NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 89, 12 October 1938, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Komata Launched. Cable advice has been received by the Union Steam Ship Company that their. new cargo vessel Komata was successfully launched on Monday at the yards of Messrs. Alexander Stephen and Sons, Ltd., Glasgow. The Komata is a single screw steamer of 3850 tons gross, designed for a service speed of 12 knots, and will be employed in the intercolonial trade. Captain W. A. Gray will command the Komata, which is expected to leave the United Kingdom early next month for New Zealand. Migration of Godwits. The annual migration of godwits from Siberia to New Zealand has begun. Reports from the north state that thousands of godwits have arrived at Parengarenga, near North Cape, during the last week. Usually the birds arrive about a fortnight earlier than this, alight at Parengarenga to feed on the mudflats, and later spread throughout the Dominion. They assemble again on the same fiats about the middle of March, and after feeding take off on tlie long migratory flight north. Employment and Re-armament A fairly general belief that rearmament in Britain would slacken appreciably after twelve months, and that unemployment would then be aggravated, was found by Mr. Clifford, A. Deyell, general manager of Watsons, Jewellers, Ltd., who returned to Christchurch on Monday after spending six months abroad, states the "Press." Mr. Deyell said that he spoke to the directors of several firms, par- i ticularly in the watchmaking business, and he was. told that there was at present great difficulty in obtaining labour. They expected, however, that with the slackening of re-armament there would be a slight depression With an increase in the numbers of unemployed. Pipe Band Contest. Originally allocated to Dunedin by j the Highland Pipe Bands' Association of New Zealand, the Dominion cham- j pionship pipe band contest will now be held in Christchurch, states the "Press." Through unforeseen circumstances, it will not be possible for the j contest to take place in Dunedin, and I a meeting of tlie association in Christchurch on Monday night arranged for it to be held in Christchurch on March 10 and 11, 1939. It is expected that from 16 to 20 bands from all parts of the Dominion will compete in the two grades. Entries will close at the end of January. There will be a drummajors' display, a quickstep, and a test selection in the A grade, and own selection in the B grade. The following officers of the contest committee were appointed:—President, Mr. G. M. Telfer; vice-presidents, Messrs. C. S. Thomas and T. M. Charters; secretary, Mr. H. L. Oates. Fishing in Comfort. Seated at the end of the wharf at the Napier Breakwater during the weekend was a Napier fisherman, quite at ease smoking a pipe and reading a book, states the "Daily Telegraph." Arranged on the top of a nearby pile was an ingenious piece of j machinery, and every time a fish sampled the bait a tiny electric bell commenced to ring. The appliance was mounted on a wooden base with a small electric bell at the back' operated by two small batteries. On I the front of the base was a metal strip, above which was the elbow of a piece of bent wire. Attached to the end of the wire was the end of the fishing line, and as tlie fish touched the bait the wire was pulled down on to the metal plate and the contact completed the circuit and the bell began to rjng. When the fish had taken the hopk the bell rang continuously, and the fisherman put aside his book and claimed his prize. Gold' Dredge Trails. So that dredging claims in gold-bear-ing areas shall not become weed-in-fested and unsuitable for farming, the Government has taken steps to see that dredging companies do not leave the land to waste, stated the Minister of Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb) on Monday, reports the "New Zealand Herald." The Mines Department now issues licences on the condition that trees shall be planted on all land left in a state unsuitable for farming, he added, so that the districts should become more valuable national assets than they otherwise would be. The Minister quoted the Barrytown area on the West Coast of the South Island, where there was dredging on land that was chiefly swamp. As the dredge advanced the soil was replaced, and it was found that the land was much improved for general farming. Where deep dredging was carried out, and the soil covering was comparatively thin, this method was not practicable, but tree planting was an alternative, and pines which had grown in the trail of geld dredges were showing uncommonly good growth. In many instances these trees were larger than those planted at the same time in virgin country in the neighbourhood.