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Evening Star, Issue 23745, 28 November 1940, Page 8

A story about Scotland, which came from the “Irish section ” of the Invercargill Rotary Club, was told at the weekly luncheon ,of the club yesterday. It was stated that when the Germans were planning their air raids on Britain they decided not to drop any screaming bombs on Scotland because they considered that such bombs would not in any way disturb people who bad for centuries been used to the bagpipes. Presentation of life-saving medals to Patrol Leaders Bartlett and Healey, of the Anderson’s Bay Boy Scouts, will take place in the Queen’s Gardens at 8 o’clock on the evening of Friday, December (3, these medals having been awarded for rescue work carried out in the harbour in November, 1939, when a yacht capsized. To mark the occasion a district parade of Scouts will be hold. The parade will assemble in Fillcul street at 7.30, and march via St. Andrew' street, George street, and Princes street to the Queen’s Gardens, where the presentation of the medals will be made by Mr C. V. Smith, the local president of the Rotary Club. It is expected that about 500 Scouts will take part. From a soldier in England a Dunedin lady has received a letter expressing appreciation of the receipt of parcels. “ I saw your note in a parcel,” he writes, “ and thought 1 would answer it. We were very pleased to get the parcels, especially just now', as w r e are camped in old houses and farm buildings, and have no canteen. Tho nearest store is over a mile away, but tho Y.M.C.A. van comes round nearly every day, so we arc able to buy ‘smokes' and get a cup of tea. if you see any of the Patriotic Committee you might convey the thanks of my company, w'hich is mostly made up of Otago boys. You might also mention that one of the main w'ants is cigarette tobacco. Tho tobacco boro is not as good as we got in New Zealand, and is about double the price. We are locling well and have had quite a good time. Most of us have bad seven days’ leave and have seen quite a lot of this country. London is a wonderful city, with some interesting places. We are having a good many air raids lately, and they have done some damage in London and other towns, but the planes get a hot reception and many never go back.” Many good stories have been told about the quantity of water pumped out of Lake Pupuke, Auckland, sole source of the North Shore water supply. One more was told by Mr E. Aldridge, chairman, at a recent meeting in Devonport, when citizens protested against the present supply. A woman, be said, was taking part in a discussion about Llic water, and remarked that she did not mind the smell so much. “ The taste is horrible, and il you are very thirsty you can hold your nose when yon drink ; but what I do not like is being tickled when I’m in the hath;” she said. (Laughter.) Mr Aldridge said she was obviously referring to those organisms described at a recent meeting as being “tough in tho hide”—coratinm, protozoa, and poridininm, and the rest of tho long names that wore so often rolled off the tongue of quasiscientists.

Letters from Home continue to reflect the indomitable spirit of the people. Little short of remarkable is the way in'which the war is accepted as an ordinary feature of everyday life there. One of the best examples is afforded in the following extract from a letter, quoted by iVlr J. Sutherland (Ross at the annual meeting of the National Insurance Company yesterday : “It will bo a nuisance if we have a bomb in the orchard, as I’vo not got in all the apples; also it might upset the liens, and somo are laying. At one place a bomb caused all the feathers to come off the hens at a poultry farm, not killing any.” A lady making her way through Queen street crowds on Friday afternoon met a soldier who broke into a run as he passed, dropping at .her feet a Post Office Savings Rank book from which emerged several bank notes (says the Auckland ‘ Herald ’). Picking it up, she turned and ran in pursuit, and what must have looked like 11 “ stop thief ” chase ensued. The soldier, having a considerable start, was seen to dash into the entrance of a block of offices, whore, after some inquiries, he was located and handed his book and money.

It was reported this week that Dr Elizabeth Gregory had been appointed dean of the faculty of home science at the Otago University. The registrar of the university states that the University Council has not yet made any appointment. The council, he said, has made certain conditional decisions, and an announcement of the successor to Professor Ann Strong will be made at an early date. A hitherto untried scheme of “ caterpillar ” transport was employed last week by the Ist Battalion, 16th Waikato Regiment, when the troops were moved from their camp at Cambridge to Te Kuiti and back again, a distance of about 90 miles. The scheme is designed to shift infantry troops speedily when sufficient motor transport for all is not available. A portion of the battalion set off marching, while the remainder travelled on ahead some miles in trucks. The vehicles deposited their occupants and returned for the troops marching, who in turn were carried on some miles ahead of the other portion. By this means the battalion covered tlio 45 miles to Te Kuiti in 3i hours, instead of the 17 or 18 which the journey would have taken had the men marched the whole distance. Each soldier actually marched about eight or nine miles, the rest being covered in the trucks.

At the sale at Burnside yesterday fat sheep, of which there was a yarding of 1,516, showed an even more pronounced easing than at tho beginning, rates declining 2s 6d to 3s 6d a head below those of the previous.'week. Prime, heavy woolly wethers made to 47s 6d and prime 37s to 38s 9d. Prime heavy woollv ewes made to 41s 6d and prime 34s 3d to 37s 9d. Prime heavy shorn wethers made to 41s 6d, prime 34s 3d to 36s 6d, medium 30s to 32s 9cl, and light from 25s 6d. Heavy young shorn ewes made to 345, prime 29s to 31s 3d, medium 24s 9d to 27s 3d, and light from 18s 9cl to 23s 6d. Extra heavy lambs made to 35s 3d, prime 26s 6d to 29s 3d. and medium 23s 3d to 25s 6d. Heavy cattle could be quoted 10s to 15s a head easier, while medium-weight bullocks were soiling on a par with last sale. Heifers were firmer to the extent of 10s to 15s, but prices .for'cows were hardly up to late rates. Extra prime bullocks made to £24 2s 6d, heavy £l9 12s 6d to £2O 17s 6d, prime £l7 2s 6cl to £lB 7s 6d, medium £l4 12s 6d to £ls 17s 6d, light £l2 2s 6d to £l3 7s 6d._ Prime cows and heifers made to £ls 17s 6d, medium £lO 2s 6d to £l2 12s 6d, light £8 12s 6d to £9 10s, and unfinished £7 7s 6d.

When a contest was held by the Christchurch Model Aeroplane Club near Harowood Aerodrome on Sunday morning, one power-driven machine flew so far that it disappeared from sight and has not yet been recovered. Usually a machine of such a type is built to fly in circles, but not so this one. Powered with a one-third horsepower engine, and with a wing spread of eight feet, the model seemed to take a direct line on a certain objective, and made for it at such a speed that the distraught owner was unable to follow it on foot. He borrowed a cycle, but the aeroplane’s destination lay over the Waimakariri River, and the lad was forced to pull up. When he last saw his machine, it was travelling in the direction of Coutts’s Island. “ There are more members of Rotary clubs than there are Rotarians,” was a comment made in the weekly letter read at the luncheon of the Invercargill Rotary Club. The theme of the letter was whether (Rotary 7 clubs are doing anything to accomplish the _ ideals of Rotary in the present crisis of the world’s affairs. To the Rotarian who asked this question the obvious reply was, the writer of the letter continued: “ What are you doing as a (Rotarian? ” Rotary did not exist for itself. The Rotarian belief w r as that a world-wide fellowship could rid the world of hate and substitute co-operation. Rotarians also believed that, in spite of everything, the world was going slowly forward to better things. In commenting on the letter, Mr W. W. Butchers said it spoke for itself and did- not require much comment. (Rotary was one of the means by which men could overcome the limitations of their jobs and give service to the community, and if everyone, adopted the ideal of service, the world would soon become a better place. The fact that 4,000 mutton-birds wore caught this season gives some idea of what this industry means to those enterprising Maoris who shift camp and cast off the shackles of civilisation to revel in a carefree existence for a ■week (states a Whakatano correspondent). The birds are protected until the season opens, and then may be hunted only by Maoris, who transplant whole families to the island, situated seven miles from the mainland, opposite Whakatanc. Women accompany the men, cooking and attending to other “ chores ” about the simple camps while the men engage in their thrilling sport. There is no haphazard method of hunting the mutton-bird, for the Maoris have adopted a system and style all their own. At 7 a.m. the hunters assemble and at a given signal the parties rush to the various plots. These, of course, have previously been held in mind, but it is the lucky first arrival who can legally claim the rights to any particular spot. It is a litoral application of the adage “ first come, first served.” Then commences the business proper. The burrows of the hapless birds arc sorted out and sticks of toa-troo arc thrust into the hole and entangled in the (lutfy down of the plump and helpless nestling. The youngster is drawn up and quickly despatched. “ Gallons of petrol must bo wasted by moving ears from one parking place to another,” said a member of the executive of the North Canterbury District of tha Farmers' Union at a meeting yesterday. .Mr R. G. Bishop, district president, agreed, “ It is a nightmare coming to town,” he said. The executive adopted a proposal by the Dunsandel branch that efforts be made to have the parking time limit in Latimer Square and Cambridge Terraco extended from one hour to three hours.

The mayor (Mr A. H. Allen) has received a letter asking if it would be possible for a baud to be in . attendance at the station when soldiers on leave return to camp. Unfortunately this is not possible, as their departure from the city is spread over several days by a number of trains, and also because of tho fact that the ranks of bandsmen have been greatly thinned since the commencement of the war. The best alternative, it is believed, is to entertain the men, as at the Town Hall to-night. “ If Mr Nash doesn’t want New Zealand to go back to the state it was in when we took it over from the Maoris he will have to consider giving farmers something to make up for rising costs of production,” said Mr J. L. M. Coop at a meeting of the executive of the North Canterbury District of the Farm■<ors’ Union yesterday. it nus impossible to prevent costs rising in war time, said Mr Coop. The Government was trying to keep all prices on a dead level, ’but costs of imported material had gone up in some cases by 100 and up tcT2OO per cent. The only way farmers could save was by neglecting their laud, he said. Farms were going back all over Canterbury. Most of the fences in the country were in a bad state. New wire was needed and . posts were “ gone.”

It is now certain that all the art unions conducted in conjunction with the recent Queen Carnival campaign will be drawn on Saturday. The difficulties confronting tho drawing of the house have beou surmounted, and some time on Saturday afternoon someone in Dunedin will be the proud owner of a £3,500 property acquired for the outlay of a more Gel Full particulars governing tho drawing will bo advertised to-morrow.

Tim ,I’aihvay Department advertises in f.lii.s issue partieulars of allererl ninuing of 9.0 a.m. Dnneclin-Oamaru train on Saturday, .November 30.