NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 125, 29 May 1928, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

A Bequest Granted. ] On several occasions lately the Upper Hutt Borough Council has made requests to the Railway Department for improvements to the Wallaceville station, and at its meeting last night a reply.was received from the Railway Board stating that as present access to the railway premises was somewhat inadequate, arrangements had been made to erect suitable turnstiles at the two entrances to the Wallaeeville station. The turnstiles would be of sufficient height to allow .perambulators to be wheeled through. Better than "a Hideous Tombstone." . The:late Mr. P. Shaw left the Auckland Museum a legacy of £1000, which is to bo applied to the library investment. ■" Is it not better to do this than oroct a hideous tombsone, as some people do, and spend their money like that?"' asked, the institute's president, Mr. H. E. Vaile, at the annual rheeting (reports tho "New Zealand Hor.ild"). Two groups of figures, a memorial to the Maori race, he declared, were required for the new War Memorial Museum. One would be descriptive of the Maori at home, and the other at war. It was estimated that each would cost £1000. War on tlio Eels. . "Owing to tho presence of large numbers of eels in many rivers and streams within the Wellington Acclimatisation Society's area, and to a correspondingly heavy loss of trout, the council suggested to the branch committees that a crusade be entered upon against eels, large and small (says the annual report of the society). Since October,-1927, many thousands have been destroyed, the heaviest said to weigh 401b, taken from the Waikanae, ,301b taken from the Waiohine, 261b taken from the Mangatainoka, 25Jlb taken from the Waipoua, 221b, 171b, and 161b all from, the. same water, 221b Hutt River." Meat Export' Trade. The prospects of an improvement' in the fat' cattle export trade were discussed by the Prime Minister ia thel course of his speech at Morrinsville last evening, telegraphs "The Post's" special correspondent. Mr. Coates remarked that it was particularly pleasing to.note the increased values which had been paid this year for fat cattle. During the past few months there had been good inquiries for our frozen beef from New York, and also from Montreal, - and considerable quantities had been shipped to those and other ports. There had also been a good demand for oui beef for Army orders in Great Britain, which, .combined with the demand from New York, Montreal, etc., increased the value for fat cattle throughout the Dominion. At the present moment there was an embargo prohibiting the importation into the United States of any meat from countries where foot and mouth 'diseases were in existence, and under this order the whole of Europe and South America were precluded from "shipping meat to the United- States, so this practically left only Canada, New' Zealand, and Australia outside of this embargo. The Meat Board had on several occasions made trial shipments of beef, mutton,, and lamb to both New York and Canada, and with a view to fully testing out the possibilities of these markets for our lamb, tho board had this season shipped 34,000 lambs to New York so far this season. Up to the end of May there had been shipped from this Dominion to New York and Montreal 134,343 quarters of beef, 9756 carcasses of mutton, and 34,015 carcasses of lamb. It was expected that these quantities would be considerably increased before the end of the season. ; Trout-fishing Season. Tho trout-fishing season is now drawing to a close. Atßotorua and Taupo the season will end on Thursday. Lakes and streams under the control of tho Auckland Acclimatisation Society closed • for 'trout fishing on 30th April (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The season has not been prolific; indeed, atjthe opening it was very poor, but as it progressed the fishing improved. It was nothing like the splendid season of 1924, when an eight or tenpound fish was regarded as the general rule, instead of a remarkable exception, as at present. The average weight has probably been about five pounds this season, biit the fish, although generally small, have been remarkably plump and healthy. There has been none oJ: the scragginosa which has been a bad feature in some recent seasons. The healthy condition of the fish is in itself a most hopeful sign for tho future.If there is plenty of feed at the opening of nexf season there is no reason why the trout should not show a conI sidorable increase in size. ,

Only One Day Wasted. Children, of the Picton School, which was destroyed by fire early on Friday morning, wero able to resume work in temporary premises yesterday, with the loss .of. only one day. .The . Education Board-states that plans are in preparation for the reinstatement of the main school, the infant school being unharmed. Logic on the Bench. • Justices of the Peace in a Manawatu Court, hearing a case in which a man whose record' was otherwise untarnished was charged with stealing a newspaper, declared that thefts of this kind wore to bo regarded seriously, not because of the value of the paper but because of the annoyance to the owner; they regarded the theft as being as serious as the stealing of a valuable article—and agreed to dismiss the charge as trivial, and trusted that the dismissal would serve as a warning. A Maori Relic. Titahi-Bay was frequented by the Maoris of olden days, being used at times as a place of embarkation for voyages to the South Island. Hence search in the vicinity occasionally yields Maori relics. On a recent Sunday Mr. 11. M. Christie, of Kilbirnie, delving in the eartb not far from the beach, found an axe-head of greenstone. This proved to be a fine specimen, measuring 5% inches by 2J inches. It shows-.clear-ly at the top the grooves where it had been broken away from the main'piece of stone, and has a.good edge. Good Old Kauri. Over seven hundred piles have been drawn from the old mill wharves at Te Kopuru, which were purchased by a local resident fro-m the Marine Department (states the "Auckland Star"). Apparently totara was not thought of in those days for piling, or else kauri j was cheaper, for in the wharves there were only about three totara piles. There are kauri piles from 6in to 15in square, and not one. shows;any sign of deterioration below the mud line. The timber is apparently as fresh to-day as it was when it left the saw. The original wharf was built of kauri. Apparently later a larger structure was needed, and a new wharf was built over the top of the first. Fire damaged this structure, and a third wharf, larger and extending to deeper water, about 20ft at low water, was erected. A Christchurch firm has purchased 40,000 ft of these 'piles, which will shortly be senij to the South. Humours of Sport. A characteristic vein of humour invariably diversifies the secretarial work of Mr. C. I. Dasent, of the "Wellington Acclimatisation Society. Pollowing his remarks in the, society's annual report upon the growth and' extent of the opossum industry, he says: "The opossum is still a 'pest' officially, and its liberation is banned." The report on the angling season concludes: "There were some remarkable happenings during the season. A persistent angler took 1000 fish from one river. This is remarkable, bub true, in patches. Of course, there were many other enthusiasts who did not take 1000 fish, but no one can' foretell. the future.'' Eegarding shots the report says: "There are three distinct classes of gunmen always to be met with on opening days—the men who shoot and kill, the men who shoot and sometimes kill, but have a lot of fun, and the men who merely shoot. It is a striking tribute to the sagacity of wild game that after the first hours the lake sanctuaries were reported to- have been literally covered with duck." Relief Funds. ■' , ' , "When relief work was being carried out in the Upper Hutt Borough last wintei', a donation of £2G 5s was made to the local, fund by Messrs. Mazengarb, Hay and MacaKster, being the amount of their fee for legal work carried Qut for the council in connection with unemployment work. . An application was made by the council for a & for & Government subsidy, but at last night's meeting a letter was received from the Public Works Department stating that the Minister of Public Works could not see his way to grant a subsidy out of funds provided by Parliament for the relief i of unemployment. Councillor T. E. Jameson said he understood that the Government was prepared to subsidise & for & money raised by voluntary subscription, but the clerk (Mr. L. F. Grimstone) said the Minister had apparently exercised his power of veto. The Mayor (Mr. P. Bobertson) regretted the refusal, which ho said defeated the whole purpose of what Mr. Coates had Said. Conditions were not very hopeful for this winter, and he moved that the application be referred back, and the circumstances fully explained to the Minister and the Public Works Department. The motion was carried, councillors being of the opinion that the Department's reply was not very encouraging. ' ' Road Side Growths. The report of a deputation from the North, Island Motor Union, which had waited on the Railway Board in regard to overhanging growths, stated to the meeting of the union's executive last night that the attitude taken up-by the Board was that they had no power to have growth cut down, except on railway property. It was urged by the deputation that the Railway Department should co-operate with the municipal and county associations in removing obstructing growth outside railway property. The officer in charge stated that £200,000 had been allotted in 1924 to a programme of improving railway crossings and eliminating growth, etc. He also pointed out that the board had erected road signs and wig-wag signals, and in some cases crossing-keepers were appointed. There were three thousand level crossings in New Zealand. He finally suggested that the deputation's remarks be, referred to the new General Manager, who took charge after Ist May, 1928, and advised that the North and South Island Motor Unions should co-operate in referring bad cases, requiring attention, to the local bodies. It was decided to circularise all associations asking them to report all bad cases to the local bodies. Stolen ,pars. j It was stated by a deputation which waited on the Minister of Justice recently from the North Island Motor Union, in a report to the union last night, that the Minister pointed out that the law as it exists to-day gives motorists all the protection required, if the law were administered in full by Magistrates. He went on to say that where it can^be proved that a car was stolen the offenders could be charged with theft,- the difficulty being that a car taken for a short period conies under the designation of a "joy-ride," and if abandoned is not a theft, but if the car is taken away, kept, damaged, or destroyed it would constitute a theft, the cliarge for which is imprisonment up to three months, without the option of a fine. The Minister pointed out that it is conceivable that if the punishment was increased by three inoaths .tho ease would then be tried by a jury, and the question would then arise as to whether juries would convict, the punishment being imprison-' tnent. He recommended that each association should instruct a solicitor to press for severer punishment, under the Act, whore a case of theft could bo proved in the Magistrate's Court. By this means the Magistrate's power would, be brought more forcibly under notice and given publicity. "In view of the above circumstances, it is felt that the union should not press for any amendment to. increase the punishment at tho present timo," concluded the report. "The machinery is in existence, and the weak point is in its | administration.". >