SAMOAN OCCASION

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 53, 31 August 1939, Page 8

SAMOAN OCCASION

ANNIVERSARY OF LANDING OF NEW ZEALAND TROOPS

APIA, August 29

A ceremony to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the landing of the New Zealand troops in Samoa was held this morning when a flag was hoisted and a salute of 21 guns fired.

The Samoan local defence force, approximately 160 strong, under the command of Colonel W. C. Harley, and the police force paraded. The Acting Administrator, Mr. A. C. Turnbull, inspected the forces and took the salute.

Commemorative stamps were issued today.

NEWS OF THE DAY

Property Law.

When the Committee stages of the Property Law Amendment ■ Bill were taken in the' Legislative Council yesterday afternoon, the Leader of the Council (the Hon. D. Wilson) brought down two amendments framed to simplify the measure, and the Bill was referred back to the Statutes Revision Committee so that these amendments could be considered.

A "Dud."

An incident during the Great War which might have had a very unfortunate result for officers of his Majesty's Life Guards was related by his Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Galway, in his address on the history of the Life Guards at the Returned Soldiers' Association luncheon yesterday. A number of officers were in training at Knightsbridge Barracks, London, said his Excellency, at the time a German aeroplane dropped a bomb right on top of the building. As luck would have it, the bomb did not explode. If it had the result would have been very unfortunate for the sixty officers who were in the building.

Drip Beer.

Practising business economy at the bar by utilising swipes, drainings, or drip beer is not encouraged in Sydney. It is now an offence to use the drainings, heel-taps, slops, or frothy overflow at the bar and serve them to thirsty customers. Formerly they were drained off from the bar sinks into barrels in the cellar and came back blended with liquor in its pristine condition as received from the brewery. Drip beer must now be dyed with methyl violet, a shade in strong contrast with the amber hue of the original liquor. A batch of ten publicans, including a woman, was recently dealt with in the Sydney Central Summons Court and fined from £2 \o £5, with costs, for failing to dye their drip beer.

Returned Soldiers' Thanks,

"I want to say on behalf of returned soldiers how grateful we have been that in the last year or two, in these very difficult times, to have had as Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's Forces in New Zealand a distinguished soldier like yourself, who has had such varied service," said the Hon. F. Waite, M.L.C., in thanking his Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Galway, for his address at the Returned Soldiers' Association luncheon yesterday. Mr. Waite added that he wished to convey to his Excellency the grateful thanks of those present for his Excellency's great service to New Zealand, and, incidentally, for attending their luncheon and giving them an address on the traditions of his old regiment.

Stamp-licker to Judge,

Proposing the toast of the accountancy profession at the dinner held last evening by the Incorporated Institute of Accountants of New Zealand, Mr. Justice Blair laid claim to some connection with the profession. He said he started under the late Mr. David Gray (brother of the late Sir Alexander Gray, K.C.) in what was then the W. G. Turnbull Company (now Wright, Stephenson, and Co., Ltd.)—as a stamplicker. He thought that if all the stamps he had licked were placed end to end they would reach from the earth to the moon. The average distance of the moon from the earth is 238,800 miles, and the width of a stamp four-fifths of an inch; disregarding the impossibility of persuading stamps to stand on end. the Judge, in those early days, licked 18,912,960,000 stamps (subject to audit).

Timber Pests.

A new research activity which is of considerable importance to the Government and to the country as a whole was initiated during the year, and is concerned with the protection of timber from the depredations of boring insects and fungi, states the annual report of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The losses resulting from damage to wooden buildings by these pests are very heavy, and warrant an organised scheme of research for the purpose of discovering the most effective preventive measures. A number of Government Departments have combined to institute such a scheme of research which is to be put into effective operation during the coming year. The discovery of serious damage by the white ant has created an additional problem for urgent investigation.

Main Trunk Stable Again.

The General Manager of Railways (Mr. G. H. Mackley), who returned last night by railcar after inspecting the main lines in the Tasanaki, North Auckland, Auckland, and Waikato districts, stated today that the run south yesterday was made in daylight, and gave excellent opportunities for viewing the section of the Main Trunk that gave trouble after heavy rain recently. This portion of the line lies between Taihape and Ohakune, and near the Wanganui River about Taumarunui. Mr. Mackley was accompanied by the chief and assistant engineers; of the Department. While some places were encountered where it still necessary to have men working, and the ground was still saturated in parts, it was Mr. Mackley's opinion that, unless there is excessive rainfall in the near future, all troubles are now over. Butter v. Margarine. Australian dairy farmers, under their equalisation scheme, not only enjoy the monopoly of their domestic market, but are protected in it against all movements in butter markets overseas. But this monopoly is not enough. The high local price has no doubt pressed hardly on consumers who are not able to pay it, and they have had recourse to margarine—not that they like it-better than the genuine article. The Government being sympathetic to an organised industry as against unorganised consumers has made it illegal to blend butter with margarine, and has insisted on margarine being dyed with saffron, but still the butter producers are dissatisfied. So Mr. Hogan. Victorian Minister of Agriculture, has informed them that he had requested the Commonwealth Government to impose an excise duty of 8d a lb on the manufacture of margarine in Australia. Newspaper Criticism. Considerations governing fair comment by newspapers were expressed by his Honour Mr. Justice Smith in his judgment in the action of the jockey Barclay against the "Evening Star," Dunedin, states a Press Association telegram. "Jockeys, like wrestlers and boxers, who necessarily submit their public performances to comment, must expect criticism even though the criticism is necessarily of the efforts by which they earn their living," his Honour said. "If they could not be they could set their own standards of performance with impunity, and that would tend to lower the standards of performance and per-1 haps to promote unfair practices. So long as the facts are truly stated and | the comment is such that a fair mind would use under the circumstances, and does not convey imputations of an evil sort except so far as the facts truly stated warrant the imputation, then the defence of fair comment is J not only available but should be sustained." His Honour said there was no evil imputation upon the character of the plaintiff in Barclay's case. I

Praise for New Zealand Youth,

That New Zealand had reason to be proud of its youth was the opinion expressed by the Rev. J. E. Penman at the annual meeting of the congregation of Knox Church, Dunedin. Mr. Penman, who comes from Edinburgh, said that he was a "student among students" in Dunedin. The men with whom he had come in contact at Knox College were a fine body of young fellows, though they frequently enjoyed what they aptly termed a "hooley."

Statues Not Wanted

The question of what constituted a memorial was raised by Mr. A. Ferguson at a public meeting held at Devonport, Auckland, to decide on a Centennial undertaking for the district, states the "New Zealand Herald." The speaker said that most of the proposals were municipal matters and it was evident at that stage that there rrnght be difficulty in arousing public interest Mr. Ferguson gave an emphatic denial that he would prefer a group of statuary. "We have got too many statues looking on, that is the trouble," he said.

Severe Hail Storm.

July was a bad month for farmers in the Pahiatua district, many of whom have suffered heavy stock losses through flooding and cold weather, states "The Post's" representative. One farmer lost over 250 lambs in 24 hours. Yesterday a severe hail storm added again to their difficulties. It lasted for over half an hour. The driving wind swept the hail across the district with considerable force, and it was not long before the whole countryside was covered with hail. The roads were particularly treacherous. Shops and offices in Pahiatua were flooded, for the usual water channels could not cope with the hail.

Sun Again Spotted

Activity on the sun is again very well marked, and the latest group of spots can be seen with the naked eye if that organ is protected with smoked glass or some other means. The group of spots now visible is estimated to be nearly 200,000 miles in length, with a leading spot measuring some 88,000 miles by 50,000. Such marked activity may be followed by magnetic disturbances on the earth and it is quite on the cards that there will shortly be another auroral display, although it does not necessarily follow. There have been big spots on the sun before without an aurora, and occasionally there has been an aurora without a corresponding spot.

Honesty of Accountants,

The proposal of the toast to the accountancy profession by Mr. Justice Blair at the dinner of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants of New Zealand last evening had a strong legal flavour, with its climax in a reference to the honesty of accountants. "The profession," he said, "is most remarkably free of black sheep, and'there are such a lot of them today. Whether it is your training, your upbringing, or whether it is natural that men of a high type feel accord with the profession I don't know; but the fact remains that it is a profession which has very, very many eminent men in it and is singularly free of those who fall by the wayside by bringing dishonour to the profession to which they belong."

Function of Accountants,

"It has been well drilled into us that an auditor is not the servant of a board of directors but the watchdog of the shareholders," said Mr. W. Appleton, president of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants of New Zealand, at a dinner held by the institute last evening. "They rely upon us for protection against any illegality or malpractice. If we rule out the very rare examples of boards of directors being utter rogues, we may assume that the average board is composed of men anxious to do their duty. That duty is twofold—there is the duty to the future prosperity of the company, and there is the duty to the law by which companies must conduct their business and steer their progress. The law is very explicit about the duties of directors. It falls to our lot as auditors to exercise a watchful vigilance that these duties of directors • are faithfully carried out, not only in regard to the requirements of the law, but in the wider sense of being fair to shareholders and the general public."

"Not Doing Their Part."

"The young men are not doing their part. It is scandalous. The Government has been badly let down over its appeal for voluntary defenders of the country in an international crisis," said the president of the Canterbury Rugby Union (Mr. J. K. Moloney) at the meeting of the management committee of the union when appealing to footballers to give a lead to the youth of the Dominion, states • the "Press." Other members of the committee were of the opinion that there would be no lack of volunteers in the event of actual war. "We are moving in very difficult times, and we can give a lead to the youth of the country as trustees of its national game," said Mr. Moloney. There was a strong feeling that the young people had stayed their hand. The Territorial establishment was still below strength. Members of the union might" be able to make suggestions. Dr. W. S. Seed: I could make a suggestion—conscription. A member: Hear, hear. Mr. Moloney: That is a political issue and I do not think it would be profitable or proper for us to discuss it. He recalled that in the last war the Canterbury Regiment had as its backbone the Rugby players of the province. Unfortunately, the young men were not at the present time doing their part, Mr. V. L. Jensen: They will come forward if it really comes to a showdown. (Hear, hear.) "They will be there," declared Mr. A. I. Cottrell.

Soil Erosion,

"Our future prosperity, as in the .past, is bound up with the soil Mid its products," remarks the Hon. D. G. Sullivan in his foreword to the annual report of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. "But soil fertility is not inexhaustible, and practical experience shows that declining fertility brings with it deterioration of the vegetative cover, leading to erosion of the soil itself and general deterioration in the quality of the land. Every country in the worJd is experiencing the evil effects of uncontrolled soil erosion, and New Zealand has its own problems of this kind. Two prominent scientific bodies in New Zealand, the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Royal Agricultural Society;1 drew my attention to the problem of soil erosion in New Zealand, and at the same time suggested that steps be taken to investigate the position. I accordingly set up an expert technical committee to investigate and report on the incidence and seriousness of soil erosion, and to make recommendations regarding pi-eventive measures. The committee's report has disclosed that the position is sufficiently serious to warrant steps being taken to prevent irremediable damage to our farming lands through uncontrolled erosion. The remedy lies in the maintenance of a stable vegetative cover, in which grassland, forest, and scrubland are in their proper balance. The attainment of this ideal, however, involves difficult economic, administrative, and social problems, which will need to be very carefully weighed and considered in order to decide what line of action in regard to preventive measures is practicable under existing conditions."