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Evening Star, Issue 23560, 26 April 1940, Page 6

A catch of an unusually generous nature was the good fortune of an angler at the Rattray street wharf yesterday. Tending two lines hanging over the edge of the jetty, he was a typically stolid follower of the gentle art as practised at the waterfront, and on being informed of suspicious movements on one of his lines, he gave a tentative pull, and then commenced hauling in. At the end of - several fathoms of line was a long, wriggling shape which revealed itself as a ling in perfect condition. As soon as it left the water the fish hung limp, and the fisherman, with the aid of an. interested onlooker, began the task of hauling 201 b of dead-weight a distance of about 10 or 12 feet on to the wharf with a line hardly designed for the job. When 3ft 6in of ling lay quiescent on the boards, he optimistically threw his line again, and commenced pondering ways and means of getting his unusual catch home.

One of those at the Port Chalmers station when the train' passed to-day with the R.N.V.R. recruits was the founder of the N.N.V.R. in Otago— Captain E. F. Watson, whose son Mr E. A. Watson has been on the flagship Nelson for the past two years.

In order to facilitate the delivery of inland telegrams for members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in military camps or barracks in New Zealand, the Postmaster-General (Mr F. Jones) again draws attention to the necessity for to include the addresses, number, rank, battery, company or other section of the unit. ” To avoid the hardship of payment at the normal rate for such a lengthy address, it has been decided,” the Minister said, “ that only five words will be charged for the address, irrespective of any larger number of words it contains. This concession, which will take effect from Friday, will be applicable for the duration of the war, but it will not apply to telegrams addressed to members of the force at a home or private address.” The Road Safety Council has decided that the use of horns, except in an emergency, should be prohibited during the night hours, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.ra., and that an addition should be made to the road code requesting motorists to avoid the use of the horn during the daylight hours. Mr H W. Bundle, S.M., when dealing with two cases of traffic offences this morning, commented upon the dangerous position of the cable tram terminus at Kaikorai Valley, and suggested that the police might bring the matter before the notice of the City Corporation with a view to an alteration being made. The car, when stationed at the terminus, was right in the area of the intersection, and this made it extremely difficult for motorists to negotiate the turn. The cases before the court were the outcome of an accident which had occurred when a motor truck cutting across into Nairn street in front of the stationary car had collided with a cyclist who was coming down Taieri road at a fast pace. Both defendants were leniently dealt with.

Goods licensed for importation for the second period (June 1-December 31, 1939) cannot be allowed to enter New Zealand under those licenses by the Sydney Maru, to arrive in New Zealand on July 4, 1940, according to advico received, by the local branch of the CKS.K. Line from Wellington! For some time past tests have been carried out on the Main South road with a standard type of reflector placed on the side of the road at danger points. The tests so far have proved the efficiency of the reflectors, but that same efficiency has been interfered with through the irresponsible actions of unknown persons who have done all in their power to damage the reflectors, either by throwing stones at them or by firing lead slugs from pea rifles. In many cases the vandalism has gone further, and the reflectors have been prised from the standards by screwdrivers and other implements. There is a penalty of £SO provided for the conviction of anyone caught at this form of “ amusement,” and as a warning the Automobile Association (Otago) announces that offenders will be prosecuted. A watch is to bo kept on the standards, which are the property of the Main Highways Board. “ I am having a spot of bother with my Arabic,” writes a New Zealand soldier in Egypt to a friend in Auckland. “ In the Soldiers’ Club in Cairo on Saturday night I greeted the waiter with ‘ Ezzayak ’ —Arabic for ‘ Hello.’ His reply was ‘ Bullswool,’ in plain Australian. Was my face red?”

A quaint old legal circumlocution which adorned the pages of the ‘ Gazette ’ until last month has now disappeared. Whenever land was taken for railway purposes, the proclamation always began: “Whereas it has been found desirable for the use, convenience and enjoyment of the such and such railway to take further land . . .” In the latest issue a new and simpler form of words has been adopted, omitting the preamble and merely stating that certain land has been taken “ for ” a particular railway. Probably only lawyers could say why the old form appeared to endow railways with a personality and its accompanying emotions.

The secretary of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association has received the following'Poppy Day donations and returns:—Amount previously acknowledged, £1,654 10s 6d; Sawyers Bay, £8 7s 2d; Rev. Canon C. H. Statham, £2 2s; Haast Pass R.S. Committee, £6 9s; Anderson’s Bay School (additional), 3s Id.; Outram, £ll 18s 2d; total, £1,683 9s lid. - Despite the criticisms levelled at the North Dunedin Amenities Society over its scheme for the improvement of the Leith Valley hillside approach, there can be no doubt in the minds of those who have visited this area recently that the clearance of what appeared to be practically virgin jungle, overgrown with unsightly creepers, has converted the area into an orderly, well-arranged spot, which can he termed a credit to the north end of the city and a justification for the actions of the society. Flowers bordering the roadway and the reserve beyond make a pretty picture, equalled only by the colouring of the tree foliage further up the valley. The latter furnishes truly a beautiful scene. “ Make no mistake. There is nothing wrong with the new generation. They are good boys—just as keen, just as hard, and their excuses for absence without leave just as -ingenious as ever,” declared Colonel E. T. Rowlings, Officer Commanding the Southern Military District when replying to the toast of “ The Fighting Services ” at the Anzac reunion of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers’ Association on Wednesday. Colonel Rowlings had said that the “Old Brigade ” might even yet have an active and important part to play in the present war. “ But what of the new brigade P” he asked. The men of the first echelon went into camp without any knowledge of what lay ahead of them. They were willing to take a chance on where they would be sent. The colonel said he often looked over the men in camp and wondered which of them would bo the Dick Travis of the new generation. But he had every confidence in these new soldiers. “ They are only one more generation of something that has been in onr nation for centuries. The tradition of those who scaled the heights of Quebec and of Anzac, France and Belgium is safe in their keeping.”

The city organist, Dr V. E. Galway, has arranged an interesting programme for his next after-church recital in the Town Hall on Sunday. Special mention might be made of ‘ Legende ’ (Torjusscn) and Grieg’s popular * Peer Gynt Suite,’ a request item. Other interesting items are: ‘ln Memoriam ’ (Galway), ‘ Paraphrase on a Handelian Air ’ (Guumant), ‘ Minuet in A ’ (Boccherini), ‘ Passacaglia in 0 Minor ’ (Bach). The assisting artists will be Miss Marion Jeffery and Mr Alexander Blyth, who will be heard in ‘ Sonata for_ Piano and ’Cello,’ first movement (Grieg). Mr Blyth will also contribute ’cello solos: (a) ‘ Dedication ’ (Schumann); _ (b) ‘ Serenade,’ from ‘ Hassan ’ (Delius) ; (c) ‘ Gavotte and Musette ’ (Bach). There will be no charge for admission. At the Port Chalmers court to-day the following were convicted and fined 10s and costs:—William Gilbert Buchanan, for procuring liquor while prohibited; William Charles Percy, for driving over a railway crossing when a train was approaching; and James Abernethy, for driving a motor milk van on the wrong side of the road. The last-named offender was convicted and discharged. On a further charge of not having a driver’s license, the magistrate (Mr J. R. > Bartholomew, S.M;),/ conceded leniency as Abernethy was doing emergency service for a man in -hospital. The mayor (Mr A. H. Allen) acknowledges with thanks receipt of the following further donations to the appeal on behalf of the New Zealand Council for the “ adoption ” of Chinese refugee children: —Previously acknowledged. £944 14s 10d;, R. H. Stevenson, £4; Ravensbourhe-St. Leonard’s Presbyterian Church, £1 7s; St. Hilda’s Collegiate School. £1: “ Caversham Friend,” £1; total, £952 Is lOd.

His Honour Mr Justice Kennedy has granted probate in the following estates :—Christina Howie Burt, Shag Point, married woman; Ethel Vivienne Caldow, Oamaru, widow. Letters of administration have been granted in the estate of Annie Maud Cargill Foot Berkeley, California, married woman. < Common colds are prevalent in Dunedin just now, and influenza of a mild type also seems to be a fairly widespread complaint. The general health of the community, however, is satisfactory. Notifiable diseases in Otago and Southland that have been reported this week to the Health Department are one case of tuberculosis in each province and one case of scarlet fever in Otago.

■ Seagulls, sheltering from a cold wind across the Manukau Harbour on Saturday last chose unwisely when they settled on one of the fairways of the Maungakiekie golf course. Several gulls were killed during the afternoon through being struck by golf halls. The scattering of the white feathers in the wind caused players some difficulty at times in locating halls.