LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19418, 28 August 1926, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

An unusually large number of men tried to obtain free passages from England to New Zealand by stowing away on board the New Zealand Shipping Company's steamer Opawa, which reached Auckland yesterday. No fewer than 17 concealed themselves on board at Liverpool, and of the number 12 were discovered before the steamer left the dock. The other five were found after the mooring-lines had been cast off, and they were sent ashore in tho pilot boat. There is still no trace of Mr. Archibald Winstanley, aged 22, who left his home in Campbell Road, Royal Oak, on Tuesday evening. Search has been carried out by relatives and tho Onehunga police. It is thought Mr. Winstanley is suffering from loss of memory. To-day is the twelfth anniversary of the capture of Samoa from the Germans by a New Zealand force. The anniversary will bo observed by the Samoan Ex-Service-men's Association with a reunion of members this evening. The association was formed with the object of continuing and cementing friendships made in tho early days of the war, and since its inception it has arranged to act in conjunction with General Sir George Richardson, Administrator of Samoa, in assisting visitors from tho island and endeavouring to obtain employment for Samoans, thus forging another link in the chain between New Zealand and Samoa. General Richardson will hold a flag day in Samoa to-day to commemorate the landing. The German flag which was hauled down on the island by the troops to give place to the Union Jack is preserved in the Auckland Public Library.

Owing to the strike in the United Kingdom there is a strong demand for American coal. In consequence American coaling ports are congested with steamers waiting to load. The steamer Opawa, which reached Auckland from Liverpool yesterday morning, was de laved for three days at Newport News waiting her tgirn to replenish hsr. bui--kers. It is estimated there were at least 100 steamers in port, and -the arrivals for some time had averaged about 40 a day.

Bread bo dearer in Auckland on Monday. The price of the 21b. loaf will be advanced from 6jd to 7d over the counter, a decision reached by the Auckland, Master Bakers' Association yesterday. The new broadcasting station at Christchurch, 3YA, will commence operations for the first time under the auspices of the New Zealand Broadcasting Company on Wednesday eveniug. The station will work with an output power of 500 watts. On Tuesday evening ,the plant of the Christchurch Radio Society, 3AC, will be closed down. •« - Objection to the chair used by the chairman of the Waitemata County Council was raised yesterday by a member of the council, on tho grounds that it was undignified and out of keeping with the chairman's position. He said he thought a respectable padded chair should be provided. Several members, objected to the additional expense, but it was finally decided to spend up to £l2 12s on a new chair. Supplies of oysters at the Government depot yesterday were plentiful. A shipment of 84 sacks arrived from the Hauraki Gulf beds and was supplemented later by 103 sacks from Russell and 88 sacks from Kaipara. Business was very brisk, the oysters, which ' were on the whole of good quality, bringing 24s a sack. . ■ ',' The -Government! is"-to be congratulated on at last- adopting a constructive policy in conducting a 'more manure' campaign," said Mr. •C. M. Ollivier at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Employers' Association. "One cannot help thinking how much better off the producers of this country, and the country as a whole, would have been if they had spent more money on manure instead of entering into • various business undertakings with the object of escaping paying for service, or in other words for fear that someone might make a profit."

The reason why Greek coins are beautiful and modern ones commonplace, was explained by Professor Rankine-Brown in a lecture at Victoria College, Wellington, by the fact that Greek coins are miniature reliefs, and, like reliefs, have rounded or undulating surfaces made pleasant by graduations of light. The modern coin is more like a wood cut, a mere arrangement of lines with no depth. "Our own coin?," said the lecturer, "have improved somewhat in recent years. The King's head is in higher relief than used to be t]ie case, but the only design on the reverse of an English coin that can be compared with the designs on Greek coins is ' Pistrucci's famous design of St. George and the Dragon on tho pre-war sovereigns—that we seem never destined to see again." Interesting remarks regarding correctness of speech were made at the Gisborne competitions festival last week by the elocution judge, Mr. Farquhar Young. He said that correctness of speech was a refinement without affectation, which could not bo counterfeited by the common mind. The voice was a pulse which responded to the feelings and emotions of the speaker, arid tho quality of the voice showed the mind and environment of the speaker.- If some of. tho competitors, he said, would take the trouble to learn the Maori vowels, they would be able to detect the short vowels in the English language. They should isolate the vowel sounds and practise them until the ear was taught. A brawl between two men occurred in Victoria Street, Hamilton, one day this week, in which one man was knocked down and apparently stunned. The men concerned were arrested and taken to the police station. On arrival the man who had been knocked down made a remarkable recovery, and then confessed that he had been only "shamming." Both were locked up and subsequently bailed out. They were later fined the amount of their bail, 10s. / In his annual report, the Superintendent of Technical Education, Mr. W. S. La Trobe, states that the staffing of technical schools has improved considerably in recent years, and it has been found necessary to includo in the regulations rules limiting the proportions of the more highly qualified full-time teachers who may be employed in any school. The average salary paid during the year 1925 to all assistants, men and women, was £323, as compared with £302 in the previous year.