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Evening Star, Issue 23481, 23 January 1940, Page 6

As announced at the presentation of a radio sot to the millionth visitor to the Exhibition, £5 will be given to each hundred-thousandth person to enter. Saturday’s attendance was 26,286, leaving the total only a few hundreds short of 1,100,000. At 10.17 yesterday morning Robbie Merchant, a freckled 11-year-old boy from the Manganui School, North Auckland, one of the party of 600 which is touring the Exhibition, walked through the turnstiles and won £5 for the first 100,000 th (of the second million), visitor to the Exhibition. Licenses for the importation of goods to replace those lost on the wrecked Waikouaiti are being renewed by the Government, according to information received by the Riccarton Borough Council last evening. A letter was received from a timber company stating that permission had been renewed for the importation of ironbark poles lost on the wreck and that orders would be filled in the shortest time possible. Most of the people who change a £5 note, a £1 note or a 10s note at the change windows at the Exhibition are unaware that a special department of the Exhibition treasury had to be created to ensure an adequate supply of change for all requiring it. The treasury staff numbers six, and one of its duties is to have £7OO in cash, made up the night before, available for change-clerks, parcels officers, inquiry officers, publications sellers, toilets and car-parks. This amount is made up in sums of from £5 to £IOO. (‘ Dominion ’). The collision on the Mount Wellington highway, Ellerslio, Auckland, in October last year, which resulted in the deaths of the champion woman athlete, Doreen Lumley, and her twin sister, Bernice, aged 18, had a sequel in the Auckland Police Court, before Mr J. Morling, S.M., yesterday. A motor mechanic, Randolph Peter Sharp, aged 20, driver of the car in which the sisters were passengers, was charged with negligent driving thereby causing death. He was committed for trial. Prior to the start of iplay in the cricket match at Carisbroos: this morning Mr A. ■ H. Allen, president of the Otago Cricket Association, welcomed the visiting Maniototo team. In the course of his remarks Mr Allen assured the players that the Otago Association was doing all it could to encourage country cricket, and would be only too pleased if any of their players proved to be of sufficient calibre to be included in the Otago shield eleven. Mr Allen, in his capacity as mayor of the city, expressed tlie hope that the visitors would enjoy their stay in Dunedin. Dr A. Priest, captain of the Maniototo eleven, and an ex-Carisbrook player, replied to the welcomeSlighting reference is often made to the awkwardness of a_ bull in a china shop, but that figurative animal could not have caused more surprise than did the Jersey bull which entered a boot shop in Tuatapere yesterday morning—by way of the window (says the Southland ‘Daily News’). The bull was wandering along the main street when it saw its reflection in the window. _ A bellowing challenge was issued and immediately accepted. The bull charged its shadowy opponent and hurtled into the shop amidst a shower of falling glass. Bewildered by such unlookedfor tactics, the bull was quickly chased back into the street.

Daventry, the radio centre from which is broadcast Britain’s war news, was originally named Danetree, and to this day the borough council seal depicts a stalwart Dane standing alongside a tree. Geographically it is the centre of Britain, and that is possibly why it was chosen as the site of the wireless station which is the nerve centre of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Air C. W. Leete, of Akaroa, was born at Daventry (says the ‘ StarSun He says the town has a population of between three and four thousand. It is situated in a purely agricultural area on the borders of Warwickshire. Charles I. stayed there for somo days before taking his army into battle at Naseby. His camp was pitched on Borough Hill, a short distance from the town.

A pact made in a shollhole in no man’s land in France during the last war with Captain, now the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, is recalled by the departure to Trentham of Mr J. B. Speakman, of Napier, who seeks further service overseas. Mr Speakman was only 16 years of age when he enlisted. Ha sheltered for some 30 hours in a shellhole with Mr Coates, and there they made a pact that in the event of one of them becoming the father of a son the other would be the godfather at the christening. About four years ago Mr Speakman was in a position to invoke the pact, but he had had three daughters first. Mr Coates was as good as his word. The ceremony was held at St. Augustine’s Church in Napier, and the man who had held the highest political positions this country has to offer duly became godfather to the son of his wartime sergeant. Mr Speakman is back in the Army again, and ho hopes above all things to get another chance to serve with Air Coates, whom he regards as “ the finest soldier New Zealand ever put into the field, bar none.” Many people have found the hot weather irksome', and the constant walking on hard footpaths has resulted in sore and swollen feet. One Auckland woman had an unfortunate experience. She had been shopping, and, feeling tired and footsore, decided to patronise a picture house. Once inside she slipped off her shoes and heaved a sigh or relief. But tired feet have a habit of swelling a little when relieved of their leather encasement, and. much to the consternation of the woman, she found, when ready to leave the theatre, that her shoes would not fit. Try as she would, she could not get them on, and finally had to leave the theatre in her stockinged feet, call a taxi, and bo driven to the bus terminal, where she caught her bus for homo.

A facetious note was struck at a surprise party held to honour the Mayor of Wanganui (Mr W. J. Rogers) at his home on his fifty-third birthday. Mr S. J. Harris, after Mr Rogers had received a presentation of an umbrella, said that the mayor in possession of the gift reminded Mr Harris of two people, Mr Neville Chamberlain and Mr Adam Hamilton. “ But I can’t just make up my mind which one you look most like,” he said, amid general laughter from more than .'lO guests, most, if not all, of whom subscribed to the same political thoughts as both Mr Rogers and Mr Harris—those of the Labour Party.,

Attention is drawn to the fact that the time of the civic reception to he tendered by the mayor (Mr A. H. Allen) to the Marquess of Wilhngdon to-morrow afternoon has been altered from 5 o’clock to 3 o’clock. Citizens are invited to be present. An open rupture of the “ political truce ” agreed upon by the Government and the Opposition at the outbreak of the war is being planned by Labour organisations throughout the Dominion (says the Christchurch ‘ Press ’). Further steps are being taken to carry out the concerted arrangements made before Christmas to hold demonstrations by workers in support of the Government. The arrangement made early in December by Labour organisations was that the first rally should be held in Auckland. Labour Party workers at that time held that the “ truce ” had been broken by statements issued by National Party members, and a resolve was made that Labour should come out into the open and place its views on the political situation before the_ public. An oblique 'reference to the disavowal of the “ truce ” is considered by National Party members to have been made as recently as Friday night last, when the Deputy Prime Minister (the Hon. P. Fraser)' in an address to the Auckland Labour Representation Committee and the Auckland Council of the Federation of Labour, “ referred to the desirability of holding the proposed mass demonstration of workers in the near future, and of inviting the Prime Minister to speak.” To have seven sons enlisted for service with the Maori battalion is ibe tine record of the 'VVaenga family 'of Opotiki. Two of the brothers enlisted for service at Gisborne and were passed as fit. Four more were examined in Opotiki last week, all passing the medical test. The seventh brother, who is married, arrived in Opotiki too late to be examined, but he is also expected to pass as fit. Should ho be accepted for service the family will have the distinction of having seven sons_ in the main body of the Maori battalion.

The break-down of the carrying steamer’s refrigeration has left the southern cities hare of bananas for quite a long period. Tho last shipment landed in Auckland! was, owing to the breakdown of the refrigerating machinery, too ripe to be sent south, huta temporary alleviation of the position is expected shortly. A small shipment should arrive at Wellington in about a week’s time, and of this a small proportion will he diverted to southern cities.

There was' no sitting of the Police Court to-day.

Requesting that lights be placed on the cargo stacked on the deck, a number of members of the crew of the s.s. Omana refused to sail with the vessel from Greymouth last Friday night, and as the vessel was about to swing they jumped off. The crew was of the opinion that the deck cargo would endanger them while tho vessel was at sea, but it was explained that the war regulations prevented the displaying of lights on tho deck, and the crew returned to duty in time for the vessel to sail at 6.30 o’clock on Saturday morning with coal and timber for Auckland (says the Greymouth 1 Star ’).

Mushrooms have been a welcome tasty addition to the table of many Dunedin families of late, mainly through their own enterprise in the countryside; though they appeared on the local market last week they were not at all plentiful until about Friday last. Then, although in fair quantity, the mushrooms varied considerably in- quality, mid some consignments were of inferior grade. It has not been a prolific season to date, as the country has been too parched of water for the spawn to propagate, but with the recent heavy rain, combined with satisfactory ground heat retained from earlier scorching, growth began. Further rainfall will have pleasing effect on quantities coming forward, so that prices will show a favourable reaction from the consumer’s point of view. Motor parties have reported abundance of healthy specimens when they have returned from early morning jaunts-

Towards the end of last year the University Council decided to appoint a special officer whose duty it would be to endeavour to arrange suitable lodgings for students. Persons who are prepared to accept student boarders are invited to forward their names to the Registrar of the '