NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 95, 23 April 1934, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

No "Post".on Wednesday. The "Evening Post" will not be published on Wednesday, Auzac Day. Begonia House Closed. People still arrive at tho Botanical Gardons, ofteu from other centres, and ask to see tho begonias, but tho house has been closed since April 10. The blooms.were much admired this season, as in other years, nnd it is estimated that during the three and a half months the house is open every year ,it is visifcd by about twenty-five thousand people. Thje house is used for propagating purposes during the winter. , / ■ ■ ■ Australian Railway Deficits. Since 1929 no railway system in Australia lias reported a surplus except Queensland, which reported a railway surplus of £.57,000 in 1933. That surplus followed the writing-down of capital"by £28,000,000. The deficits were:—New South Wales:.. 1932, £4,564,605; 1933, £3,360,482. Victoria, £970,351 and £695,796; South Australia, £910,636 and £688,072; Western Australia, £.190,069 and £175,681; Tasmania, £269,546 and £256,140; Commonwealth, • £684,159 and £447,611. In 1932 Queensland had n deficit of £26,736. . ■'.■■'. Warships in Port. . The two- light cruisers attached to tho New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, H.M.S. Duncdin and 11.M.5. Diomcde, arrived at Wellington this morning after a rough trip from Picton. They were berthed at the Clyde Quay Wharf. This is the last visit the warships will pay to Wellington for about six months, for after they return 1o Auckland they arc to make cruises to tho Islands. Tho ships will leave on Thursday for Auckland, whore they will bo overhauled. They will sail in Juno on a tour of South Pacific ports, and will not return to New Zealand until August. ■ * I Hawke's Bay Wants Tourists. It is tho intention of the Napier Chamber of Commerce to take further stops to induce tourists coining to the Dominion to include a visit to the East Coast in their itinerary, the main attractions being Lake Waikarcmoana, Morere, and the Urewcra. The publicity committee of the chamber is to prepare a comprehensive report on the subject for submission to the chamber's next meeting. A letter from Messrs. Thomas Cook and Sons read at ;C meeting of the chamber stated that that . firm was able to do very little towards the object desired 'by the Napier Chamber, owing to the absence of illustrated printed matter, and suggested that if attractive a^id well-illustrated literature was produced direct and almost immediate results would follow. Tho Gisborne and Hastings Chambers of Commerce have expresed their.accord with the Napier Chamber. Unclaimed Money. People who can't find money are frequently met with, but money that cannot find the people- to whom it belongs is rather rare. But .there is more than a thousand pounds of it in the coffers of the Sydney electricity department. Recently the general manager of the department (Mr. H. Mackay) reported to a meeting of the electricity committee of the Sydney City Council that tho department holds £1356, representing unclaimed balances of consumers' security deposits. Although the accounts concerned have-' been closed for at least seven years, applications for tho refund of these deposits have not been mndc. Every effort had been made to 1 race tho depositors, but without result. He suggested that the amount should be transferred to revenue. A list of the deposits would be kept, and no person would be precluded from obtaining a refund. The committee recommended that (lie council should adopt tho suggestion, i i

An Unusual Accident. An unusual type of accident occurred at Kclburn Park last; week, when a boy aged about four yours got his foot stuck i" a goalpost socket measuring 3in by 3in. The boy's leg sank down almost to the thigh, and could not; bo extracted, so the caretaker of the park' pulled the socket out of the ground and broke it open. The boy was not hurt. Sir lan Hamilton's Tribute. TTte secretary of the- New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association 'has received a beautiful wreath of evergreens and artificial- Flanders- poppies from General Sir lan Hamilton which will be placed on the War Memorial on Anzac Day. The wreath was .sent out from England in cold storage. It bears a -card with the following inscription in Sir lan Hamilton's writing: "In affectionate remembrance of my gallant New Zealand comrades who fell at the Dardanelles.—lan Hamilton." Tree Kicks for the Donkeys. A departure from the usual staid -method of opposing football teams taking the field in straggling lines was seen at Eastbourne on Saturday prior to the Ponekc-Eastbourno game. ; The respective captains of the teams, J. L. Griffiths and J. Fleming, came out to continence play mounted on the backs of two donkeys. Whether or not the donkeys • were biased against Bugby football was not clear, but it is certain that they wished to take advantage of as many free kicks as they could get in, for their objections to being ridden provided no little'amusement for the crowd. New Ship Launched. Advice has been received that the Union Steam Ship. Company's new cargo steamer,' which has been named the Waitaki,was launched at the yards of Messrs. Alexander- Stephen and Sons, Ltd., Linthousc, last month. The vessel is a 'tween-dcek freighter of approximately- 2260 tons gross and has. been designed, for the service from Melbourne to Bluff, Dunedin, Lyttclton, and Wellington to replace the company's Wainui, now in the trade. The Waitaki is. similar'in design to the Wainui, but will be faster. Her port of registry will be Dunedin, and sho is expected to arrive in New Zealand on her maiden trip some time next June. Whey Butter Sales. "The sale of whey butter over the counter in England is prohibited by Act of Parliament, yet in our own town wo see it displayed in the shops and retailed as best, factory butter," declared Mr. L. H. Clapham at the quarterly meeting of the Hawcra Chamber of Commerce last week (reports the "Hawcra Star"). "I am sure customers do not know what they are buying," he said, "or they would not be gulled so easily."' If it was not good enough for England it was not good enough for Now Zealand. The shopkeepers,, were allowed to sell it as long as the word "creamery" was not on the wrapper. Mr. E. Dixon remarked that the public at least should know what they -were buying. Thematter was referred to the information committee of the chamber for a report at the next meeting. Longevity of Family. - . It is doubtful if any family lias a bcttfir record for longevity than that of the late ■ Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Hooker, the ages of whose 11 living children total 815 years, states a New Plymouth correspondent. Their average ago at the present time is over 74 years. Mr. Nathaniel Hooker arrived at New Plymouth with his parents in the ship Timandra in February, 1842. Ho was married to Miss Elizabeth Lye,' who arrived here with her parents in the ship William Bryan on March 31, 1841. Both parents of. this family may therefore be termed pioneers in the truest sense of that word. They had a family of 12 children, of whom 11 are still living. . Their ages range from 64 years, which is the ago of the youngest member of the family, Mrs. T. Stewart, to 82 years, the ago of the eldest member, Mrs. B. Putt. There are seven sons and four daughters surviving. Virginian Deer lest. Virginian deer are gradually ■working, closer to the Half moon Bay settlement, Stewart Island, and are. frequently seen near thp. .]ioiVs£;j;---jl:atcs .» correspondent. .The"'red dUr kecpVnvay from houses, but the Virginian dcci' arcmore daring. Becently two vegetable gardens were completely eaten ciut. Both had very high protective foncfes, but the deer had overcome- this difficulty in some way and ,with their sharp hoofs had entirely ''dug up and had eaten many rows of : potatoes and carrots. So thoroughly had they sifted it that the ground looked as if it had been freshly dug, and not a potato.or carrot could bo found where there had been a good crop. Rhubarb., and even onion tops had been eaten. With the rapid increase, owing to Virginian hinds usually bearing twins, it is considered that the problem of keeping them in cheek'promises'to become very serious, cspecialiy as there is no Government bonus for tails. Are Parents Uninterested? "The Newtown School Committee regrets the apparent lack of interest displayed by parents with regard to school matters,", states tho annual report of tho school. "This is a matter not confined to. the Newtown district. It is "reflde'tpd year by year in the sparse attendance throughout tho whole Dominion. In Newtown the scholars represent approximately COO householders. There a,ro also many others in tho district who should retain an interest, those whoso children have passed tho school age, and past scholars who have reached maturity. AVith the assistance of ■ the householders committees -would bo able to raise a far greater voice. Tho welfare of the pupils is not a duty devolving on school staffs and committees only. Some might possibly assume that a meagro attendance of householders, and little or no opposition at the election, betoken a general satisfaction with the work of tho committee. In our opinion it denotes apathy, and apathy never yet brought success. An intelligent interest, helpful criticism, and a desire- to serve on committees, would bring greater results. Wo would welcome a greater manifestation of interest by parents." Kents in New Zealand Centres. A statement,made by a correspondent in a Hawke's Bay newspaper that rents in Napier are higher than in any New Zealand town with the exception of Wellington has moved the Napier Chamber of Commerce to wrathful protest. Such a statement, they consider, may have a bad effect upon business in Napier. The matter was referred to at "the last meeting of the chamber, when a letter was read from the Government Statistician, written in reply to an inquiry from a business man, and the Statistician's figures brought healing to 'the injured feelings of the chamber. "Tho .statement (as to Napier's high rents)--could not have been compiled from statistics provided by this Department. Napier is fifth on the list of the larger towns of the Dominion, and there is very little difference between the index numbers for Napier, Palmcrston North, Masterton, and Nelson —towns of similar size- to Napier,'.' he stated. The/ letter added that the order of rent rates was headed by Wellington, followed by Botorna, New. Plymouth, Dunedin, and Napier. The decrease in the index number for Napier between August, 1031, and February, 1034, had been 16 per ee-nt.