NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 141, 16 June 1932, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

R.S.A. - Membership.

Apathy on tho part of tho majority of returned- soldiora in Wellington so far as the activities of tho "Wellington Returned' Soldiers Association aro con-1 cerned was mentioned with regret by I Colonel H. E. Avery, president of the association, tit tho annual meeting last evening. "I feel,a little bit/ashamed," ho said; after referring to tie membership of- 887. "There aro senior of-1 fleers who.went away with ttie N.Z.E.P. and who owe their success to the sup-' port thoy'received from the rank and' file. It is very much" to their dis-, credit • that -.they have not joined up. I At least they could givo us thoir moral support." Colonel Avery said that the membership in Gisbome totalled 1037, whilo •• in Christchureh it was nearly three times as much as in Wellington. M^- W* Perry, vice-president of tho A.Z.K.S.A., asked what had become' of tho promises made overseas by those who wero now so apathetic. He hopod that tho remarks made would roach their earß.' , The Zealandia's Sailing. .The Wellington Chambor of Commerce recently requested tho Wellington office of Huddart, Parker Co. to arrange tor the Zcalandia to nail at 3 p.m. from Wellington for Sydney, instead of at noon, as at present. The request was referred to tho head office of the company at Melbourne-, and the local office has received advice that tho proposed change in the" timo of sailing will bo ™t into oporation. The Zealandia will Bth July fr°m Wcllineton at 3 P-™. on Bell from Mercantile Marine. "T + - ll^°^°V £ the lines hy Kipling, It blood bo tho price of Admiralty m ßr<* G°d, we ha' paid in full," by * S'P" Mor?etll at «»e annual meeting of the British Sailors' Society last evening led the chairman, Mr H D Bennett, to observe that the linos were those inscribed on the bell presented by tho Mercantile Marino to the National War Memorial Carillon. There was not only .a wondorful message in the inscription on the bell, but its enben SCiTs Ceif. was; in the aonation of «>c Appreciation of Specials. The delegates* attoudiug tho last meeting of the Civic Leaguo placed on record special appreciation'of tho-ser-ies given by tho special constables who functioned during tho period of disturbance and strain in tho city last month, and their vote of thanks has been conveyed in a letter from the secretary to Mr. J. M. Power, the officer in charge of the special constables «« ? 8.. rec°gnise<V' states tho letter, that the men who so willingly proffered their services to tho authorities charged with tho preservation of law and order, did. so,despite tho risk of personal mjuif, and cheerfully accoptod and carried out onerous and inconvenient duties, until thoy woro rcloased from further1 patrol work." The Ambulance Service. The roport. of tho Superintendent. Mr. F. Roffe, presented at to-day's mooting of the Troo Ambulance Board showed, that for the month ending 31st May the service had attended to 579 cases—B9 accidents, 469 "transports-," 20 slight cases, and one serious office case. The cars had travelled 4929 miles during the month. Tho total number of cases attended now numbered 31,033, and ,308,454 miles had been travelled' by. tho ears. Tho "honorary staff had given 224 hours of duty during tho month. '

Tribute to Sir John Lute. ' "Although ,he was not a roturned soldier, ho was probably the best friend tho 'Digger' in Wellington had," said Colonel H. E. Avery, president of tho Wellington R.S.A., at the annual meeting last< evening, in reference to the late Sir-John Luke, who was a member of the Soldiers' Rehabilitation Commission. ' ■"■ ;! ■•■ ■■.■.'-'" ■'■.' ■" ;.'■■ ' ': Statue of Captain1 Cook. A start on the placing in position of the foundations lor the ; statue of: Captain Cook in Victoria .Square, Christchurch, at the corner of Victoria street and Colombo Street, is expected to bo made in a week or so (states "The Press"). The stones of. this base, ■ which will be 10ft high, and will contain about ttiirty-flye tons of stone, are at present being prepared.. The statue itself, which will have a total height of about 22ft when in position, is nearing completion at the hands of the sculptor, Mr. W. T. Trethewey. - Otaki Health Camp. Support for the Otaki health camp was urged by Colonel H. E. Avery, president of the "Wellington 8.5.A., at the annual meeting last evening. lie suggested that tho incoming executive could send twenty-five or thirty children of returned soldiers to the camp for a period. The benefit to the health of; the youngsters would be woll worth the expense. Later it was stated that one of the members had offered to send a child to the camp. West Coast Sawmills. Few sawmills' on the West Coast are working . .(reports tne ~ Greyniouth "Star"). It is stated that only some eleven, out of a total of seventy, have been able to avoid temporarily closing down; With the exception of one mill, all are working single-handed. Thero is to. feeling that the result,of the New. South Wales elections/will have a beneficial effect on the white pine timber trade in New Zealand, but it is as yet too early authoritatively to state this. ' No Party Politics; "To us all Governments are there to bo shot at,"-said Mr. W. Perry, vicepresident of the New Zealand 8.5.A., at the annual meeting of the Wellington Association last evening, after mentioning that there was no party politics' in the.'mdvement. During the years overseas, he added,,it "used,to be said that they were carrying, on"a. war of attrition. .To-day'that.war'was still boing carried on. Deputation Not Desired. Advice that he did not'wish to receive ,a deputation from tho Wellington Football Association regarding the introduction of tho Soccer code into the school was containod in a letter received from Mr. F. Martyn Benner, principal of Bongotai College, at last night's meeting of tho association. Tho letter was in reply to a request made by the secretary. "Your insistence upon the request that I should receive, a deputation comes as a surprise to me in view of tho opinions so frankly expressed at your association's last meeting," stated the letter. "No deputation could possibly add very much more to your association's case either by way of information or of criticism publicly given by individual members of your executive committee.' The decision, which my staff and I have como to is that the recognised school game for winter shall bo Bugby football. I must therefore respectfully decline to receive a, deputation from your association." The chairman (Mr. W. B. Hicks) said that as Mr. Benner was definite^ on the mattef it was no use tho association approaching him because any argument put up wbuldmake no difference. The letter was received. Maoris Growing Wheat. ' • The success of- a Native farmer of' Hangatiki has led to a revival of intorcsfc in wheat growing in. tho King Country. In tho '70's'and '80's of tho last oentury the whole valley of the Waipa was under cultivation, from Otewa, where in earlier days To Kooti grew wheat, and where to-day natives aro proposing to grow wheat again, dowii to Te Kopua, near Pirongia, and all around Otorohanga. In the old days the wheat was taken by canoes down the Waipa Biver to .Whatawhata to be milled, and the> flour was' poled back by t canoe, the poles • sometimes sticking in the mud. The natives employed to gather the wheat worked for their food, and did not ask for anything else. Lack of communal interest led to the gradual abandonment of wheat growing,,and then dairying came in. Tho native community are- being canvassed to grow; wheat again (reports an exchange), and there is some prospect of several hundred acres being devoted to wheat. Election of Education Boards. Is tho Education.Act out-of-dato regarding the method of electing members of boards? The Ac.t lays-down specifically tho routino to be followed by returning officers, and no matter how they hurry they cannot complete the process in less than seven and a half weeks, whilo after that almost another week has to elapse before the newlyappointed members can- take office. It is contended the period is unnecessarily prolonged (says the "Taranaki Daily News"). It is maintained that a period of five days between the election and the date of opening" the, papers would be sufficient. Tho regulation stipulating a wait of fifteen days is apparently a. relic of earlier times.' Then mud roads and tho absence of motorcars, telephones, and speedy mails often wero responsible for a considerable delay between the timo of dispatch of tho voting papers on election day and their receipt by tho returning officer. Now, it is contended, conditions havb improved so much that it is unnecessary to wait such a long period. Small Boat Adventurer. Fred Bebelle, on his way to the Pacific coast in an eighteen-foot boat, arrived At Samoa on Tuesday, 24th May, reports tho Samoa correspondent of the United Press Association.! It took thirty-five days between Suva and Apia, haying called in at one of the' outlying islands of tho Fiji group. His next port of call will bo Fanning Island, and ho will go thenco to Honolulu and Los Angeles. New Light on Seeds. Part .of tho , Agricultural Department's: exhibit at tho National Dairy Show is a demonstration bearing on the use of filtered ultra-violet light for distinguishing between types of ryegrass grown in New Zealand.) 'Tho recent discovery ma do in Germany that tho roots of seedlings of Italian ryograss grown on whito filler paper would bring about a condition in tho paper which, under filtered ultra-violet light, would render it fluoreSilont, whilo seedlings of perennial ryegruss under identical conditions would not, is. a matter of outstanding importance. Tho demonstration at the show leaves.lio doubt in tho minds of farmers of tho value of this discovery. Poppies Preferred. A suggestion that badges should be sold instead of poppies on Poppy Day so that the cost of tho papor flowers could go. towards tho relief of distress received little support at the annual meeting of the Wellington Beturned Soldiers' Association last evening. Tho president, .Colonel H. E. Avery, said that the poppies were made by ex-scr-yieo men, and whatever tho outlay it was all given back to returned soldiers. "It is the sentiment of the poppy that attracts the public," said Mr. B. W. Bothamley,. Voice's; i'Hear, hear/i