NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 61, 9 September 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Farmers and Unity. "If the present legislation is pinching . farmers, especially dairy farmers, it is up to them to unite like the Labour Party, which, through unity, has been placed on the box seat," said Mr. G. K. Herron, chairman of the awards com- . mittee of the South Island Dairy Association, at a meeting of dairy farmers at Temuka on Monday (reports the 1 "Star-Sun"). "For years past, farmers ■ have pulled this way and that way like torn cats, but the position is changing and farmers are recognising the power of unity. They are no longer being led as a large elephant is led, by the ear ; with a hook, and this is just as well, for unless they co-operate they will : become the serfs of this country." : Improving Soccer. The Wellington Football Associa- , tion's training "school" for younger players, recently instituted under the control of Messrs. G. F. Aers arid C. Ballard, was praised by Mr. Alf. Williams, secretary of the New Zealand Football Association, in a letter re- . ceived by last niglit's meeting of the management committee of the Wellington Association. Mr. Williams expressed the thanks of the council of the New Zealand Association and of himself for ■ the great interest being taken in the improvement of the game in Wellington. The council had made a small donation towards the coaching scheme and Mr. Williams thought it might be willing to give further financial help at a later date. He asked for a report on the scheme for forwarding to other associations. Loss to New Zealand. "Looking at Oxford and Cambridge I felt a.little disappointed when I reflected how many of our young people who went overseas stayed there," said the Hon. W. Nash at the opening of the new assembly hall at the Hutt Valley High School yesterday afternoon. This was only to be expected to a certain extent because of the bigger population overseas, said Mr. Nash, but there was something wrong when the pick of those who went away, although not the entire pick, did not come back to give others the advantage of what they had ; learned. : Rail-car Construction. "Owing to the difficulties experienced in obtaining the necessary materials from abroad, the rail-car construction programme which we have in hand has been unfortunately delayed," stated the Minister of Railways, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, in a letter to the Whangarei Borough Council in reply to the council's request for the installation of a rail-car service between Whangarei and Auckland (states a Whangarei correspondent). The Minister stated that the council might rest assured that the claim's of the North Auckland area for a rail-car service would; be fujly considered in conjunction with the requirements of other localities. Insurance and Juries. "You know, of course," said Mr. Justice Ostler, addressing a jury in a claim for damages case in the, Auckland Supreme Court,, "that in the old days before compulsory insurance it used to be, an offence for counsel to mention insurance to a jury. Now, I think, everyone knows it. You may know that any damages you may award may be paid for by insurance, but you must remember that if you award damages you are casting a slur upon the defendant, and you must not do that unless you are justified by the evidence." Speeding1 by Lorries. "The Commissioner should put his own house in order before attempting anything else," was the comment of councillors at a meeting of the Bruce County Council when a letter from the Commissioner of ' Transport dealing with road accidents was read (reports the "Otago Daily Times"). Councillor W. J. Sheat referred to the excessive 'speed of the motor-lorries engaged by the Public Works Department in carting gravel for reconstruction work on the main highway. ""The speed of these vehicles is little short of terrific," he stated, "and it is so bad that ratepayers have gained the' impression that these lorries are immune from speed limits. The way the vehicles are driven is a continued source of danger to motorists, who are not given a fair share of the road at all. This state of affairs," he added, "did not exist when the county's own inspector controlled the main highways." After a brief discussion on "road hogs" in general and erring lorry drivers in particular, Councillor W. Moore's motion—"That the clerk write to the Minister of Transport (the Hon. R. Semple), requesting that the speed of lorries engaged on public works be investigated and restricted" —was .enthusiastically carried. , Poor Opossum Season. The returns for the opossum season lin the Wellington acclimatisation district are not yet available,' but the indications point to a poor season, both in the quality of the skins and 'in the numbers of opossums taken. 1 The exceptionally mild winter has not • produced as fine fur as more rigid winters of the past, and in many quarters there is the opinion that this industry will suffer unless the opossums are given a rest from trapping for at least a season. This is, in fact, the opinion held by the majority of acclimatisation societies in New Zealand. The Wellington society has recommended a close season in its district for several seasons past, but the Internal Affairs Department has not seen fit to grant it. Both the society's rangers, who control the trappers' and . range the Manawatu and Wairarapa trapping areas, are convinced' that there are fewer opossums in the forests than for some years. There are, it is said, other districts where opossums ■ are as numerous as usual, and it is here that a difficulty arises., Where an open season is granted in, a district flanked by one with a closed season, the opportunities for poaching are greatly increased. To give an extreme instance, if only one district were open, and all others were closed, surreptitious transport would enable poached skins from all over the country to come ostensibly from that district. It is for this reason that a general closed season, or ft general open season, is desirablft