NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 145, 16 December 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Masters' and Mates' Certificates.

A "Gazette" notice published last evening amends the rules for the examination of masters and mates. In connection with the wireless qualification for home trade ships, it is now provided that every candidate for a certificate of competency as master (home trade), mate (home trade), or. second mate (home trade) will require to produce, on every occasion on which he presents himself for examination for his first certificate of competency, a valid certificate as "wireless signaller," or a wireless certificate of a higher class than "wireless signaller."

Aims of. Education. Milton was appropriately quoted by Mr. J. W. Russell, headmaster of Wellesley College, in the course of his report at the annn'al prize giving last! evening. "Education," he said, "should | prepare men to perform jnßtly, skil"fully, and magnaminously . all the offices, public and private, in. peace and war." This means doing more than one's life work. It means the doing of it for the betterment of one's fellowmen. Our aim is, then, so to educate and develop every boy physically, mentally, and morally that he may, as he grows up, clevelop into a self-reliant and worthy citizen; one who can take his place, iiv the" world and bear his share of-service in that ■ world." ' '. More Railway. Comforts.

A number of; railway .improvements embodied in the ideas advanced by the Minister of Railways: in his 1927 statement are in course: .of preparation. Amongst theseis a facility whereby travellers on the main: lines will shortly be able to secure from a-Canadian patent, paper towels in a container so prepared as to ensure the cleanliness of tho towel and that it has not been previously used. This convenience: is to be introduced in the ladies' waiting-room at the principal stations in -the North, and South Islands. Altogether thirty-six stations will be so supplied. Liquid soap con-* tainera will make their appearance shortly as a similar lavatory convenience. Effect is also to be given to the idea of luncheon hampers being made readily available to travellers. This facility: will be offered only on the Main Trunk Hue, orders being placed in -advance in: .aiiticipatipn 'of the arrival of the irp.ii) ; at ffrankton or Marton, where the iiampers' will be delivered on board. The hampers will contain necessary eating utensils and table warej and will be filled, according to order, with cold meats, salads, dessert dishes, cheese, bread, butter, and friiit, together with a thermos flask containing tea or.coffee, as desired, or aerated waters. .The charge per hamper will be 35.:, ■:;■..■: '.; ■ :

Overland RoiitePreferred. The New Plymouth office of. the Northern Steamship . Company was advised from the head office in Auckland on Wednesday that on account of the serious falling off in the passenger trade between Onehunga, and New Plymouth it had been decided not to send the Barawa to replace the Ngapuhi for the holiday traffic. Although the perman-1 ent withdrawal of-the Barawa, which was sent >to ;Auckland two and a-half months ago, has not'been announced, it. is ; generally considered, that this will come about, owing ;to the competition from motor services on the * Mokau-Te Kuiti overland route.-

Parcels on Buses.. One of the few instances in which buses will not carry parcels and perambulators will be in the case of the City Corporation buses to Eoseneath, a recommendation by the Tramways Committee last night that a request from the Eoseneath and Oriental Bay Elect-, ors' Association, for the . carriage of heavy parcels and,perambulators be not acceded to being adopted. Japan's Debt to Mr,' Adams. Many people'have heard, from the concert platform/ hbw; Bill Adams, amongst other exploits; won the Battle of Waterloo. This dpubtless is not an historical, fact; But-what is a fact about Bill Adams vwas revealed last night by Mr. Tokugawa> the Japanese Consul-General. In the; course of his lecture, Mr. Tokugawa. said that about the year 1600 an Englishman named William. Adams (doubtless known to his friends as "Bill) arrived in Japan, how the lecturer did not state. The historical Bill; Adams taught the Japanese the art of shipbuilding, hitherto unknown to them, and in 1610 a Japanese ship actually .sailed as far as Mexico, the first time that Japan had ventured so far afield. A Dental. Caravan.

"The only way to. attend to the dental needs of the country children is by a dental caravan," said Mr. P. A. Sucll, at a meeting of the Auckland Education Board on Wednesday. "That is the only hope that they have in the backblocks." Mr. Snell added that the Minister of Health' had expressed approval of the caravan scheme (reports the _ "New Zealand Herald"). It was decided to approach the Minister through the Minister of Education, in order to have a system of caravans put into operation. . ;..■■':

Fern Country Ablaze. ' ' A fire reminiscent of the bush burns of a quarter of a century ago raged for three days over a wide area of heavy fern eountry'at Pironga, taking toll of i enees wherever settlers neglected to cut back'the heavy growth (writes a Hamilton correspondent). The fire kept burning until it reached the western bank of the Waipa, close to the bridge, having traversed a length of four or five miles from the point of commencement. Like many of the fires on Pironga Mountain, the origin of this one is a mystery. The chief mischief resulting | from a fire of this kind is that no use, I in most cases, can be made of the land I at this time of year before the vigorous growth of young fern would overtake the operations. In three months a good deal of use could be made of such a good burn. One settler saved his growth of fern, which he has succeeded in keeping free -of fire for four years, in .anticipation of burning and ploughing this autumn, by patrolling and countor- | burning during the progress of the fire. " ' " ' '

Increased City Milk Sales. At last night's meeting of the City Council it was reported by the Milk Committee that the daily average milk sales for November amounted to 4812 gallons, an increase of 508 gallons, or 11.8 per cent., over the sales for the corresponding month last year. Voltage Variations. At yesterday's meeting of-the Hutt Valley _ Power Board, Mr. E. Windly complained of the variation in pressure (voltage) which, he said, was a source ! of annoyance to consumers. The trouble was met both where current was used for domestic purposes and for industrial purposes, and the service was not what customers had been led to believe it would be. Variations in pressure was given by Mr. S. Blackley as the cause of the frequent burning out of incandescent "bulbs in the board's district. Mr. J. W. M'Ewan. said the variations could be eliminated, although it was a difficult matter. The matter was referred to the technical committee for a report.

Tourist Traffic Revenue. "Our N natural income could bo increased more substantially by an increase in the number of overseas visitors than by any'other method," states the New Zealand Tourist League (Auckj land), in its annual report. The experience of Canada, Switzerland, Prance and other nations confirms this. "Official figures show that in 1926 people from the United States spent over £200,000,000 in Europe and £80,000,----000 in Canada. Hawaii records a large income from 15,000 visitors who stay for over 24 hours in the territory." Exact figures of tourist expenditure in New Zealand wero not available, but on the basis of the ■ returns of other countries the.league estimates that the Dominion received £.1,000,000 a year from overseas visitors. This revenue cost less to get than any other part of the national income, and it could be increased at a low cost. .Damaged Power Lines.

The heavy gale on the<night of Monday, 28th November, did considerable damage- to the Hutt ' Valley Power Board's reticulation system. At David street, Lower Hutt, the Borough Council had cut a drain for sewerage close !to a pole, and the polo was blown over. Many of the poles on the Day's Bay road, the back Waiwetu road, and the fetone Esplanade were ahifteii out of position. . At Plimmerton the power was off for four hours owing to a large tree in the asylum grounds falling across the wires and breaking them. A tree was brought down over a 6600 volt line in Witako, in the board's eastern area. Damage to the actual lines was also done in several parts of the district. . •

End of City Freight Service,

The City Council last evening decided that the tramway freight service, which has been in operation for many years now, should be discontinued from the end of January. Councillor Semple entered a protest against the discontinuance of the service, which, he maintained, had had a useful effect in keeping down carrying charges. The council should not aim at a profit from all its activities so long as a service was given the people. -The Mayor replied that latterly the transport service had not been patronised by the citizens, but had been used almost solely by shopkeepers for the carriage, of goods and parcels. ' In every suburb there were carriers who catered for the requirements of the districts.

Cereal Research. Legislation was passed last - session, providing for the adoption of a scheme, of contributions by persons engaged in the growing of wheat and in related industries towards the cost 'of carrying out scientific -investigations by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research: It is proposed -to establish a Cereal Research Laboratory at Christchurch, and on Wednesday next a meeting of those interested will be held in that city, to devise a plan of operations. To meet the cost of investigations small levies will be paid by the interests concerned. Prisoners for Company^

Although a party of motorists on a tour of the North Island recently set out prepared to "rough it" while passing through the isloated parts of tho centre of the North Island, it was seldom necessary to pitch camp, as the tourists had £fie agreeable experience of being accommodated frequently at prison camps (states the Auckland "Star"). There are camps of about thirty men each, at Hautu, near Tokaanu, and at Bangipo, between Tokaanu, and the National Park, where new land is being broken in by prison labour. At the Park a larger camp accommodates prisoners engaged in road work. As the operations in the vicinity of Waikune are somewhat extensive, small branch camps are established during the roading progress, and at these places comfortable accommodation was provided for the members of the party. .

Appreciative Parents. '.:....■■ • Addressing parents . at yesterday's ! prize-giving function the Wellington | College, the retiring headmaster, Mr. T. E. Cresswell, said that ho owed them a debt of gratitude for their support during his term of office. He kept in his cabinet two files, one for complaints- from parents and the other for appreciations, and he was pleased to say that the latter outnumbered the former by 10 to 1.

"Some Books ■are to lje tasted—" '

The reflections of the librarian at Wellington College, as printed in the "WelKngtonian," give an insight into those students who "shorten the tedious hours with books." He states: "The rapidity with which tomes labelled Wodehouse and Ellis became reduced to pulp testifies to the high standard of culture prevalent among the subscribers. One laudable feature we observed is the omnivoracity with which the pearls of English literature are absorbed by the metaphorical swine rooting for knowledge. At the same time, we consider that the fellow caught with twenty-seven books out at once was pushing the analogy too far. ... As usual, a number of boys leaving school have decided to perpetuate their names by donations of books to the library. For this purpose we strongly recommend biographies. They do not wear out as quickly as do the lighter novels." .

An Independent Liberal. Mr. P. J. Small, of Kairanga, has announced his intention of standing as a candidate for the Manawatu seat as an Independent Liberal at the next General Election (reports "The Post's" Palmerston North correspondent). Mr. Small is a well-known and esteemed resident of the Kairanga, where he has spent 35 years as a successful farmer and participated in many movements for the progress and welfare of the district. He is chairman of the Manawatu Land Drainage Board, chairman of theKairanga Dairy Company, chairman of the Kairanga School Committee, a member of the Kairanga County Council and a past chairman of that body, a member of the Manawatu-Oroua Power Board, and also Dominion president of the Dairy Farmers' Union.