NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 107, 9 May 1938, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

"Eire"—lts Pronunciation. With Eire very much in the news, the question arises as to how should the new name of the Irish Free State be pronounced. Most people just say "Air" or "Ire," but apparently it is not quite as simple as that. In the House of Commons, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald, as Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, guavely announced on one occasion that pis Majesty's Government would henceforth refer to the Irish Free State as "Airy." Parliamentary eyebrows! were raised, but no comment was mtede and not even a joke. But in Dublin Mr. de Valera firmly announced* that the correct pronunciation was "Air-ah" — two syllables, with the* accent on the first. Broadcast talks foom Daventry apparently side withj Mr. de Valera and his pronunciation. New Alpine Hut. In response to a request from the West Coast Alpiine Club the Arthur's Pass National Pafk Board has decided that the new mountain hut on the Kelly Range sh.jll be known as the Carroll Memorial, Hut, and that a commemorative tablejt shall be fixed to it, states the Chijistchurch "Star-Sun." The zeal and organising ability of the late Mr. Patrick jCarroll, who died as the result of a ffcill while making the traverse from Mlount Cook to Waiho some weeks ago were highly eulogised at the board's arinual meeting, Dr. W. E. McKay remarking that not only had Patrick Carroll Jbeen a most promising alpinist, but thht he had an extraordinary capacity as a leader of men. "So stimulate fifteen men and boys into travelling many) times from Greymouth at their cjwn expense and trans- j porting heavy ituilding material to a I height of over jfour thousand feet, in all weathers, wjas a wonderful feat," said Dr. McKay.; "No one but a young fellow like Patijick Carroll cou!4 have done it." "Old Man" Boar Trapped. ! An "old manr wild boar which for a number of years had taken a great toll of lambs on} the property of Messrs. M. Dickie and (p. Wylds, Waverley, and had constantly [outwitted man and dog while they hunted him, recently brought about own death, states a Wanganui correspondent. The boar was in the halbit of entering the property through a wire fence, and finally the owners decided to set a trap. A loaded rifle was placed in position together with Ji forked stick so that when the pig got through the fence he would disl'pdge the stick and thus discharge the nun. When the trap had been set, the property owners retired to a nearby wftiare and waited for the pig. They wpre awakened from their sleep by the, "report of a rifle, and hurrying to tjhe trap found that the boar had beeii shot through the heart, having unwittingly performed his own execution. '{The pig was seven feet long and had [big tusks.

Cockayne Meinorial Garden. It has not Ibeen possible to complete the whole layout, of the Cockayne Memorial Gam den, but the scree section has beenj laid down, stated Mr, J. A. McPhersoA, curator of the Christchurch Botan:fc Gardens, in his annual report to thct Christchurch Domains Board (repoifts the "Press"). "This section, a repßica of a shingle slide of our mountains, is a new form of plant cultivation anli has created a great deal of interest nbt only in Christchurch, but in other jparts of New Zealand. It has proved that the most difficult of our native plants to cultivate, especially alpines, gfcow readily in the scree formation. A well has been sunk nearby and ja continual flow of 400 gallons of w.'iter an hour provides the necessary grjound moisture. In the coming year the whole area should be furnished with native plants illustrating the hybrid nature of many of them. Such a garden will be of real scientific and ed ideational value and a fitting memorial to New Zealand's greatest botanist,J ■ Dr. L. Cockayne." "A Town Haß Spy."

When referring to staff matters of the Dunedia City Council during the course of his; address at Roslyn, Councillor Allen,/ candidate for the Mayoralty, said thgre was a spy in the Town Hall who sUiied on the rest of the employees and*, carried the results of his investigations', to Councillor Silverstone, repor'is the "Otago Daily Times." On one occstsSion Councillor Silverstone decided to Hold an inquiry, and, without going fkst to the heads of a department, he spoke to individual members of in the hope of getting evidencfe. This was a most objectionable prr&etice, Councillor Allen remarked, as! it showed that certain councillors were pettifogging busybodies. Thfc staff of each department should be ijesponsible to the head and not to infctividual councillors. The heads could!; .not even engage an office boy or a charwoman. The councillors had to do it: When vacancies occurred applications,'were invited, and a subcommittee was set up to recommend to the council the applications for consideration. "'We knew when they were in council tfyat they had been in caucus, and that tike applicant had always been selected," Councillor Allen said. After that there was the formality of a ballot. i"This was a most unfair position," he concluded. Taros Flowfering. One of the results of the hot summer and aujtumn in the Opotiki district has been the flowering of taro plants, two instances having been reported, one in th(* borough and one in the country, states an Opotiki correspondent. This; is the first occasion that the flower has been seen, according to the older residents. The taro is not a native tp New Zealand, but was brought to this country by the Maoris. Mrs. Matchiptt, who is 103 years of age,

states that the taro, which flowered in th<? garden of her daughter, Mrs. Warren, wag the first flowering taro she had seiesn. The flower is greenish yellow and, is about a foot long and somewhat resembles a narrow lily. Although aj rarity in New Zealand, a flowering Ijaro is not unknown in the Dominion, states the "New Zealand Herald." fyliss L. Cranwell, botanist at the AucklEtnd War Memorial Museum, i stated on ifriday that she had not seen one prior lo having one sent her recently from Opotiki. Another Auckland resideint, however, reported that a taro in iber garden had flowered athough it'was not in bloom this season. Miss 'Cranwell mentioned that the present sesison wa? proving unusual in some respects. In the native plot at the EllersTtie racecourse gardens the mangeao visas now in bloom, although it did nok usually flower until the spring. The native birch at Ellerslie was also flowering at present, instead of in October.

A Lucky Escape. When Claude Ornstein, a messenger, aged 15, fell from Clyde Quay Wharf while fishing yesterday afternoon he had a lucky escape from drowning. He fell into the water between the wharf and the Maui Pomare and it was some time before his plight was noticed. Mr. T. James, of 25 Elizabeth Street, was the first to see the lad and he jumped into the water and pulled him out. Ornstein, who was suffering from shock, was taken to hospital by the Free Ambulance and later went home. Under the One Roof. Though they both happened to be at the Chateau Tongariro on Saturday night, neither the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) nor Canon A. E. Gowring, of Bristol, made any attempt to carry on the little argument they have been having about veiled dictatorships, drunkenness, and expenditure on public works, and so on. According to one Wellington man who was at the Chateau, they showed no desire to make personal contact, though each was aware of the other's presence. Yesterday morning Canon Gowring left for Pipiriki, with the intention of making the Wanganui River trip before coming to Wellington, where he embarks for Southampton on the Arawa on May 20. The Minister, also left the Chateau yesterday to keep an appointment with some ducks, prior to fulfilling political engagements in the north. ■