NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 89, 12 October 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Praise for New Zealand Newspapers.

"As a country we ought to be aware of the service the newspapers are doing to keep up- the standard of our lives," said Miss Ethel Law, national general secretary of the Young Women's Christian Association in New Zealand, who is at present visiting Christchurch after spending six years in Canada as travelling secretary for the movement in that country, states the "Press." In an interview on Sunday Miss Law said that the newspapers of the Dominion in their choice of headlines and the prominence given to different subjects were far ahead of most Canadian papers. She was disagreeably surprised, however, with the standard of many papers widely circulated in England, which she had seen on a recent visit to that country

Temporary Buildings.

The Petone Borough Council decided last evening to give the owners of buildings for which temporary permits had been issued six months' notice to remove or demolish them. The one exception was in the case of a resident who is to be asked to make every endeavour to arrange finance for thp erection of a suitable building. Councillor D. M. Dickson, in moving the report of the works committee, said that the seriousness of the position would be realised when it was stated that some of the buildings were over ten years old and all but one were used for business purposes. Industries and Free Competition.

"In economic and industrial matters, the free operation of competition brings things into a natural balance, and when you disturb that balance you do not know what the consequences will be," was the only comment offered by an American mining engineer, Mr. J. R. Finlay, of California, in referring to the Government's policy of rationalising industry, states the "Press." Mr. Finlay, who is visiting Christchurch, said his theory of economics was illustrated by an example in Darwin's "Origin of Species." One might say that the condition of certain flowers was caused by cats, for instance. The flowers depended on bees for fertilisation; mice were the enemies of bees, and cats the enemy of mice; so that while cats kept down mice, the bees were allowed to thrive, and the flowers continued to be fertilised. So in industry, if there were no deliberate intervention, things would find a natural balance. Stewart Island Ferry Service. Upon several occasions recently dissatisfaction has been expressed with the infrequency of the ferry service between Bluff and Stewart Island, and following on a suggestion by the Government a conference was.held at Bluff attended by representatives of those bodies directly interested, the Bluff Harbour Board, the Marine Department, the Post and Telegraph Department, the Stewart Island County Council, and by Captain R. J. Hamilton, who commands the Tamatea, the vessel at present carrying on the service. The conference was held in private, and it was decided to submit certain undisclosed proposals to the Government for consideration. Nothing further can be done until a reply Is received from the Minister for Marine (the Hon. P. Fraser). Bus Shelter Needed. The. need for a bus shelter in Wellington was stressed by Councillor D. M. Dickson at the meeting of the Petone Borough Council last evening. Mr.'Dickson said that bus passengers had to crowd into a small shop entrance when waiting for the bus on a wet day. He understood that the Railway Department had stated that provision would be made for a shelter when the new station was erected, but there was no sign of it yet. ■ The Mayor (Mr. A. Scholefleld) supported Councillor Dickson's remarks, and it was decided to make representations on the matter. When a Minister Sings. Informal pleasantries were. exchanged between the member for Egmont, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, and the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, at the opening of the new laboratory at Eltham, reports an exchange. Welcoming: the Minister, Mr. Wilkinson said he had been informed that Mr. Sullivan's voice ; was the exact type of voice required for broadcasting by the 8.8.C. Thanking Mr. Wilkinson for the welcome, Mr. Sullivan said he was exceedingly embarrassed by Mr. Wilkinson's references to his voice. He referred to a former visit to Eltham by rail-car when it was suggested on the railway station that he might sing "The Isle of Capri," Mr. Sullivan said the request was somewhat silenced by the reply that on the only occasion he ever sang he took up a collection for charity. This was when he was offered £5 by a lady if he would sing at a community sing, but when he commenced the same lady offered to double the sum if he would stop, and he collected'the £10.

Southern Alp's by Air.

The first passenger to avail himself of the new air service providing a through trip from Wellington to the Southern Alps, including the glaciers, a service inaugurated by Cook Strait Airways in conjunction with Air Travel (N. 2.), Ltd., is Mr. J. L. Squire, of Union Airways, Ltd., who arrived in Christchurch on Friday by air, returning on Saturday to the north (states the "Star-Sun"). Mr. Squire left Wellington on Tuesday last week, travelling by Nelson, Greymouth, and Hokitika, the last-named town being reached three hours after the departure from Wellington. In another machine he left for Waiho, and then to the glaciers —the time of the trip being three and a half hours, compared with three days by boat and service car. On Wednesday morning he left Waiho (to whieh he had returned) for Hokitika, and in another machine returned to Wellington, the return trip being- made in four and a half hours. Interviewed in Christchurch after the trip, Mr. Squire said the visibility had been excellent, and only flying conditions would operate against a regular time-, table.

Lar&e Fish Ashore.

A large fish which has been washed' ashore near Te Kaha, about half-way between Opotiki and Cape Runaway, has aroused, great interest (states an Opotiki correspondent). None of those who have inspected it has been able to name the species to which it belongs. The fish is 28ft 6in in length, with a girth of lift. It is thought that it must have come from tropical waters. In appearance it is very similar to a shark. However, it has no teeth in the mouth, but has a row of short, hard teeth along the lip. In the gills is a hairy, but brittle, substance. The body is covered with a thick and tough hide. In the opinion of the acting-director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Mr. A. W. B. Powell, the flsh answers to the description of the reremai, or basking shark. The reremai is a harmless species, rather common in the tropic seais, such as the Indian Ocean, but not often found in New Zealand waters. It spends its time cruising about in search of small flsh. The mouth is provided only with small and almost functionless teeth, and the gills contain sievelike rakes, rather like the baleen in the mouths of some species of whales. A sp:cimen that was cast tip at the mouth of the Wade Elver was described in 1890 by the late Mr. T. P. Cheeseman. It was 34ft 3in in length,

Testing Radio Bcacon, The Government steamer Malai left Wellington this morning for Cook Strait, where she will carry out a series of tests of the new radio direction-find- ! ing equipment which has been installed • at Baring Head. The regular trans- • missions are to commence on ThursI day, signal groups being sent at pre- ; determined intervals during the day ' and night. The Matai should return ; to Wellington tomorrow. Military Camp. '• Colonel I. T. Standish, officer com- ■ manding the Central District, and • Colonel R. Row were in Wanganui last ' week inspecting likely sites for the first mounted rifles camp under the ' reorganised scheme of defence. It is • possible (states the "Wanganui 1 Herald") that the camp will be held • in April or May next, and will be located immediately south of the Wanganui Airport and embracing the Boys' Afforestation Camp. The locality lends itself to military instruction of modern type. An infantry camp is ■ likely to be held at Napier early in : 1938. ! Theft Of Soil Alleged. Adverse comment on the action of people who had allegedly removed soil from the Recreation Ground to their sections Was made by the Mayor ! (Mr. A. Scholefleld) at the meeting of the Petone Borough Council last night. Councillor J. Cumming stated that the council should commence prosecutions straight away. There were too many thefts of flowers, and roots, he said. Councillor J. C. Burns said that certain elements in Petone's population respected neither the council's nor private property. It was decided to prosecute the offenders. Petone Library. At the close of the quarter ended September 30 the adult subscribers to the library numbered 398, an increase of 13 on the corresponding period of last year, reported the librarian (Mrs. S. M. Shortt) to the meeting of the Petone Borough Council last night. During the quarter 107 new books, 25 of which were additions to the general section, were added to the library. A subscriber donated nine books to the juvenile section, which now had a membership of 94 children. Pohutukawa Seedlings. The pohutukawa, an introduction to Wellington from northern New Zealand, is disseminating widely in some localities. Seedlings on the clay or rock banks of suburban streets have long been noticed; and it is reported that they are establishing themselves in a variety of previously unexpected places, as in the stems of the growing black tree-fern. The efforts of the pohutukawa to make itself independent of the horticulturist, and to carve out a life of its own in competition with other plant life, are being followed with interest by its many friends. Minister Commended. Commendation of the Attorney-Gen-eral (the Hon. H: G. E. Mason) for his proposal to remove the necessity of proving negligence in claims for personal damages under the third-party insurance scheme for motorists was expressed by Mr. T. Pound, president of the New Zealand Public Service Association, at the opening of its annual conference today. Mr. Pound did not 1 amplify his remark, and the Minister, who was present, did not refer to it in his address. "A Real White Man's Country." "New Zealand is a real white man's country; I should say that it is really much more favourable for a white race than Australia is, as a whole," said Mr. J. R. Finlay, an American mining engineer, who is staying in Christchurch (states the "Press"). Mr. Finlay, who is touring the Dominion, had an ambition different from that of most tourists coming to New Zealand. When he arrived at Auckland this month the first thing he did was to make arrangements to travel to Invercargill by air. He explained that what interested him most was to see the most southerly country occupied by an English-speaking people. He admitted surprise, also, at finding that a country so far from the industrial centres of the world "has everything everyone else has." Esperantist Receives a Shock. . Lecturing at the weekly meeting of the Wellington Esperanto Club last night, Dr. F. J. Williams, of Papua, narrated an amusing incident which happened while he was standing outside the congress hall of the International Jubilee Esperanto Congress, attended by. over a thousand delegates from all parts of the world. "I saw a man wearing the, Esperanto badge and fell into conversation with him. 'I know you very well,' he said in the international language. 'I don't think < so,' I replied, for he was a perfect ; stranger- 'Oh, yes,' he assured me. I was equally positive I didn't know : him—had never seen him before. He • handed me his card. He was the Commissioner of Police. 'You have distri- 1 buted some literature in Esperanto 1 about the Society of Friends—the • Quaker organisation, and been puzzling our postal people as to where Papua is. That's all right If you get into i any trouble here—just see me and I'll 1 get you out.'" (Laughter.) Mallets, Hoops, and Nets. ' According to some suggestions which ■ have been made lately, the proposed j National Council of Sport-and Re- , creation for New Zealand is likely to , receive all kinds of requests from sports organisations. At the meeting j of the council of the New Zealand , Amateur Athletic Association last week j the suggestion was made that in view , of the interest the Minister of Internal , Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) is tak- < ing in sport it might be worth while , placing before him a proposal to en- , gage an American athletic coach for ] the Dominion. Then on Saturday last . a speaker at the opening of the Durie ] Hill Croquet Club's courts, Wanganui, , suggested, from a croquet point of view, a useful function for the Council of Sport. They are forming what you might call a 'Bureau of Sport,' the speaker said. "If that is what it is what we will have to ask them is to take the duty off mallets, hoops, and nets."

i uoasi UH.iiwa\ Problems associated with the mechanisation of tunnelling work on the Gisborne-Waikokopu section of the East Coast railway have not been limited to designing or modifying machines to do the particular class of work, states a Gisborne exchange. During recent weeks the effect of mechanical equipment upon the earning power of the tunnelling gangs h'as been receiving a good deal of attention, and a compromise has been reached, as between the Public Works Department and the tunnellers, which makes provision for a period of training in the : use of the new equipment. It was pointed out on behalf of the workers that while the Department would achieve substantial savings by the use of mechanical devices and special plant,'the tunnellers must have an opportunity to become • thoroughly acquainted with the mode of operation, unless they were to suffer losses of earning power for some time. It is understood that a representative of the gangs visited Wellington to place the views of the workmen before the departmental officers, and was able to effect an arrangement which will secure the tunnellers against loss of wages during the transitional stage in the introduction of mechanical aids.