GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 9 December 1940, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

The Prime Minister Before attending the breaking-up ceremony of the Nelson Colleges next Friday, the Prime Minister will on Thursday be present at a similar function in connection with Marlborough College. He will be accompanied by his private secretary, Mr C. A. Jeffery.

Atkinson Observatory The Atkinson Observatory will be open to the public from 8 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday if the sky is reasonably clear.

Horticultural Week A national horticultural week is to be held in Oamaru next year. It will take place at the same time as the National Flower Show to be held there. Crocodile’s Fate The crocodile recently shipped from Singapore to the Wellington Zoo, which died soon after its arrival, has been set up as a Dominion Museum exhibit by the taxidermist, Mr Charles Lindsay. The crocodile was a fine specimen, but the long sea voyage and change of climate proved too much for its constitution. Its mate died a few days before it arrived. Both were only half-grown, measuring about five feet from snout to tail. Import Licenses A striking comment on the “system,” or lack of it, in issuing import licenses for essential goods was furnished by a report of an Auckland Power Board meeting recently, when it was revealed that 354 Government houses in Auckland cannot be made ready for a tenancy, because the Power Board, having received no response to its applications for licenses to import the necessary material, cannot complete the necessary electrical connection (comments the New Zealand “Observer”). If there is any more farcical spectacle presented , than that of one Government department spending vast sums on houses, while another department, guided by official policy, is forced to obstruct the processes by which material for such houses may be procured, then it would be interesting to hear about if. When import licensing has reacted in such a way that the Government cannot get its own houses completed it may be readily imagined what the private importer has had to put up with. Determining Status An offer by the Native Land Court in Auckland to assist in determining the status of reservists with Maori blood was accepted by the Auckland Man-power Committee when it was made by an officer of the Court on Thursday. The committee was hearing evidence in a case in which.it was felt that status might be a more appropriate ground for appeal than hardship as stated by the appellant. The officer pointed out that, according to the Native Land Act, a person was regarded as a Native if he was a halfcaste or of greater Maori blood. It was questionable whether the committee would be able to determine such matters of status, and he suggested they might be referred to the Court for inquiry from records it possessed. The deputy chairman, Mr L. J. Kendall, said the committee appreciated the offier, and would take advantage of it when future problems of this nature arose. Delightful Surroundings Visitors from Canterbury for the Motueka A. and P. Association’s Show on Saturday were much impressed with the location of the showgrounds and the native bush upon the property which, in addition to providing an ideal picnicking area in delightful surroundings, would, on a hot summer’s day, ensure ample shade for any live stock penned among the trees. “Altogether, it is one of the most attractive grounds I have seen for show purposes,” said a prominent southern stock breeder. Seal at Mapua “Observer” writes: —“When sitting on the beach near Mapua last Tuesday about 8 a.m. I saw what I thought was a black log floating on the water. As it approached with the incoming tide, it suddenly sprang forward and dived beneath the waves. Then I saw it was a seal! There were no fish to be caught that day. Do seals often come round these coasts? enquires the correspondent. They Had Duck The courage—almost nonchalence—with which the people of England accepted the visits of German raiders was illustrated by a story told by Captain A. B. Fanshawe, R.N., at the Air Headquarters’ smoke concert in Wellington (reports “The Post”). A suburban resident was picking green peas in his garden plot on a Saturday afternoon when a German raider, flying low, machine-gunned the residence. The bullets missed the man but killed one of his prize ducks on a pond nearby. The suburbanite calmly picked up the dead bird and, carrying it into the house said to his wife: “We will have duck and green peas for dinner to-morrow.” Fatriotic Dances Emphasis was again made at a meeting of the Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Council on the necessity of promoters of dances and other functions for patriotic purposes obtaining permits in proper form before such entertainments are held. The matter came up on reports of two suburban dances; these cases are to be further investigated, and if the circumstances are found t<» be unsatisfactory the appropriate authorities will be informed of the breaches of the regulations controlling the collection of funds for patriotic pur_ poses. “Snail” Holds up Procession A “snail” held up the procession on its way to the “Victory Fair” on Saturday afternoon. A child’s small pedal car was rigged up like a snail, bearing the caption “Safety First.” He made good progress over the first half of the journey, but it is a long way for little legs from Ivory’s Corner to the Botanical Reserve. On the rise leading to Normanby Bridge he was reduced to a snail’s pace and the driver of the large “gift parcel” behind, his vision being restricted, was unaware that he was shunting a “snail” before him. Gestures of bystanders drew his attention to the fact. Then the ‘Vail” stopped, “parcel” stopped, and the procession stopped. An obliging airman gave the snail a friendly push on his way and the column moved on.

Ferry Services With her annual overhaul completed, the Tamahine resumed sailings on the Picton-Wellmgton run on Friday, when she left Wellington at 2.50 p.m. for Picton, returning at 10 p.m. The Arahura, which had been employed for this service during the time the Tamahine was on the slip, resumed running in the Nelson-Wellington service on Saturday. The Arahura arrived in Nelson from Wellington yesterday. Brass Keys Worth Saving A retired locksmith has suggested to the National Council for the Reclamation of Waste Material that keys of the Yale type have a valuable metal content. He says that three dozen keys weigh lib. The council has submitted the suggestion to an expert, who has replied that keys of the type are made of a particularly good alloy, and they are well worth collecting. However, any kind of brass key is acceptable. A key contains a very small amount of metal, but a waste reclamation leaflet issued in England points out, “Don’t say, ‘My little bit won’t count.’ That is what Hitler would like you to feel.” Appeal for Czech Recruits The Czechoslovak Government in London having been recognised by the j New Zealand Government, instructions have been received* by the Acting Consul-General of Czechoslovakia in Sydney to open registration of volunteers for the Czechoslovak army abroad. The conditions of enlistment are Czechoslovak citizenship, age below 40 and references of moral character and physical fitness. Applications are to be addressed to the Czechoslovak Consulate General, Box 36445, Sydney, and should include the name, address and calling of the applicant as well as a statement of his previous military training if any. Examinations in Horticulture There were twenty-five candidates for the examinations in horticulture which were conducted recently by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. Traffic at Motueka Show An exceptionally large number of motor cars was efficiently parked on the Motueka Show grounds on Saturday under the direction of the representative of the Nelson Automobile Association and his assistants. Vehicles numbering 510 were parked in the special area set aside for the purpose and 130 in the native bush on the property. Besides these, there were numerous vehicles in adjacent streets and rights-of-way which must have brought the grand total up to about 700. Speaking to a “Mail” representative, a Christchurch visitor commented favourably upon the orderly control of vehicular traffic and, in doing so, added a tribute to the work of the Automobile Association’s official. Fortrait of the King The National Patriotic Fund Board has purchased 200 copes of a largesize portrait of His Majesty the King for distribution to officers' and sergeants’ messes and recreation huts in all the mobilisation camps in the Dominion. In the portrait the King is wearing the uniform of a Field-Mar-shal. War and Golf Club Finance Comment on the effect the war will have on the revenue and membership cf the Christchurch Golf Club is made in the club’s annual report to be presented to the annual meeting on 16th December. “Your committee realises,” the report states, “the position that faces the club in the future. There will certainly be a falling-off in revenue because of the large number of members who are with His Majesty’s Forces, and we cannot expect many new members for the same reason. Therefore it is a recommendation to the incoming committee that every economy possible be made, and your committee urges the members to give the club all support in their power.” Elsewhere the report states that in spite of a decline in revenue a small surplus' was shown, mainly through reduced expenditure and through generous donations amounting to about £BS.