NEWS OF THE DAY

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 45, 23 February 1938, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Motorists travelling through the Manawatu Gorge between seven and eight o ’clock yesterday morning had the unenviable task of getting past 4000 sheep which were proceeding towards the Ashhurst end of the gorge. Fortunately :?or the motorists the sheep were in charge of capable and courteous drovers and the loss to motorists in travelling time was surprisingly short. A saluto very rarely seen in the port of Auckland was given by the Finnish barque Ponang as she moved into the stream after the voyage from the Indian Quean. As a compliment to H.AI.S. Philomel, the only warship at Calliope Wharf, the Penang dipped the flag of Finland, which was flying at the gaff. The courtesy was immediately responded to by the Philomel. “Our is spreading abroad, it seems," said a member in commenting upon the fact that communications were tabled at the meeting of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce from Scotland, Wolverhampton, India and Trinidad. The booklet from the first-named country untitled “Scotland Calling" prompted another member to remark: "Well, that has at least been answered," his reference being to the fact that just recently the president of the Chamber, Mr. Hugh W. C. Baird, left Hastings on a call to his homeland, Scotland. A close similarity between the policy in the United States under thq Roosevelt Administration and that of the present Government in New Zealand was observed by Mr. C. D. M. Cole, of New York:, who for 41 years has been a lawyer for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, and general attorney for the company for part of that time, when interviewed in Christchurch. He considered that the measures taken in America were bringing the country into another depression which bade fair to be worse than the last, and le felt, although he declined to make uny definite criticism, that there was likelihood of economic difficulties in New Zealand if the present policy was, carried too far. A 35-hour week will be sought by the motor mechanics *■ and engineers' unions when they met representatives of New Zealand employers in Conciliation Council at Chri itchurch next month. The industrial union movement was interested recently in the action of the stonemasons’ union, awarded a 40-hcur week by the Arbitration Court, filing claims for a 37i-b.our week, and wide attention will now be focussed on the step toward a reduction of hours by the mechanics and engineers. Both unions are national, and are covered by Dominion awards. Before the introduction of the legislation giving the Court, power to reduce hours to 40 a week, unless it were shown to be impracticable, the members of both unions worked 44 hours. A drover who was in charge of a small herd of four cows and half a dozen sheep at Upper Vogeltown, New Plymouth, met with misfortune on Monday afternoon. While the cattle and sheep were nearing the corner of Smith street and Carrington road one of the cows went astray and commenced to race down Smith street towards the school. After about a 20 yards’ run it suddenly swerved, made contact with a power’ pole and gave itself a resounding crack on the trout of the skull. The post moved slightly, the overhead wire.* twanged and swung, and the cow dropped, stunned. After lying still for a few seconds it gave one or two co?jvulsive movements of leg and body and lay still again. After an inspection by the drover he found the ' animal was dead, the impact apparently causing a dislocated neck. It was fortunate that no children were in the way of the cow, or the results might have been more serious.