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Otago Daily Times, Issue 21242, 24 January 1931, Page 10

■ Tlu postal authorities advise that the Mahcno, which is due at Bluff to-morrow from. Melbourne, is- bringing 102 bags of Australian and English mail _ and two parcel receptacles for Dunedin. The Monowai. which is due at Wellington on Monday from Sydney, has 10 bags of mail and .19 parcel receptacles for Dunedin. The mail by the Maheno should reach the local Post Office, on Monday, and that by the Monowai on Tuesday. Owing to the, warm weather experienced in the north only a portion of the Samoan, bananas landed at Auckland last Mpnday from the steamer Tofua was forwarded to southern ports. The Dunedin consignment arrived yesterday afternoon by the Waipiata. The bananas reached the market in excellent condition. In the Police Court at Invercargill • yesterday, Michael Francis Flynn, a farmer, of Ferndale, Mataura, was fined £250 on , a charge of being in possession of .an unlicensed still and worm, and £IOO, or six months’■ imprisonment, on a charga of assisting in the unlawful manufacture of spirits. The Collector of Customs stated that the raiding party found apparatus and liquor which would distill 53 gallons of proof spirit. The duty on this would be £lll. Counsel for the accused said the defendant had hoped, to supplement his income by the whisky. He had 1 lost £3OOO on' his farm. The Collector of Customs replied that he had been informed that the accused , had bought a new. car and ran racehorses.. . U At the close, of, the ordinary business at the monthly meeting of the Taieri County Council yesterday, a special meet'ing was held to fix the statutory halfholiday, when Saturday—as at present—was confirmed. r.A! Gazette issued last night contains (savs a Press' Association telegram from Wellington) a copy of the convention between the United Kingdom and Spain, rte. specting legal proceedings in ciyil and commercial matters, together with a formal announcement of the extension of this convention to New Zealand. The naval minesweeper Wakakura returned to Dunedin yesterday afternoon from Akaroa with the second draft oi Royal Naval Volunteer reservists of the Otago division. The lads have completed a week’s training on the ship and will be discharged this morning. The Wakakura will sail- this afternoon for Akaroa; She will carry the third,draft of reservists, who will undergo a course of training 1 during the coming week. Probably few people in ' the Dominion, can boast of a record which in any way approaches that of Mr Alexander Burns, who was present yesterday at the jubilee show of the Palmerston and .WaihenioCounty Agricultural and Pastoral Association. Mr Burns attended the first, show held in Palmerston in. 1880, and had been present at- every- other _ show held under the. auspices of the association since that year.' . It is interesting to note that. Mr Burns was present at the first showas the agent- for the Walter A. Wood reaper and binder, the first machine ot its kind to use twine in tying the sheaves, the previous binders having used wire. In' connection with tenders now being called for the final section of the bitumen, paving of the Main South road, applications were received at yesterday's meeting; of the Taieri County Council from the Neuchatel Asphalte Company, Ltd., and Robert Saunders and Sons, Ltd., to remove stone from Mosgiel quarry. After full consideration of the matter it WW unanimously decided to grant the right to' take stone.from the Mosgiel quarry t« all, tenderers: on the basis of the agreement now. expiring.

Young men with pea-rifles are said tabs & menace to the public in the region »f the Upper Junction and, Mount'Cargill. &dt only are people’s lives endangered, iut cattle are likely to suffer through the thoughtless acts of youths of this class.There was a block in the • traffic in Crawford street, near the premises of Messrs Coull, Somerville, and Wilkie, yesterday morning, and many heads, like thdse of. Barbara Freitchie, leant far out on the .adjacent window sills to see, what all. the excitement was about. A motor Car drawn up at the kerb was decorated with a couple of kerosene tins, a piece of broken, tyre, and a placard with the inscription “It’s moments like these' you need Minties.” In the car itself was the effigy ’ of a lady, a somewhat ■ farfetched 1 suggestion, no doubt, of a bride. Round . the car was. a swirling mass of girls and men and flights of confetti nearly obscured the rays of the sun. It looked 'as if a marriage ceremony had just been ‘ concluded and that the happy pair were .getting .a more than usually demonstrative send-off. A marriage had certainly something to do with the demonstration,' but it does not take place till to-morrow. After- a life of single blessedness, and seeing many of his childhood friends married and with grown up families, a popular member of a Crawford street business house has decided to take unto himself a wife. He returned to Dunedin, from Tiraaru on Thursday; be left for Timaru again yesterday, and be

will be married there to-day. The secret *f his intentions had not been well kept, »nd as he quietly walked out of his office yesterday morning to enter his car and be driven to the railway station he.,became the centre of a maelstrom of com fetti and hurrahs of admiration. He struggled into the machine, but he was not allowed to start up his engine. A dozen willing hands grasped all points of the car, dragged it along to Water street southwards, across to 1 the correct side, back along. Crawford street, down Rattray street and along Cumberland street to - the railway station, where another uproarious send-off was awaiting the Bcne-dict-to-hc. This is the time of the year when motorists expect to' meet large mobs of sheep on the roads. . Ib. is estimated that between 60,000 and 70,000 .sheep are on the road to the Waikato from Poverty Bay. Some are being driven to Taneatua, whence- they will be. trucked to their destinations. It is expected that within the next fortnight the total loadings of Poverty Bay sheep at Bay of Plenty j stations will be over 36,000. Not all the ’■sheep are travelling by road. On Sunday last "(says the Auckland Star) 1870 animals were unloaded at Mount Maun-ganui-after a journey of 36 hours in the steamer Wainui fromTolago Bay. They were transferred at the mount to a special sheep train for the Waikato, where next week’s market will be tested. This method of transport, is greatly favoured , by the dealers, as the animals'do .not lose. condition ; as they do when 'driven hundreds of miles. ' ■•.. Two huias in a perfect state of preservation, colours and details being very distinct, have been presented to the Wanganui Museum by Mr H. R-' Beauchamp. They were trapped by his father, Mr E, H. Beauchamp, in-the bush at Qtaki about 37 years - ago. The late Mr Beauchamp stuffed the birds himself, being interested in that work, and sent them .to England to his people, where, they remained at Earley, Berkshire,;until Mr H. R. Beauchamp visited England last, year.. The birds were then given to him and he brought them back to New Zealand, and has presented them to the museum, , " • ''•>■= • , An historic gig is included, in the equipment of the steamer Northumberland, now in New Zealand waters. An exceedingly trim little boat) built throughout of. finest mahogany, it was once the gig of the Royal Yacht, and-on many occasions carried King Edward'to and fro between the landing-stage and the King’s' yacht. Seeing it lying idle, Captain H. G. Upton, master of the Northumberland,, secured it for, the sum of '£2, and it is now used for training the cadets of the Northumberland in oarsmanship.' -An Auckland, riffnn; thdb Replaced - two of tbei mahogany planks; at a cost considerably in excess of that paid.by Captain Upton for the whole boat, said that the price of the gig when new .would-probably be well over £IOO. A resolution in favour of church unity was carried at'a Taumar,unui meeting convened by the Church' of England Men’s Society. There were 100-men representing the Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches and the Salvation Army., The resolution expressed the opinion that the cause of Christianity was' seriously hindered by the division of the' Christian Church into numerous denominational churches, and 1 that - the maintenance of denominational -religion resulted in economic waste and deprived mission fields and social service work of funds. It was resolved that, in the opinion of the meeting, the time had arrived when it-wag the duty of every sincere Christian to endeavour to find a means of overcoming the differences keeping the . churches apart.

. The efficiency of the safety devices with which modern electric lifts are equipped was exemplified .when; one of the elevators in the Auckland Electric Power Board’s Building slipped and began to descend after it had reached the fourth floor. As goon as the lift attained running speed, air' automatic device brought it to a stop near,the level of the first floor.' At the time there were 18 men in the lift, all of them being power bbatd employees, ascending to the fifth floor, where they are paid their wages, . When the lift reached the fourth floor an electric connection oh the roof failed and the full power of the currerit was not vailable. The lift stopped, and then began to run down, gradually attaining normal running speed, although the attendant continued to keep the control handle in the “Up” position. When the lift exceeded normal running speed, a governor, of the type with which all modern lifts are equipped, applied a pgir. of brakes on the guide rails at the side of the well and brought the cage to a gradual stop without difficulty or jarring.

The-Mayor of Stratford, Mr P. Thomson, recently found ori his farm a nest of Six fish situated in soft soil under a log. At Mr Thomson’s request the Stratford Acclimatisation Society forwarded one of the fish to Mr A.'E. Hefford, chief inspector of fisheries, who stated that the fish was a specimen of the New Zealand mud fish, Neochanna apoda. This fish is not a very well-known species, and is an inhabitant of swamp pools. It is particularly interesting in that it has the power of burrowing into mud when the pool dries up, and of maintaining life under these conditions. . Apparently, like the* Australian mud fish, it has the power of breathing without water, and it can exist for some time with little or no oxygen. An. interesting feature of the fish is its pugnacity. The Maori names for the. species are Hauhau, _ implying fierceness, and Waikaka, meaning water parrot, both having reference to its snapping propensities. A Putaruru farmer recently sent a consignment of seven sheepskins, heavily wooled, to Auckland. A return of at least 10s was confidently anticipated, but to the surprise of the farmer he received’the sum of lOd. The skins brought 9d a pound, a total of 5s 3d. The charges, delivery to store, commission and railage amounted to 4s sd. In addition, 2s Was paid to a man to carry the skins to Putaruru from the farm. Stating that the lack of minerals (lime and phosphorous) in foods was one of the, causes of defectiveness in children in New Zealand, Mr Renfrew White said in-a, lecture in Christchurch on Wednesday f that 99.9. per cent, of human bones and 99.8 per cent, of human teeth were made up from nothing else than a combination of those two materials. “It has been said that our soil is deficient in those materials,” he added. “ I made special inquiries from the Wheat Research Institute this morning, and was told- that nothing of the sort was the case and that our wheat and other cereals are not at all- deficient in lime or phosphorous.”

“I can’t - understand why- tens of thousands of pounds should be put into school buildings when in 10 years’ time our knowledge of the body will have advanced so much that those buildings will be a drag on human progress,’' said Mr Renfrew White during an address before the Teachers’ Summer School (says the Christchurch Press). “Christchurch has this to its credit,” he added. “It’s the only place in New Zealand where we can find open-air schools and an open-air schools league,” Reports from tropical countries show that the python and monitor lizard are in danger of extinction because of the demand for- their skins for use in making women’s footwear. The Government of India has prohibited the export of the skins of thf larger lizards. In the interior of South America the reptiles are being decimated to meet the demand, and large fortunes have been made. One result is a great increase in the number of rats in South America, and the sugar plantations are in danger of destruction. Rats are the natural food of the python, and the destruction of pythons has created a serious problem.

An angler diligently, fishing along the banks of the, Wharere Stream, at Rangiuru, was so wrapped up in ■ this sport of playing a nice fish (says the Auckland Star) that he failed to notice he had trespassed on grounds solely occupied by a ferocious bull. The bull charged, and the angler, abandoning all hope of securing the fish, made for the nearest tree, there being no fence about. The bull tried ,to head the man off, but, just in time, he caught the lowest branch of the tree and pulled himself to safety. The bull pawed the ground in fury, and it was nearly an hour before it left the tree, whereupon the angler broke all bis ovn sprint records in making for safety.- Incidentally, his favourite fishing rod was trampled and broken by the bull in the chase. .

The Otago Harbour Board announces chat the lists of payers of harbour dues of £3 and over for the year ended December 31, 1930, have been prepared, .and that, in ’ accordance with tile regulations for the election of : members of harbour boards, these lists will be. open, for m-k spection • at the board's office from J an J*" ary 26 to January 31; # Arrangements have been made for additions to be made to the list if necessary, and a special meeting of the board will be held on February 26 to approve the final roll. The Railways . Department announces in this issue particulars of alterations to the running of the usual 8.0 a.m. OalnaruDunedin and the usual 6.17 p.rm Port Chaimers-Diineclin trains , on January .28.. The Railways Department advertises a special bus service between Dunedin and. Eavensbourne in connection with the official opening of Doiiihiion Fertiliser, Works on January'2B. '■ Attention is' drawn to. the Railways Department’s advertisement in this issue referring to the running of ah excursion train to Gatlins River branch. The Commissioner of Taxes drag’s attention of taxpayers to the notification appearing in to-day’s issue that the due date of payment of income tax is on Monday, February 9. Additional tax will accrue if the tax is neb paid on or before March 2. • ■ The Southern Starr-Bowkett Building Society will dispose of £ISOO by sale on February 2. After nine weeks of preparation, the new Austin Showrooms sit 284-286 South Princes street have been completed, and .are now open for inspection. No expense, or effort has been spared, with the result that the new premises are easily the largest and most up-to-date of their kind' in Dunedin. Upstairs there has been established a "modern:' workshop exclusively for the purpose of servicing Austins. You are cordially invited to call and inspect. „ . ■' _ „ . W. V- Stunner, G.A.Q.C.,,' D.S.O.L. optician. Consulting room, 2 Octagon. Dunedin! Most modern scientific equip ment for sight testing.—Advt. A. E. .J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner oi 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 yotir disposal. Optical- repairs a speciality: done at shortest notice.—4s George street.—Advt. *' Just 'arrived! Winner 'cold water stocking dye; to dye your' faded stockings to .fashionable shades-—gunmetal, suntan,: nude, new brown, beige, bulrush, smoke grey, dago, rose glow, copper beech, Horenee mills, cocoa; 6d tube, post 7d; from H. L. Sprosen Ltd., chemists, Octagon. Advt. ■ , , . Vocalion Records are now stocked by The Barth Electrical Supplies, Ltd., 56 Princes street. Send for list.—Advt. A. Frank Anderson, dental surgeon, 6 Princes street, Dunedin, visits Waipiata Thursday, January 22; Ranfurly and Patearoa, Friday. January .23.—Advt. ■ Who is Peter Dick? . The most reliable Jewellers, Watchmakers, and Opticians,, 490 Moray place, Dunedin. —Advt.,