NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 151, 29 June 1931, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Destination of Prizes.

■''I w;is surprised to sco five or six books given' as prizos at the Grammar School and also University prize books in a second-hand book stall recently," said Mr. A. T. Pyeroi't at a meeting of tlio council of the Auckland Institute and Museum during a discussion as to whether the- Cheeseman Memorial prizes for essays should take the form of books and apparatus, or should consist of medals, states the "Now Zealand Herald.!', It. was decided to spend the money available in medals as well as a prize for onch successful candi-* date. Maoris and Peaches. The origin of the poaches onco grown extensively by the Maoris was explained by Mr. G- A. Green, eitrieulturist to the Auckland Council of. the New Zealand Institute" of Horticulture, last week. Mr; Green said it seemed apparent that the Maoris developed poaab groves from two dozen atones brought to New Zealand by an early missionary named Matthews. -They were planted at. Kaitaia, While Mr, Matthews was on the ship- at. Gravesend Dock, he was presented with Uie poaches at the last minute. The stones wove preserved, and the .success of the Maoris in cultivating the peaches was largely due to the - irisiruetion in agriculture they re< eoived from the first : missionaries. Three distinct varieties of the peaches were developed, but the success of the Natives, in this branch of production hiad waned sijico the Maori Wars, Dunedia'3. New Post Office. That nothing is to be left to chance iii the construction of the new Dunedin Post Office is shown by the fact that the plans comprise no fewer than 96 sheets, and it is apparent that a tremendous amount of work was involved in their preparation, states the "OtagQ Daily Times." According to the practice that is always followed in the erection of public building? every detail is spoeifiedj and the plans show the manner in which joints are to be made and even tho number of rivota that are to be used. Tenders will not be closed until 13th January of next yoar, so that tenderers will be allowed the liberal period of • nearly sevon months in which to make the necessary preparations. It is worthy of note that if viewed from the air the building would appear to be TJshaped. Thu'e will be a deep recess on the Bond Btreot" side made necessary by the difficulty of providing adequate, 'lighting for such a large building. Large Maori Canoe. The Otago Museum in Dunedin will shortly contain a valuable Maori canoe, says the "Otago Daily Times." The oanoe has recently been shipped to Dunedin from Wanganui. It was presontod to the museum by Mr. T. W. Downes, a member of the-Wanganui River Trust. The canoe, is 52ft In length and is approximately 4f fc wide. It has boon constructed from two distinct pieces of timber, tho bow piece, Bft in length, boing dovetailed in tho correct Maori fashion. The main body of the canoe thus consists of 44i"t of solid totara. Ultimately it is hoped to add a carved figurehead, carved stornpost, bailor and carved thwarts, while top strak.es will also bo added to the sides, making the canoe when eompleto a good 6ft in width. The early history of the canoe is unknown, though the donor, Mr. Downes, hopes to secure further detail in this connection. It is at least definitely known that it carried a Premier of New Zealand, Mr. John Ballance, upon .one.qf his official journeys up the river. Good Sport Experienced. According to reports received by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, good sport has been experienced with pheasant and quail during the present season, which will close on Tuesday, states the "New Zealand Herald.^ Game has been plentiful in all parts of the district The limitation on the number. of pheasants to be shot by_ a licence-holder in a day has been nine this year, but thore have been no restrictions on the number of quails taken. ' Ordinarily, sportsmen do not approach the limitation on pheasants and they are satisfied with two or throe birds. The licences issued by the" society for duck, pheasant, and quail shootino- wero 2150 for the prosent season, *c decline of 75 from the licences issued last season being much less than was expected:. Our Low Grade Ores. That the time is propitious for a revival of gold mining in New Zealand is tho conviction of Professor T. B. Marshall, an expert who has had extensive experience of gold mining in British Columbia and Central and South America, now on a visit to Auckland, reports the "New Zoaland Horald." "New Zoaland is a gold mining country of considerable promise," said Professor Marshall, "and the conditions for developing the industry have never boen move favourable. Interest in gold mining is picking up in other countries—millions of pounds have recently been invosted in the industry in Panama—and gold mining now forms one of the moat active departments of Stock Exchanges all over the world." The visitor said several factors contributed to tho present favourable position. . Kates of exchange were low and the purchasing powor of gold was high owing to- the pvuscnt dearth of gold in the world. Mining machinery and mining supplies could be purchased very much more cheaply owing largely to tho low cost of the base metals. Labour, moreover, was abundant. Enormous advances, too, had been inado in metallurgy, making it possible to handle grades of ore which .a few years ago could only be worked at a loss. Ores with a gold content of 7dwt to Bdwt to the ton could je made to pay to-day. Prom what I know of the history of gold mining in New Zealand, I should say it is quite possible to develop sufficiently largo roserves of lowgrade ore to keep a large mill running continuously."

Judge's Training Ground. "All these figures are very eonfus-.. ing," stated Mr. Justice B'razbr after tlio Arbitration , Court * hud, .bpott engaged for lohic minutes working out interest (states the "Christchurch Times"). "Probably the next Arbitration Court Judge will Be'drawn from ' the ranks of tho mathematical masters of tho schools. " Few Heavy Slips. Loose curl.li, sods, and small rocks on many of the hillsides shattered on 3rd February anil by the aubso- , quent lass violent earthquakes have been moved by tho rains j of tho past week, says a Hawkes ■ Bay os- ' change. The ofl'oet of tho. rain has not, < in many cases, been exactly what 1 might have boon expected. The , occurrence of largo slides, of ourth would not have been surprising, but this has b'oen the case in only a few - instances. Generally the rain has had s Uio effect of moving tho earth only ! slightly, and has sottlod it, giving it • a new smooth surface vqvy similar tp < Us appearance before the earthquake, s Partners suid "The Cut," ■ < "We should commend the action of the Chamber of Commerce in striving for a reduction iv tho rate of interest, ! or the cessation oi' local borrowing by ■ the Government," said the president of tho North Canterbury Farmers' Ifnion (Mr. Colin M'lit tosh) at 'a meeting-of ■ the executive1 last week.- "Why dtf wo not agitate for a 10 per-cent, re'--ductiou in interest for <i year?" asked ' Mr. J. I>. Hall.' "It would' make a ' great difference. "Yos," said Mr. D. J, ' llawko, "wo supported the wages cut, but an interest cut would wean much more." The chairman said that at all ' ovents the support of tho business men ' was most gratifying. Cook Memorial Statue. Tho Captain Cook momorial statuo for Christchurch, which is being sculp- ' tnred by Mr. W.i T. Trethewey, is now ■ half completed (states the "Christ- \ church Times"). Since the work was ' begun sis mouths ago steady progress ' l>{is been maintained, and it is expect- ■■ ed that by tho end of the year the j statuo will be ready for erection iv Victoria Square. The upper half of the figure has been complotod, with the exception of some-finishing work. Already it can be seen that tho finished statue will present.a vary fine ' appearance. The statue is being sculptured out of beautiful blue-tinged hard marble front Italy. The original block • weighed twelve tons, and it took three days to shift it from the roadway into the studio. When completed the statue will weigh seven- tons. Fewer Foster Farijnts,, "■ , An unusual reflection of the difficul- ■ ties of the times is to bo found iv the ■ decreased number of, foster parents in i Auckland (states the> "New Zealand 1 Herald"). There aro' many parents who are willing, because of oeonomie stringency, to relinquish responsibility, but the conditions which have brought about this situation have also had the effect of decreasing tho number of i homos offering. Since, the beginning ' of tho year, thero have been only 18 < applications in Auckland. Last year ! tho number brought bofove tho Court i was 76, and in thQ past few years it has usually excecdod 50. TJje change i has a,lso boen noted by sociaj organise- . turns, tho officers of which have had to investigate the domestic circumstances ■ of fewer people desiring to adopt childron in recent months. ' Local Flood Protection. Local flood protection measures woro discussed yesterday at a meeting of property owners in tho vicinity of, ! Newton street, Tronlham, with the Mayor of Upper Hutt ' (Mr. A. J. < M' Curdy) and several of the borough 1 councillors, on tho spot. The forma- i tion of Nowton street lowered it . some eighteen inches below tho rjver- i bank, and during the Easto? floods this street became, a sinaH river itself, and i some of the metal was dopqsited on the i adjoining sections. After the views q( ' the section ownors in tjto locality, had ■ boen expressed by^Mr. Q, 3V. .Palmer, i it was agreed by the/.Mayor' that '.the Borough1 Council 'would 'attend >to thQ . raising of the VQad. An estimate' o.f the cost of erecting' a atop'banH. > for ■ some distance to .prevent the flooding- i of thU arpa ia to be obtawul, with the < object of forming it' in,to a special ■ rating area. Mr. Palmer, who/had arranged tho conference, thanked tho Mayor and Councillors for the way in which they had met the owners. Pishing Prospects. The main fish hatcheries- at the Tongariro River are in full swing, and tho staff is exceptionally busy (states the "New Zoalan'd IJcrald"), The runs of fish from Lake Taupo have boon fully three weeks earlier this year, and stripping results are entirely satisfactory. Work at the Botorua hatcheries will .commence next weak, and tho same good reports'aro to hand from these waters. Good runs have occurred in all tributary streams. Last yoav no stripping was done at Kotorua", beoauso of the extremely Jafce runs, and it is doubtful whether auqh operations will be necessary thore this year. In all directions early runs are recorded, and fish up to seven and eight pounds have been seen'passing up the stroams. . The capture of many young fish last season indicates that recent liberations .' of fry have been successful, and the restocking operations are filling all requirements. There seen** to bo every reason to anticipate that tho next fishing season will be a good one.