NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 11, 14 January 1932, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Road and Railway Competition. The local bodies in the Central Otago district have received a circular letter from, the Railways Board drawing attention to the annually increasing loss on the' Central Otago line. The letter states that if the drift of traffic from rail to road continues, tho future of the service on the present basis must be seriously' considered. Official records show'that the loss on the line/including interest, for the year 1929, wag £74,662, and for the year 1931 the loss was £90,802. Reciprocal Advertising. Retailers who have lately imported goods direct from England have been interested in labels attached to, the cases bearing tho slogans: "Made in Great Britain, for New Zealand. New Zealand sent us this order. Buy .New Zealand produce." The labels, which are attractively printed in, colours, are of distinctive design. They are-issued by the Empire Marketing Board, and bear the board's badge, between a "Union Jack and the New Zealand flag. ' Memorial to Sir Maui Pomare. The memorial to be erected at Waitara to the memory of the late Sir Maui Poniard will take the form of four columns rising from the tomb containing the casketi; These, columns, take on the appearance,of Maori war" canoes, cleverly combining a suggestion of European and Maori culture. The memorial has been designed by Mr. Llewellyn E. Williams, A.R.1.8.A., \<A "Wellington. The Government, in conjunction with the Maori Trust Board, have the matter in hand. It is possible that the memorial as originally designed will have ,to be somewhat lessened in size owing to the cost, but it is teonsidered thgt this can be done without detracting from its dignity and grace. ■ A "Ridiculous Law." ■ ' An interesting legal position arises in respect to the collection of special rates on properties over -which the-; State Advances Department holds mortgages (states the Wanganui "Chronicle"). Mr. W. Morrison (chairman of the Waitotara County) at tho meeting this week, said that, a test case was likely to determine the matter. It appears that if special rates' on these properties are not paid,they become a charge on the council, yet there is no machinery under which the council can legally pay them. On the other .hand,'.'tho State Advances Dopartment, acting within ; its rights as mortgagee, could claim some of the council's property—its lorries, rollers, etc. When this information was given to the Waitbtara County, Councillors R. Farley- and F.:H. Allen suggested that the department should'be allowed to take tho lorries if they wanted to. "Let them do it,", said Councillor Allen. "Wo would have them back in a week. A law like that is ridiculous." Paper to Oeaso Publication. After fifty-five years' existence, the "Temuka Leader," the tri-weekly newspaper, will cease publication at the end of February, says the "Temuka Post." The decision to close down the paper was made known last Saturday, when members of tho staff were verbally notified that their employment would be terminated at tho end of next month. Economic conditions, combined with competition from papers in other centres, have combined to clinch the decision to close down the paper. The paper was established as the "Temuka Leader and Geraldino Guardian" by Mr. Joseph Ivess in 1877, and was subsequently' sold .'to' Mr. Alexander Wilson, who in turn disposed of his interests to Colonel Hayhurst Ll 1913. "On the lattor's, death the paper passed to his widow, who, though having no interests in journalism, carried it on until now because it represented a local industry.

Hundreds of Sparrows. Large flocks of sparrows have been making their appearance at Muritai recently. This morning hundreds of the birds awoke residents with fluttering and chirping in the trees. Their advent has also been the herald of the passing, of houseflics and other insect pests. Telegraph poles and wires have been black with birds at times, and boys with air-guns have been reaping a large toll. It is stated that this is the first time for many years that so many birds have appeared in the district during the summer months. Dismissal of Teachers. - Appeals in some number have been lodged by married women teachers to whom the Auckland Education Board gave three months' notice of dismissal early in December under the authority of the Finance Act (No. 4) of last session (states the "New Zealand Herald"). Originally 52 teachers were affected, but Borne of them have voluntarily resigned. The appeals will be forwarded to Wellington, after which, it is expected, steps will be taken to constitute a Teachers' Appeal Court to deal with them. The Court will consist of a Magistrate as chairman and two assessors, one representing tho teachers, and the other the Education Board. Appellants may be represented by advocates, but solicitors are not ■ eligible to appear in that capacity. It is probable that the Court" will open its sittings next month. Whether there are appeals ponding in, the southern education districts is not known in Auckland, but it is believed that most of the other boards are waiting to see how the Court deals with pleas of "undue hardship" in the Auckland cases before taking advantage of the new powers of dismissal. Wekas on McQuarrie Islands. It niay not be' generally known to .those who have visited the far-south McQuarries (says the "Southland Times") that the wekas (woodhens), so plentiful in later years, were introduced to the island in 1872. In that year a party, including Mr. John Wesley, still a well-known identity of Bluff and Stewart Island, went south for the purpose of obtaining sea elephant oil. Staying for a while at Ruggedy, Stewart Island,, the party captured a dozen wekas and took them along with them on their expedition. .During the voyage the birds were made pets by those on board, and when they were later liberated on the island the friendship thus formed persisted—-not always to the advantage of the oil-seekers. The wekas continually invaded the, camp, carrying away movable objects and making themselves a nuisance to those who had brought: them, but escaping punishment because the party in the course of their acquaintance had come to regard thejnquisitive creatures with affection and looked on their misdeeds with kindly tolerance. The pioneer birds apparently found the cold region to their liking,'for the race multiplied rapidly and in a few years their kind was very plentiful there. Afterwards a boat's crew from the mainland released some cats on the island, and'it would be interesting to know how the wekas fared in the struggle for supremacy between bird and: beast. In one direction the latter were unfortunately successful. They killed out a species of parrakeet which at the time of Mr. Wesley's visit rivalled any other bird family on the.island in numbers. Some of these parrakeets were brought by Mr. Wesley's party to the mainland, and these quickly acquired the art of whistling and talking. Dockyard Museum. Tho latest additions to the museum of old figureheads at the Naval Dockyard, Calliope Dock, are the figures that formerly graced the bows of the wrecked barque India and the ship William Mansoh (states the "Auckland Star"). That of tho India is a most realistic likeness of ■an Indian_ potentate, turbaned, and with all the signs of being rich beyond the dreams of avarice. The dockyard artist has revelled in the, chance of a bit of colour with a splash of gold hore and there, and the maharajah is probably more resplendent in wood', than he was in real life. Gandhi, of the single loin cloth, would have thought him horribly, overdressed, but gazing, disdainfully on the tide he makes a fine figure and will probably be the most popular person in tho museum, which, it may be mentioned, attracts largo numbers of visitors, and has quite a Dominion reputation. Mr. Mansdn, if the carver has not libelled him, was probably like the Village Blacksmith) who owed not any man; certainly no man was ever allowed to owe much to a man with the Manson expression. .Manson must have been a man who drove hard "bargains six days in tho week and did a bit of local preaching on the seventh. The artist has done his best with an early Victorian frockcoat and ■■ its concomitants, but Manson can hardly be called a rollicking figure; however, he makes a good ..foil for Gandhi's compatriot. Where possible .the naval people keep a record of the craft that were once adorned by the figureheads, and if anyone happens to have information about the barque India, Commander E. Lyon Berthon, of H.M.S. Philomel, would be glad to have it. The'Vtwo latest figures lack engraved brass plates, which cost 30s ebch, and if any friend of the Navy, or admirer of the bravei old days of sail, would care to present them the gift would be appreciated.