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Otago Daily Times, Issue 21215, 22 December 1930, Page 8

A chimney fire in Carroll street engaged the attention of the, City Fire Brigade at 11.15 a.m. on Saturday. The blase was extinguished before any damage was done. The City Brigade was' called out three times within less than an hour last'night by malicious false alarms. The first was received at 9.45 to Brockville road, Kaikorai Valley, the second at 10.17 to the Nbrmanby tram terminus, and the third' at 10.35 to the corner of Evans street and Conlay bank, North-East Valley. It is understood that the Railways Department, does not intend t 9 install any more chiming whistles on the locomotives. It has been found that these whistles, which are fairly expensive, are easily damaged and broken, and that on the point of view" of general usefulness they do not compare with the old style of whistle. Another of the Otago Club’s flying pupils made his first solo flight yesterday. Taking advantage of the settled weather conditions, Mr Sidney T. Hudson accomplished successfully his first test asV solo flyer. He usfed the club’s new ' Moth plane ZK. AGI. Other pupils were also solo flying over the week-end. Another pupil (Mr I. MacDonald) used one of the planes for an urgent trip to South Otago. With a fleet of three planes the 'club is now in a position to extend its activities. 1 The postal authorities advise that the Ulimaroa left Sydney for Wellington on Friday with 53 bags of Australian mail and 28 parcel receptacles for Dunedin. The'Maunganui left for Auckland the same day with seven bags of mail and one parcel container. The, maila by the Ulimaroa should reach Dunedin on Wednesday afternoon, and those by the Maunganui on Friday. Speaking at the Auckland Grammar School prize-giving ceremony about the clause ip the Atmore Report on education which proposes a radical alteration in the scholarship system, and its practical replacement by one of bursaries, the headmaster, Mr H. J. D. Mahon, said: “ From an array of evidence against the futility and injustice of such a. proposal, I should like to quote the following of Dr Cyril Norwood, headmaster of Harrow School, after a careful and judicial review of the subject of examinations:— ‘ When a large number of persons desire to show their fitness .for further study, or to compete with one another for a prize awarded for knowledge, the only fair way is to put them all down in a room, give them the same set of questions, and an equal allowance of time, and see what they will make of it.. No conceivable method of estimating merit or knowledge by means of interviews, school records, or intelligence tests can possibly replace this process.’ ” “ New Zealand flora is well distributed in other countries,” said Mr T.-L. Lancaster, lecturer in botany at the Auckland University College, who has returned from a visit to Britain, South Africa, and Australia. In England Mr Lancaster represented the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture at the Imperial Horticultural Congress. He also attended the International Horticultural Congress and the International Botanical Congress. He said that it.was interesting to note that in parts of England the cabbage tree grew well, and on one visit to Surrey he saw many of the New Zealand veronica (koromiko) * family. At Capetown also the New Zealand cabbage tree was highly regarded for beautification purposes.

“New Zealand has lost nothing by, the visit of the Prime Minister (Mr G.- W. : Forbes) to- this- country," writes -Mr L; 1 M'Kenzie, a former member of the Wellington City Council, in a letter from , England. "If possible he has further endeared New Zealand to the hearts of the sympathetic people of England,'' His progress has been marked by tact, and his watchword has been that New . Zealand thinks the Empire good cnqugh'vand'has nothing in common with the idea of .» Commonwealth of Nations, which seems to be a higher sounding title, but is apt to. lead the minds of people .slightly away from the Motherland. All through/Mr ' Forbes has worked hard in the interest of the New Zealand producer and' hafe called attention to* the' uncalled-for difference in price between New Zealand'and Danish butter. The best work he . has done in that regard was in'an interview with the butter ‘ kings/ at which meeting lie heard their side of the question first and then made his reply. The impression made was so favourable that it can be ' safely said that he regained much of their goodwill.”^ The pictures in the 12 pages of the illustrated section of the Otago Witness, to be published to-morrow, have been specially selected -with /reference to-their suitability ae Christmas subjects r and cover a wide range of theme. Three of them show pretty girls in artistic poses and happy people in holida/settings, the front page being devoted to scenes on one of Dunedin’s beaches when surf and: sunshine put forth a simultaneous call. Two companion pages of “The Wonderland of the North Island” provide typical scenes of Rotorua, and its surroundings, while " Unspoilt Nature in the Mpuntain Country of Western Otago ” gives an impression of the route from Lake Howden to Martin’s Bay along the Lower Hollyford. There are also a page dealing with the agricultural course at Waitaki Boys’; High School, Oamaru, a half-page of the * Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association’s annual treat to children, , groups of the\ Otago.Bpys*'High School senior and\juniop gymnastic eightsfor 1930, the Otago Peninsula A. and.P. Show, “Palm Islands A Tropic Ge;u,” and single/pictures of ; the wedding of Air-commodore Kingsford Smith, the opening of the Indian Round Table Conference, Armistice Day observances in London, Miss.. Mercedes Gleitze, who is to make an attempt to swim. Cook ” Strait; Sir Isaac Isaacs, Governor-General of Australia; the meeting of the Canterbury farmers to discuss; the economic situation, and other topical subjects. A letter of congratulation is to be sent by the. Auckland: Education Board' to' a pupil of the Ngaruawahia School, Daphne Simpson, who has attended school for eight y years without missing. even half a day, “The record is a very fine one, and I; understand the girl was wheeled to school in; a ‘pram * one week.when she was ill,& said the t chairman, Mr A. Burns, at a meeting of the board last week. In pursuance of the United States plan - of developing' its merchant marine by a policy of subsidies and loans, the Shipping’ Board last October granted a loan 'of £1,177,000 to the Oceanic Steamship Company, a subsidiary of the Matson Navigation' Corporation-of San Francisco. ■ , This loan is ; to cover pf the construction post of a passenger-cargo liner to be built at the Bethlehem-Shipbuilding Company’s yard, Fore River, Massachusetts. The totabcost of the vessel will be £1,440,000, in addition to a cost of £130,000 for equipment, furnishings and fixtures; The new Matson liner when completed will be placed on tbe California-Australia route to strengthen the service maintained there by the company. She yili be of approximately 11,300 tons dead-weight and will be capable of a speed of 20 knots,' Powerful .Government ’ assistance ' such, as this is given as a . result of the Jones-White Act passed in May, 1(128, to make possible “ the greatest expansion programme for the American, merchant marine yet under* taken.” The measure provided for d fund of £50,000,000 to be used for loans to shipowners desiring to build new vessels.' A loan can be up. to 75 per. cent, of the f .value - of thevessel T and. 'her equipment, and bears .interest at only 3 ” peir 'ient. The same' Act also authorised'the payment of mail subsidies on a mileage basis with--out: regard to the amount of mail carried, Under this arrangement the Oceanic Company’s," Golden ” steamers; receive £2BOO. a .trip lor carrying mail from: the Pacific to New Zealand. As the mails, are some* times very.small this worked out on.one occasion at a subsidy of £1433 a bag and on another, at.about, £9OO a bag. ! .i “The average parent takes these term reports too'seriously,” said the headmaster (Mr J.'D.‘Sutcliffe) at the break-up- ceremony at Scots College, Wellington. "It is : impossible to sum up the capabilities and characteristics of your son in the. small space of a term report form, and In any case, his success as a citizen Cannot be judged absolutely by his success .in the classroom.- Take any half-dozen:, of: the most reacted and influential citizens and ask them what position in the class they graced at school, and you will; probably find that , they were not always top .or near the top. I do not consider itsmjf duty to specialise on the infant prodigy. The function, of the college is to cater for the .average pupil who is to become an average citizen. If we can make men ofthe majority .we are fulfilling pur - functions and genius will still rise to thi top.” -

Christmas' greetings from the following are heartily reciprocated;—The directors, and management of "New ■ Zealand Wax Vestas Company, Dunedin, the chairman of the Otago Hospital Board, (Mr W. 13. S. Knight), the editor and staff of the Press (Christchurch), the manager of the. Christchurch Press Company (Mr A. M; Burns), the manager of. the Regent (Mr Alec. Regan), the Minister of Public Works ' (Mr W. B. Taverner)* tlte Minister of (Mr W. A." Veitch), the general manager (Mr H, H. Sterling) and executive officers of the department, the Clutha Leader Company (Balclutha), the staff of the North-Otago Times (Oamaru) .the proprietors of ‘ the Hawke’s Bay Herald (Napier), the , Oamaru Mail, the proprietor of the Grand Hotel, Dunedin (Mr A. A. Pa ape), tho: directors of the Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand; Ltd., the Dunedin city engineer and staff, Mr Amos M'Kegg,Wanaka Hotel (Pembroke), the chairman and members of the Bluff Harbour Board, and the executive officers, Otago District. M.U.1.0.0.F. We beg to acknowledge the receipt of calendars and almanacs from the following:—The Minister in charge of the Publicity Department (Mr P. A. do la Perrelle), Messrs A; and T. Inglis. Ltd.- (Dunedin). Coulls, Somerville, and Wilkie, Ltd* the Taratu Coal Company, A. J; Allen. Ltd. _ (Dunedin), Thomas Meadows .. and Co., Ltd. (London), L. S. Dixon and Co., Ltd. (London) , .the New Zealand ShippingCompany, Ltd., and the Peninsula Motor Service, Ltd. Attention is called to an advertisement in ourcolumns of a book entitled “Christendom Astray,” said to, have revolutionised the religious convictions of manjv A car for the Holidays! The All* British ■ Austin Seven will take you to places inaccessible to heavier cars with all the comfort and dependability of the big car. but at a fraction of the cost. Austin Motors Otago, Ltd., late Sted-' man’s Garage, Princes street, can supplyAustin Sevens from Stock, and 1 tWre is ample time to get delivery and learn to drive for the holidays.—Advt. W-. V. Stumer, G A.O:C., D.S.OI* optician. Consulting robm. 2 Octagon, Dunedin* .Most *tnoactn scientific equipment for sight testing—Advt. ~ , , A. E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bogley, dentists,. Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next' Telegraph Office). Telephone 12-359.—Advt. ’ S. _E. Ferguson, G.P.0.C., consulting optician, watchmaker, and jeweller. Consult us about your eyes.: our advice and long experience are at yout disposal. Optical repairs a speciality; done at shortest notice.-—45 George street.—Advt, Buy your Christmas Gifts from Fetor Dick, Jewellers, Watchmakers, and. Opticians, 490 Moray place, Dunedin.—Advt-