NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 47, 23 August 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Significant Figures. The general reader may not devour the weekly returns of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand with avidity, but there are figures in it this week which should give him food for thought. Two records have been established this week, as will be seen in the weekly statement published elsewhere: the bank-note issue and borrowings by the Government from the Bank. The banknotes this week reached £20,000,590, the highest ever in the history of the Bank; and the advances made to the State for purposes other than for the Marketing Department amounted to £23,240,000, also the . highest ever, although, to the apprehension of many Qualified observers, they did amount to £22,310,000 in February last. An Expression of Thanks. The managers of the teams representing the primary schools of Wanganui, Wairarapa, Hutt Valley, and Wellington, which participated in the quadrangular Rugby tournament at Athletic Park, have written to "The Post" to express their sincere appreciation of the hospitality provided by those Wellington people who very kindly billeted the visitors for the duration of the tournament. Vocational Training for Cripples. The vocational training which is being given to crippled children was praised by Lady Galway yesterday, when she opened the conference of the New Zealand Crippled Children Society. Later on in the proceedings it was pointed out how useful it was for crippled youths to learn the bootmaking trade in order that the art of the hand-made boot, especially of the surgical type, should not be lost. The present makers of surgical boots, it was suggested, were not as young as they once were, and it would be a good thing to have skilled makers ready to take their places when they retired. Dictators and Scouting. "It is significant that one of the first things Hitler and Mussolini did when they came into power was to stamp out the Boy Scout movement," said Mr. A. W. Cooksey, Commissioner of Boy Scout Training in New Zealand, in an address to the Hamilton Rotary Club. "They realised that it was a I force against their doctrines and that they could not succeed while its moral principles remained. They have, however, retained the technical training side of the movement, for they know that if they want unity for a national movement they must have the enthusiasm of youth behind them." i Rescued From Oblivion. Although the Wanganui Museum has perhaps the best collection in existence of ancient canoe balers, it was very delighted to add another, writes "The Post's" Wanganui correspondent. This baler was found in a shed at Pipiriki, quite by accident, and with it an unusual timo (a Maori cultivator). Mr. Fred Allen was searching for some implements in a shed belonging to Mrs. Ngaraiti Gray and noticed the two articles up in the rafters. Knowing that they are rare, he asked Mrs. Gray to allow him to take them to the Museum. They are in excellent condition. Labour Suspension Order. A labour legislation suspension order was recently gazetted in respect to tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and sheetmetal workers engaged in work related to the dairy industry in the northern industrial district. A notice in last night's Gazette extends the effect of this order to similar workers in the Taranaki, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago and Southland districts. Another order relating to these trades provides that in certain circumstances eight hours may be worked on Saturdays if the consent of the union concerned and the Department of Labour has been obtained. Women Teachers. "The Department considers that women teachers can best serve the country by remaining in the profession for which they have been thoroughly trained," stated a letter received at a meeting of the Auckland Education Board from the Education Department, reports the "New Zealand Herald." The letter added it was clear that if the war went on an increasing number of men teachers would be required for military service. "The benefits respecting grading, superannuation, and so on, which are enjoyed by male teachers who are on military service, have not been extended to women teachers up to the present," the Department stated. "Provision for the extension of those benefits to women was not likely to be made except in extreme emergency. However, the Department would consider the application of a woman teacher who had special qualifications and whose services were required by the defence" authorities." The Dry Waimakariri. The bridge over the Waimakariri at Bealey at present runs over a dry river-bed, states the "Press." The longcontinued lack of rain or heavy snow-1 fall has had a marked effect on the rivers of the upper Waimakariri re-1 gion. The bed of the Waimakariri itself is dry from near its head to well below the Bealey Bridge, although it reappears as a wraith of its usual self at the railway bridge a few miles lower down. The Bealey carries a fair volume of water at Arthur's Pass township, but is dry at the railway bridge, near its confluence with the Waimakariri. The Mingha tributary of the Bealey, and the Edwards and the Hawdon, are also dry in the lower parts of their courses. Rivers in this area occasionally go dry during the winter when continued heavy frosts prevent thawing of the snow,, but the reason this year appears to be the lack of snow, for there has been no good fall since early in June. Very little snow is lying below 4500 feet—a condition that is not usually reached until October, for August is usually a month of heavy snow. Pipes for Giant Siphon. On quiet farmland at the foot of the Surrey Hills, machinery and material are being assembled by the Public Works Department for the production of the world's third largest pre-cast concrete pipes, states the Christchurch "Press." These pipes, 12 feet in internal diameter, will be used to carry the Rangitata diversion race for more than a mile and a half over the unstable'lower slopes of the Surrey Hills. Slightly smaller pipes will be cast here, too, for the upper partof the penstock of the Highbank hydro-electric power station, and for some of the siphons which will take the diversion race underneath intersecting rivers. New Zealand engineers have surmounted formidable difficulties in preparing for the manufacture of these mammoth pipes, which are exceeded in size only by those in use on the Los Angeles Aqueduct and by those which are now being made for the Boston Aqueduct, 12ft Sin and 12ft 6in respectively in diameter. Compared with their colleagues in more highly industrialised countries, New Zealand engineers, even in peace-time, have ■ limited resources of machinery and : equipment with which to tackle problems of this size; war has increased their difficulties a hundredfold. The successful completion of this great pro- , ject will be a triumph for the ingenu- • ity of engineers in overcoming prob- • lems created by the impossibility of : importing the orthodox eauipment and materials.

N.Z. Authors Should Be Recognised. "I think there is some wonderful work amongst our New Zealand authors, and I think we should make more use of them," said Mr. Barton Ginger, elocution adjudicator, after he had judged a recital section at the Wei- j lington competitions last night. Mr. Ginger referred to one competitor's choice of William Pember Reeves's "Passing of the Forest." "It is a wonderful piece," he said. "Pember Reeves knew what he meant by the passing of the forest; he knew what it meant to this country." Lucky Find. While engaged lifting the floor of an old shed, a Waimate resident made a very lucky strike, which is likely to enhance his banking account, states the Christchurch "Star-Sun."; The shed, which had been erected about 70 years ago, was recently pulled down. While he was engaged in uprooting the floor: the resident found an old tin which rattled. He took the lid off, and was amazed to find ten golden sovereigns. It is thought that the tin and its contents must have iato In their hiding place for very many years. Waikato River Diversion. The contractors engaged in constructing the deep cut for the diversion of the Waikato River at the approaches to Taupo township are at present working extra shifts to push the task ahead, states a Rotorua correspondent. Scoops, tractors, and bulldozers are being employed, and already a great deal of work has been done. The cut is being driven from a point immediately above the bridge to a point considerably below it, and through this the river will be diverted when the dam, which is to be constructed to control the level of the lake, has been completed. A small sawmill to cut the considerable quantity of timber required for the undertaking has been erected on the site and is cutting heavy logs brought from the nearby native forests.