LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22211, 11 September 1935, Page 12

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Warships' Gunnory Exerclßes Gunnery exercises will be carried out by H.M.S. Dunedin and H.M.S. Diomede in the Hauraki Gulf on Wed--1 nesday, September 25. The warships " will engage in full calibre day and night firing, and also in squadron tor- ; pedo firing. , Sea Lion At Napier s A sea lion about 6ft. in length has . been noticed by many Napier residents , in the vicinity of Port Ahuriri lately. [ It was first seen resting on tho mud- [ banks at the port and later tho same , day sported in the surf near the chil- • dren's playing area on tho Marine ; Parado beach. 1 Chairman's Long Service 1 A record of service probably uni equalled in the Dominion has been established by Mr. J. H. Reid, who presided for the 25th occasion at the annual meeting of the Toa Toa Dairy i Company, in the Opotiki district. He , has been chairman of directors since i the inception of the company and was , re-elected for another year. Papatoetoe Building Activity 1 An increase in building activity at Papatoetoe was reported at the Town Board meeting last ei'ening. The inspector, Mr. R. W. Ashcroft, reported that in the six months ended August 31 permits had been issued in respect of ten new dwellings, four other premises and alterations to seven properties. The total value of the new buildings and additions was £7339. Mons Veterans Parade About 50 ex-inembers of the British Expeditionary Force of August, 1914, gathered in Wellington last Sunday to honour the memory of their comrades who fell in the retreat from Mons. Wearing the 1914-15 star, with clasp, the men and one woman, Matron L. Bennett, Royal Red Cross, marched through the city to the National War Memorial Carillon, where a service was held. Novel Beautifying Scheme A start has been made by the Wellington Beautifying Society with the planting of a rhododendron dell at the Botanical Gardens, and by the time the scheme is complete moro than 100 plants will have been put in. The site selected by the society is in a very beautiful spot, near the children's play area, with luxuriant native bush as a background. The initial work consisted principally in the laying out of the colour scheme for the actual planting. Kowhai in Bloom Although individual kowhai trees have flowered during the past few weeks, the blossoming of this beautiful native is now becoming general. Already the trees along the river valleys and on the bush-covered hillsides, especially north of Auckland, are presenting a brilliant picture and should be at their best within a few days. Another native that is in full bloom in many districts is the clematis, the white patches being a conspicuous feature of the countryside at present. Victorian Writers Defended A defence of the literature of the Victorians against the criticism that has been levelled at it in recent years was inad« by Professor F. Sinclaire, professor of English at Canterbury University College, in an address to members of the Society for Imperial Culture in Christchurch. The Victorians, ha said, represented a rich and important epoch in English literature, and in their writings showed qualities that were lacking in the literature of to-day. "If you want to be in the swim," he advised his- audience, "you should start a Victorian cult. I think they are coming back." Damage by Eels Several cases of the voracious habits of tho freshwater eel were reported to the council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society last evening. At the hatchery on the Little Waipa River a large number of trout ova had been placed in a specially-constructed pool in the stream. All these disappeared, and a native eel trap was set, with the result that two eels, both nearly sft. long and 12in. in girth, were caught. In another case eight trout were watched spawning with six large eels swimming round. As soon as the eggs had been laid the eels burrowed in the gravel and promptly devoured the freshly-laid eggs Monument to Hobson Appreciation of the action of the Mayor, Mr. Ernest Davis, in giving an obelisk to mark the place at Orakei whore Captain William Hobson, R.N., first Governor of New Zealand, is stated to have landed, was expressed yesterday by Mr. Spenceley Walker, headmaster of Newton Central School, as a ceremony beside Hobson's crave in Symonds Street Cemetery. Mr. Walker and the Mayor agreed that a monument to Hobson. in a commanding position over the city he founded, was desirable. The Mayor said such a monument could well be a tomb. He commented that Auckland had yet to possess such a memorial as that in Wellington to Mr. W. F. Massey. Strictly Confidential "I know a bookmaker . . remarked Mr. C. E. Dowland, Commissioner of Taxes, to a meeting of accountants in AVcllington. " I know them all," lie added. He was necessarily concerned with them as taxpayers, and, of course, they had to disclose the sources of their income. This was a confidential matter; it was information to which no other department of State —particularly tho police —had access. The bookmaker to whom he had specially referred had a substantial income from, investments, but in recent years he had incurred heavy losses in his betting business. "Why don't you drop the bookmaking and stick to your investments ?" Mr. Dowland asked the bookmaker. "I have to do it for mental exercise," was the reply. Reforming Law Breakers The method by which the consequences of a law breaker's crime are made very terrible in the hope that he and others may be frightened into becoming good citizens has been tried and has proved a failure, states the secretary, tho Rev. G. E. Moreton, in his report to tho Auckland Discharged Prisonei-s' Aid Society. On the other hand, an effort can be made to change him from a social liability into a social asset by reformative measures. Mr. Moreton adds that society is bettor protected from anti-social bohaviour by educating tho law breaker in citizenship than by intimidating him, although it is best protected by educating him and others in the principles of right social conduct before they break the law.