NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 83, 9 April 1928, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Safety in the Air. "It is an actual fact that the airpiano is safer than road transport, to a great extent. Insurance companies charge less for flying than for road and steamer transit from London to Paris, and insurance companies generally look carefully into matters such as that." These statements were made by Mr. Douglas Mill at a meeting of the Canterbury Progress League on Wednesday night. Mr. Mill recently flow from Auckland to Christchurch, and mado a trip to and from W.aimato. Native Fishing Bights. The Treaty of Waitangi has been quoted by Wanganui Maoris incensed at the recent Marino Department regulation prohibiting the use of nets in tho taking of fish from any portion of tho 'river above tho Town Bridge. The Treaty, says the Maoris, guaranteed their fishing rights. An investigation by the "Ohroniclo" foveals that tho regulations were aimed at tho prevention of taking salmon and trout from tho river by nets. It was never intended that whitebait should bo includod in tho regulations, and this error will bo put right at an early date As far as the Treaty of Waitangi is concerned, it is pointed out that the rights given tho natives under that pact do not ineludo fishing for Atlantic salmon and trout, which fish were not acclimatised at tho time. Tho Natives' rights conferrod by tho Treaty cannot be abrogated by any regulations. Tho Eeal Fight. Only one tiling stood in the way of success for Labour at tho coining election, declared tho Leader of tho Opposition (Mr. H. E, Holland) in tho courso of an address at tho Empress Theatro i last night. It was apathy and disloyalty on the part of tho working man. Tho disloyalists in tho ranks of Labour made it possible for tho eubinics of Labour to win. Mr. Holland declared that' tho real fight wpuld bo between the Reform Party and tho Labour Party. "Tho individual must get into tho fight if wo aro.to win Now Zealand for Labour," ho said. "If wo can reach the day when tho working man will take tho samo interest in tho conditions that affect his own economic well-being as he doos in a boxing or v football match, on that day will we win New Zealand for Labour. The fight this year is tho fight of every man and woman who lias an interost in this country. We have to got out and contest every seat where we have a sporting chanco," Stamping of Receipts. A Potono correspondent dop,iros to know if a payer of money of over &2 can demand a stamped receipt, and if there arc any por'sons or bodies which are oxemptod. Receipts for over £2 must bo stamped, under tho Stamp Duties Act, with the following exceptions: Bank deposits in current account; receipts for wages or salary; local body rocoipts; payments into savings banks; to building or investment soeietios, friendly societies, fire, life, or accident insurance companies; roceipts for charitablo aid or compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act; Stale ponsion, superannuation or retiring allowance, receipts, etc.; recoipts given by tho Crown; receipts for doposit returned to contractors on complotion of contracts or returned to unsuccessful tenderers; war fund receipts. Prospects at Sea. "What inducement is there for a boy to go to sea and become a captain??' was a question asked an officer of an overseas steamer by an "Otago Daily Times" reporter. Tho reply did not disclose a prospect that was likely to eauso shipowners to be einbarassed by battalions of boys anxious to become captains. The roply was to tho effect that a who went to sea at the ago of 16 could qualify to beconio a second officer at the end of four years, and at the end of another three years he could, by hard study and close attention to duty, obtain a foreign going master's certificate. So far as technical and theoretical qualifications were concerned he could then command a big steamer at a salary of £10Q0 a year. That was possible, but things did not work out quite like that in actual practice. They were fifth, fourth, and third officers going to sea for several years until seniority brought them a position as second officer. Then second officers kept on until there was a ..vacancy for a chief officer. And, alas, chief officers usually had to carry on in that capacity until a captain died or a new ship was built. All the same there was always tho short road to success for the man of outstanding ability. "But," said the reporter, "Captains are usually on the outlook for a job onshore. How is that?" "Well," replied the officer, "I suppose they get so 'fed up'with being at business for twenty-four hours a day, and sovon days a week for years on end, that they perhaps feel that 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'"

Sex in Trees. Eecent research work into the natural regeneration of rirau forest was described by Mr. C. E. Foweraker to the Philosophical Institute at Christchurch on Wednesday evening (states the "Press")- Mr. Foweraker dealt with work that he had done on the West Coast, especially with the efforts made to discover the number of male and female trees. He mentioned that in one block of one acre, thirteen male and sixteen female rimu had been found. Mr. B. M. Laing gave a list of the flowering plants of the Upper Bealey watershed, with some notes on the vegetation. Best Meat Exported. That all the best mutton and best beef was exported and that there was nothing but tough meat for the tourists to eat was the complaint an English visitor (Mr. A. G. Eobertson) made to a "Southland Times" reporter on Tuesday. "It is scarcely necessary for me to stress the importance of the publicity that is given to a place by the tourists who visit it," said Mr. Robertson. "Naturally they talk to their friends on their return and to prospective travellers during their tour. This is the best form of advertising the charms of the South Island can hay provided, of course, the impressions gained by the tourists are favourable. This fact should be kept in mind by all who have the interests of the South Island at heart. N.ow .one respect in which New Zealand is famous, is in regard to its mutton and its beef. Unfortunately I cannot speak at all favi ourably of my sampling of it. Occaisonally I may have had good meat, but for the most part it has been execrably tough. This is a bad feature, because the tourist will form an estimate of the quality of your meat from the samples that he gets when in your country. I am given to understand that the best meat is sent Homo. Well, some of the best should be retained for the consumption of the tourists who come here. Otherwise your famous products are going to lose much of their fame." Travis Bequest Taxed. The bequest made by the late Mr. W. H. Travis, of Christchurch, for research work into the causes and cure of cancer and tuberculosis will amount approximately to £50,000 (states theLyttelton Times"). Of the total assets estimated at £77,000 approximately £.8000 was left in the form of legacies, while £14,000 went to the Public 'Account as death duties. In the terms of the 'will, the residue of the estate is to bo formed into a trust fund, the income of which is to be used in eonduetiag scientific investigations in New Zealand which may ameliorate, or are like-' ly to result in the amelioration and cure of tuberculosis and cancer. A way is left open to the trustees, in the event of the income being needed for research work intp some other form of disease for the money to be applied to this purpose, the only strict provision of the whole clause being that the money must be used in New Zealand. The trustees of the estate are Mr. O. B. Bergh and Mr. Herbert Fearce. Speaking to a reporter on behalf of Mr. Bergh and himself, Mr. Pearce said that the trustees felt aggrieved with the Goyernment in connection with the payment of death duties. Seeing that the income of the estate was to go to medical research to benefit suffering humanity the trustees had approached tho local members of Parliament and also the Government in respect of obtaining a remission of the death duties. After a considerable amount of correspondence, the whole of the death duties, amounting to nearly £14,000 had to be, paid.