastic Penalty Urged. "There is one matter to which I wish to refer and that is the number ot accidents caused through drivers of motor-cars being intoxicated," said Mr J E. Haigh, president of the Southland Motor Association, at the monthVy meeting of the executive last week "I don't think it would be too strone if we asked for a fairly heavy penalty if a man is found intoxicated while in charge of a car.' 1 Mr. G. Ta™ierYes, but when is a man drunk?" Mr Haigh: 'It is not a question of when, at all. A man should, not take liquor when driving a car. if he is convicted of being drunk while in charge of a car he should have his license suspended, for twelve months at least, as well as being fined." "The penalties will have to be made much more d-as-tic if the practice is to be stopped Tines are not of the slightest use" said Mr. A. M. Macdonald. "Would you suggest that the police should be empowered to stop any motorist whom they suspect of being under the influence of liquor?" asked a member. "I would stop a dozen men and ask ques-! tions rather than let one man smash up people while under the influence of I | liquor," replied Mr. Haigh, who then' i moved the following remit to be sent to ! the South Island Motor Union- "That in the opinion of the Southland Motor Association a more drastic penalty be ' inflicted on motor drivers under the ' influence of liquor." Mr. A. M. Macj donald seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Business is Business. The collection of Maori relics in the possession of the Wanganui Public Museum is stated to be better than those of the Natives themselves. At the annual meeting of the museum authorities, held recently, one speaker said that the museum was started about 40 years ag°> jnst in time to retain large numbers of Maori relics. Excellent collection work had been done locally, but there were still many families in Wanganui who retained relics of historical interest which would be far- safer out of private hands. The museum was the proper place for them. Another speaker said that the second generation did not value these important possessions, and the third generation would probably think still less of them. He instanced a case where some valuable greenstone relics had been discovered in an English farmhouse, where they had been sent by Lieutenant Flinders in the early days. Arrangements were made to have them housed in the Wanganui Museum, but later a relative of the former owners claimed them and they were removed from the city. Later still, it was discovered that this person, evidently not lacking in business enterprise, had sold the articles to the Auckland Museum for a considerable sum of money. New Zealand's Exports. Eoughly speaking, four-fifths of the Dominion's exports find their way to the United Kingdom, the percentage for 1926 being 77.53, states the Statistics Office report on Trade and Shipping. A certain amount of this produce, of recent years, valued at over five million sterling, is subsequently reshipped from Great Britain, principally to the Continent of Europe. Wool predominates in the reshipments, the final destination being mainly Prance, Germany, or Bel-' gium. Other items which figure prominently are butter, sheepskins, aides, tallow, rabbit skins, and hemp. Imports from the United Kingdom to the Dominion usually approximate one-half 1926 ttlfisfl aCtUal Per°entaSe f<F