NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 90, 13 October 1931, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Readers in Schools. The question of the discontinuance of the supply of supplementary readers to schools was considered at last night's meeting of the Wellington School Committees and Educational Federation, and it was decided to place on record the importance of continuing these supplies. Mr. Broad, Mr. A. Parlane, and Mr. A. J. Clark were appointed to wait on tho Minister of Education with a view to impressing on him the necessity of continuing tho annual grant of £150 to the Wellington schools. Tho matter was also referred to the executive committee for consideration. Colour of Postage Stamps. The almost universal complaints about the colour of the new Is 3d reveuue stamp have had the desired effect. Its present unripe lemon colour is to be changed, when present stocks are exhausted, to a yellow of a deeper hue. This change, it is hoped, will please the aesthetic tastes of the public, and be more acceptable to philatelists. Petone Rates. Asked by Councillor A. Scholefield what would be the effect of allowing a discount on rates for prompt payment, tho Town Clerk of Petone (Mr. W. F. Sturman) at the meeting of the Borough Council last night, said that while it might bring the money in more rapidly, it would be an advantage to the big industries, which had the money, but no advantage to the poor ratepayer who had not. Tho Finance Committee, in its report later in the evening, notified that those who had difficulty in paying their rates in one sum could make small payments from time to time in accordance with their means, which would save them the 10 per cent, penalty on the moneys thus paid. Outran Their Supplies. "When the cessation of hostilities was announced in 1918, many people wondered by the Allied armies did not push right on into Germany," remarked Sir George Richardson, speaking at a luncheon of the British Manufacturers' Association in Auckland, "but the fact of the matter was that they could not have done it, for the Allies had advanced.so fast that they had outrun supplies. It would have been months before base camps could have been established, railways organised, and adequate food and. ammunition supplies arranged for." Sir Georgo drew a parallel between that series of circumstances and the facts of the economic situation to-day. In tho same way, he said, economi« supplies had been overrun, and disorganisation had ensued, and it was now necessary to wait until economic base camps could be established. When that occurred, a great deal would have been done towards the righting of the position. Licensing of Hawkers. In the course of his report to the Lower Hutt Borough Council last night, tho engineer, Mr. A. G. Bush, mentioned that four hawkcrs'.liconces had been issued during the month. In reply to Councillor Ginger, the DeputyMayor, Councillor J. Mitchell, said that all persons who sold goods from door to door had to be licensed. Councillor Ginger said he doubted whether tlie.y nil wore. .Councillor Mitchell suggested thai: residents should ask for licences to be produced, anil the engineer stated that; if advised by telephone- that unlicensed persons were hawking he would have immediate investigations macte.

Building at Lower Hutt. During Vhe month of September li> permits lo build were issued by the Lower Hutt Borough Council. The ' value of the buildings was £.6117, of which two wooden dwellings accounted ■ for £4717. During September, 1930, i 43 permits were issued, for buildings . valued at. £28,207. . "A Good Wellingtonian." A witness iv the Arbitration Court yesterday afternoon, when asked to state what ho did last Saturday after--1 noon, said that he went out to enjoy r the sunshine. Mr. W. J. Mountjoy, ap- . pearing for the employers, immediately . questioned whether there was any sunshine- on Saturday, to which the wit- : ness retorted that it was quite a good day, at Lower Hutt, at any rate. "1 am afraid your conception of what is a good day is rather a poor one," com- ' mented Mr. Mountjoy, smiling. "He is : a good Wellingtonian," remarked Mr. ■ Justice Frazer. ' A Call on Gardeners. 1 Members ahtf friends of the New • Zealand Kock Garden and Alpine i Society, to the number of over 100, . paid visits on Saturday afternoon to the gardens of Mrs. J. Adams and ' Messrs. A. C. Gilford, E. G. F. Zohrab, i and C. Clabbura at Silverstream, and ' spent a pleasant afternoon amid gar--1 dens sot in typical New Zealand scenery. Tho party was entertained at ■ afternoon tea at Mr. Gifford's resi- '< denec. This is the second of a series i of visits planned by- the society. Canteen to Close. ■ The canteen conducted under tho ausi pices of the Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association, at which unemploy- [ ed ex-servicemen have been provided with a midday meal for the past three months, is to be closed at the end of ' this week (states the "New Zealand Herald"). Announcing on Saturday [ the cessation ot operations, Sir George Eichardson, president of the association, said the need of the canteen had ' been created by the inability of the i Labour Department to provide work for a large number of able-bodied men under No. 5 scheme.. The association had : now been assured that the great ma- ; jority of single men who were, physici ally able to work would be provided with employment within the next few days. Provision, for the physically mint who were not in receipt of pensions -would still remain a difficult problem, and as the funds of the association were limited, its efforts would have to be concentrated on these 1 Gold at Coromandel. i A well-known Coromandel miner, Mr. James Alexander M'Neil, who with his five sons has been prospecting in virgin ' country on the Kennedy Bay side of the i Tokatea Range for the past six months, : reports that he has found a new reef , wiving excellent prospects (states the ' Auckland "Star"). Mr. M'Neil has traced the reef for over 300 feet, and ■ has secured a claim of 40 acres covering the area. To test the value of the reef he has taken out three tons of ore from various faces. This was car- ' ried first on the prospectors' backs, then by pack horses, and finally by j trucks to the Thames, where it has been treated at the School of Mines. It yielded 12oz 13dwt of melted gold, valued at £3 per ounce. Assays by the Thames School of Mines, taken from the three-ton parcel, show an average value of £12 14s 8d per ton. This is certified by the director of the school, Mr. H. Crawford. In an interview, Mr. M'Neil said that there was unlimited ore in the place where he took 1 his parcel, tho only drawback being 1 transport. He visited Thames last week ! and made arrangements for a small bat- , tery to be taken to his claim. Ho does not purpose to put the mine on the ■ market, the interests being confined to ■ his own family. . At a meeting of the . Coromandel Chamber of Commerce last Monday reference was made to Mr. [ M'Ncil's good property, and it was de--1 eided to request the Minister of Mines :to extend assistance to Coromandel prospectors, as it was highly probable that other discoveries of gold would be made. Kiwi to Remain Captive. The male kiwi which was recently found at Newmarket will remain permanently at the Auckland Zoo, where it is at present, as it is believed to be one which strayed from the zoo about four months ago (states the "Now Zealand Herald"). It had been sug-. gested by a member of the council of , the Auckland Acclimatisation Society that the permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. A. Hamilton, should be sought to have the kiwi released on Little Barrier Island, a bird sanctuary, but this will not be done. Sinco the bird was handed to the zoo authorities by the Newmarket police, to whom it had been entrusted a week ago by Mr. W. H. Tongue, of Remuera road, it has. been carefully nursed, as it was slightly injured by the teeth of i the dog which caught it. It shortly . will be placed in the special enclosure amid practically natural surroundings, '■ whore it will be on view to visitors ito the Zoological Park. The sizo and • sex of tho kiwi have convinced Mr. L. [ T. Griffin, curator of the zoo, that it is . the one which escaped from its enclo- . sure at the park through a rabbit burrow. It was seen in the grounds by the watchman the following evening, but his attempts to catch it were fruitless. Mr.. Griffin said it would be quite feasible for the bird to have ' made its way in easy stages from Grey 1 Lynn to the vicinity of Newmarket ' without being noticed, as the kiwi is '. nocturnal in its habits.