LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 30 January 1933, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

“The Mail" will be published as usual on Wednesday next, Anniversary Day. The year 1933 will not go down in history as remarkable for eclipses. During the year there will be two eclipses of' the sun, both of which will be annular, and neither of them will J(! visible in New Zealand. There will be no eclipses of the moon this year, bince the centurv opened there have bee- 1 seven vears-1904, 1908, 1915, . 1922, 1926, 1929, and 1933— during which no lunar eclipse has occurred. An unnui a. eclipse of the sun is of smal 1m ei to the astronomer, or to anyone e.. for that mailer, compared with a eclipse of the sun is of small miorest ranged at present, there are always•» least two eclipses every y ei,l > ,l ’ times as many as seven, but, iievei mo • An average number is tour, two sun and two of the moon.

“I cannot understand why there is so much fuss in New Zealand over the exchange issue. Surely, if the farmers are not prosperous, then the rest of the community is not.”—A member of the Victorian farmers’ party, in an interview.

Book prices are up (says the Christchurch “Times”). On hriday in city bookstores editions usually selling at 3s 6d were priced at 4s. When one retailer was accused of raising the price on books that had been landed here before the increase in the exchange rate he aclmitted it, but stated that the books “were not yet paid for.”

Tile Waimairi County Council on Friday had the distinction of conducting a poll iu which 100 oer cent of the ratepavers concerned recorded their votes (says the Christchurch “Times”). The booth at the council offices on the Mam North Road, Papanui, opened at 9 a.m. and five minutes later all the ratepayers had voted. When the poll closed at o p.m. the voting for the particular pioposal before the ratepayers was: Tor, three; against, nil. Although _ there were so few interests concerned in the poll, which was conducted on a proposal to extend the Christchurch drainage area by the inclusion of two sections of land iii the Middleton Riding and the Waimairi County, the full machinery provided by the Counties Act, the Local Election and Polls Act and the Christchurch District Drainage Act had to be sot in motion. Friday was the second occasion on which such a remarkable poll had to be held in the Dominion. The previous instance was when the I-leathcote County Council held a poll last year on a similar proposal—that ol including two sections in the Christchurch Drainage Board’s area—and then two votes were cast.

“It can be estimated that the housewife will be called upon to pay a grocerv bill of from pe cent, to 10 per cent, bigger than the one she pays at present, as a result of the exchange increase.”—An Auckland merchant m an interview.

“I think we are in the position today of being the only association in New Zealand to come out without a deficiency for the year,” said Mr G. H. Christie, speaking at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen’s Association last week. He added that despite large amounts contributed to the relief fund, the association was able to show a surplus oi over £2l.

Statistics compiled by the New Zealand Aero Club giving particulars of the personal injuries sustained as a iesult of accidents to aircraft under the control of the clubs operating in the Dominion throw a light on the safety ol air travel under modern conditions the Christchurch “Times ). Except foi the particulars supplied by the Canterbury Aero Club the figures cover a period of two years ended on 30th September last year. In aero clubs made a total ot 73,292 flights and carried 10,709 passengers. I nor to 30th September there had been only one fatal accident involving one person, three passengers sustained minor mJulies and two serious injuries. Since 3Uai September, two persons have been killed, making a total of eight cases of persona injuries as a result of accidents all of which occurred in the North Island. The record of the Canterbury Aero Club is highly satisfactory. The club made a total'of 20,711 flights and carried 2847 passengers in a period of three years up to 30th September, and did not have .any accidents involving injury to pilots or passengers. Club machines have flown 3509 hours at an average speed of seventy-five miles an hour, giving a total oE over a quarter of a million miles without the slightest injury to any pilot or passenger. “If we can't live by the experience of our ancestors, what is the use ot experience at all? It would be a wonderful thing to bring about equality, liberty and freedom, but how are you going" to do that? Nature has not made us all equal.”—Pastor A. W, Anderson, of Sydney, speaking at Wellington. The goods traffic of the South Indian railway consists mainly of rice, cotton, coconuts and general mechandise, freight very different from that usually carried on a New Zealand railway. In Christchurch at present is a member of the engineering fctall of that who, when interviewed bv the “Times, had some interesting things to say about railway working in India, and sports of all kinds. Mr A. C. Flower, who is stationed at Trichinopoly, the headquarters of the South Indian railway, considers that India has left the worst stage of the economic depression behind and is now steadily bettering her position. He bases his opinion on the increase in the railway earnings of the country during recent months. The Indian has a passion for travelling in the , “terain,” as it is called, and as a result tiie South Indian railway depends largely on. passenger traffic for its revenue. Fart. of this traffic is made up of pilgrims who travel to and from temples in India. The main line of the South Indian railway runs from Madras to Dhanushkodi, from which point a ferry service is opeiated over twenty-two miles of water to Ceylon. Much of the country which this 2500-mile line taps is exceedingly fertile. Near Trichinopoly, where Mr Flower is stationed, a new town with 20,000 inhabitants lias sprung up round big locomotive workshops which were completed about four years ago, being built ’ on land which was formerly nothing but desert. Mr Flower is fond’of sport and on his way out to New Zealand he witnessed one of the test matches between Australia and the English team. He said that in the south of India cricket was played only by those sections of the community who could meet the expenses involved. Association football was very popular among the natives, many of whom were also quite good cricketers. Hockey, however, was the sport at which Indians shone. They were the greatest players in the world, as the Indian team’s performance at the last Olympic Games Tennis and golf "were the main sports of the Europeans. Picnic Frocks 10/6, Picnic Hats 1/9, Rayon Scarves 1/6, Raincoats 12/6, hundreds of super bargains Trathen’s Sale.* “The first pipe of the day! Can you heat it?” asks “Old Smoker,” in a South Island paper. “I rise at 5 a.m., winter and summer, and the first tiling I do is to light up ! I smoke all day long, but that first pipe is easily the best! Sometimes I am asked if I never suffer from burnt tongue. I never do ! But then you see, I am particular in my choice of tobacco. Were I to be continually puffing some of those foreign brands we wot of, I certainly couldn’t indulge so freely as I do. But my tobacco is ‘New Zealand toasted’—the pick of tlie basket for flavour and ‘allure.’ Tt contains so little nicotine that it is hardly worth mentioning ! This tobacco undergoes special treatment at the factory which destroys most of the nicotine in it.” Another feather in the cap of “toasted” ! Four brands only, remember : Riverliead Gold, Navy Cut No. 3, Cavendish, and Cut Plug No. 10. But ’ware of imitations !* Read page 1 Trathen’s Super Sale bargains to-morrow. Closed Wednesday.* Entries for the Highland dancing competitions to be hold in connection with tlie Tahiuia Beach Gala are invited by advertisement in this issue. Good przes are being offered. Pige-Major S. O’Hara lias agreed to judge and the piper will be Pipe-Sergeant Banks. Shop early to-morrow, closing Wednesday, fresh bargains. Trathen’s big sale.*

Children in the primary schools in the Nelson Education Board district will return to school on Thursday next, 2nd February. The Nelson College will resume on Friday next, 3rd February, and the Technical School classes on Monday. 6th February.

At a sitting of the Magistrate’s Court to-day before Mr T. E. Maunsell, S.M., judgment by default was given in the civil action A. R. Tuffnell v. Henry W. Nicholls, claim £l4 17s 2d, costs £1 9s. Other cases called on were either confessed or adjourned.

In tlie Warden’s Court to-day an application for an extended alluvial claim at Maud Creek, Howard, was granted by Mr T. E. Maunsell, Warden, to Brian Boyd.

Increases in the prices to farmers of all sheep lines, porkers and baconers—all lines governed by export in /act —have occurred in the Taranaki stock market during last week. This fact could without doubt, said a man prominent in Taranaki livestock circles to a “News” reporter, he attributed to the rise in the exchange rate to 25 per cent. Tlie freezing companies’ prices had jumped lately, lie said, store and other sheep, porkers and baconers being the noticeable lines in the new schedules. The rise, while not substantial, had been beneficial. The repercussion of these conditions had been felt at what stock sales had been held in Taranaki since the 20th. There had been slight increases in price of all lines except probably beef for local supply. In that instance the freezing works’ price had been below what butchers had been prepared to pay for the plentiful supply of good cow beef offering, and an .'ncrease in price had not resulted as a consequence of this interaction of supply and demand. Weaner and showed no increase in price, this being due to the time of the year. The milk supply was decreasing and there was no longer the demand for these lines. Generally speaking, the rise in the freezing companies’ schedules for all lines had caused local prices to follow suit, while those lines governed locally by supply and demand remained stationary in price. • The effect on retail meat prices should be no increase in beef but a slight rise in the cost of lambs, mutton and pig products. Tlie cultivation and production of new varieties of gladioli lias been followed in tiie Dominion with conspicuous success. Each show brings original specimens (o light, and the New Zealand production compares very favourably with imported kinds. The first Dominion variety to be sent abroad was the “Hinemoa,” a magnificent bloom produced by the late Mr Donev, of Murchison. Since his death the work of cross-fertilisation has been carried on by enthusiasts all over the country. In America there is a great demand for New Zealand productions, and anything labelled “New Zealand” can be sold readily; but the producers here, eager to maintain their high standard, will send away only the very bes; products.

Although the reaping of wheat has now begun in earnest in the Ashburton County, few inquiries are being made through the bureaux for labour (states the Christchurch “Times”). In, many cases farmers are assisting each other in tiie fields and the header machines, which are now more freely used, are do ing work which previously gave employment to numbers of men. An Ashburton labour agent remarked that business was exceptionally quiet for this time of the year. A large number of men were to be seen wandering along the roads in search of harvesting work and there did not appear to be so many strangers in tlie town as is usual at this period. What work had been offering had been taken up chiefly by local unemployed. The average wage now bei ig paid is Is 3d an hour, and in isolated cases, where the crops are heavy, up to Is 6d. In several instances men have been offered Is an hour, but they have refused to accept engagement at this rate.

An application for permission to give Sunday evening lectures in a city picture theatre, with the object of educating the public to the value of hypnotic suggestion in sickness and health, was again made to the Auckland City Council last week hv Mr M. Kimbel, a similar request from whom had been refused by the council in December (reports the “Herald”). The applicant stated that he proposed to give demonstrations of hypnotic suggestion in addition to his lectures. Tlie council decided to grant permit/,ion for lectures, on condition that no demonstrations should be given.

Several Gisborne residents are making the experiment of growing their own tobacco (states the “Poverty Bay Herald”). A few tried it last season, and they succeeded in producing a leaf that satisfied their requirements, after they had weaned themselves off the factory blended lines. Last spring saw an increase in the number of back-door tobacco growers, and the leaf is rapidly coming to maturity. Some are doing it on a comparatively large scale, and the number of plants in one ease totals over 300, but most are satisfied with a few plants in their gardens. The Gisborne climatic and soil conditions appear to suit the growth of tobacco plants, of which several varieties are doing well. The amateur growers intend curing the leaf themselves, but the smallness of the areas does not leave much room for blending in most cases. However, it is the intention of the Prowers to prepare their own smoking mixtures with the idea of escaping the high cost of tobacco, and their determination to succeed is more pronounced as a result of the rise in the exchange rate promising to make tobacco dearer still. An appeal that lovers of Scottish song should preserve the dignity of the great Burns work, “Auld Lang Syne,” was made in Dunedin last week by Mr W. Wood during the course of an address cm the Scottish national poet at the Burns anniversary gathering (reports the “Otago Daily Times”). “Auld Lang Syne,’ ” Mr Wood said, “is the most abused song that has ever been written. There is never a carousal at a street corner at which it is not sung. ‘Auld Lang Svne’ was not written for such a purpose. It was written to bind together Scottish men and women in good fellowship, and I appeal tonight in all seriousness to tlie members of tlie Dunedin Burns Club to rescue the song from such abuses.” Cream Ready to Wear Straws, neatly banded with corded ribbon, 14/6 for 5/6 at McKay’s, Sale.*

It is announced that the first term in connection with tlie Nelson School of Music will commence on Monday, Gtli February.

Quality only in McKay’s Boys’ College Outfits—Super Grade Cloths, special Linings—Tailor cuts. —Buy now at McKay’s Sale Prices.*

Correct Regulation Outfits for Nelson Girls’ College, all best possible quality, all at Sale Prices now at McKay’s.*

In to-day’s issue the Railway Department draws attention to train arrangements and cheap fares on Wednesday next (Anniversary Day). Ladies’ Cotton Tub Frocks, Floral and Spot Designs, well cut, long and short sleeves, usually 9/11 to 12/6. Now 7/6 at McKay's Sale* Holiday Wednesday, Tratliens best, for picnic frocks, swimming togs, frocks.*

Ladies’ All Wool Bathing Costumes, Sun hack styles, , in Orange, Tan, Dark Red. and Sunburn, S.W. and W. Usually 14/6 and 16/6. ■ Holiday special 7/6 at McKay's Sale.*

The postal authorities advise that mails which left Wellington on the 27th December per Makura via San Francisco arrived in London on 26th January. Yesterday afternoon Mr L. Mead, of Motupiko, lost a large haystack by fire. Spontaneous combustion is considered to be the cause of the outbreak.

A horticultural freak, a two-faced sunflower, was shown to a “Mail” report*-.’ to-day. Tlie ray florets were perfect except for a break where two cushions had joined resulted in a flower on each side of the stem. The curiosity was grown by Mr i McLachlan, of Brightwater, and there were three freak stems on the plant, the other stems being normal. A reminder is given of the big Carnival Dance to be held in the Rowing Club Shed on Wednesday night (Anniversary Night). New attractions will be introduced, and a pleasant evening’s entertainment is assured. Tlie hall will be specially decorated for the occasion. R. Winter’s Orchestra will supply the music.