NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 127, 31 May 1941, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

. Declared Enemy Countries. A proclamation issued last night declares Syria and Lebanon to be enemy countries for the purposes of the Enemy Property Emergency Regulations, 1939, and the Enemy Trading ' Emergency Regulations, 1939. Hock Oyster Season Opens. Evidence that Aucklanders have not ' lost their taste for rock oysters was given on Thursday, the first day of the new season, when an almost continuous stream of buyers passed through the Government depot at the Auckland City Markets. Both in quantity and quality the oysters were excellent, and • it is expected that the season of three months will be fully up to that experienced last year. The demand was especially heavy early on Thursday . morning, when dealers bought the bulk of the available large lots. Councillors' Popularity. "The shouting and the tumult dies ■ on the 17th, and for three years after the popularity and praise of councillors practically ceases." said Mr, J. R. Fow at the first meeting of the newlyelected Hamilton Borough Council "From then on the public looks upon councillors with amused toleration or deep, secret suspicion. It has been said : 'hat it takes three generations to make [-i gentleman, but you can become a councillor right away.'' i "Funds Are Buoyant." "1 have noticed that a favourite expression used by financiers and bank- : ers in regard to balance-sheets is to say that 'the funds are buoyant'," re--1 marked the chairman of the Hutt County Council at yesterday's annual meeting, when reviewing the year's operations "What this means, 1 am not. quite sure," he continued, "whether the concern is floating on air or on water, or just not going to sink. However, as far as the county is concerned I shall be content to say that our financial position is satisfactory." Second-hand Timber. After the Centennial Exhibition closed, a number of the buildings were shifted into the area controlled by the Hutt County Council, but the re-erec-tion of many of them was prohibited as their construction did not comply with the county bylaws, according to a report presented to yesterday's annual meeting of the Hutt County Council. But, the report continued there was now' good control of the influx oi second-hand timber into the county and owing to the reduction in imports there was not now the problem of people wishing to build in motor case timber. The hope was expressed that when the restrictions are lifted people will not again get the habit. Healthy Hutt County. The incidence of infectious diseases reported in the Hutt County during the last twelve months shows a smal) reduction on the previous year's figures, but quite a big one on the year before that. Only 19 cases were reported last year, and this, it was stated at yesterday's annual meeting of the Hutt County Council, was a direct indication of the benefit derived from immunisation from diphtheria of children of school and pre-school age. Diphtheria cases fell from 17 three years ago to 11 two years ago, and to 7 last year. No infectious diseases were reported last month, making four months in succession with a clean sheet. Not An Unmixed Blessing. Though fire hazards in the City and Suburban Water Board's area last summer and autumn were exceptionally light, the wet season was not an unmixed blessing, stated Mr. F. N. Perham, the board's forestry officer, in his annual report. Fire risks were so small that the cost of fire-fighting was practically nothing, but a series of wet seasons had meant unusual growth and that the normal burning on farm lands adjoining the forestry areas had not been possible. Consequently when the next dry season came round fire hazards would be considerably greater. It was practically impossible to keep fire from all parts of the board's area as much of it was surrounded by marginal and submarginal farming land, where burning was resorted to, but though certain comparatively small areas of bush had been destroyed other extensive areas previously burnt over had been regenerated with native species to a very pleasing extent. Between the Hutt and Pakuratahi Rivers about 501) of 700 acres of burnt-over land had been naturally regenerated since 1929 with young beech, kamaki, rata, and numerous other species. Memorial Collection. ] A collection commemorating the work and achievements of the famous Australian airmen, the late Sir Charles > Kingsford Smith and the late Mr. C. T. P. Ulm, which is on its way to the United States to be exhibited for patriotic purposes, was shown in the old Legislative Council rooms, Parliament House, on Thursday, and was inspected by the Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Nash) and members of Cabinet. The principal items in the collection, which is the work of Mr. Austin E. Byrne, of Rosebery, Sydney, are a large aluminium globe showing the journey ings of the aeroplane Southern Cross in its encirclement of the world, a marble shrine enclosing an illuminated history of the plane's flights with forewords by eminent people throughout the world with whom Kingsford Smith and Ulm came in contact during their unique exploits, and a delicately executed shining metal model of the famous aeroplane itself. There is also ar: interesting pictorial record of the flights collected from the many countries in which it made landings. The collection is the fruits of more than seven years' effort by Mr. Byrne, who is a railway employee. He estimates that tho total time spent on it was 17,000 hours, of which 5000, spread over three years, were devoted to the production of the model of the aeroplane. Huge Concrete Caissons. The first of the huge concrete caissons weighing 850 tons which will , for the inlet for the Rangitata irrigation scheme was successfully floated and i towed into position ready for sinking yesterday afternoon in the artificial : lake which fills the excavation in which : the caissons were constructed, states . the Christchurch "Star-Sun," The towing of the caisson over a distance of : twelve chains to the point where it ; was to be sunk was carried out yester- '. day morning in the presence of the ] Minister of Public Works <Mr ' Armstrong). Five more caissons i remain to be floated and towed into i place, and after the lake has been i pumped dry the false bulkheads will be removed and each huge concrete in- < lake will bo joined together, and sub- 1 sequently three more will be con- ' structed on the spot at the shore end of i the line. This method of constructing ' an irrigation intake is a job that has never been attempted in New Zealand ' before and there are few similar cases anywhere else in the world. Some idea of the capacity of the caissons is given by the fact that they will take a flow of 1000 cusecs, or 6200 gallons a second, or a flow equivalent to thirty times the normal flow of the River ( Avon. Each of the five smaller cais- i sons is 89 feet long, and the actual in- ] take caisson is longer still. They are l 20 feet wide, 12 deep, with a concrete i floor two feet thick. The walls are 13 3 inches thick, and they took over a year 11 to build. 11