NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 51, 29 August 1934, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Financing New Plant. Tho Peto'no and Lower llutt Cas Lighting Board decided last evening to adopt the principle of raising on overdraft, if necessary, an amount of £16,000 for the cost of now.'plant. •The matter will be referred by the board to the ratepayers, for approval. "A Serious Matter." ''It is a serious, matter* for anybody to drive a motor-car unless it is registered," said Mr. C. Orr Walker, S.M., in the Magistrate's . Court yestorday when imposing a fine on a defendant for permitting, the use of an unlicensed motorTjvchicle. . The Magistrate said that if a vehicle was not registered it followed that there was no third-party insurance, so that if anybody was killed through negligent driving there was no redress except a claim against tho driver. Trams and Parking. A campaign has been launched by the Sydney police to suppress the parking of vehicles at tramway stopping places. As the practice causes serious obstruction to traffic and inconvenience to pedestrians, the police intend to prosecute offenders. It is essential that tho roadway should be kept clear for per' sons alighting from or boardings trains,' particularly, because of the reduced road space available, at places whore safety zones were established. The regulations prohibit motor vehicles-be-ing stopped between a footpath and the near side footboard of a stationary tram. Vehicles must not stand between a safety zone and the kerb on the lefthand side, nor within twenty feot of either end of the safety zone. End of Hopes. Some mouths ago a representative of tho Carnegie Corporation visited Hastings and discussed with the Mayor and others matters in connection with the Hastings Library, which was destroyed by the earthquake, states the "Daily Telegraph." As a result of this visit it was confidently expected that a grant would #c made available for the reconstruction of tho library, but hopes have now been rather blasted by a letter which the Mayor has received from the.corporation as follows: "We are sorry to have to tell you that the trustees of the corporation have steadfastly for the past seventeen years declined to- reopen our library building programme. This applies to the construction of new buildings, the renovation of existing buildings, and the Teplacement of buildings. We regret that we cannot bo of assistance to you in this matter, and hope that you may-■bo able to socure from somd other source the funds which you require." Lawns by Roadside. . Motorists on the Eotorua-Taupo highway recently have noticed a novel development in road maintenance methods, states a Taupo correspondent. On the section between Whakarewarewa and Waiotapu there are numerous fillings where the route crosses gullies and depressions, and, in order to minimise erosion, strips of grass are being sown on both sides of the formation, so that the road runs across such embankments between edgings of "lawn" about 3ft in width. Several of these edgings already show a good sward of grass, while others are in differing stages of progress. Sods have been cut and placed to hold.the soil, while tho grass is becoming established, and where necessary channels have bc|u provided to take the surface water from the water-tables formed by these sod-edgings. Pumice country lends itself to good road surfaces, provided erosion is prevented, and tho present experiment seems to promise good results in this. direction. Economic Alchemy. "I am still of opinion that probably most of our troubles today are due to the action by tho world's large financial groups in attempting to force upon debtors (both national and individual) the consequences of an abnormal and arbitrary increaso in money values, beyond any possibility of an adjustment of debt, and quito beyond human endurance to sustain," said Mr. H, D. Acland, president of tho Now Zealand Sheep Owners' and Parmors' Federation, at the annual meeting yesterday. "Adjustments have, of necessity, had to be made, either directly or indirectly, and the lower interest rates being earned by money today, as compared with those of a few years ago, is some indication of the effect on industry which may be expected to follow the attempts to maintain face values of securities at an, unjustifiably, high level. If face values have not been written down, then interest-earning power has been reduced to the,extent necessary to enable the particular security-to cpntinuo in existence. Many alleged philosophers' stoves have been discovered during recent years by various economic alchemists, the particular stone in each case being claimed as tho only ono capable of restoring economic equilibrium with no appreciable sacrifice to any one section of humanity, but when tried in the crucible of practical application, they appear so Jar to show no marked advance in value on thoso of the middle ages. Tn other words, there is no short cut back to prosperity which will avoid ;i measure of sacrifice." ,

The Church's Battle. Tho Roy. Dr. James Gibb, of Wellington, who is at present visiting Sydney, has been visiting orphanages in New South Wales. In the course of an interview, Dr. Gibb is reported to have said if the churches, newspapers, and other institutions would get; together and lead the way, there would'be a new world. The spirit of peace should bo intensified. "Tho churches here, as everywhere else," he said, "are fighting a hard battle, and the practical disappearance of the Lord's Day does not make the battle any easier. The Sabbath in Sydney seems to havo gone— much more so than in New Zealand." Dr. Gibb was ordained in Melbourne in 1883, and was for some years in a chargo at Footscray before going to Dunedin. The Rev. Malcolm C. -Gibb, of Carnpsie. New South Wales, is a son. , Commerce in Catskins. The plague of cats complained of in some Wellington suburbs has not set on foot any commercial dealings in catskins, but in Melbourno it seems that skin-hunters are busily at work keeping tho numbers of cats within bounds. Unfortunately, they do not prefer the '{'scrags" but rathor seek tho wellkept eat. A Melbourne message dated August 15 states:—"Many thefts of household cats have been reported recently to the police and to the Animal Welfare League, and it is believed that there is an organised campaign to steal the animals for their skins. For this reason, woll-eared-for and fat pets aro tho most likely to be stolen, as their skins are in tho be^t condition. In an endeavour to prevent the traffic, the seerotary of the Animal Welfaro League has asked firms dealing in skins not to accept catskins, but the league has been informed that it, is almost impossible to stop the trade." Mission Centenary. "We aro meeting'in an unaccustomed way, and I propose to be unconventional in what I have to say," said Bishop H.W. Williams, of Waiupu, in addressing a congregation of over 700 people in the Regent Theatre, Te Awamutu, on Sunday evening, in connection with tho missionary centenary celebrations, reports the "New Zealand Herald." He said it was 100 years since tho Gospel was first preached' within a few miles of where tho congregation was gathered. 'Tho practice of observing jubilees and centenaries was quite modern. He was not sure that the celebrating of centenaries was not fraught with gravo dangers. It might be said that it was a grand thing to be able to say that tho Gospel was first preached near Te Awamutu 100 years ago, but there was a danger of people falling very far from carrying out the precepts that were; set out in that Gospel. The speaker was forty years older than his grandfather was when tho. latter first came to Mangapouri. One hundred years seemed to be a long.time, but time was only a relative term. God was the one solid, permanent thing, and the worst a person could dp was to water down his duty to God. Ho appealed to his hearers to sco to it that the next 100 years were placed on a better footing than tho last 100 years. ■..*..'