NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 106, 7 May 1931, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Third-party Insurance. The compulsory insurance oil motorists as at present framed was discussed by tho Dominion' Executive of tho New Zealand Fanners' Union last j evening, when the suggestion was | made that the coyer was not comprehensive enough to warrant a premium of £1. It was decided to ask the Government to set out the exact nature of the cover with a view to ascertaining the legal position. I For Safe Flying. Automatic slots on the leading edges of the wings of aeroplanes. have been responsible for saving many a pilot's error, and a splendid demonstration of their worth was given over the Ashburton Airport recently, says the "Guardian." Captain N. H. Barlow had taken a Moth to about 4000 feet during an exhibition of stunting, with the intention of putting: it into the manoeuvre .known as the falling leaf. Spectators on the ground saw. the aeroplane rocking gently from side to side, and wondered what thrill they were to be treated to. After a minute or so of this the aeroplane went on to other stunts, and the pilot explained on liis return to the ground that the working of the slots had prevented him f rom j stunting in the way he had intended. | He found it impossible to spin tho Moth, so he looped the loop instead. Standardised Cheese. The prohibition of the export of standardised cheese was advocated by an Otago remit to the Dominion Executive of the Now Zealand Farmers' Union yesterday afternoon. The .remit was approved almost unanimously, the general opinion being that standardisation had dono the industry a great deal of harm in the Home market. "Cheers All Bound." Recalling the early days of tho Labour Department, when' returning thanks for a presentation made tb him on Saturday morning, Mr. W. H. Haggcr, Conciliation Commissioner for tho South Island, who is rotiring, told of some interesting phases of his work when the hotels closed at 10 p.m. (states tho Christchurch "Press"). "We had been informed," said Mr. Hagger, '' that two barmaids in a certain hotel never had a half-holiday; Another inspector and I decided to investigate the. position. We called at the hotel, had a couple of drinks, and, sure enough, there were the two girls. We called every day for a week, and our mission became quite well known. When we entered the bar on the Saturday evening, there were cheers all round from the customers. The girls were absent! It cost us 6s each, on that occasion, to carry out our duty, and I can assure you thero was no question of a refund." Commonwealth Meteorologist. Tho rumour that Dr. E. Kidson was to leavo the- Dominion Meteorological Service to become the Commonwealth Meteorologist in> Australia happily for New Zealand has provon to be without foundation. .The now Commonwealth Meteorologist is to be Mr. H. Barkley, who takes tho place of Mr. H. A. Hunt upon his retirement. Mr. Barkley as a schoolmaster made a study of meteorology, and finally adopted the science as his life's work. Ho is 47 years of age, and .18 years ago joined the Commonweal (h Meteorological Bureau. Ho has mado a special study of the weather as. it alEects the man on the land and the man in the air, and since agriculture and aviation aru important factors in Australia's daily life his knowledge should prove to be of great value to the Commonwealth. ■. •. . Work on Blue Baths. Great surprise and dissatisfaction was expressed when it was known in Botorua that instructions had been received that all work was to be stopped on tlie construction of the new Blue Baths (states the Eotorua correspondent of the "New Zealand Herald"). All men are to bo discharged and the site cleaned np at once. This indicates that it is not a temporary stoppage. This is the second time that the work on these baths has been stopped. About 25 tons of cement, • which is perishable if held too long during the. winter, are now on the site, besides a large quantity of other building- material. Mr. C. H. Clinkard, M.P., said on Tuesday he had known that owing to the financial strain the continuation of the work had been discussed >yith the Hon. W. B. Taverner, tho Minister of Public Works, and it was hinted that it might be necessary to suspend operations. Mr. Clinkard then interviewed the Prime Minister, and suggested that the plans be revised and that the smaller bath be completed. Preliminary work in connection with the building of tho new baths was well forward, 18 men being constantly employed. It was hoped to have the baths completed iii time for next summer. Two swimming pools were being built, one being for children and one for mixed bathing. The floors of both baths-have been laid. Departed With His Blankets. A young man who was a passenger by the Limited express on Monday evening had an embarrassing experience on the platform prior to tho dcparturo of the train (states the "New Zealnd Herald'). Just before the express was timed to leave his erstwhile landlady openly accused him of the theft of one of her blankets, and, unable to accept the young man's vigorous denial, secured the services of a constable to press her charge. The passenger's luggage, which had been checked and stowed in the guard's van, was secured, and the woman asked to describe her property. She was definite that only one of her'blankets was missing, and when pressed asserted that if the young man had others in his possession they would not bo of. tho same design. Investigation revealed that there were two—a pair—which Ilia man. said were liis own property. He departed with his blankets, and his landlady remained protesting on. tho platform.

Record Catch of Fish. What was described as a record catch was brought in by a Mercury Bay fisherman on Tuesday. It comprised live tons ouo and a half hundredweight of fish, and was the result of one day's catch.. Ninety per cent, of the haul was snapper. Three lorries conveyed tho harvest to Thames. Record Mushroom. Yet another claim lor the largest mushroom of the season is made. A report that a mushroom measuring nine inches across had been picked close to Now Plymouth brought the claim that one measuring lOJin by 9in had been secured on the Waihi Plains. Now (states tho "New Zealand Herald") Miss H. Roberts, of Onehunga, has submitted photographic evidence of a monster mushroom which she secured at Komokoriki, north of Kaukapakapa, on Anzae Day. This mushroom measured 15in by 9in. 40,000 Mutton Birds. The little vessel which arrived at Bluff from the South Cape Islands last week brought 40,000 new season's mutton birds. The weather, while the vessel was at the islands, is described as being tho worst experienced for years and considerable- difficulty was mot with in shipping the consignment at the various landings. The birds are reported as being plentiful, and in the best of condition. The health of all on the islands called at was good, and it was anticipated that the season would conclude about 25th May. Mayoralty Goes Begging. In connection with the municipal elections at Winton, the local public were surprised when they learned that there were no nominations for the office of Mayor. It is stated by a correspondent of tho "Southland News" that never before- has a similar state of affairs existed in the history of the borough. In the morning prior to the closing of nominations, two separate deputations waited on the Mayor, Mi-. J. A. Broom, and Mr. T. Walker, a former Mayor. Neither, however, was keen to accept the position, but it was fully expected that there would be at least one nomination. The position now is that Mr. Broom will continue in office and fill the vacancy until 22nd, May. Nominations will bo called for Mayor and an election held in May. riight of Godwits. The godwits which visit the'so shores every summer in^such largo numbers from Siberia have now completed their return migration for the season, and' only a few that are too sick or weak for the journey remain behind (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The open/season for them was from Ist January to 31st March, and sportsmen found them, just' as 'numerous as ever. Godwits are most methodical in their habits, and prior to their long flights undertaken during April, they assemble in great numbers on the Ninety-Mile Beach, at Spirits Bay, and on beaches as far south as Kawhia: After reaching their destination in Siberia they begin to lay in July, and by October tho young birds are ready to undertake the long migration. In the last stage of their journey from New Caledonia to the North Auckland peninsula, they have to cover more than 1000 miles of open ocean at one stretch. The most generally accepted explanation of this marvellous illustration of the working of bird instinct is one put forward many years ago that they are following the line of a coast that once stretched from Siberia to New , Zealand in the dim geological past. The theory is that as tho land surface gradually subsided and gave way to chains of islands and then to great spaces of sea, the birds continued to' sock their original summer resort by the same route, in obedience to an instinct that even the most radical change in circumstances could not weaken. ! . ' , A Question of Finance. "That the Main Highways Board take over tho whole of the main highways with their liabilities, thereby relieving the local bodies," was a remit which came before the Dominion Executive of the New Zealand 'Farmers' Union jast evening. Mr. W. Morrison, a member of the board, said that the board would be quito willing to take over the.roads if it had the finance. There were too many highways being gazottod, and the board did not have the money to look after them. Many of tno local bodies were unable to put up their share of tho money at present, although, the board would provide its share as soon as it was .applied for. The policy was to'keep maintenance work going -and close' down on construction. • The remit was defeated. "Irresponsible People." Begret that an open, season existed for the shooting of deer in the Kaimanawa ranges was expressed by a Hamilton sportsman who has just returned from a fortnight's: stalking in the Kaimanawas (states the "New Zealand Herald"). Ho and his companion secured 20 deer, the best being several 10-pointers. He said the fact that no shooting fee was charged this year gave irresponsible people a licence to shoot deer indiscriminately^ irrespective of their age or condition. Parties of young men. were met in the : heart of the ranges, and two days' march away from tho main roads. Those people appeared to revel in killing as many animals as they could, whether they were deer, wild cattle, sheep, or pigs, and did not trouble to skin their quarry or use them for food. Numerous carcasses of young deer and other animals were found. The speaker considered it .was regrettable for the sake of the sport which doer afforded legitimate stalkers that such freedom should be allowed. As far as he could see, the country was not fit for any other nse than for harbouring game. "Only an Old Beer Bottle." The story of a bottle cast into the flooded Biver Avon at Bath and picked up ten months later by a man fishing iii Wellington Harbour is told in "The Children's Newspaper." The bottle was thrown into the river by a small boy, who enclosed his name and address on a slip of paper, and on 19th January he received a letter from the man who found it, and the finder can be excused for expressing surprise that tho bottle shoiild come all the way from England to New Zealand. It would be interesting to know whether the bottle was carried wholly by ocean currents, or whether the crew of a Home liner had a hand in the matter. Hatching Whitebait. An interesting exhibit, consisting of whitebait ova hatched out, lias ; becn shown in Hokitika by Mr. A. Cutbush, who secured tho ova on tho north side of the Hokitika Biver. He placed tin; ova in a small, bottle, and next morning found they had hatched, and Uio small-whitebait, like a thread a quarter of an inch long, were swimming about. The exhibit is of particular interest, following, as it does, on the recent visit of Captain Hayes, of the Marine Department, who spent some time securing information about the Hokitika river regarding the habits of whitebait and tho deposit of their spawn. A Matter for Comment. The fact that there arc no" charges of negligent driving so as to "cause, death coming before the present criminal sittings of the Auckland Supreme Court was favourably commented upon.by Mr. Justice Herdman on Tuesday (states the "New Zealand Herald"). "It is pleasing to note," he said, "that on this occasion charges against motordrivers of negligent driving causing death, which time and ugiiiii in tho past were features !of the criminal list, are cm this occasion entirely absent. I hope the nou-uppcanuice of theso cases is au. indication that those in control of motor vehicles throughout the district are learning to osevcise greater care."