Untitled

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20450, 3 July 1928, Page 8

The postal authorities advise that the steamer Marama, which is due at Wellington to-day from Sydney, is bringing 173 bags of mail (including 92 bags from beyond Australia), and 48 parcel receptacles for Dunedin. The mail is expected to come to hand to-morrow evening. European and American mails, ex the Makura at Wellington, should reach Dunedin to-morrow evening. At the meeting of the Tajeri* River Trust yesterday the rates for the current year were struck, a formal motion being carried. They are as follows:—Administrative rate, 5d an acre on all rateable lands within the trust’s district; drainage rate, 3s an acre on all rateable lands within the trust’s district. A spar of American wood which was picked up on the New Brighton beach last week was submitted to Captain J. L. Firqilay and Captain M. Buckley, of the Wigrain Aerodrome, for examination, in the belief that it might possibly be part of the aeroplane in which Captain G. Hood and Lieutenant J. R. Moncrieff lost their lives while attempting to fly across the Tasman Sea •'(says our Christchurch correspondent). Captain Findlay, however, declares that the wood was not a part of an aeroplane, as it is not properly shaped for such a purpose. He believes that it is part of the gunwale of a boat. Burglars who broke into Messrs Sargood. Son, and Ewen’s boot factory, in Richardson street, during the week-end, escaped with £2O worth of boots. Entry was effected by breaking a pane of glass in a window. During the period from July 1 last year to last Saturday, no fewer than 413 calls were received by the Dunedin City Fire Brigade. This was the highest number received during any previous 12 months, and the brigade has established another record, ror the 12 months ended on June 30, 1927, the brigade responded to 370 calls. The previous record fire-call was recorded that year. The big total of 413 calls for 12 months makes an average of well over one call per day. Many of the 413 calls came under the heading of false alarms, automatic false alarms, chimney and hush fires, but several extensive outbreaks claimed the attention of the brigade. The firemen also had a very busy period during June last, the machines from all stations being despatched in response to a total of 50 calls. In view of the present condition of the timber industrj' in the Dominion local dealers are expressing dissatisfaction with the action of the Public Works Department in erecting the fence around the site of the new post office building with imported timber. Jarrah posts imported from Australia are being used for posts, and the railings are of oregon (ah American timber). It is stated that the palings were also to be made of Oregon until, after a protest by local dealers, it was decided to use red pine. It is considered that the whole of the timber should have been procured from New Zealand mills. Jarrah has a very long life in the ground, but dealers hold that as the fence is to be only of a temporary nature. New Zealand timbers, in spite of their shorter life, would be quite suitable for the purpose. The proceedings in Parliament to-day (says our parliamentary reporter) will be confined to the usual formal business and the moving of motions in regard to the deaths of former parliamentarians— Major Harris, M.L.G., Messrs John Edio (Clutha), John Finn (Wakatipu), Charles Lewis (Christchurch), Sir W. Percival (Christchurch), and Mr M. Cohen, M.L.C. To-morrow the Address-in-Reply debate, usually a lengthy one, will be commenced. Mr H. E. Holland (Leader of the Opposition) has given notice of his intention to move (on Thursday) an amendment, which the Prime Minister will treat as one of no confidence. As an indication of the theatre building activity throughout New Zealand, the Theatre Royal in Christchurch is now being rebuilt under the supervision of Mr B. P. Sutton, of the firm of Cedric H. Ballantyne and Associates, of Melbourne, who have completed over 30. theatres in Australia and New Zealand. Commenting on the new Regent Theatre in Dunedin, which he inspected during the past week-end, Mr Sutton told our representative that it was one of the most successful solutions of the problem of the modern picture house that he had seen. Great credit was due to the local architects and builders .for the carrying out of the work. The modern theatre required that every person should have a clear and uninterrupted view of the picture and orchestra, good seating, perfect accoustics, ease of access, and tasteful decorative surroundings. Mr Sutton further commented on the engineering problems of big spaces of balcony and roof construction which were met with in the Regent, due to the peculiarities of the site, and considered these had been overcome in a most sound and successful manner. Naturally, where the safety of so many patrons was involved, this was a matter of first importance, ■ -.-V,.>. -

The. secretary of the Chunk Mieweu* Society has received a cable message front j Hangchow stating that the society’s hos* | pital has been handed back by the ' National Government after having beea in its possession for about a year (says & Press Association telegram from Nelson). The hospital will require extensive repairs before being again ready for use. The society in recalling all missionaries, doctors, and other members of the staff who had to leave owing to the disturbed conditions prevailing in China.

To be able to ring the telephone exchange and ascertain the time has distinct advantages, but when the information required is the score of the All BlackSpringbok match it may lead to a mix-up. In the cold of Sunday morning an anxious inquirer in his pyjamas dialled 196, to be immediately told, without any question being asked; “Seven thirty-five.” “ What? exclaimed the inquirer in amazement. “Which side scored 35? ”in the expectant hope that he would be told that it was the All Blacks. But his hopes were crashed when he was told that it was 7.35 a.m., and that the AH Blacks’ score was nil to 17. He crept back to the warm blankets crestfallen.

The precincts of a police court are never very inviting, especially when one is summoned there by the dictates of a “ scrap "of blue paper. But some people get through the careless reading of their official notification. The other day a wellknown resident ■of the Otago Peninsula spent a mottling listening to the dry details of the court, expect;: tly awaiting bis turn to be called for a breach of the motor by-laws. When the “ majesty of the law ” sternly announced that the “ Court now stands adjourned,” the dairy farmer stood amazed, and approaching a “ limb of the law ” inquired when his case was to come on. “ What is your case? ” was the query. Producing his “ bluey,” the official inquired, “ Can you read? Your case does not come on till this day week! " The farmer quickly left to attend to Strawberry and Bluey, and incidentally blame Mr Sidey’s Summer Time Bill for his mistake.

The suggestion that the shipping companies and other interests concerned should combine to ascertain by research the cause of corrosion of galvanised iron goods when in transit, was made' by a witness* in the Supreme Court at Auckland (states the New Zealand Herald. The witness, Mr Samuel Page, was giving evidence as an expert analyst and chemist in a case in which damages were claimed for deterioration of galvanised wire. “Until the interests concerned in matters of this kind get together,” he said, “ and get a thorough investigation -into the causes of this frequently mysterious corrosion of iron goods on ships, losses of this kind will continually occur. These bodies should take the matter in hand and have research done, otherwise they will constantly be in the position of calling experts to give evidence without sufficient data.”

Portsmouth dockyard has got on well with the work of restoring H.M.S. Victory to her Trafalgar condition. The vessel is being re-rigged and this task is being carried out oy dockyard riggers. The records of the rigging of the ships of the Royal Navy of 1805 are by no means voluminous, and it has been found necessary to make blue print drawings of the various parts, and sections of the ship’s rigging. A new steel main yard.is about to be hoisted into place, and with the present rate of progress the restoration should be completed by Trafalgar Day this year. Lord Nelson's walk between the guns on the quarter deck has been restored, and the skylight on the quarter deck of the Victory, which Nelson had removed in order that he might have a clear space to walk up and down between the guns, and which was again replaced in the ship after the Battle of Trafalgar, has been once more planked over. Tt will be a fine sight when all the work is done.

- Exciting experiences befell a bridal party and a number of guests at a wedding at Maramanui on Thursday, when negotiating the flood waters left by the heavy rain the previous day. The bridal party, while coming to Dargaville (says the correspondent of the Ne\f Zealand Herald), had the misf or tune' to collide with a motor lorry loaded with pigs. Two of the party suffered miner inquries, and an axle of the motor truck was broken. In the evening another party returning from the wedding celebrations was marooned in a flood on the road, but it was eventually rescued by a motor sent out from Paigaville.

The industrial rabbit industry is at last on the list of livelihoods in- New Zealand It was reported at a meeting of the Auckland branch of the Smallholder Industrial Rabbit Club last week that the Government had decided to permit the keeping of the improved British strains of wool and fur rabbits, subject to reasonable conditions, including penalties for letting the rabbits escape. A resolution was passed thanking the Government for sympathetic treatment of the question and promising to conduct the industry in a way that will cause the authorities no anxiety.

That the practice of disembarking from the ferry boats in Auckland by other thai* the means provided by the company has many risks was again demonstrated at the ferry wharf on Friday morning (says the Star), when a man in a heavy overcoat, on a crowded boat, in attempting to jump to the wharf, missed his footing and plunged into the icy water. Apart from the ducking and the possibility of catching a chill —for he would probably have to return by the ferry to his home in order to get a change of clothing—he appeared none the worse for his experience. The incident caused a sympathetic, though curious, crowd to congregate on the wharf in order to see the principal actor in the unrehearsed scene. He, however, quickly clambered on board the vessel and sought the sanctuary of the engine room.

“ The extraordinary fact that the Prayer Book measure was rejected by the British Parliament by a narrow margin seems clearly to indicate that there was a majority of English Churchmen in Parliament willing to accept the decision of the bishops, the Convocations of the lesser clergy, and the National Assembly of Bishops, clergy and laity; and that the rejection was due to the determination of the non-Anglican (other than Romanist) elements in the House that the Church of England should not the right the Scottish Presbyterian Church enjoys to settle its own doctrinal problems while it remains ‘ established states the Church News. “As we remarked on the occasion of the previous rejection by a much larger majority, overseas churchmen, whatever their doctrinal views, cannot but feel the deepest sympathy with the representative -assembly of the English' Church in this cruel over-riding of her powers of selfgovernment; and not least with the aged Archbishop of Canterbury.”

A letter from the Napier Concrete (Company, Ltd., Auckland, asking for the cancellation of its contract for the supply of pipes to the Christchurch Drainage Board will be considered at a special meeting of the Christchurch Board to be held on Friday (says a Press Association telegram). The company had made preparations for establishing a factory in Riccarton, but now wishes to be released from the contract.

The pompom gun which has been standing near the Queen Victoria Statue n Victoria square for the last 26 years is to be removed by the South African Veterans’ Association (says a Press Association telegram from Christchurch). Subject to the consent ;of the Commie* sioner of Crown Lands, the gun will be placed on the river sward east of the old Provincial Council Chambers. This is the outcome of the City Council’s recent decision that the captured guns must all be shifted from the city reserves. Due* ing the discussion which often became heated the chairman said that 200 men from the country districts had offered to come in with horses and ropes to shift the gun and make a demonstration, but he had them not 1$ &

]■ accordance with a motion carried •t a special meeting of the St. Clair Life-saving and Surf-bathing Club last night the club is to be dissolved, and its funds are to be handed to the St. Clair Life-saving Club when that body becomes properly constituted. Mr H. H. Henderson, who presided, stated that active membership of the new club would have to be limited to holders of bronze life-saving medallions, but he added that it could also have associate or honorary members. Club nights could still be held at the Municipal Baths. A tender of £37 10s for the removal of the present club house was accepted, and the work will begin on. Monday next. In accordance with a recent decision of the general manager of railways uniformed attendants have been attached to the express trains of the North Island for the comfort and convenience of passengers, and a similar servee will be arranged for the Christchurch-Invercargill line in the near future. The new attendants (says a Press Association telegram from Wellington) are responsible for the tidiness and cleanliness of the carriages and equipment, including the lavatories, and their assistance is also available for passengers, particularly women, children, and elderly men entering or leaving the trains or requiring refreshments during a journey. Explaining that this innovation is necessitated by the development of long-distance travelling, Mr H. H. Sterling (the general manager) expresses his confidence that the expenditure will be well justified by results. There was a good attendance of the general public at the Y.M.C.A. gymnasium last evening, when a demonstration of the x-egular work carried out by the gymnastic and physical culture classes on Mondays and Thursdays was given by a senior class under the charge of Mr C. W. Postgate, the physical director. As was explained by Mr Postgate the work done by the team was not in the nature of a display, but was the usual series of exercises carried out by the senior classes. The evening’s demonstration consisted of Swedish drill movements, floor exercises, dumbbell and iron wand work, and a series of exercises on the parallel bars, horizontal bar, and vaulting horse. At the conclusion of the demonstration an exhibition game of basket ball was played and demonstrated to what an extent the game requires quickness of eye. On the whole, the demonstration was extremely interesting, and gave the onlookers an insight into the excellent system of exercises practised by the senior Y.M.C.A. physical culture and gymnastic classes. A series of world-wide observations are being made on the occulations of certain distant stars. In connection with this (says our special correspondent in Wellington) it is satisfactory to note that the Kelburn Observatory quite recently made a series of very successful observations and measurements on one of these stars. It is hoped to use these observations to check the motion of the moon and discover any irregularities in the rotation of the -world. It has been known for many years that the world must gradually rotate slower and slower, but it has been difficult to discover any diminution by a series of complicated mathematical processes. It is hoped that these star observations will be made to tell astronomers just how much slower the world is spinning. In addition, any small wobble that our earth may have as it spins in space will be discovered and measured. By an error, for which we were not responsible, it was made to appear that an exceptionally large number of votes was recorded at the Carmarthen by-elec-tion last week—a number in excess of the number of voters on the register. The correct figures were:—Colonel W. t,ones (Liberal), 10,201: D. Hopkins (Labour), 10,151; Sir C. Mansel (Conservative), 8361. Winter is the time for Electric Radiators. Large assortment, all sizes and designs. Visit Barth Electrical Supplies, Ltd., 90 Princes street, Dunedin, for Demonstration, —Advt. We make a specialty of fitting trusses comfortably and exactly. New stocks just to hand. Also elastic stockings, knee caps, and anklets. —H. L. Sprosen, Ltd., chemists, corner Octagon and George street.—Advt. Those desirous of having electricity installed in their houses should consult the Stewart Electrical Company, 171 Rattray street. Time payments arranged, from 2s 6d a wqgk.—Advt. A good remedy for Coughs, Colds, Bronchitis, etc., is a household necessity at this period of the year. Be prepared. Get a bottle of Pearson’s Cough Balsam to-day; Is 6d and 2s 6d.—Pearson’s Pharmacy, Prince Albert road, St. Hilda.— Advt. Arthur Malcolm, rheumatic expert of 38J years’ practical experience, now offers those afflicted a remedy chosen from numerous old family formulas, proved by previous generations beneficial for rheumatics, neuritis, bad back, stiff and swollen joints, knees, feet, ankles, or bands, also cramp. This has also been used with success during my many years’ practice. A trial solicited, which you will not regret. Obtainable at Marshall’s Pharmacy, Princes street, Dunedin. Price 4s, posted 4s 6d. If your case is chronic communicate with me.—Arthur Malcolm, rheumatic expert. C.P.O. Box 397, Dunedin. —Advt. Many years’ experience, plus the most up-to-date equipment scientific optometry can suggest, entitles W. V Sturmer, G.A.0.C., D. 5.0.1., Octagon. Dunedin, to guarantee complete satisfaction in all eye troubles. —Advt. A. E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagiev, dentists. Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 12-359. —Advt. For Diamond Engagement Rings, Reliable Watches, and Optical Service, Peter Dick, the most reliable Watchmakers, Jewellers, and Opticians, 490 Moray place (opposite City Hotel).—Advt.