NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 43, 20 February 1931, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Harmful Earthquake Rumours. 'Several persistent rumours about earthquakes to come, fixing more or less exact times and localities, are rife at present, and are causing great mental disturbance among foolishly credulous peoplei Some of these may prefer to pin their faith to passed-on stories of forecasts based,on ideas that smell of witchcraft; but it can* be said with the backing of every reliable authority on the subject, that nobody can predict either the time or the place of an earthquake, and very few will speak confidently even of the' likelihood of one. The circulation of such rumours in a timo like the present could only be regarded as criminal, if it were not merely silly. In any case it is productive of much liavin. Street-Widening Loan. The Wellington City Council lias been given permission to raise a loan of £50,000 for street-widening purposes, the term bping for 36* years and the interest rate £5 10s per cent. Hastings Telephone System. The telephone system hi Hastings lias been partially restored, connections being made to a temporary exchange for subscribers who urgently require the service. The old manual system will not, however, be resumed in full. An automatic system is being installed, and it is expected that this will lie available for general service in about two months. Fuel Saving on Railways. . Experiments conducted over the ■course of several months by the Bailway Department in the use of the Langer smokeless and fuel-saving process ha"ye been sufficiently encouraging to cause the Department to equip twenty locomotives for its use. When these engines are equipped they will bo given the test of ordinary working conditions. The extension of the devico to tho rest of the Department's locomotives will-depend on .the results of the tests of these engines in ordinary daily use. Swans' Eggs. ,' The sale of swan eggs by the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society was statod to have resulted in a profit of £80 to £85 for the year, stated the secretary (Mr. C. W. Hervey) on Wednesday. Tho^ egg pulp had been sold to a pastrycook. The return might have been larger, he said, but unfortunately the price of hen eggs had boon very low. Dunedin Flood Protection. The Teport of the three engineers on the scheme for the Water of Lcith flood protection has been forwarded to the Dunedin City Council. It is understood that the cost of the completed work recommended is £600,000. The report is the result of the flood which did serious damage to the north end of the city some time ago. Scientists ana the Earthquake. , The various scientific exports, geological and otherwise, whom the Department of Scientific and .Industrial Ee'search sent to Hawkcs Bay immediately after the earthquake to make investigations, are to meet in Wellington to-morrow. • Their reports, each having investigated the earthquake from a different point of view, should go a long way towards supplying authoritative information as to the nature of the 'carthqua'ko and the amount of uplift. It was not till a considerable time after the Murchison earthquake that tho full scientific story.could be told, and it will naturally bo the same with the Hawkes Bay upheaval. Game Birds. That the breeding of game birds was a matter requiring attention in New Zealand was maintained by Mr. C. IT. Lawrence at a. meeting of the Council of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society. The council decided to provide pons forithe purpose at its new grounds at Grccnpark, and in the course of discassion Mr. L. A. Shand suggested that experiments should be made with the breeding of grey duck in captivity. Another suggestion was that such a place as Quail Island should bo made a sanctuary and wekas liberated there. Huge Fire Losses. "The amount of money lost through damage by fire in New Zealand #during tho last ten years would be sufficient to reinstate . Napier and Hastings," said Superintendent C. C. Warner, of the Christehurch Central Mre Brigade Station (reports tho Christchurch "Times.") Losses by fire last year amounted to approximately one and three-quarter million .pounds, he stated, while in 1929 it was about a million and a half. "When this largo annual loss is taken into account it must be recognised that the onus is on tho authorities to see that every precaution is taken to endeavour to reduces it. In over 75 per cent, of the cases outbreaks' aro due to carelessness." Too Many Motor Accidents. "Unfortunately it has been the duty of coroners throughout New Zealand in recent years to hold inquests on people killed as a result of motor accidents," said Mr. E. D. Mosley, Coroner, before giving his verdict at an inquest held at Kaiapoi on Wednesday, reports the Christehurch "Times." The proportion of motor accidents in New Zealand, he added, was fairly heavy, though not as high us in some other countries. "But1 our object should be to see that in New Zealand the proportion is a jolly sight less/ said Mr. Mosley. "There is not the slightest reason why some two hundred lives a year should be sacrific-. Ed in this country under the 'jugg"ernnut' whcolg of motor-ears. Wo'should aim to lessen that number and wo can do lhafc only by tlie exercise of the greatest possible caro on the part of drivers. Thej)r should not do anything that would tend to loosen their power of control over Iho machines they are driving."

Open Season for Deer. j A "CliiKcttn" notice issued last evening (Inclines the period from 2nd March, jpjil, 1o oOth April, 1931, sm opeu season for doer shooting in cortain portions of tlio Wellington Acclimatisation District. A Big Gorse Fire Clouds of smoke came over the city yesterday afternoon from a hillside noar this railway line at Khandallah, whore about 20 acres of gorsc wero on fire. At 4.30 p.m. the Wellington I'ire Brigade visited the spot to see that the fire did not get out of control, and a sultry -three hours was put in by the brigaclosmen beating out the flames on ■the edges of the affected areas while the rest of tho fire burnt itself out.Oil Tanks at New Plymouth. Two hundred and fifty tons of tank material wore unloaded by the Swedish motor vessel Mirrabooka at New Plymouth on Wednesday (states tho "Taranaki Daily News"). It is understood that they arc for the erection of additional oil tanks by an oil company operating in Now Plymouth.. With the substantial increase of the storage?shipping developments are expected at the port. With the present smaller depot the oil for storage in the tanks is shipped from tho big tanks in Wellington by coastal tanker. With tho establishment of tho larger depot it is expected that tho oil will come by direct shipments to New Plymouth, chiefly from the Dutch West Indies. Auckland's Roll of Honour. The tender of W. Parkinson and Company, for £2482,"f0r the inscription and installation of the Roll of Honour in the Hall of Memories at o tho War Memorial Museum, ■ was accepted at a meeting of the . Auckland Provincial Eoll of Honour Committee on Tuesday (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The only other tender received was that of the New Zealand Marble Company, for £2905. The architects' estimate was £3816. The difference- between the architects' estimate and the successful tender is accounted for by a lower price for lettering. Th'c roll, which will contain about 7500 names, will be instribed in letters cut into Sicilian marble and inset with bronze. The specifications stipulate completion of the work within twelve months of the date of acceptance of the tender, so that tho unveiling ceremony will probably take place on Anzac Day, 1932. It was reported at1 the meeting that a complete list of names was not yet available, and it was urged that steps be taken to have tho matter completed as soon as possible to allow of the publication of the list during the week in which Anzae Day falls this year.