Liberation of Ducks.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 218, 13 August 1940, Page 6

Liberation of Ducks.

The Whangarei Acclimatisation So : ciety is arranging for the hatching ot 1000 Canadian mallard duck eggs, the hatched birds to bo later liberated in the society’s district. Working For Victory. The board of managers of Massey Agricultural College received recently an offer from the staff of the college sheep farm to restrict their annual holidays, for each year of the war, to a week or less in place of the usual 18 days so that they may further assist the general drive for increased production. The board described the offer as a very fine gesture. Loss At Exhibition.

The New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation suffered a loss of about £I3OO at the Centennial Exhibition, said Mr T. C. Brash, Dominion president, in addressing Wellington district fruitgrowers in Palmerston North yesterday. The exhibition, he said, was a success in many ways, but not from the financial viewpoint. One respect, for instance, in which it was valuable was that it enabled fruit juice to be placed before the public as never before.

The Soul of England. “What a world! But it’s worth all tho years of my life to have been here during the evacuation of Dunkirk,” writes a former Dunedin woman who is now “doing her bit” in a floating hospital on the Thames. “What a privilege to be here in England with these English while they make history! They show their funny little failings and are simple and lieroic. It is not patriotic hysteria, but the soul of England is bare'these days. All the layers of form and custom are gone—the people are simple and natural and great.” Helping a Soldier. The Manawatu-Oroua Power Board yesterday received a request from 'a man now proceeding on active service who had previously sought the installation of electricity on his property. He had intended to marry and to rebuild his house, but these plans were now changed. Under the circumstances, he asked for relief from a guarantee he had signed for the payment of £l2 10s a year for the supply of power. The hoard discussed various means of assisting such persons, in view of the fact also that there was no question of installing the power at present, and decided that, while the man is on active service no demands will be made on him for payments. School Orchestra.

Bands are not an uncommon feature of secondary school life in the Dominion, but not many schools can lay claim to an efficient orchestra. The Palmerston North Boys’ High School has for some time enjoyed at its private dances music played by the Collegian Band, consisting of six boys, but until last night, when it made its first public appearance, little had been heard of it. Its versatility and capabilities were well demonstrated, and when, with the addition of four extra violinists (also pupils of the school), it played waltzes and similar melodies the performance was quite comparable with that of an adult combination. Power Line Guarantees.

In practically all cases electric power lines in rural areas are put in on a guarantee from the occupier of the property served that be will use power to the value of at least a certain figure, as an instance £2O a year, for a definite period, thus compensating the power board for the outlay involved in the installation. At the monthly meeting of the Manawatu-Oroua Power Board, yesterday, the question was asked as to what was the board’s position under the Mortgages Extension Emergency (Regulations and the managingsecretary (Mr IC. W. Eglinton) stated that the guarantees were all personal guarantees and were in no way secured on property. The board decided, as a precautionary measure, to secure advice from its solicitors as to its position under the regulations.

Parade of Troops. An announcement that there would be a parade in Wellington on Saturday morning of troops forming part of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force was made yesterday by the Minister of Defence. Children’s Good Example. As a special Centennial feature, children at Hamilton schools are carrying out a tree-planting programme under which it is hoped to have 6000 trees planted in school grounds by the end of the week. Lectures in Gas Warfare. Trained nurses in Auckland will shortly be taking a course of lectures in gas warfare—types of gases, their effects, and methods of treating victims. A series of six lectures is to be given by Sister D. A. Dods, a member of the district nursing staff, who holds the Home Office certificate and has had considerable experience and training in England.

All Black’s Photograph. Few of those present at the conference of Wellington provincial fruitgrowers in Palmerston North yesterday were aware that the photograph of the 1924 All Blacks, hanging on the wall of the meeting room, possessed more than ordinary interest for one of those present. This was Mr J. H. Parker, a member of the famous team, who attended the meeting in his present capacity of assistant manager of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation. Heavy Rain In Hawke’s Bay.

The level of the Manawatu River had risen considerably this morning because of heavy rains in the Hawke’s Bay district. The height at 9 a.m. was 7ft compared with 2ft 3in yesterday. At mid-day, however, the level had receded to 6ft 9in. Falls of rain from two to five inches have occurred throughout Hawke’s Bay during the last 48 hours. The rain has been warm and this has caused snow on the ranges to melt. Rivers in Hawke’s Bay rose as much as six feet in some cases, but the position was not really alarming. Dominion Libraries.

New Zealand’s library system is a poor one and the fault is largely the subscription method of financing libraries, it is asserted in a pamphlet entitled “The Case for Free Library Service,”, published by the New- Zealand Library Association. The free service is strongly commended by the compilers, who point to the success of the system in Palmerston North, demonstrating that profit from the “pay collection” 'department is used for the benefit of the free collection. “Free libraries will cost more, but the small extra expense involved will bring an enormous increase in service,” states the publication.

Right of Criticism. “If the British authorities expect mo in these broadcasts to refrain from criticism I will not be broadcasting,” declared Mr Vernon Bartlett, M.P., from London, to-day, mentioning that he had been taken to task by a New York listener for criticising Britain’s policy in the Far East. “I did criticise that policy, and I have no apology to make,” said Mr Bartlett. “The. right of criticism is giving us greater strength than the Nazis have ever had. No one is more convinced than I am of the certain defeat of the Nazis, but I believe that this will only be accomplished with free and open discussion as the link between Parliament and people.” . Uncommon Shark.

A rare deep-sea shark of weird appearance was received by the Dominion Museum, Wellington, yesterday from Mr A. C. Kaberry, of Island Bay. It was, taken with hook and line in 150 fathoms by fishermen operating about seven miles out in Cook Strait. It is only the third known specimen of its kind. Though this variety has no common name, it. is a true shovelnosed shark. Its nose is prolonged into an extraordinary flat, horizontal, spade formation, with which it is believed to dig and grub about the seabed in search of shellfish or other food. The shark is just over 44 inches long, greyish-purple, with sides of a reddish colour. It has large, deep-green eyes. Tak On Incomes.

When referring in the British House of Commons recently to t'ho magnitude of direct taxation in Great Britain, •a Conservative member, Sir Frank Sanderson, said that the salary of £IO,OOO paid to Mr Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, would be reduced by taxation to £3873. A correspondent of a AVellington paper has inquired what a person in New Zealand with a similar income would have left after paying the taxation for which he was liable. Actually such an individual would be left with a much smaller balance than in the case of Mr Churchill. A married man with a dependant wife only and receiving an earned income of £IO,OOO would pay £5662 6s 3d in income tax, £SOO in social security tax and £SOO in national security tax—a total of £6662 6s 3d. The balance would, therefore, be £3337 13s 9d ; in other words, he would pay £535 6s 3d more in taxation than Mr Churchill. A New Zealand taxpayer with the same income who was single would pay £6696 16s 3d, leaving him with £3303 3s 9d; and one with a wife and two children would pay £6593 6s 3d, leaving a balance of £3406 13s 9d.