NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 65, 17 March 1934, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

What is an Epicentre? When seismologists -. report upon earthquakes they generally refer to the "Epicentre", of the' disturbance; This term, little used otherwise,' is not generally understood, and a correspondent has written to "The Post" asking!.for an explanation. The actual source from which an earthquake arises may be at any depth, up to several miles, below the surface. This is tho socalled "seismic centre." The "epicentre is the portion of the earth's surface vertically above the seismic centre. As was recently pointed out by Div.C. E. Adams, Government Seismologist, the 'epicentre seldom coincides with the area of maximum surf ace disturbance. Though the actual reason for this is not clearly-understood, it is possibly due to the fact that the shock movement is usually not vertical. Buildings at' Pukerua Bay. Requests that certain buildings on the public road at the south end of Marine Parade, Pukerua Bay, and shacks on the road line north of Pukerua Bay be removed were . before the Hutt County Council yesterday afternoon. Councillor E. L. Button said that',there were three buildings concerned at the southern end and eight,cottages at the northern end. In his view, under.all tho circumstances, there was no justification for an order being mailo for tho removal of the buildings at the .present time. ■On his motion, it was decided, to take no action meantime. Unemployed Men. It was reported by Mr. H. Dyer, the county overseer, at yesterday afternoon's meeting of the Hutt County Council that last month the average weekly number of Scheme 5 men employed on the roads and school property within the county was 230. He said that that represented fully seventy or eighty less in comparison with the position in February last year. It was suggested "by one councillor that there was now a little, more work about. Councillor D. R,, Hoggard, 'the chairman, said it was gratifying that the numbers were decreasing! .: ■'~ Itinerant Unemployed. ■. : , . "This has been the worst month for some time with travelling . unemployed," reported the relieving/ officer (Mr. H, Kidson) to a recent meeting of the Nelson Hospital Board. "There has been quite an influx of young men to.the district seeking apple, hop, and tobacco work, and a number from the ■North Island, have found themselves hopelessly stranded," he stated. In good times a fair field'for the. employment of outside labour is offered in the hop gardens, orchards, and tobacco plantations,,but during the past fewyears the seasonal work in .these industries has; not; been great enough to absorb the local labour offering; with the result that those who come from' other places seeking work have invariably been and find themselves stranded. ' ,

A Heavy Fog. ..• . ■-.'■■. A heavy fog blew up from the south this morning and delayed the arrival iivthe harbour of several overseas cargo ships. Shipmasters reported that the conditions were so thick outside the heads that it was useless to attempt the passage into port for some hours. One of the ships so affected was the Beneruachan, which, owing to the delay and; in spite of strenuous efforts made today to get her away by this evening,' may not leave Wellington until next Monday for Lyttelton. Although the. fog had lifted to some extent by noon, it was by no means entirely, dissipated. Accident-in Antarctic. . ~ One of those slightly injured in the wreck of the Fokker monoplane belonging to the Byrd Expedition was Mr. E. H. Young, a New Zealander who joined the expedition at AVellington last December. Mr.: Young has1 had exten-. sive experience of diving and salvage work, having been engaged on such works-as the salving of the German fleet in Scapa Flow, and the , Arapuni Dam. He was one of several men with experience in underwater work- who went south in the Jacob Ruppert. It was intended to utilise the divers' services if any damage resulted to the ship's plates in the icefields. ; ,■ Criticism of New Coinage. " Regret at the omission of the words "Dei Gratia" from the new Dominion coins was expressed by delegates at the conference of the Federation of New Zealand Justices' Associations at Auckland (states' the "New Zealand Herald"). Mr. W>L. Kennedy (Taranaki) said he hoped the omission was not a sign of the trend of modern thought. A remit stating that the omission of the .words "Dei Gratia" was keenly displeasing to the Christian people of the Dominion, and urging that the words be reinstated on the coinage as soon as possible, was adopted. Department Refuses Leave. The Eflucation Department Has refused Mr. D. M... Eae, principal of the Auckland Teachers' Training. College, the necessary leave of "absence which would enable him to accept the Car; negic .Corporation's offer of a travelling scholarship of 2000 dollars, states the "New Zealand Herald."' 'Tho premium would permit him to study education methods in the United States' of America and Great Britain. While the college is closed pending the ; absorption of teachers awaiting appointments, Mr. Eae is acting as an inspector, for the Auckland Education Board. West Coast Koading. Mr, X W. ITurkert, ex-Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, returned to Dune'diii from a visit to the, -west''coast on Thursday, .states the. "Otago' Daily Times." Mr. Furkert has been\engaged by the' Government to investigate and report on the' matter of linking up Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound, and Preservation Inlet with the general road system of Southland, and he and a party of three spent a fortnight on the coast. They, did not'have a very pleasant experience, as it rained practically every day. Mr. Furkert stated that they saw many tracks of moose around their various camps, though they did not get a sight of the~ animals themselves. -. Neither did. they, see ,any wapiti, but the ordinary deer, were very numerous. N ■ . New Hawke's -Bay'lndustry;- V ! v: There should be £ ewer white butterflies in Hawke's Bay as the result of a competition for children organised by the Hawke's/ Bay Agricultural; and; Pastoral Society in connection*' with the autumn;shpw; now being heldj states.ia Hastings'correspondent.'.■■';'ln.' order.to: assist in.some measure towards combating the white butterfly pest, which has caused such damage to crops during the past three years, tho society offered 37s 6d in prize-money to the children producing the largest number of white butterflies. Four entrants came forward with a total of 134,297 "butter- , flies. A remarkable feature of the competition was, the total secured by the winner, Noeline Parker, of Porangahau, who sent jn 117,852. Noeline Parker is certainly doing good work in ridding the province of the pest, for she won the competition last year also with 65,000. Tho next competitor 13,520, and ho was well ahead of the third, 2175. The fourth total was •750. .Governor's Flag for Maoris.A subscription of £.5 was recently made by their Excellencies Lord and Lady Bledisloe- to the Maoris at Whirinaki, North Auckland, for a flag, and. Mr. Harding Leaf, of Kohukohu, has prepared a design which was received ■by an Auckland firm to be followed; in fashioning the flag, states the "New Zealand Herald." 'the New Zealand ensign will bo the flag, and it will measure. 12ft; by 6ft. . It will bear the; following inscription in white letters, "Presented by Lord and Lady Bledisloe to To Eamanoa." The work is expected to be completed next week, and a, special meeting •of residents. of the Hokianga district will be held at Whiririaki for the unfurling. {. {Te Ramanba" signifies a torch of light, or knowledge, for the common good. Bouquet; for Councillor. ■ Seldom does a member of a local body have tho tribute paid him that "was the happy lot of Councillor A. I. Mackay at yesterday afternoon's meeting of the Hutt County Council. A delegation representing the : Raumati Drainage Committee waited on the council with the request that the committee's appreciation be recorded ,of tho excellent service Teridered by Councillor Mackay. - The . spokesman explained that the delegation was in a. hurry, as most of .them had get home and milk their'cows,'^but they first wanted to take the Opportunity of coming in to give Councillor Mackay a "pat on the back," instead of the kick councillors usually .received. The chairman (Mr. D. B. Hoggard) said it was gratifying that ratepayers should come forward and express themselves as the delegation had done. ■•';Their request would bo granted. ' Councillor Mackay thanked the representatives of tho ratepayers and the residents of the riding. Speed Notices in Townships. The county overseer (Mr. H. Dyer) recommended to the Hutt County Council yesterday afternoon that speed notices of 25 miles an hour could be erected with advantage on roads leading to Plimmerton township, Paekakariki, Pnrapaiaumu Beach township, and possibly some parts of the Epuni riding. The matter was left. in. the hands of the overseer, and councillors A. I. Mack.ay and E. L. Button. -'•• Too Many Commissions. "I think we have had enough Boyal Commissions," said Mr. A. G. Lunn, president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting of the council of the chamber on Thursday, when a suggestion was made that the chamber should urgej upon the Government the desirability of setting up a Royal Commission to consider the question of trade- with> the Islands, the throwing open of the trade to private enterprise, and the advisability of immediately disposing of the Government vessel Maui Poniare (states/the "New Zealand Herald"). Mr. Harvey Turner also expressed .the. view that the time was not opportune for a Eoyal Commission. He said he did not approve of Government in business, but it was too late now to take the matter up. The problem of trad© with the Islands and the suggestion that a Eoyal Commission should be set up were deferred for further consideration,