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Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 253, 22 September 1933, Page 6

Good progress is reported as being made with the Blue Bath building at Rotorua and it is expected that the whole structure will be completed by Christmas. A rainfall of two and a quarter inches was recorded during the last three days by Mr T. R. Moore, of “Waimarama,” Terrace End. The fall during the 24 hours ended at 9 a.m. to-day was 1.10 inches. The rain was particularly heavy last night when the wind changed from the west to the south, and became colder. The Manawatu River at noon had a level of 7ft. 6 inches, having been steady at that height during the preceding four hours. Beneficial rains are reported to have fallen yesterday in the Wairarapa and Wanganui districts, both of which had been experiencing dry spells. The “Standard’s” Foxton correspondent states that an announcement to the effect that it was thought the motor vessel Huanui was in distress off Kapiti Island has been proved to be groundless. The Huanui, with a cargo of coal for Foxton, left Collingwood during the week-end and arrived off the Manawatu Heads early- on Monday morning, but owing to a heavy sea running it was found impossible to cross the bar and the vessel turned about to seek shelter at Kapiti Island until such time as the weather moderates.' Captain C. Thomsen went ashore at Paraparaumu yesterday and reported to the Foxton agents. After an extensive discussion, the Eastbourne Borough Council decided last night to set up a committee to investigate the management of the borough. The question arose when a recommendation was received from th e Eastbourne Ratepayers’ Association that “in view of the recent happenings with borough affairs, and to satisfy ratepayers that the executive officers will not be open to charges of maladministration, ‘a special committee be appointed, preferably of outsiders, to enquire into the whole system of the borough management, and to prepare a complete report, with suggestions for any improvements.” In reference to the decision of the Horowhenua Power Board, at its August meeting, to send a remit to the Power Boards’ Conference to the effect that the law should be amended to safeguard the interests of the boards m respect to charges over land where the Crown is mortgagee, the secretary (Mr F. J. Ramsay) informed the board this week that he had communicated with the Wanganui Board regarding the judgment given by Mr Justice Ostler in the case that had been brought by the Wanganui-Rangitibei Board. The effect of the judgment is that the Crown is not bound by the enactment that gives a board power to charge a property on which an electrical installation has been made. The reply received by Mr Ramsay from the secretary of the Wanganui Board stated that he had forwarded to the conference a remit dealing with the subject of the Crown’s liability, and South Taranaki had forwarded a similar remit. The Wanganui secretary added that he had no doubt that the conference would pass the remit quite unanimously.

Out of 40 calls answered by the Dunedin Fire Brigade during the past month, no fewer than 23 were to deal with chimney fires.

The Governor-General’s winter relief fund has received £IOO from members of the Auckland Police Force. The total of the fund is now £1358. Considerable progress has been made with relief scheme labour in levelling the old pit adjoining the Terrace End School, and although the work is unfinished, a noticeable improvement is already apparent. Work on the site of the new theatre in Broadway is proceeding rapidly, and the roof of the building which is being reconstructed for the purpose has been entirely removed. Additional foundations are being sunk and the strengthening'of that part of the walls which will be utilised has commenced. According to a letter received from England by a Levin resident, professional cricket is so strongly established there that League Clubs can hold out tempting offers to first-class players for next season. As much as £3O a week is being offered to men willing to turn professional. Achong and Headley, of the West Indies team,, have both signed up on these terms, with others to follow. A solid rubber ball lost in an Auckland garden about a year ago was found the other day when it was seen that a bulb had grown through it. The stalk had pushed, its way straight up through the rubber, and then, on reaching the sunlight, had added several inches of green stalk. After being photographed, the plant freak was returned to the garden to see what the next stage of development would be. A traveller who reached Wellington by the Marama for a business visit of a fortnight, before returning to Melbourne, is Mr Warwick AV. Armstrong, the famous Australian all-round cricketer. The notable cricket strategist, who is credited with the introduction of the legtheory in his own slow-bowling attack, declined to discuss features of the game which had recently caused controversy. “I am out of the game now,” he said. The Mitchell Library’s wonderful store of Australiana has been enriched by the acquisition of one of the most interesting relics that have come into its possession (sa.ys a Sydney journal). It has just received from London the original Tasman map showing Tasman’s voyage of 1642, when he discovered Tasmania, New Zealand, the Fijis, and the Tonga Islands. The map was presented to the trustees of the library by Princess George of Greece. On all sides tributes are paid by officers and men of the Australian Squadron now visiting Wellington to the abounding hospitality they have received at the hands of Now Zealand people. One officer on the Canberra said he had been amazed at the extraordinary enthusiasm shown for the Navy and the extraordinary kindness with which every one had been received. The officers and men were still talking about the record crowd of 32,000 which visited the Canberra at Lyttelton last week. The owner of a property on the Napier hill has had remarkable success in the cultivation of oranges. A number of trees on his section have given a heavy yield of surprisingly good fuit, and he speaks enthusiastically of the opportunity which he considers is thus opened up from the commercial point of view, or, at least, from the point of view of homes growing sufficient for their own needs. A sample of the oranges which have been grown on the property in question possessed a good, sweet flavour. Wednesday night, August 2, was officially certified to as the hottest August night in London for 22 years. The torrid heat certainly made for some startling departures from convention at the ballet. When the audience at the Alhambra Theatre debouched in the intervals into Leicester Square there was am astounding variety of habit to be seen, ranging from rigorous evening dress to the bathing dresses in which one party had come. Less courageous dress reformers were in opennecked shirts, and one gentleman was habited in a short-sleeved singlet. “You are, quite welcome to walk through,” reads an inscription on the fence outside what must bo one of the most beautiful of the smaller gardens in Auckland (says the Star). It is that of Mr and Mrs E. 0. Wallace, at 230 Campbell Road, Ellerslie, and they, loving flowers themselves, have realised that others might do the same, and have given a cordial invitation to the hundreds, even thousands, who have stopped outside their gate to admire, to enter and make a closer inspection. The garden, perhaps 50ft. by 60ft., is a mass of harmonious colour, cut by the sole contrast of the dead white of a curving concrete path. The colour scheme is blue. A picture of portion of the garden appears in the illustration section of the “Standard.” A new record for Otago in the way of fish was procured by the trawler Stina, when a spotted gurnard was taken while trawling 6ff Purakanui, says the Times, Recognising the fish as unusual it was forwarded to Mr David H. Graham for examination and identification. Mr Graham states that this is the first record of the spotted gurnard in Otago waters. Reference books state that spotted gurnards are not caught south of the Bay of Plenty and North Cape. It is not unlike the ordinary, gurnard in shape, but the body markings are exquisite and spots and bars of black, yellow, pink, and white are irregularly arranged on the sides. The fins are beautifully ornamented, especially the inner side of the long pectoral fins, which are exposed to the light when the fish is floating in the water with the fins spread out like wings. During the war years the Arawa tribe presented a roller-topped desk to the King George V. Hospital at Rotorua, and the other day the Health Department sold it at an auction, causing some resentment among tribal leaders. “We are used to this sort of thing,” said one of the leaders when discussing the matter. He stated that in addition to this desk a piano purchased at a cost of over £IOO and a billiard table valued at £l2O, both of which had been donated by Maoris of the district, had been similarly sold without any reference or acknowledgment to the donors.. The piano,had been given to the hospital by the Arawas and the billiard table by the Ngati Whakanes. It is stated in the case of the desk that a silver plate recording the fact that it was a gift was removed before the auction sale. A letter received this week by a Levin resident from a friend in England gives some idea of the severity of the Hitler regime, particularly in the direction of keeping the German people in ignorance of the strong feelings of indignation aroused in European countries by recent events in Germany (says the Chronicle). The writer states that a man (a German) staying at the same boarding house in England as himself, recently decided to pay a holiday visit .to Germany. On his arrival in the latter country he was found to have some English papers in his possession. For this offence he was placed in an internment camp. In another case an Englishman going to Basle, in Switzerland, was stopped on the frontier and , searched. He was found to have 35,000 marks concealed in a thermos flash. For this offence he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and fiued 10,000 marks, the 35,000 marks in his possession being confiscated. ,