NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 146, 18 December 1933, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Fish from Chatham**. The final shipments of fish from the Chatham Islands before Christmas arrived at Wellington at the weekend by the steamer Tees and the trawler South Sea. Each ship brought about 1400 cases of blue cod, which was on sale today. The South Sea will be overhauled at Wellington during the Christmas period,- and will resume her trawling about January 5. Tho Tees was to sail today for Lyttelton to complete unloading; her cargo from the Chatham Islands, and will then lay up until the New Year. "First^Class" Travel. '_ . > Some of those.who travelled from Oriental Bay to the city this morning found a pleasant. surprise in store for them in the shape of the new one-man tramcar, which was placed in commission for the first time on that run. The appointments of the car, together with its smooth and almost silent running, were responsible for much favourable comment, and prompted one passenger with a sense of humour to ask for a "first class" ticket. Though nominally the car, which bears the name "Fiducia" (meaning "confidence"), is a one-man vehicle, it is carrying a conductor in addition to the motorman, and, .on some of the runs this morning, an inspector was also on board. It is intended to run the car regularly on the Oriental Bay route. A Chairman's "Embrace." In a happy mood, the audience at the Rongotai Collego end-of-the-year function gave a different meaning .to a word used by Mr. G. Mitchell, chairman of the boay d of governors, than that which he intended to convey, and the result was considerable amusement in which Mr. Mitchell good-naturedly joined. He was speaking in eulogistic terms of the fine service given to the school by the Parents' Association. Sitting alongside him was the principal of the college, who was heard in a stage whisper to mention the Ladies' Auxiliary. Mr. Mitchell took up the cue smartly. "And the Ladies' Auxiliary, too," he said—"l embrace you all." The audience laughed heartily, aud when tho laughter had subsided Mr. Mitchell neatly added: "Well, I would like to." Railway Christmas Party. On Saturday afternoon about 800 children were . entertained by the officers and staff of the railway workshops at Eastern Hutt at a Christmas party, and a splendid time was had by all. During the past year a fund was built up for the' Christmas party, and on Saturday everything was free to the children, from ice-creams and soft drinks to grand tours of the shops on tractor trolleys, donkey rides, and the Christmas tree itself. The trolley tours of tho workshops . were tremendously successful. Guard rails were built round the shop trolleys, twenty or so youngsters lined up at a Christmas railway station packed on, and the tractors and shop mules took two trolleys in tow. For twenty minutes the trolleys rattled and bumped and the youngsters shouted the rattling down. Not so many adults took the trip. Among the visitors were Mr. G. H. Mackley, General Manager, Mr. E. T. Spidy, Superintendent of AVorkshops, and other members of head office staff. In expressing pleasure at seeing so many adults as well as children present, Mr. Mackley said that the past twelve months had seen a marked improvement in the business of the Department and there were sound hopes for! a continued improvement,

Dates for Christmas. The Wanganella, which arrived at AVellington this morning from Sydney, brought about 1000 tons of cargo, half of which comprised a shipment of dates for the local market. There has been a shortage of dates during the past week or so on account of the heavy demand for them which always arises at Christmas time. The AVanganella had 16,000 cases of dates on board, and no time was lost in unloading them. Public Works and Amalgamation. A statement that he could not support amalgamation of electric power boards if it meant that control would be exercised by a borough or county council was made in a letter received by the Hawke's Bay Electric Power Board from the chief electrical engineer to tho Public AVorks Department, Mr. 17 Kissell, states tho "Daily Telegraph." In the course of his letter, Mr. Kissell remarked that borough and county councils had other interests and had the power to divert profits that might be made in the electricity business into other municipal or county activities. This might be all right if the whole business were a local one, but in this case a very large part of the capital which made tho complete business possible had been provided by the State. It had been provided for the specific purpose of making electricity available to the greatest possible number and at the lowest price. Power boards were appointed for this particular purpose and had no other avenue into which to divert funds; thus under the Power Board system no portion of the capital which the State provided to assist in distributing electricity • could bo used for other purposes. Age for Rhodes Scholarships. The thought that Rhodes scholars might be somewhat handicapped by entering the university at Home as graduates was submitted by Archbishop Averill in the course of an address at King's College prize-giving ceremony, states an Auckland telegram. Emphasising the fact that he was expressing only his own opinion ou the matter, Archbishop Averill said ho believed scholarships ought to be awarded to students when they were about 19 or 20 years of age, and. before they had taken degrees in the Dominion. He bad a feeling that being graduates when they entered the university under a scholarship might prove a handicap. It did, not seem to him that anyone going from the Dominion as a graduate had the same chance of entering into university life at Home with the same intimacy as an undergraduate had. "Our scholars," he concluded, "would probably get greater benefits from scholarships if they were sent out at a younger ago." i Continuity Needed. In the piece of country between Mount Kosciusko and that part of the Australian Alps where the River Mitta Mitta rises, enough could happen in the way of erosion to affect 2000 miles of the Murray River valley from source to mouth. This statement by Mr. Brunsdon Fletcher was emphasised by the Commonwealth Governor-Gene-ral (Sir Isaac Isaacs) at a forestry function on December 6. The InspectorGeneral of Forests, Mr. C. E. Lane Poole, said that in tho forest policies of the Australian States there was yet no certainty of continuity. The whirligig of politics, and the obvious impossibility of the forester being able to grow a tree from seed to sawdust between two elections, made for insecurity in forest management. It was "essential that the students '. should study the forest policies of the world and-'learn that by following those it might be practical under a young democracy to establish a continuity of policy. ■■■ ■ . ...