NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 130, 29 November 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Hutt Pipe Bridge.

A traffic tally was recently taken on tlie Hutt Pipe Bridge to fix the proportion to be paid by each, of the-sur-rounding local, bodies to.the maintenance .of the bridge. The percentage for the Lower Hutt Borough works out at 30.45 per ■ cent., which the council agreed last evening to' pay. The Finance Committee Teported ■ that the Commissioner' of Transport had-.fixed the proportion of heavy traffic fees to be allocated, to* Lower Hutt at 8.56 per cent., being an increase, of .51 per cent. / "Magic Words." V;' '■'.■.-". ' "■' ' : "We felt all: along that New Zealanders were really privilegel in England," remarked Mr. C. E. "Wheeler; who returned yesterday with Mrs. 'Wheeler' by the Maunganui from Sydney after an absence of eight months abroad. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler were fortunate in having the best summer England had experienced for six years, and received the most charming 'attention from everyone. Access to buildings was readily given, and the magic words, "New Zealand," even opened up the palace of the Knights of St. John at Malta, where the local Parliament was held. • ■.- ■Bees in. Petrol Pump. .. For about ,; ten-' days' recently bees were noticed coming from, a petrol pump outside a service car station-in Church street, Opotiki, gradually increasing in- numbers (states a corres_pondent). Finally., they:- became bo numerous, that it was impossible to work the pump.. Various, methods were employed" to-remove .the bees, including flooding the base 'of.the pump, but without success.- ■*A'-vacuum.: cleaner was obtained, and v the , bees, were drawn into the ; machine. Pieces of comb' were removed from the base of the pump, Bhowing that the bees had intended to make the pump their'permanent.' home. '.•■-',■•■ ■•-•■.. Education for- Leisure. ; :■ "In the present machine age the use man makes of his leisure is one> of the pivotal-factors in the success or nonsuccess of civilisation," said Mr; Frank Milner, C.M.G., S rector of • Waitaki Boys' High School, in an address to Rotarians at Timaru (states the Christchureh "Press"). ."There is need for: sound international education for leisure. If boys and girls are taught to have aesthetic tastes, useful hobbies, and wholesome- recreation,, civilisation can be saved. Primarily education must be liberal and.humahistic,-and only on this foundation-.should vocationalism be built. A wider endowment of vision and leadership is required." ; Hutt Water Supply. The Works Committee of the Lower Hutt Borough reported to the council last evening that complaints had been received of the lack of pressure in the mains in the outlying portions of the borough. It was the committee's intention to prosecute any persons found contravening the bylaws. It was hoped that relief in this matter could be given from the new reservoir on the eastern hills, but in order to get the full benefit of this assistance it would be necessary to connect the Gin- main from the north- >ond of Bell road with the ' 6in ; ■ main on the southern end .of the Waiwhctu road. These two ends were connected by a 4in main which ran along Waikaro avenue, Leighton avenue, a.nd White's. Line. A road had' been surveyed by the Government connecting 801 l road and Waiwhetu road, and the Lands Department had accorded the council permission to lay a water main in that road, and the committee therefore r.ecommended that the work be carried out immediately, the estimated cost : being ; Sl3O for materials and skilled labour. . It was decided to carry out the recommendation of the committee at once. Change, in Library Methods. ' The work of a librarian and his standing as a useful servant of the public, and member of the community have very greatly altered, for the better, in recent years, said Mr. J. E. F. Perry speaking 1 to members of the libraries staff who farewelled him on the eve of his retirement from the position of Deputy City Librarian. When the library was first opened, said Mr. Perry, it stood alone on an almost bare patch of reclaimed land, and its location did'not make for its popularity. For some reason reclamations seemed' to attract to themselves not particularly, pleasant people, and one of the duties of the libraries staff of those days was to throw out undesirables. "Certainly, one of my; main Jobs was to act as the 'ehucker-out' of so many drunks per day, "said Mr. Perry. The librarian and his assistants in those days,' he said, were too generally regarded as people who sorted' out books and put them on shelves; the importance of their work in the service of the public was never in question because no one thought of it in that, way, To-day, the librarian was rightly recognised as a public officer doing important work, and his staff members as a great deal more than just sorters of books, and in that respect Mr. Perry paid a tribute to the City Librarian, Mr. -J. Norrie, who ho said, had dono a very great deal'for the staff, and, at the same time, for the public. "Library work," said My. Perry, !'\s not only one of the most .pleasant ta^ks one could engage in, but the results of that work, conscientiously done, are more far-reaching than probably even an appreciative public realises, a-nd ittgWelliiitgon, I am happy to say, we has|,an appreciative public."

Mountaineering Season Opened. The first high, climb of the season from tho Franz Josef Glacier was accomplished last week (says .a correspondent) by Mr. Goodfcllowj of the English Alpine Club, with " Guide J. Cox, when the Minarets and the do la Becho, both over 10,000 ft, were climbed. The ascent waa.mado fx-om tho Aimer hut. The weather and tho snow conditions were perfect, and splendid views were obtained. The party had a wonderful ski,run back from. Graham Saddle to the, hut after finishing their climb. On the same day Miss Theomin, of Dunedin, with Guide Peter Graham, also ascended the Mount Drummond and St. Mildred peaks. Privileges of the Poor. Whether Australia is "round the corner" or not, a number of Sydney people are in agony lest the Government forbid tin hare racing at night, writes the "Sydney Morning Herald." "Nobody in this community can be so blind to what, goes on all day long and every day as _ not to know that 'tin hare' racing is no More a poor man's sport than horse-racing, pony-racing, or the lottery.- Each in turn has used that plea. .The 'tin-hare' companies' en-terprise-is'^simply a competitor with thesei others for the poor man's spare' cash, aniltot) of ten more than his spare cash. : There is.no more valid argument for racing dogs after, an. electrically-propelled-bait at night,-than for racing ponies' and horses at night." American Attitude on ( War Debts. The '.American attitude op the question of 'war debts was explained and defended by Mr.. Norton Clapp, a Tacoina (Washington) lawyer, who is returning home by the Maungaimi, which arrived yesterday from Sydney. 'The American Government, he said, was faced with the problem of meeting its war debt to its own people, who had subscribed to hngo bond issues. That was tho chief factor behind, the American attitude. Tho position had been aggravated by. the necessity for immenso expenditure in 'coping with tho country's internal difficulties, such ns unemployment and the relief of banks. There was, however, a feeling among tho people that if there was a reasonableassurance from, the rest of the world that armaments would be reduced there would be a greater chance of war c|;bts being cut down. Fleet of Yachts. * A striking spectacle was witnessed on. Waitemata Harbour on Saturday afternoon when forty-four boats started in a general handicap race held by the Richmond Cruising Club (states* the "New Zealand Herald"). ■ The record entry, of fifty boats wa4 received for the.race,.and of that number forty-four took-part'in the contest. A fresh breeze from the west was blowing, and all tho vessels carried full sail. The race started from off .the clubhouse in Sloane'a Bay, and when the starting gun was fired-the big fleet moved off together. Spinnakers. were smartly set by most of the boats, and as they ran down the harbour they presented a very pretty scene. All classes, except keel yachts, were represented, from the' 26ft H class to the 14ft. T class. The race was full of incident. Shortly after the start the Omatere carried away her mainsail, and when the Rona buoy was reached several boats were involved in a collision. Rakoa ripped her mainsail, and Nomad broke her bowsprit, one of her crew being tossed overboard when the accident happened. He was picked up by a passing launch'and placed on his- boat again. The Esma also blew out her leader, and^the Eanui broke her bobstay earlier. in the '■< day. Other minor' mishaps were recorded. The Tace was won by the limit boat, Suzette, on a handicap of 30 minutes. " -. ' ; Scene Outside a Church. A. wordy demonstration, .which culminated in the summoning of a policeman, occurred outside'the Mount Eden Baptist Church on Sunday ' evening, when the congregation, emerging from the floor after the service, were confronted by about-ten militant members of a sect named; the Company of Jehovah's Witensses, who called upon the" ch.urch people to "admit their errors and accept the truth" .-(states the 'f New Zealand-; Herald'?). Members of. the congregation' were stopped on their way -out by■.;several' men and women,, who, asked them to accept tracts, for which a contribution "of 3 a or 6d was-asked.: '<Wo al . & right! You are wrong!" was the burden of their oration, as they pressed, their theological-, views upon the amazed congregation. • In excitable voices the ten Jehovah' Witnesses forcefully arraigned the preacher,''-tho'"- Eev. E. Stowards, with' whoso^ sermon, "Millenial Dawnism," the first of a series of : addresses, on "The Old-time Beligion and Modern' Substitute's," they heartily disagreed. They' called upon .the congregation to depose their minister,, one of them saying he was "doing no good" and was "living on tho fat of.the land." The argument became so heated that somebody went for a policeman. On his arrival,, the constable pleaded with, the disputants: to take their differences elsewhei-e. He told them they were not legally entitled to invade the church property, and counselled them to leave immediately. After a vain attempt to convert the policeman to their' particular theological interpretation, the disturbers .saw. they.. were making little progress and took their departure, shouting as they went, "Well, we have delivered .our witness!" Several of'the older members/, of the 'congregation were so disturbed as a result of the incident that" they' had to bo supplied with escorts to see them home.