NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Issue 79, 2 April 1936, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Smoke From Australia. A somewhat spectacular sunrise this morning and a general haze about the atmosphere since then need not -be i construed as portents of approaching I bad weather. -The cause lies in the smoke from Australian bush fires which has drifted across the Tasman Sea. The westerly disturbance;■nowthreatening the Dominion has been productive of but little rain, so the smoke has had an unimpeded passage across the Tasman Sea and, carried by the prevailing air currents, is now making its presence visible in the Dominion's atmosphere. This morning the haze was comparatively thick in the Taranaki Bight, thus indicating an origin outside .New. Zealand. Novel Experience. Some amusement was caused at the opening of the Easter Show last night by an unintentional slip on the part of Councillor R. A. Wright,; M.P., who, speaking as deputy for the Mayor, said that there was quite a sequence of deputies. Their chairman had to take the place of the president. Later the Hon. P. Fraser would get up to take the place of the Prime Minister. The only staunch speaker they had was his Excellency the Governor-General, and they must be extremely thankful for small mercies. This palpably amused his Excellency, who, when it came to his turn to speak, recalled Councillor Wright's words and smilingly remarked: "I have never been called a small mercy in my life." (Laughter.) . ■■■'■ „ ..;■ Attacked by Stag. Two deer-stalkers, Messrs.. H. Sawle and D. -Flood,-, of Kaharoa, had an exciting experience when they were charged by a wounded stag in rough country in the Rotorua district (states a Rotorua correspondent). After the stag had been shot it was held by the stalkers' dog on the brink of a steep, sloping cliff, but as Mr. Flood rushed up to dispatch it the stag suddenly rose _ and charged, goring one of his arms with its antlers. Fortunately, however, the stalker was able to avoid the full weight of the furious animal's rush. Carried by its own momentum, the stag crashed over the edge of the bank and rolled down the slope .until it was caught and held in the branches of a tree. The two stalkers then descended the cliil face and after considerable difficulty secured the head, which proved to be a particularly heavy specimen of 16 points. The stag was one of the largest animals shot in the Rotorua district for some time. Extermination of Rabbits. Following representations by Mr. E. P. Meachen, M.P., the rabbit subsidy for unemployed men will be extended in Marlborough until the end of April. The subsidy was to have ceased on Tuesday. The effect of the extension will be felt mainly in the Kaikoura district, where a large programme for the extermination of rabbits is in progress, states the "Marlborough Express." Too Modest? "The people of Wellington are not fully alive to their own interests," said Councillor R. A. Wright, M.P., deputising for the Mayor at the Easter Show opening last night. "Some think, and some say, that Wellington is a poor city. That is not so. The business part of our town perhaps is not so good as others, but its surroundings are equal to any. World travellers have told us that Wellington could be one of the finest cities, comparable to cities in the Old Land. I give honour to Auckland. A citizen of the United Stales may talk of the wonders of his own land, but your Auckland citizen will listen patiently and then remark, 'But have you seen Auckland?' Many people in Auckland think there is nothing in Wellington but wind. (Laughter.) That is not so. They say that a horse and cart were blown off the wharf one day and into the sea, but that never happened in Wellington. If they have a show on in Auckland they magnify it. We are too modest in Wellington. I think everybody will agree that we are a shy people when compared with the other cities of New Zealand." The Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, congratulated Councillor Wright upon his modesty, and was sure that the thousands listening in all over the country would realise what a wonderful city, what a wonderful people, and what splendid representatives Wellington had