NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 57, 5 September 1934, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Butter Market in India,

In a letter to the AVellington Chamber of Commerce, Mr. J. I\ S. Briggs, of Whangarei, states that for some time past he has advocated that the Eastern market should be tested for butter of the kind known in India as ghee. Mr. Briggs said he- was informed that we ought to have practically a monopoly of the ghee market in India —at least among certain classes. There would, of course, be' some opposition on the part of merchants dealing in margarine. Good ghee, lie said, was worth Is 3d a pound in India. Defaulting Clergymen. A paragraph in the ".Church News," Christehurch, .advises clergy who have overlooked paying the quarterly unemployment levy to do so immediately. "It appears that an official has been inquiring at the diocesan office about, the position, and has made it appear probable that the diocese- may be required to take some action with dilatory taxpayers," . the "Church News" states. "The letter of the law makes it an offence for an employer to employ a defaulter, and for the- purposes of the Act the person or body actually paying the salary is to be regarded as the de facto employer. The Synod committee is looking into tho position. Tho clergy are law-respecting people, and it is • without doubt an oversight on the part of any defaulter among them, but in their position it would be particularly embarrassing to bo prosecuted for default." Women and Their Ages. A poor opinion of the veracity of women in matters of age is entertained by Mr. A. Peverill, president of the Christchurch United Burgesses' Association. Ho remarked at a meeting of tho Council of the Association this week that several women had mentioned to him that they objected to having to give the date and place and year of their birth when applying for motordriving licences. "I will guarantee that tho council does'not-get five out of ten correct answers to this question," said Mr. Peverill. "I do not think the ladies mind giving tho date or place of their birth, but I don't think they like having to give the-year. I suggest we propose to the City Council that they only bo asked to state whether they are over 16 and under 70." Mr. Peverill's suggestion was debated for a few minutes and then dropped. Cricket Coaching for Schools. An' appeal for some of the older players to give an evening a week to coaching schoolboys was made by Mr. L. C. Wray at tho annual meeting ,of the Pctono Cricket Club last evening. Some of the batting and bowling performances in the schools last season wero deplorable, he said, although there was some good material offering. Mr. W. >S. Brice, who was in the chair, said that a scherao for coaching school players was launched some years back, but one of the schools did not pay tho amount it guaranteed. Ho thought a paid coach was essential, and there was no doubt that school cricket improved out of sight- under the last coaching scheme,' as teams that usually made 20 or 30 runs were later compiling totals of between 200 and 300. The club was in sympathy with the- idea of coaching school' players. After Mr. Wray had pointed out the difficulty of getting money at schools at tho present time, it was decided to leave the matter to the incoming committee. Level Crossings. The elimination of dangerous level railway crossings was advocated by Mr. A. E. Ansell (Government, Chalmers) when speaking in the House of Representatives last evening. Mr. Ansell said that the increase in the volume of road traffic had led to tho suggestion that there was still greater need for the elimination of level crossings. In France, a programme for the total elimination of level crossings had been decided upon, and the matter was being discussed in Great Britain also. Last year he had suggested that the Highways Board, the Railways Board, and the Unemployment Board should combine and map out a programme for the elimination of many of the dangerous crossings, particularly those in the suburban areas of largo cities. It would bo useful work which would engage tradesmen at standard rates of pay. It had been suggested that the Railways Board would not stand up to any responsibility in. the matter, which, it was argued, was one very largely for local bodies. However, transport' was now of a national character, and he would again urge that the three boards should do something. Plans had been prepared for the elimination of some Otago crossings, and similar work could be done for other districts. Hares Let Loose. An attempt to interfere with the holding of a coursing meeting at Mangere, Onehunga, by the release of a number of hares from the enclosure was discovered by officials of the Auckland Coursing Club when making arrangements for a meeting on Saturday, states the "New Zealand Herald." The hares are kept in a large enclosure, which is encircled by wire-netting. On proceeding to box the hares for the meeting the officials discovered that the netting had been unfastened and torn down in several places. After making the enclosure secure and tallying the hares left, it was found that there were just sufficient to enable the meeting to bo held. It is thought that close on 20 hares had escaped, through the broken fencing. The matter has been reported to the police. A similar incident occurred about three years ago at the same enclosure. On that occasion practically all the club's hares were allowed to escape on the eve of a big meeting, which had to be abandoned. Opposed to Nationalism. The causes of the lack of international harmony in tho world today were treated by Mr. "\V. Wah, a Chinese student at Canterbury College in a lecture to the Theosophical Society on "The Brotherhood of the Nations," states the "Christchurch Times." The first cause mentioned by Mr. Wah was the lack of a common language. A foreigner who was misunderstood because of linguistic difficulties was soon treated as an inferior being, despite his true qualities. Another cause was the common /failure- to realise the descent of the nations from a common human stock. Jdeas of national superiority such as tho Nazis -wore, imposing in Germany were absurd, and were based upon unimportant and irrelevant physical differences duo to geographical and climatic conditions. The "shrinking" of the world was making nationalistic sentiments untenable and organised co-operation and a brotherhood of nations was becoming eventually inevitable. Nationalism was based upon the idea of possession which had long outlived its usefulness.

Women's Cocktail Bars. Mrs. Lance Smith, group president of the New South Wales Country Women's Association, addressing a large assemblage of the Parkes branch, appealed to members to join a campaign against drinking and against women's cocktail bars. She stated that she had received many letters of congratulation on her receiit public criticism of drinking habits. She added that she was not a teetotaller, but that God's gifts were for man's use, not abuse. Pastors From Abroad. In view of the recent proposals to secure prominent preachers from Scotland to fill the pulpit of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Auckland, for periods of six months or a year, the experience of Scots Church, Sydney, which initiated such a scheme three years ago, is of interest. The experiment was referred to by Dr. R. G. Mclntyre, of Sydney, when speaking to the Auckland Presbytery on Monday, states the "New Zealand Herald." Dr. Mclntyre said that in many ways the bringing of outstanding preachers from Scotland had been a shining success. The church was crowded at the morning service and packed to the doors on Sunday evenings. Even more impressive was that tho lunch hour service on AVednesdays was attended by 700 or 800 and sometimes nearly 1000 people, giving up their lunch hour to hear the Gospel. Some of the preachers had been really first-class and others just ordinary men like themselves. It was the fact that they came from Scotland that made the appeal. This had gone on for three years, but he did not think it could continue. He had warned Scots Church that before long they would get a "dud," and then the whole place would collapse on their hands. Members of Presbytery were feeling very dissatisfied about it, because thenpeople were flocking from the suburban churches to hear the visitor, and those churches were feeling the pinch. The Presbytery had agreed to allow the arrangement to continue for another two years, but had told Scots Church that in tho interval it must look for a permanent pastor. Otherwise the, Presbytery would put one in. The assembly had given leave to try a similar scheme at Scots Church, Melbourne. Ancient Maori Canoe. Tho forepart of the Maori war canoe, Paroaf which was used in transporting some of To Rauparaha's men from the north for the attack on the Kaiapohia pa in 1831, has been placed on view in the Canterbury Museum, states "The Press." The canoe, which has been presented to the museum, has been at Picton for nearly 100 years. Portion of it was destroyed by fire, but 14 feet of the forepart has been preserved. It is probable that the total length of the canoe was 30 feet, and that originally it was equipped with the decorative carved prow, stern, and gunwales incidental to the war canoe. Along the sides of the vessel can be seen the holes through which the gunwale lacings were passed. Everything is being done to preserve this interesting exhibit, which is one of the most historically important Maori relics in the museum. The inscription on the canoe reads: "The canoe Paroa. A section of the forepart built by the Te Atiawa tribe some 200 years "ago at Pukotapu, inland from Hawera, in Taranaki. When completed it was dragged to tho river Patoa and thence to the coast. After taking part in various engagements near Otaki, members of the tribe joined forces with Te Rauparaha. They sailed down to «Kaiapohia in the canoe and took part in the capture of the pa in 1831. It is thus of special interest to the people of Canterbury. After returning to Paraparaumu, the canoe was taken across to Arapawa Island as one of a fleet of 20, only 10 of which arrived safely, and ultimately it came to rest, at Onauku, East Bay, Picton. There it lay on the ground for nearly 100 years. Part of the canoe was destroyed by a bush fire, and the museum is indebted to Mr. Tim Watson, the owner, and a descendant of the original builder, for kindly allowing the sounder forepart to be preserved here."