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Otago Daily Times, Issue 19980, 23 December 1926, Page 10

There will be no publication of the Otago Daily Times on Saturday (Christmas Day). The postal authorities advise that the steamer Karetu, which is due at Bluff on Sunday from Sydney, is bringing 27 bags and 22 hampers containing Australian mail matter for Dunedin. The mail should come to hand next Monday morning.

A young British coal miner who arrived at Port Chalmers last night on the Athenic, stated to a Daily Times reporter that before the coal strike commenced ho was '“working at the face,” and the wages were 3us per week. He was inclined to express himself harshly in regard to his native land, stating that “England is now a rich man’s country.” The final meeting of the Cabinet for this year was held yesterday (reports our special correspondent in Wellington). The Acting Prime Minister (the Hon. W. D. Stewart) will be out of Wellington during Christmas, having arranged to leave to-night for Temuka.

Engines from the City and South Dunedin Fire Stations were called to the corner of King Edward and Grosnevor, streets at 1.45 a.m. yesterday, but it was oound that a malicious false alarm had been given.

The people of Dunedin still retain their reputation for demanding fu}l value for their money. A lady entered a shop yesterday and asked for “a penny comic,” and when this was being produced she asked for a calendar —which, by the way, cost t!«vendor Is 7d. When informed that the supply of calendars was exhausted and that the request could not be complied with, the would-be purchaser declined to take the “comic.”

The railway traffic since the excursion fares came into operation has been heavy, and in order to cope with the traffic on Saturday (Christmas Day) the department has decided to run extra expresses from Dunedin both north and south. The extra train for Invercargill will leave at 9 a.m., and the one for Christchurch is timed to leave at 9.5 a.m.

The City of Dunedin can show an enviable record in so far as the payment of rates is concerned. At March 31 last year only .84 per cent, of the rates were outstanding, and these were recovered ic due course. Yesterday was the final day for the payment of this year’s city rates — that is, if they are not to bear the penalty of 10 per cent., and the Town Hall staff had a busy time coping with the rush. The total amount of rates to be collected for this year is £237,000, compared with £220,000 last year, the difference of £17,000 being accounted for by the increase in the rateable value. On Monday 'night about ££6,000 was outstanding, and £32,000 was collected yesterday. It is anticipated that when the takings received at the Town Hall yesterday and the amounts coming in by the mail are totalled there will not be more than about £6OOO outstanding. This £6OOO will carry a penalty of 10 per cent., but Mr H. H. Henderson (city treasurer) is quite satisfied that by the end of the financial year on March 31, 1926, there will not be 1 per cent, of the total rates unpaid. In Christchurch there are 17 blind people who have free use of the Braille books in the Public Library (states the Lyttelton Times). Of these, six are heavy readers, but the remainder do not read a great deal. By paying £lO 10s a year to the National Library for the Blind, London, the library receives 80 books a year in quarterly consignments of 20. These remain in Christchurch for three months before being posted back. The Dunedin, Auckland, and Wellington Public Libraries work under the same system and there was a proposal that a system of exchange should be instituted among the libraries, but so far nothing has been done in the matter. The National Library for the Blind was founded in 1882 by Miss Arnold, a blind woman, and her friend, Mrs Dow. They started work in a small room at Hampstead, Miss Arnold acting as librarian, and lent out, at a charge of a penny a week, to a little circle of V-iind readers the few books that they wire :>! lo to produce by hand. From that beginning has grown a library of i\C9O volumes, which are circulated throughout the Empire. There are 10,000 readers to whom books are lent free, and the library has on its shelves a wide range of books of fiction, theology, science, sociology, poetry, foreign literature, and rcusio.

A plucky action was performed by Mr J. Thomson, a well known Dunedin yachtsman, at the boat harbour one evening last week. Two men were thrown into the water through the capsizing of a dinghy. They were in difficulties when-Mr Thomson promptly went to their assistance -and brought them ashore in an exhausted condition. The incident was referred to at a meeting of the Otago Yacht and Motor Boat Club Committee on Tuesday evening. The commodore (Mr T. W. Sundstrum) said that Mr Thomson’s timely action was to be commended, and the club was proud of him. It was decided to place on record Mr Thomson’s gallant performance.

All this week the streets have been thronged with crowds of people, for the most part on Christmas shopping bent. There is nothing in their cheerful appearance or in the general air of prosperity of the city to indicate anything in the nature of hard times in the community, but nevertheless business men are agreed that money is unusually scarce at the present time. Most shopkeepers are finding the volume of Christmas business rather less than usual, and regard the season as a comparatively dull one, but others again are very well pleased with the amount of trade they are handling. Various reasons are assigned for the shortness of money, among them being the huge sums invested in motor cars and the fact that many people, unable to rent a house, have been compelled recently to purchase one, and are not finding it easy to keep up the payments. However that may be, the spirit of Christmas is abroad as in past years, and the heavy double loads under which the postmen are staggering are convincing proof of the continued prevalence of the excellent custom of exchanging gifts and greetings at this season. As is right and fitting, the children are having a prominent share in the festivities and merrymaking, and their eager little faces are to be seen at every shop window where Christmas wares are displayed. A large number of people always leave '■heir Christmas shopping to the last moment, but this year it has .been the experience of many that the trad© is being spread more evenly over a longer period than usual. The double market at Burnside yesterday did not attract greatly increased entries, except in the case of fat lambs, of which 1395 head were penned. Lambs declined from 2s 6d to 3s, but fat cattle were firmer by 15s to 30s. Sheep rose Is 6d to 2s and store pigs ss, A good entry of sheep brought the following rates: Heavy wethers, 34s to 365; light, 30s to 31s; ewes, 25s to 27s 6d; light, 22a to 24s 6d. Extra heavy wethers made 5d per lb, light 6Jd, prime ewes 4sd. Lambs were in good condition, bat the demand eased. Best stuff made 9d per lb, others Bd. The fat cattle yardin was a good one, and prices rose considerably. Prices were:—Extra heavy prime bullocks, £lB to £l7 10s; prime, £l4 5s to £ls ss; lighter, £ll Ss to £l3 ss; heifers, £7 10s to £10; cows, £7 5s to £8 10s. Extra heavy bullocks made 35s per 1001 b; prime light, 38s to 40s; prime heifers, 335; cows, 255. A yarding of about 100 store cattle, comprised of mixed cows mostly of medium quality, with an odd pen of-medium yearlings, realised prices much on a par with last sale’s. There was a penning of 75 fat pigs and 25 stores. Bidding was slack for fats, which were unchanged. Stores advanced 5s to very high prices.

Motorists are -warned against parking their cars ah Brighton on the Main Brighton-Taieri Mouth road between the Big Eock and Taylor street. The residents, with the assistance of a donation of £2O from the Otago Motor Club, have provided parking areas with plenty of room for a large number'of cars. Notice boards are being erected to indicate to visitors the positions of these parking places. The Taieri County Council has passed a resolution forbidding the parking of cars on the portion of the road referred to.

Speaking at the opening of the new Public Works building at Taumarunui on Friday night (states the Advocate), the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. K. S. Williams) said that at the present time there were 19. members attached to the Taumaranui office of the Public Works Department and the field staff, and 22 additional officers stationed on the railway works and in sub-offices throughout the district. The building cost £3500. The Minister stated that, as showing the growth of departmental activities in the Taumaranui district, which might more correctly bo described as the King Countrydistrict, the following figures would be of interest: The area of the district, including that covered by the main highways activities, was 4700 square mjles. The gross expenditure on public buildings alone rote from £ISOO in the 1916-17 financial year to £11,300 for 1925-26. During the same »

period railway construction rose from £41,400 to £69,500, Roads, etc., rose from £29,200 to £71,000, which, however, now included main highways expenditure of £19,400. The total gross expenditure during the period increased from £81,500 to £154,600, practically double. The total supervision charges in 1916-1917 were £9300 as against £10,500 in 1925-26, but the percentage supervision of total expenditure dropped from 11.46 per cent, to 5.45 per cent.

When the cry “A shark!” was raised, at the Ponsonby salt water baths the other day it did not require much persuasion to get the bathers out of the water (reports the Auckland Star). There was some excitement and much curiosity, which was turned to laughter when the caretaker harpooned a poor little sharklet two feet long and without a tooth in its head. The intruder had got in through a defective grating, which was soon put to rights. Those baths are particularly popular these hot days, and during the school holidays they are always crowded. Many of the habitues wish the City Council could sea its way to put in the electric light. If that were done, bathing would highly popular during the warm summer evenings, when it is so hard to get cool on dry land. One frequenter of the baths points out that electric light would be very useful when the baths are being cleaned out at night, as at present the work has to be done by the light of an electric torch—not a verv satisfactory way.

Christmas greetings have been received from the following and are heartily reciprocated:—The Oxford University Press, the editors and staffs of the Lyttelton Thnea and Christchurch Star, the Wembley Club, the Chairman of the Otago Hospital Board, the Clutha Leader, the Hawke s Bay Herald, the Hawke’s Bay Tribune, the chairman of the Otago Education Board, the Dunedin Euchre Assembly, the Exporter (Wellington), the Wakatip Mail, and the chairman, members and staff of taa Maniototo County Council. The first 500 copies of the Green Island School anniversary souvenir have been sold out, but the committee is taking orders for an extra issue. . Girls! Please do not hesitate; married life has many advantages, espedallv since the advent of “No-rubbing Laundry Help, the abolisher of washboard slavery. ’So sav all of us.” Otago grocers.—Advt, No better or more useful Presnets for your friend than something electrical. Splendid selection at Barth Electrical Supplies (Ltd.), 90 Princes street, specialists in latest electric appliances, also wireless sets and material. —Advt. “No-rubbi .g Laundry Help” never fails to effect a quick divorce of paint grease, etc., from painters and all mechanics overalls. It’s a great friend, is “Norubbing Laundry Help.” Dunedin grocers. —Advt. The Children’s Favourite Toy Shop is “Todd’s” White House. 133 George street, for Guns, Dolls, Prams, Horses, Barrows, Mechanical Toys, etc. —Advt.

Eczema, varicose ulcers, and all skis irritation sucessfully treated by Hoffman’* special remedy. Full particulars from Hoffman’s Pharmacy, 17 Princes street (next Begg’s),—Advt. Eyes are precious. At first sign of weakness co to the qualified and expert* enced (20 years) optometrist, W. V. Sturmer, D. 5.0.1., G.A.0.C., Octagon, Dunedin. Most up-to-date equipment, including test electrically-lit testing charts installed. Advt. ; A. E. J Blakeley and W. E. Bagley. dentists. Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office l Telephon' 1859. Advt

Christmas jewellery. Gifts that last! Peter Dick, Moray place, Dunedin, has a specially-selected stock of high-class diamond engagement rings and reliable watches, and has been satisfying the jmblic during the last 40 years in these lines.— Advt.