NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 85, 7 October 1936, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Boys as Lift Attendants.

Criticism of the action of some firms in advertising for boys as lift attendants is made by an official who is closely connected with the placement of labour. He states that there are plenty of men, mostly returned soldiers who can only do light work, and they would be most suitable as lift attendants. Boys would be willing to be lift attendants for only a few years, and they would be better occupied in learning something that would be useful to them when they were older. Tests for Drunkenness. '.'With motoring at its present stage of development, a charge of being intoxicated in charge of a motor-car is of as great importance as an indictable charge," said counsel in a case heard in the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon. "Before being brought before the Court on such a count, a man is entitled to receive a thorough, exhaustive, and pathological examination. A doctor should be called to give evidence of a conclusive and pathological nature. Two or three tests prove nothing, and may very well have reference to other factors than intoxication. It is not an offence to drink. The offence lies in being in charge of a car when not fit to drive it, due to intoxication." Aquatic Conference. A communication was received at the meeting of the Wellington Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association last night to the effect that the New Zealand Swimming Council agreed to the proposal to hold a conference at Wellington, on October 24, of delegates of the New Zealand Surf Life-saving Association, the New Zealand branch of the Royal Lifesaving Society, and the Council of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association. The object of the conference is to discuss the possibility of forming a federation of swimming and life-saving bodies. Messrs. B. O'Neill and C. Bryant are to represent the swimming council. Cow as Compass. How three surveyor's who lost their way in the dense bush around New Plymouth when returning from a shooting expedition found their way out by using a cow as a compass was related by a speaker at the NewPlymouth Rotary Club a few days ago. They were, he said, without compasses, but were accompanied by a Maori boy and a milch cow, which did duty both as a "pack-horse" and milk supply. Their plight, after they had been wandering for several days,, was becoming serious when the Maori boy had a brain wave. He took the halter off the cow and hustled the animal to the front. With its animal instinct the cow headed straight for home, and the party were back in half an hour at their camp. Swamp Drainage. Excellent progress is now being made by the Public Works' Department with the drainage of the Taupiri swamp, and 130 men are employed on the final stages of the scheme (states a Hamilton correspondent). The Department expects to finish the work at the end of the coming summer. A new type of dredge is being assembled at Taupiri this week and will be put to work on clearing out canals and drains that have already been formed. Three machines will then be in operation. The scheme is estimated to cost £160,000, of which £10,000 is being found by the ratepayers of the Taupiri Drainage and River Board's district arid the balance by the Government. Over £110,000 has been spent on the scheme during the last four years. An area of 96,000 acres of flat country and 50,000 acres of hilly country is being drained as the result of the work in hand, and a great deal of benefit has already accrued to settlers in the area. Licensees. Warned. A warning to hotel licensees about the practice of entertaining guests in the bar or the bar parlour was issued by Mr. H. Morgan, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court at Westpbrt. Mr. Morgan said that there were in all hotels private sitting-rooms for the use of the licensee and his family, and if he chose to entertain his guests in the bar parlour or the bar instead of in his private sitting-room, then he had himself to blame if he was brought before the Court to explain his actions. "At the same time," said Mr. Morgan, "I know of no authority that lays it down that the licensee may not entertain bona fide guests in the bar parlour or bar. If a man comes to my house at night to transact business I am quite entitled to supply him with liquor, and a licensee is in the same position." Nevertheless, the entertainment of guests in the bar or bar parlour was open to the gravest suspicion, and was a bad practice. Mr. Morgan said it was notorious the amount of* after-hour - trading that went on in some of the hotels at Westport, and he thought the licensees concerned were very foolish to encourage it. Signs On As Purser. Many a young man without money but keen to see the world has worked His passage on cargo vessels large and small, but the story is usually different when the name of one, formerly chairman of a board of national importance, appears on a ship's list as purser, states the Christchurch "Press." The motor-ship Wairangi arrived at Lyttelton on Sunday from London, via Suva, and, in the list of the crew, the name of William Augustus lorns appeared as purser. But Mr. lorns, formerly chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Control Board, was not setting out to see the world. He was returning from England, and unusual circumstances led to his name being omitted from the passenger list and included in the list of the ship's complement. Among others, Mr. lorns booked his passage by the Wairangi, but when the passengers assembled on board before departure it was found that the inclusion of an infant brought the number to 13, one more than tha number permitted to be carried on ships rated as cargo vessels. The easiest way out of the difficulty was for Mr. lorns to sign on as purser, and his name did not appear on the passenger list. The position was. purely-a-nom-inal one.

Rain 100,000,000 Years Ago. "We have evidence that rain fell at least 100,000,000 years ago," said Mr. T. G. Beck, resident engineer to the Public Works Department, Temuka, in an address on hydrographic surveying at Canterbury University College (reports the "Press"). "I have seen a fossil in the British Museum bearing an imprint, in mud,, of a dinosaur, and on this mud are the definite spatter marks left by. falling raindrops." Bullet-proof River Recorders. The necessity for making bulletproof shelters for river-recording instruments was mentioned by Mr. T. G. Beck, resident engineer- to the Public Works Department, Temuka, in an address at Canterbury University College (reports the "Press"). The recorders, 'he said, were placed well back in the river gorges which were frequented by rabbit-shooters and deerstalkers. Protection from the weather was one need, but it had been found advisable, too, to build the shelters of concrete, and even these showed the marks of bullet impacts. Karori Baths Report. A report on the new Karori Baths was made by Mr. P. F. Coira at the meeting of the Wellington Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming' Association last night. Mr. Coira expressed his pleasure at the appointments of the baths. He said that the only mistake made was in the suggested position of the diving platform at the end of the baths. This, he considered, should be placed at the side, and he understood the matter was to be remedied. His objection was that to the inexperienced diver there was a danger of striking the bottom in recovery, as the depth of water shallowed from 12ft to 6ft. Fire in Native Bush. Indications that the scenic reserve fire between the Blue and Green (Lakes and Lake Okareka was started at four points over a distance of about a mile was revealed on Monday when Mr. J. Lockie, a Lands Department inspector, made an inspection of the area swept by the flames (states a Rotorua correspondent). A theory is that the fire was started by deer-stalkers, with the object of frightening the deer out into more open country. Although a considerable area of native bush was destroyed by the fire, damage to the bush fringing the popular tourist route round the Blue and Green Lakes to Lake Tarawera was fortunately averted by the prompt action of Mr. Lockie and a willing gang of men, who were quickly on the 'scene. No evidence of the fire can be seen from the main road.