NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 80, 2 October 1933, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Not Dead but Sleeping. Tho fact that there were in his garden at Lagincourt, near Arras, the graves of fif ty-seveu Australian and New Zoaland soldiers was mentioned by Dr. B. Chevalier, of the French Forestry Department, who arrived on Saturday from Sydney to tour the* Dominion. "That is ono of the reasons why I wanted to see New Zealand," he remarked,, adding, with tho picturesque phraseology which comes so easily to tic;; French, "they' had come a longway' to sleep in my garden, and I wanted to sco their home." First Strawberries. ;Auckland reports arrival in the market of the first strawberries of the season on Friday.' Only a few chips were offered, and these sold under fajrly brisk competition at up to 3s a chip. The berries, which came from the Birkdale district,} were in good condition;, ' although "not large. > Strawberries usually appear on the Auckland market early .in' October, but general picking selddm: starts before the beginning of next month. , Daylight Saving, f ' : • . At the opening, of the Seatoun" Bowling Club's se&son on Saturday, Mr. "W. Perry, president of the Wellington Bowling Centre^ expressed the hope that Parliament would during the present session pass legislation extending daylight saving to an hour instead of half an hour, or extend the period in which tho Act; pperated. He suggested that Mr. R. Semple, M.P. for the district, who was present, might support such a proposal. Mr. Perry's remarks were heartily applauded by those present, including Mr. Seuiple. New Tourist Launch. A new tourist launch for cruising in the Marlborough Sounds is being built for Captain M. Steele, of Picton, by Messrs. Collings. and Bell, of St.-Mary's Bay. The boat is to replace the Tinopai, which was built for Captain Steele by tho same firm last year, but which was destroyed by fire on ono of her first trips (says the "New Zealand Herald")- The now launch is to be. larger than the Tinopai, 'She will be 50ft long, sft longer than her predecessor, and will have a beam of 12ft and a draught ;of about, 3ft Gin. She will' accommodate 70 persons in comfort for cruising. There will be two cabins, tho main ono :being 16ft long, while there will be another cabin forward for the crew. Altogether, the launch will provide sleeping accommodation for 16 persons in bunks. There will also be a roomy galley and bathroom. The launch, is expected to be completed early in -November and will probably sail to Picton under her own power. "''. ■ •■■'■■,».■' Marrying; Ages. Summarising marriago statistics in Australia for 1932, the Commonwealth Statistical, Department shows that the ages of brides ranged from.l 2 to' §6,years, and those of bridegrooms fromrls ;t0:92 years. The most popular ago for, ■bridegrooms Auras 25 and for brides 21. Consideration of tho relative ages of brides and bridegrooms shows that the moat frequent combination, was a bride of 21 and a bridegroom of 23. Tree-Murder, v :' V : lii opposing: Maori plans for destroying some of the Urewera .forest, a correspondent i writes to the} MNew Zealand Herald-:-': "But the" Government is one of the : greatest offenders. It ia only a. fortnight ago since a tender was called to «ut down all matai, rimu, totara, miro, arid other trees in the' Mangamuka Gorge, that is the gorge on the highway to Kaikohe, an area which is a ttourist and main highway and is beautiful now, but will be a desolate waste with forlorn stumps if we give permission or allow the Government to pursuo" its path of destruction." - .■!■""■' . . ,'!The Pig Man.?' An excellent story against himself was told by the Governor-General at the annual dinner of tho Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, states the " Christchurcli Times'." The chairman (Air. A.F. Wright) had suggested that' Lord Bledisloo might become chairman of a special committeo to, develop the export of pig products. In tlie course of his.remarks subsequently his Excellency said that • there was one thing ho wanted to say, and the genial countenance of Professor R. E. Alexander stimulated him. "I'm asked to be chairman of a pig committee," he added amidst laughter. '' That reminds me,"-said jjis. Excellency, "of an incident that happene/l a few years ago. I was ..invited to meet an old lady who had developed an enthusiasm for commercial farming. As I entered the room the lady came up to me and said, 'So you are the pig man.' (Laughter.) I said, 'No, I'm the prospective Gov-ernor-General of New Zealand.'" (Uproarious laughter.) "It was quite apparent," continued his, Excellency, when the laughter had subsided, "from the chairman's speech tonight that the combined''role would not be considered entirely inappropriate." (Kcncwcd laughter.)