GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 30 November 1938, Page 6

GENERAL ITEMS

St. Andrew’s Day To-day Apart from New Year’s Day, there are two days in the year on which Scotsmen like to let themselves go. The first is the Anniversary of Robert Burns; the second is St. Andrew’s Day, 30th November—the day, or rather the night, of the year when Scotsmen in any and every part of the world get together in gatherings that may consist of only a few isolated exiles, or are highly ceremonial occasions attended by the chief dignatories of the district—or even the State. But the same spirit of Auld Lang Syne hovers over them all. Nobody has ever been able to say with accuracy why St. Andrew should be the patron saint of Scotland, for the legend that he was wrecked in St. Andrew's Bay while about to make his first visit to Scotland has never been substantiated. Nevertheless, there was much in the character of St. Andrew that commended him to the notice of the Scots: he was, for example, at once an idealist and a realist—a man in whom, as in every true Scot, enthusiasm was tempered by caution. The day is recognised by the banks as a holiday, and Nelson branches of all banks were closed to-day. The flag was flying on the Post Office. Austrian Athlete Offers Services A letter from an Austrian athlete. Ernest Plutner, received bv the council of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association last night, intimated that he was coming to New Zealand, and offered his services free to any athletic club in the country as trainer, gymnastics teacher and active “sportier.” He described himself as a first-class ice-hockey, handball and football player. and gave a list of performances which indicated that he was in world class as an athlete. He could earn his living separately, he said, as he was an independent ieweller and had “fortune ” The council decided to refer his letter to the deputy chairman of the Physical Welfare Council, Mr J. W. Heenan A Duplicated Marriage The unusual case of a man who was married some years ago in an Auckland manse and then remarried the following year to the same bride in the church associated with that manse was mentioned in the Supreme Court this week. The husband was seeking a divorce, and after evidence had been heard his counsel asked Mr Justice Fair that the first marriage be dissolved. “I submit that the second marriage is of no effect,” counsel said. In this his Honour agreed, and granted a decree nis : to dissolve the first marriage. Finding the Way Out In the past it has been an ol't-heard complaint on the part of visiting motorists that they have had considerable difficulty in finding their way out of Blenheim on to the main highway when they resumed their journey once more, but in the future any stranger who goes astray will have only himself to blame (states the “Express”). The reason lies in the fact that during the past week the Marlborough Automobile Association’s patrol officer has been engaged in erecting notices at the four main points of entry to the town, supplying all the information required in this connection, and even the distances to be covered to the next town. The cost is being financed by the association, and the work is part of a signposting campaign which will entail an expenditure of several hundreds of pounds.

Wheat Crop Wheat crops in Canterbury are showing signs of healthy growth, according to Mr R. McGillivray, Fields Superintendent of the Department of Agriculture. Areas that were affected earlier by the long spell of wet weather have been ploughed up. he said. Oats were not doing so well, said Mr McGillivray, who attributed the cause to unsatisfactory climatic conditions. Although the Dominion's wheat acreage was announced last year on 4th November, no information had yet come to hand concerning this year’s sowings. Training Officers A suggestion that officers’ training corps should be formed in the secondary schools in the four main centres of New Zealand is to be made to the Defence Department by the Wellington Colleges Board of Governors. “It is to boys from the secondary schools that we must look for our army officers in the future,” said the chairman of the board, Mr L. McKenzie, at a meeting yesterday. Officers’ training corps had existed in English schools for many years, he added. Examinations were held by the War Office and certificates issued to successful candidates Admiration for Milford Milford Sound has probably never had a more enthusiastic admirer than Mr P. Chiglione. an Italian journalist who arrived at Bluff on Sunday by the Maunganui. Declaring that it was undoubtedly one of the finest scenic resorts he had been privileged to see, Mr Chiglione said a visit to New Zealand would be worth while if a traveller saw nothing else but the sound. "I have travelled fairly extensively but Milford Sound was a ievei&tion to me when the shio callec there on Saturday.” he said in an interview. He had seen the fiords of Norway. but their grandeur, inspiring as it was, was. nevertheless surpassed by the splendour of Milford. The South Island had a valuable asset there, and every advantage should be taken to exploit it. If Milford Sound could be regarded as a typical example of the scenery the Dominion boasted, he would look forward to his tour with the keenest delight. Timnru Harbour Scheme As a result of representations made by the acting chairman, Mr F. R. Flatman. and Mr G. R. Lee (business agent) to the Minister of Finance (Mr Nash) a loan of £65.000 will be made available by the State Advances Department on 20th December, which will solve the problems which threatened the cessation of work under the Timaru Harbour Board’s £242.000 harbour improvement loan plan, which was approved by the ratepayers at a poll conducted several months ago. Mr Flatman informed the members of the board at the monthly meeting on Friday that the negotiations with the Minister and representatives of the State Advances Corporation at Wellington had proved very successful from the board’s point of view. To meet the additional repayment of capital required by the corporation the board decided to increase the charges on shipping by 10 per cent, over all.

Encouraging Tourists New Zealand should follow the example of Italy, encouraging tourists from overseas by allowing them to travel on the railways at reduced rates, according to Signor Ghijflione, an Italian journalist, who was interviewed in Christchurch on Monday. “Every tourist visiting Italy gets a 50 per cent, cut on his railway fares.” he said. “The Tourist Department should make the same reduction here." He added that the loss of railway revenues would be more than made up by the money spent by tourists in other directions. Fruit for Schools Support for the proposal that fruit should be issued to school children where the milk in schools scheme is not operating was given at a meeting of the Manawatu and Oroua District School Committees’ Association. It was pointed out that in rural schools abundance of milk and dairy products was accessible. The urgent need of country children was an adequate supply of fruit, particularly in the off season Inquiries made by one schcolmastei showed that less than 2 per cent, of the children brought fruit to school with them for lunch and it seemed that the only fruit many of them saw was when they came to the city. A remit was adopted for submission to the Dominion Federation of School Committees that in view of the fact that large quantities of fruit were wasted every season and that fruitgrowers were in need of ready markets the Government be asked to have a scheme inaugurated for the issue of suitable fruit to schmla not in the milk in schools scheme, particularly in rural areas. Atkinson Observatory If the sky is fairly clear this evening, the Atkinson telescope will be made available for the public from 8 to 10 o’clock. The moon. Jupiter and Saturn are well placed for observation. Farmers’ United Voice Partial amalgamation of the various farming bodies of New Zealand so that they could speak with a united voice on matters affecting the whole of the farming community was suggested by Mr D. H. Cockburn, a member of the Otago Provincial Executive of the Farmers’ Union, when he attended by invitation a meeting of the Southland Provincial Executive. Mr Cockburn said that the question of amalgamation of the Farmers’ Union and the Sheep Owners’ Union had been discussed in Otago, but the sheep owners were unwilling to sink their whole identity. An alternative was the revival of the New Zealand Primary Producers’ Council. The meeting thanked Mr Cockburn for his remarks, rnd the chairman (Mr G Stevenson) stated that the matter would be discussed later.

Building in Dunedin The activity in the building trade at : present was strikingly exemplified with the experience of a Dunedin firm of architects who called for tenders for the erection of a house in the city. Not one reply was received, the builders having their hands full with other jobs. Marlborough’s Fruit From an official survey of Marlborough’s commercial orchards it is estimated there will be an increase of 4000 cases of apples on the 62,701 exported last year, while pears will be slightly down (states the “Express”). The record for the district was 85,000, in 1937. Fireblight is fairly prevalent, but was confined almost solely to spur infection. Black Lily Flowers An unusual garden flower has attracted attention lately in an Auckland garden. This is the black calla, a lily whose flowers are black purple—a striking contrast to those of the white aurum. The largest of the flowers is 36in long and 15in across. Roding Waterworks Reserve A deputation from the Nelson City Council, consisting of the Mayor (Mr G. L. Page), and Councillors E. R. Neale and J. A. Harley, waited on the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) this morning with a request that the Government declare as a waterworke reserve a piece of Crown land adjacent to the Roding river where the new district water supply scheme is now in the course of construction. Such a declaration as that suggested would avoid the necessity of the City Council obtaining from the .Crown the freehold of the section of land referred to. The Minister replied that he would have the matter investigated.