LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 15 April 1930, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

What might have been a very serious accident j was narrowly • averted yesterday when a car driven by a College boy was entering Waimea" road from Victoria Avenue. As the car was about to turn into Waimea Road a lorry cut across in front' of the car. In order to avoid a head on collision the driver of the car swerved sharply, and as a result hit a telegraph pole. A rope which was trailing behind the lorry caught under the car and after stretching recoiled smashing a head light in its flight. Neither driver received any injury. t

In an Auckland telegram recently published, one B, S. Spencer was described as, a public accountant. To this the New Zealand Society of Accountants takes exception on the ground that the term is protected by Act of Parliament and can only be used by members of the society who are in public practice. The society states that Spencer is not and never has been a member, and is not entitled to use the description of public accountant. —Press Association. The fame which New Zealand honey has achieved abroad is borne out by a recent lawsuit in Germany, according to a- Press cutting forwarded to the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon G. W. Forbes) from the High Commissioner in London (Mr T. M. Wilford). New Zealand honey was sold in Germany as "the finest in the world," whereupon German beekeepers brought action against a salesman. The Court decided that the documentary evidence, including world market reports, justified the description. Mr Wilford has also sent to Mr Forbes an amusing extract from "The Grocer" relating to New Zealand butter. A correspondent wrote to "The Grocer" as follows: "A dear old lady came into the shop and asked me the price of fresh butter. I gave her the desired information. She then asked if we had any other butter, and I told her that we had Australian and New Zealand, and quoted the respective prices. The prospective customer, looking very grave, replied : 'I don't think I will have any of the New Zealand, because I understand that there has recently been an earthquake there, and I am afraid some of the cinders may have got into the butter.' "

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A Government inspection of tlio steamer Alexander which was stranded at the French Pass from last Tuesday morning till Thursday night showed that the ship %as not damaged, the renewal of three rivets only being nncossary. The Alexander resumed her coastal running to-day.

The inquest into the death of John Galvin who died as the result of burns and injuries in the Bergrove Hotel fire, will be completed on Friday morning next at the Foxhill Hotel.

Alice May Gallard appeared before Messrs Winter and Kirk, Justices of the Peace at the Courthouse, Takaka, yesterday charged with the theft •of three towels, valued at 13s 6d, the property of the Croydon (Wellington) school authorities. The accused pleaded guilty and was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within twelve months. An application for the suppression of the name was refused as it was her second offence.

Bearing tho marks of great age a block of stone which possibly has witnessed the murder of Thomas a'Beckel jii the 12th century is the recent gift of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral, England, to St. Paul's Church, Auckland. At the same time (states the "Sun") comes another vorj fine piece, this from the fabric of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. It is the gift of Dean Inge and the .authorities of the Empire's national shrine. The t=tone was removed from the cornice in the dome area during restoration, work. The Dean of Westminster Abbey and the Dean of York Minster have each promised stone from their famous buildings. Expecting shortly to begin construction of a new. chancel for St. Paul's the vicar, the Rev. Cecil Watson, had conceived the idea of incorporating in. the completed church some direct link, if that were obtainable, with the ancient church in Great Britain.

"We haven't large slum areas, but we have dotted about Christchurch bits of slums so numerous, and so slummy, that if they could be put into one area they would shock the universe." This rather sensational remark was made by the Mayor (Mr J. K. Archer) at a meeting at which the Christchurch branch of the Town Planning Institute was formed (states the "Press"). It_ was quite unnecessary, Mr Archer said in his opening remarks, to suggest that while there were slums in Wellington and Auckland, there were none in Christchurch. He had made a special study of the matter in virtue 'of the p6sition he held'in the city. After making tho statement above quoted, the Mayor went on to say that he had never seen worse houses occupied anywhere in England than some of the houses that are occupied in Christchurch. If the slum houses were placed in one area it would be of considerable size. They could havo a slum area without dirty, rotten buildings; it could be created by the erection of new buildings. It was largely a matter of the number of people who had to exist in a certain area.

A male and a female jaguar, obtained from the Hamburg Zoo for the Auckland Zoo, were brought to New Zealand by the Port Hardy, which arrived last week (states the "New Zealand Herald"). Although the animals have been cramped in their small cages for 42 days they have suffered no ill-effects from the long sea voyage from London. Because of his friendliness, the male, which is the youhger of the pair, earned the name of "Felix," but tilie disposition of the female was more characteristic of these sinister 'Brazilian cats, and she failed to win the affections of the crew. The animals are beautifully marked.

."\#e'do not get enough money from our tourists," remarked Mr H. S, Dadley at Auckland-(states the "New Zealand' Herald") on his return from dns sixth tour of the East. "Visitors coming to New Zealand are anxious to spend money, but lack both opportunity and encouragement. " The. first thing many tourists ask when going to a new country is 'What can you buy there?' but in New Zealand there is very little to buy that is typical of the country. We really need to manufacture something that can be sold to visitors at a good figuresomething they can take away and prize as a memento of their visit. In the basement of the Imperial Hotel in Tokio there are 20 shops selling goods purely to tourists, and many people spend hundreds of pounds there buying curios and articles of Japanese manufacture. There is nothing like it in New Zealand." •

The discovery by a party of stalkers in a remote and lonely arm of Lake le Anau of a linman thighbone with a quantitv of tissue still adhering to it, lecalls 'the idsappearance many years ago of Quinton Mackinnon. The discovery, which was made in a locality rarely visited by human beings, opens up interesting possibilities, and is particularly interesting in view of the fact that several people believe that the bone is'part of the remains,of Quinton Mackinnon. who was lost somewhere in that region many years ago. Muckinnon's boat was discovered lying in about sixfeet of water a short distance from Lone Island and between the island and the main land, but his body was never Association.

A scheme for supplying posters' to schools for the purpose of educating children on the subject of "safety first" was brought before the North Island MOT6I Unii'-n last week The scheme was intended to cover 1803 schools in the North Island and 1097 in the South Island. The cost was estimated at £SOO a year for the two islands. A sub-com-mittee urged that the strongest argument in favour of the scheme was that if principles of safe road usage were to be inculcated' into adults they must start by educating the child. The proposal recommended was to supply posters once to each school, together with a leaflet for the teacher explaining the lesson each poster is to convey. It was agreed to proceed with the scheme and obtain designs to be submitted to the next meeting of the •■ ■executive.

"I am satisfied that the Government is in a perfectly healthy state," said Mr Atmore, Minister of Education, when addressing a deputation at the Huntly Town Hall, last week. "There will be ample opportunity." the Minister continued, "for us to carry out our policy. When the present Government took office it did not have a majority of the House, but since then its measures have had the support of a majority of the House. Nothing has happened, in my opinion, to cause that state of affairs to be reversed, and I cannot see why we shall not be able to proceed with the remainder of our policy which was endorsed by the public at the last election."

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!«nutifi'' Sample Furs 39/6 at "Tlie Auckland."*

Ladies' All Wool Cardigans in plain and jacquard patterns, and in all the wanted colours, 12/6 to 32/6 at McKay's.* Girls' Navy Serge Plc'i'.cd Skirts from 8/11—all sizes—at "The Auckland."*

What is believed to be the greatest single "lift" ever carried out in Blenheim was successfully negotiated yesterday, when a portion of the bedplate, weighing seven tons nine cwt., for the Power Board's Diesel engine plant, to be installed at Springlands, was unloaded from the Echo on to one of Messrs Gosling and Son's trucks (states the "Express"). The ship's ordinary lifting gear was employed, but the booms were specially reinforced and the usual tackle strengthened. The fly-wheel for the' engine, weighing Ave tons was also got ashore without trouble. There will be another big lift during this week, when the second portion of the bed-plate, weighing 0 tons 12 cwt., will come to hand. Good progress is being made with the Power Board's stand-by power house at Springlands, and the building is expected to be completed by the end of this month. The work has necessitated the laying of a huge block of concrete, weighing 135 tons, for the foundation of the engine. The machinery is now coming to hand and it should be ready for its running tests by the end of May. During' the interval at the concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra at the., Wellington Town Hall on Saturday night the Minister of Education (the Hon. IT. Atmore) spoke Briefly on the present, position of unemployed musicians (reports "The Dominion"). He said that with the advent of "canned' music" from America they had to face a very serious aspect —that the mechanisation of music would ultimately mean a loss to art. He implored all to do what they could to see that, music should not become a lost art: When one remembered what music bad done and what it was capable of, surely by that evening's performance they could have a movement originated whereby they could have similar concerts at least once a week. Once he used to go to the picture theatres where he heard . good music, but now the music there remind ed him of the old "hurdy-gurdy" bar-rel-organs in the streets. He believed that the remedy would be found by having a municipal orchestra with possibly State assistance, and the music would bring joy into the lives of many who perhaps could not get it in any other wa >'- • l

A thrilling demonstration of netting sharks was given by Shark Fisheries, Limited, near Sydney Heads, recently. The crew of the vessel Alpha revealed their methods-by hauling in two nets set at sea, one near the southern headland of Manly, and the other in Fairy Bower Cave,, each containing huge and varied specimens of sharks. The company regards 150 sharks, each over Bft in length, a good catch each week. The crew's best catch on 2nd April was a monster whaler shark, weighing about 0001 b. It was 12ft long. The nets, each 1000 ft long, are weighted at the bottom and kept in a vertical position by means of hollow glass balls, placed at short intervals.along the, top, and are anchored at each end. The first in the haul mentioned were two angel sharks, flat-bodied fish, resembling to some extent stingrays and skate, a number of which were caught also. Then a fine specimen of the wobbegong shark was hauled aboard by the winch. It was beautifully marked, its skin will prove valuable for fancy leather goods. Following the wobbe - gong was a maneater—a grey nurseOft in length, its ferocious jaws filled with long, sharp, evil-looking teeth. More angel sharks and several stingiays completed the first haul. The only captive in the second net was .a .small fiddler. The manager of/the company, Mr G. T. Russell, explained that at the company's factory the hides were made into leather, valuable oils were extracted, the fins and tails were "prepared for export to China, where .they ,were regarded as a delicacy,'arid foods for poultry and stock arid fertilisers were manufactured. Even the eyes were treated and sent to Paris for the making of fancy goods. In some parts of the world shark oil was used to replace cream in the skimmed milk for calves, which grew into even better-developed animals than if they had been given the natural food. ■'■' ■

Final arrangements have been made for the Methodist Young Men's Easter Camp, to be held at the Council Reserve in the Maitai Valley, .under the leadership of Mr F. Mitchell. Campers from Blenheim, Motueka, and the country are comin'g in, and there will be over 70 under canvas. According to the programme the campers mean to "do themselves fine," and on Saturday a sports meeting will be held. This is visitors' day, and arrangements have been mrjde to entertain them. A camp fire concert will conclude the day. On Good Friday evening at BJS o'clock Mr H. S. Clanghton, L.TU.L., F.G.C.M., will give an organ recital on tlie Cawthron organ at the School of Music. A varied and seasonable programme will be submitted, interspersed with sacred vocal items by Mrs H. S. Clanghton, A.T.C.L. Admission will be free, with a retiring collection to defray expenses.

The year ended 31st March was probably the most successful in the history of the Blenheim Municipal Gas Department, despite the fact that during the period competition by electricity reached what will probably be its maximum (states the "Express). The Department concluded the vear's operations with a net,profit of £1548 14s, which is some £530 more than was made in the previous very satisfactory year, while the immediately liquid assets include such very solid entries as £656 in hard cash at the bank and nearly £3OO due to the Department on the trading account for March and payable during the present month, and the stocks include £1035 worth of coal, £4Bl worth of fittings. In addition, there is owing to the Department for stoves, etc., sold to customers under the hire purchase system a nice little sum of nearly £ISOO, which is reducible, of course by monthly instalments. On the other side of the ledger there is owing to various creditors tho comparatively small sum of £339. In other words, apart from the capital acj count, tho Department could pay the ! whole of its liabilities and still have in band £320 in cash and the other liquid assets set out, while the capital account shows an excess of assets over liabilities of £16,535 'ss 4d. The capital invested iii the works is shown ns £30,369, from which should be deducted accumulated sinking funds totalling £6761, leaving a net liability of only £23,948. The works and plant "have been valued during the year as £35,316, which is regarded as a fair and reasonable figu.'p. Last, year the TOluation figure was £45,411.

"St Margarets All Wool Ladies Vests 6/11.—E. Buxton and Co.* Smart new ready to wear Felt Hats —liuee .selection—from 9/11 at "The Auckland."*

To-morrow and until 9 p.m. Thursday Trathens offer surprising value in Fur Coats, Smart Velvet arid Silk Frocks, fiance Frocks, FashioiP-l'lo Tweed Coats, Fur Necklets, Smart Millinery etc. See page I.* Only 39/6 for a useful Velour-finished Coat, good colours and fur trimmed, S.W., W. and O.S. at McKay's.* Women's Coloured Winreyctte Nightdresses, long sleeves—from 7/6 at "The Auckland."

A feature of the bulletin which is issued periodically by the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society is a delightful series of bird photographs. The pictures are taken under natural sur roundings, and'.they speak volumes for iho patience as well as the technical skill of the - photographers. The work of Charles Lindsay and Mr B. Sladden is finely represented in the latest issue. Mi' 'Lindsay has "snapped" a South Island robin, a golden plover and a shearwater, all of which are finely reproduced, but probably his best picture is a "close-up" of that interesting bird, the bittern. Mr Sladden has secured a picture of a gannet on its nest on Barrier Islet. a:id a group of spotted shags on the coast of Coromaodcl.

A horticultural freak is to be seen in a Remuera garden at the present time (states the Auckland "Stat' ). An apple tree of the early maturing variety has started on its second crop of the season. The first crop was fairly heavy, and therefore some surprise was expressed when several weeks ago the tree commenced to flower again. Following flowers have come fruit, which have now grown to a size aproaching one and a half inches in diameter.

"The crime of theft is enormously on the increase. During the.past ten years it has doubled," said Mr Wyvcrn Wilson, S.M., in the Police Court at Hamilton. "This is out of'all proportion to the increase: in population. A very regrettable feature is that by far the highest percentage of convicted persons for this class of offence are young people. After the age of 30 the percentage falls considerably. "It makes one wonder," the magistrate continued, "whether one is doing right in granting probation in such case's. While an individual may not offend again such' lenient treatment is not sufficient deterrent to others."

Fruit exporters are advised in this issue, re pre-cooling arrangements for direct loading per Tasmania, also re closing down of assembly points k during Easter.

The Tapawera horticultural show will be held as formerly in the Druids' Hall on Easter Monday.