NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 12, 14 July 1930, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Anybody's Venison.

By proclamation in the Government "Gazette" of 4th July last, deer cease from that date to be imported1 game in a long list of Acclimatisation Society districts. . Th/o proclamation does not apply to some districts at present, chiefly because the stalking season has not expired there yet. In the Wellington, Auckland, and Feilding districts deer still remain officially imported game, but as these stalking seasons end tho deer in these districts will have protection removed, until 'deer everywhere in New Zealand will be anybody's venison. > Nine Years After. , '* A reminder of a bankruptcy that created a great deal of interest at the «time, that of William Allan Hopkins, formerly a land agent in Christchurch, has been received by creditors in the estate, in the shape of cheques from tho Official Assignee (Mr. J. H. Eobertson) for a sum representing a dividend of 6d in the & of their claims (states tho "..Ghristehurch Press"): As Hopkins . was adjudged a bankrupt nin© years ago, the announcement of the dividend, and of a possible further (and final) dividend of 3d in the £, must havo come as a surprise to all tho creditors whose proofs of debt have been admitted. Accompanying the cheque was a circular in which the Official Assignee set out that, the administration of the estate has been a long and complicated business. Steps were taken recently to ascertain the position with the objects of making a report to tho creditors and of distributing the funds in hand. The claims admitted against tho estate amounted- to £45,937 3s lOd, and funds in the hands of the Official Assignee totalled £1165, which sum was sufficient for the declaration and payment of an immediate dividend of 6d in the £>. A fow assets remain to bo realised, tho approximate valuo of which is £600. Giraffes for New Zealand. There is a prospect that a pair oi! giraffes will be acquired in South Africa for the Auckland Zoo to replace the single specimen which the zoo formerly possessed, and which died about five years ago (states the,"New Zealand Herald")- The Parks Committee of the City Council has been negotiating for some time with the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa for the purchase of a variety of animals and birds. The institution has lately advised that it is willing to' procure a pair of giraffes, and is also prepared to supply sable and roan antelopes, koodoos (a variety of striped antelope), blue wildebeest, porcupines, Stanley cranes, and South African weaver birds and finches. If it is decided to accept the offer, some time will probably elapse* before the animals are delivered. Permits have, to be obtained from the South African Government before wild animals, are taken, and' they must- be certified free from, disease before export. The requirements of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture must also be satisfled,before they can bo landed, and there are also formalities at Australian porte of call. Norfolk Island Service. The Hikurangi left Auckland last week for Norfolk Island. Formerly the service was maintained by the Government motor-ship Maui Pomare, but she was withdrawn last March. The decision of the Hikurangi's owners and Speeding, Ltd., to run a now service with the Hikurangi was made only four days before her departure,iand during that period orders were cabled from Norfolk Island for 80 tons of cargo to be dispatched by the vessel (reports an exchange). The freight received for that amount of cargo will not pay expenses, and it is • doubtful if the steamer will make a second trip. If the service has to be abandoned Auckland will be disappointed, as the trade with Norfolk Island when the Government vessels were carrying on was worth about £30,000 a year. Australia has a regular soi-rico with tho island, and naturally this trade will go to Australia.' An Obstinate Car. In an endeavour to avoid a meandering pedestrian tho lady driver of a small ear applied her brakes very vigorously and the car skidded 'i sideways across ■ both sets of tram rails. This little mishap took place this morning at the corner of Willis street and Lambton quay, and succeeded in holding up a lot of traffic. Nobody was hurt, but the "baby" car resolutely refused to start again. Even when several stalwart onlookers tried pushing, the •wheels would not revolve, as the brakes had -apparently stuck, Sard on. In the meantime long queues of trams and other cars had piled up. Finally a youth came to the rescue of the distressed driver and, the brakes having been released, the obstructing car was pushed clear of traffic, an operation in which several tram conductors only too willingly assisted. Helping the Farmer's Wife. "At the risk of using language more fit for the platform than the chair of this association," said Mr. H. F. good, president, at the. conference of the Electric Supply Authority Engineers' Association to-day, "I would point out that no ono is more deserving of all the help that electricity can give than the farmer's wife. She faces her obligations as a mother, wife, and homebuilder better than any other woman in our community, and with the greater disadvantage of obtaining domestic help only with much difficulty. Electric servioe means much more to her than to the more fortunate women in the close-ly-Hottlort areas, and I fcol Unit this association will support most heartily, if not {juito unanimously, any movement which has for its object the ronioving of tho disadvantage tho rural authorities labour under with regard to the bulk supplies purchased from the Public Works Department."

| A Smoky Haze. So thick a haze of smoko and mist lay over the Wellington Harbour this morning that the crowd waiting on the Queen 's Wharf for the mail steamer Makura to berth were unable ito see tho vessel as sho lay in the stream. Gradually tho hull of tho vessel, topped by a column of dense I smoke, became visible as she ap-1 proached the wharf, and soon she was j bathed in sunlight. Early Signs of Spring. Some of tho trees growing about the cit}' in Christchureh refuse to abide by the official calendar, and are already showing signs that point to an early change of the seasons. The leaders aro the two sycamores in front of [ the Canterbury Public Library, which ■ are making every effort to break | through tho dormant winter period. The buds aro swelling rapidly, and it * looks as though they will beat the ] willows, which are not due to put on their green coats for another three or four weeks.