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Evening Star, Issue 21656, 27 February 1934, Page 8

People who like dogs but are never able to lose a fear of being bitten should take heart from the record of Mr Fraser, the superintendent of the Lost Dogs’ Home at North Melbourne (says the 1 Age ’). Mr Fraser has been handling strange dogs for many years and has never been bitten. This is the more extraordinary when it is remembered that not only injured and sufferings dogs are brought to the home, but that many of the animals are genuine strays, Ishmaelites against whom every man’s hand is turned and every respectable dog’s teeth are bared. It is a tribute to the tractability of the dog that none of these canine buccaneers has ever left the marks of its teeth on the hand of the superintendent, considering the natural prompting towards self-defence that must overcome the frightened animals. It is rarely that any of the staff are bitten. The trick of handling strange dogs, says Mr Fraser, is to know the habits of the dog, to approach him without fear, and to handle him firmly and gently. Hundreds of dogs are sold by the home every year, and the average price is less than 10s a dog.

Further vandalism has been perpetrated at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. A few weeks ago someone scratched initials on the beautifully bronze wrought doors leading from the lower to the upper galleries, and it is now reported by the ‘ Age ’ that others have followed “ this damnable example of unadulterated desecration ” by scratching four sets of initials and numerals on the door panels. It was also ascertained that, in addition to the disfiguration of the bronze doors, someone has slashed with a diamond one of the handsome marble columns which surround the inner shrine. Other manifestations of incomprehensible degeneracy have been discovered in other parts of the Shrine of Remembrance, but so far no one has been detected in the perpetration of these outrages against the most solemn and sacred susceptibilities of the public.

There are more ways of acquiring gold than by digging in a mine. Sydney is full of it if one only knew where to"go and prospect (writes the correspondent of the Melbourne ‘Age’). But there is no lead and no “ specking ” after a heavy shower of rain with the hope of picking up a small nugget or two. The straight-out announcement that the bank would buy sovereigns at £2 a piece (in paper money, of course) soon brought the gold to light. When everything was quiet the gold hoarders pottered around picking up the old boot or taking the loose piece of flooring up, taking tho lid off the broken' teapot or digging up the jam tin, and in a hundred other places where gold is stored awaiting the rainy day. There are still many sovereigns about. One person walked in with 200 and gob £4OO in notes for the find. Others had various amounts in free gold and sovereigns stowed away. There is a lo't to be got yet, hut the difficulty is to coax it into daylight. It used to be customary for people to meditate a lot on the time when they would have to depart from earth, and a great many who otherwise trusted banks with their money declined to deposit their funeral expenses. As a consequence sovereigns were obtained and hoarded up against tho time when the owner should die. There it will remain until tho executors or the next-of-kin come along to order the funeral, when it will be sold at an advanced rate and the undertaker will receive the customary cheque or payment in notes. The newer generation is not, however, making such a provision. But it will take a considerable time to work out the present gold deposits, for the people who put such faith in gold live a long time.

Tenders for rebuilding the administrative block of the Dunedin Hospital were opened at the last meeting of the Hospital Board. As all were found to be considerably above the estimated cost, the Board resolved to refer them to the architect, with a request that lie report thereon to the Works Committee, and that committee will, it is expected, report to the Board at the meeting next week. Slight damage was done to a bag machine at Messrs A. Ellis and Company’s flock works, Kaikorai Valley road this morning. The brigade was called by an automatic alarm at 9.42.

“ The question has never even been discussed,” declared the Prime Minister (Mr Forbes) when his attention was called last night to the report from the Samoan correspondent of an Auckland newspaper to the effect that the Government had extended indefinitely the term of Brigadier-general H. E. Hart as Administrator of Western Samoa. In denying the report, Ms Forbes said the question of General Hart’s appointment had not been up for consideration in any shape or form, and he could not even say offhand when his term was up or what were the conditions relating to his appointment. Though the Rotary conference will not bo officially opened at New Plymouth until to-night, a gathering to welcome the visiting Rotarians and their womenfolk was held last night. Over 200 were present, and the proceedings were of an informal nature, giving those who were not already acquainted an opportunity of meeting before the official business of the conference is commenced. A conference held at Featherston during the week-end was attended by fifty delegates from the Upper Hu.tt, Featherston, Martinborough, and Carterton branches of the New Zealand Labour Party. It was definitely decided to contest the Wairarapa seat at the next election and the name of the candidate will be divulged shortly. It was reported that one prospective candidate had asked for the party’s official endorsement, but this had been declined on various grounds. The candidate will be found within the rank of the party.—Carterton Press Association.

Prior to this year the championship at the big contests went to the band that scored the highest aggregate in tile two A grade selections and the music of the quickstep. At the festival hold last week in Wellington the programme provided that the championship honours should go to the band with the highest aggregate in the two selections, dropping out of count the music of the quickstep. The people at large do not know why the change was made. Possibly it was because the music of the quickstep was “ own choice'.” Whatever the reason for the alteration in the conditions the result is that the St. Kilda Baud suffers. It would be on top, holding the championship, if the old method of computing had been adhered to, and Palmerston North Band, now declared the winner, would be sixth in order, as the figures of the sectional results show. St. Kilda made 145 in the first of the A grade selections, 141 in the second, and 126 in the music of the quickstep—total 412; Invercargill Civic, 144, 143, 122—total 409; Wanganui Garrison, 147, 139, 133—total 409; Port Nicholson, 146, 142, 119—total 407; Queen Alexandra, 138, 144, 125—total 407; Palmerston North, 143, 147, 116—total 406. The object of these comparisons is not to belittle Palmerston North, but to make it clear that St. Kilda had bad luck in having to work under a new system. Mr Dixon, St. Kilda’s conductor, is not responsible for drawing attention to tbe matter. He and his band are to be back by to-day’s train. In the Police Court this morning Allan George Anderson Pringle, a statutory first offender for drunkenness, was fined 10s, in default twenty-four hours’ imprisonment. Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., was on the bench. The overseas steamer Mahana, which ieft Port Chalmers this afternoon for London, on a mean draught of 28ft 6in, is not taking the Cape Horn route this voyage. She may not have done so in any case, but March is the month when fog and stray icebergs occasionally, in the old davs, obstructed free passage round Cape" Stiff. .The Mahana is going by the Panama Canal, and will make a brief call at Jamaica to land some freight. , Golf players are asking when the Chisholm Park links will be ready for use. Mr Tannock supplies the answer. The job is being steadily gone on with. One of the pitch-and-putts is nearly finished, but not yet top-dressed. The whole work will be completed by next spring. Players will,, however, have to wait awhile after that, perhaps for a year, it being considered undesirable to start play till the whole scheme is thoroughly matured.

The Community services performed at the Otago Hospital Board’s laundry in Caversham is of a comprehensive nature, the number of pieces washed in the course of a year being about a million. For the ten months ended January 31, the exact number was 991,307, and the cost was 10Jd per dozen, a reduction of a farthing per dozen on last year’s cost. The total expenditure came to £3,532, the largest item being £1,906 for wages. When this laundry was projected one of the opposing arguments was that cartage would be expensive, hut the statement from which we are quoting shows that in the ten mouths’ period this outlay totals £269, although the washing comes from not merely the Dunedin Hospital, but all the related institutions, including the Fever Hospital, and the hospitals at Wakari and Palmerston. One of Dunedin’s philanthropic fixtures that is increasing steadily in importance and also in favour is the annual outing organised by the Otago Motor Club for the children of the various orphanages. It depends largely for its success on the co-operation of motorists, and there is every reason to expect that this season’s outing, at the Wingatni Racecourse on Saturday of this week, will find many owners of cars aiding the club. Mr Sutton, the secretary, has an advertisement on the subject in this issue.

Regret was expressed at last night’s meeting of the Port Chalmers Progressive League that ship repairing work which was done a few years ago at Port Chalmers was now being sent to Sydney. In the case of the steamer Waiko'uaiti, at present in dry dock, a fractured rudder post was being repaired to last until the vessel reached Sydney, where a new one would be made. Had the forge at Port Chalmers still been in working order there would have been no occasion for the steamer to have left hero until a new post had been fitted. Members of the Progressive League said this was an instance of the port going back. From times immemorial the retailing of a story having fish as its subject has been received with a certain amount of unbelief. A tale, fantastic as it may appear, is vouched for by three local fishermen who spent the week-end at the Pomahaka River. One of the men was followed up and down the river bank by a largo grey tomcat for about an hour, and when the violent loggings of the line denoted that a fish was on the end of it the animal became very excited. As soon as tbe fish was pulled out of the water tbe cat, to the fisherman’s amazement, jumped in and snatched it off the line. Had the vision of his two companions not corroborated his, the fisherman would not have been able to believe bis own eyes.

Port Chalmers. —John Watson Limited, Clearing Summer Sale, general drapery, clothing, boots and shoes, household furnishings, now proceeding.—[Advt.] Save your eyes. Be wise and consult W. V. Sturmer (optician, 2 Octagon), thus conserving good vision for old age.—f Advt.f Port Chalmers. —John Watson Limited, Clearing Summer Sale, general drapery, clothing, bools and shoes, household furnishings, now proceeding. —[Advt.]