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Evening Star, Issue 23565, 2 May 1940, Page 8

The Government has purchased from Messrs Charles Begg and Co. Ltd., Dunedin, the copyright and the performing, reproduction, and similar rights of the words and music of Thomas Bracken’s song ‘ God Defend New Zealand.’ The Aliuister of Internal Affairs (.Mr Parry) stated that the decision had been reached to purchase tho existing rights of the song, which had come to be regarded as the national song of the people of the Dominion, in order to remove any restrictions which might be imposed on its use by the copyright and performing rights being in private ownership. Records of the song had been made for distribution throughout the country. A post card received by a Dunedin resident from a correspondent in Redlands, California, states: “ Thank you very much for sending me the Centennial supplement of tho ‘ Evening Star.’ It is most interesting, and my friend and I have enjoyed it a lot. There was a poem in it called ‘ Seed and Harvest,’ which we thought so Cleveland amusing that we sent it to our local paper, the ‘ Redlands Daily Facts,’ and it has given great enjoyment to many.”

Tho market for fat sheep at the Burnside stock sale yesterday was a keen one throughout, with values firmer by 2s all round. Freezing sheep sold very freely at the increased schedule rates. Extra prime heavy wethers realised to 38s; prime. 32s to 33s Cd; medium, 27s to 29s 6d; light. 22s to 245; heavy young ewes, to 27s 6d; prime heavy, 22s to 255; medium, 18s to I9s 6d; light, 13s to 15s. Heavy butchers’ lambs brought to 37s ; prime heavy, 28s to 31s; medium. 24s to 2Gs 9d ; light, down to 20s. Extra heavy bullocks made to £lB 12s 6d; prime heavy, £ls 12s 6d to £l7 2s 6d; prime medium. £ll 7s Cd to £l3 12s 6d; light, £8 2s 6d to £9 12s 6d; extra prime heifers and cows, to £ll 17s 6d; prime, £8 17s 6d to £9 12s 6d; medium, £5 17s 6d to £7 17s 6d; light, from £4 17s 6d. At a meeting of the Napier Horticultural Society Airs R. Holt exhibited a large tomato which she said had been grown from a lateral which had been taken from the parent plant and grown on its own. By this method it was possible to obtain a regular supply of tomatoes, for as the older vines ceased to bear younger plants grown from laterals produced their fruit. A fine wjiite swan has recently been noticed in tho vicinity of Boggy Pond, Wairarapa Lake, by a number of people of the district, and its presence has also been noted by rangers. This bird is rigorously protected, and shooting licenses permit of the shooting of only black swans. The visitor is not the first white swan scon in that vicinity, as they have been known to patronise Wairarapa Lake for the past 15 years.

Registrations for the Third Echelon up to noon to-day arc the poorest for some time past, only four being recorded at the Kensington Drill Hall. None of the names is available for publication. For the month of April registrations show an improvement over those for March, however, the respective figures for the two mouths being 288 and 245. Jf fbe complaints made to the ‘ Star ’ this morning concerning the Jack of traffic control in the Borough of St. Kikln, are at all well-founded, there would appear to bo considerable room for improvement. There arc, it seems, 03 streets in the borough, and the fact that these have to bo controlled by one man who holds a mini her of other offices besides that of traffic inspector makes it practically impossible for proper supervision to be exercised. ’ibe result is, so it is complained, tbattalmost every possible breach of the regulations is continually being committed ; cars pass other vehicles on the wrong side; they cut corners, they obstruct right-of-ways, they aro parked wrongly. The method of carrying out a driving test is also said to be wrong, in that all tests are carried out within the borough, which, obviously, makes them incomplete. As for push bicycles, the riders of these are said to obey no ■rules but those known as “ Rafferty’s.” There are some dangerous intersections in tho borough which, in the opinion of the complainant (who, by the way, is a person thoroughly competent to express such opinions), should be controlled bv a pointsman during peak hours. That serious accidents have not been as frequent as they might, in the circumstances, have been is perhaps due more to good fortune than good management.

Passengers on a liner which reached Auckland from North America recently experienced a marked change in temperatures during tho last week of their voyage. When in the tropics the weather was exceptionally hot, the water in the ship’s swimming bath in temperature to 86deg. As tho New Zealand coast was approached temperatures dropped rapidly till on arrival at Auckland the passengers shivered in what to them seemed wintry conditions. Actually the temperature was in the vicinity of 55dog. Reference was made by Captain H. P. Conyers-Brown, area officer at Whangarci, speaking at a returned soldiers’ reunion at Whangarei, to the willingness of men who served in the Great War to servo again. “ It’s no use you chaps coming to me and telling me that you were about 11 years of age when you went to the last war,” he said. “ This is a youngsters’ war at present. I think that your turn will come before we are finished. I know that you feel as I do, that we would rather bo going ourselves than be farewelling others.” Tho secretary (Mr 0. L. Kerens) of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association has received the following additional Poppy Day returns : —Amount previously acknowledged £2,190 Is 9d, Momona W.D.F.U. £ll 16s, Waikouaiti district £3l, Arrowtown £l3 16s 7d, Roxburgh Returned Soldiers’ Committee £SO 10s, Kaitangata district £42 2s 7d, Kokonga £1 16s, Warrington Returned Soldiers’ Committee, £23 16s lid; total. £2.364 19s lOd. Reference to “ the enemy in our midst” was made by Colonel A. B. Charters during a service in Wellington. After speaking of the valorous deeds of the Anzacs 25 years ago and of the splendid part played by the New Zealand members of the ship's company of H.M.S. Achilles and young New Zealand airmen in this war, Colonel Charters went on to say: “ A most serious position is, however, the enemy in our midst —those persons now professing the various isms. Any person who in time of war endeavours by persuasion or by propaganda to prevent our young men from enlisting is an enemy—nay, more, a traitor. Members of those various bodies are working assiduously among our young men with the object of giving them an excuse should compulsory service be introduced. These principles will be their excuse 'for not doing their part in defending their country and their womenfolk from a relentless and implacable foe. Such underground propaganda will have - to be stopped. In the Police Court to-clay Edward Robert Thomas (23) was charged with indecent assault on a male. On the application of Detective-sergeant Hall tho magistrate (Mr H. W. Bundle) granted a remand until next Monday afternoon. Bail was refused. Laughter followed the announcement of refusal of a member of the KaikoraiWakari Improvement Society last night to act on a sub-committeo regarding Blanket and kindergarten matters. The naive reply accompanying the refusal ivas “ I’m not interested yet!” Motorists will appreciate an action of tho Kaikorai-Wakari Improvement Society at its meeting last evening to permit parking on one side only of Shetland street between Nairn street and Mount street. At present this narrow steep street has cars and vans parked on both sides at nights, and frequently opposite each other. This street is a main route to the new settlement, and accidents have ffieen narrowly averted in “ dodging ” parked vehicles. The city council is being asked to consider the matter. Manners of city motorists come in for a good deal of criticism one M-ay and another, but the percentage of criticism which can be fully justified is small. In this particular some comments made to the ‘ Star ’ by an Australian visitor this morning are not without interest. He said that one thing which had impressed him in Dunedin Mas the courtesy exhibited by motorists. He had noticed it in various connections, but he M - as most taken nith tho May drivers pulled up to permit pedestrians to cross tho load mlicii there M-as no sign of a traffic inspector within a mile. “ You wouldn’t find that in Melbourne,” he said. ‘‘ There when you step on to the road it is a matter of luck whether you reach the other side. Some of the drivers appear to sen what is the narroM-est possible margin in which they can dash past yon.” This visitor added that tho rule of giving way to traffic on one’s right was a very good one. In Melbourne it applied only in districts, and M-as not general. The City Fire Brigade Mas called out shortly after 8.30 last evening to Barton’s Butchery, Manse street, where a pile of straw had caught fire. There M-as no damage.