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Otago Daily Times, Issue 21245, 28 January 1931, Page 12

Despite the deeds of the All Blasts and of the efforts of the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) at advertising the Dominion abroad, there is still a good <(leal of vagueness on the Continent the Auckland Star) as to the whereabouts of this Dominion and its cities. As Un instance, a letter posted in Rome has* been delivered to the South British Insurance Company, addressed, “Auckland, Australia.” L ■ '

The monthly social and dance of tb# Orkney and Shetland Society was held ift the Trades Hal! last evening. The president (Mr j. B. Stout) welcomed members and friends, and said he,hoped they would have an enjoyable time. The evening ‘waa spent chiefly in dancing, the older members playing cards. Mr W. Stevenson, jun., rendered a number of songs.

A party of six South African Boy Scouts under Scoutmaster C. G. D. Groome and Patrol-leader P. Cooper, who are making a tour of Australia and New Zealand, arrived at Bluff by the Maheno on Monday morning. The party spent the day in Invercargill and then rejoined the Maheno, arriving in Dunedin yesterday morning. They will disembark at Lyttelton and their future movements are indefinite although it is likely that they will attend the jamboree to be held on the occasion of the visit of Lord Baden-Powell to New. Zealand.

Writing from Roxburgh, a corresponds ent states that a party of three anglers spent the week-end at Lake Onslow and had a successful day’s fishing on the Teviot . River below the lake. They secured 150 fish ranging in weight from lib to 41b, and one very good Loch Leven trout, weighing 71b, was taken from the lake. All the fish were in good condition and the purple grouse fly proved to be the i„ most successful lure. It is stated-for the benefit of those contemplating a visit to the district that the road to Lake. Onslow is at present in fairly good condition.

A meeting of the Lake County Council yesterday (says our Queenstown correspondent) dealt with the notice of motion tabled at the last meeting to rescind the resolution of the council passed the May meeting approving of the regional boundaries of the Town Planning Board, as they apply to Lake County. A motion was passed rescinding the said resolution; A deputation of representatives of nearly all the public bodies in Southland waited •on the council yesterday morning in order to place their views on the matter before the council. The council passed a further resolution inviting Mr Mawson, Director of Town Planning, to visit Queenstown and fully explain the purposes and functioning of the Act. The secretary of the Otago Harbour Board (Mr W. J. Bardsley) has received an acknowledgment of- receipt of a number of Christmas weeklies, including the Otago Witness, from Mr T. R, Toovey, the principal assistant to the general manager of the Port of London Authority, to' whom he had. despatched a parcel ofChristmas numbers containing a comprehensive selection of photographs of New Zealand beauty spots. Mr Toovey .was particularly impressed with the general” production of the numbers and stated that those to whom he had shown them were charmed with the evidence of the magnificent scenery of New Zealand,, which fostered a desire for leisure in which to make a personal tour of the Dominion’s scenic attractions. ‘ , ’ The Wellington Chamber of Commerce > yesterday decided to support a campaign for the spread of optimism. It was indicated (says a Press Association telegram) that the Manufacturers’ Association had enthusiastically taken up the scheme ‘and financial support was forthcoming. The plan includes the appointment of an organiser to canvass for donations. The suggested publicity would not be sectional, but would be on national lines to encourage spending a little more and thus, aiding industry generally and helping cure; unemployment. ( , " Crabs and lobsters make for their homes as surely as does the homing pigeon, according, to an official British report on the crustaceans. For some years marking experiments have been parried out on the coast to’ ascertain the extent to which crabs migrate. Wherever a marked crab is released it sets out at once on the journey back to its own home. One crab made the record journey of 78 miles, and another marked specimen escaped recapture fo? two years. Not every orab marked reaches home, apparently, but the evidence is definite that the homing instinct i« irresistible.? - The mark', used is a;, small metal disc attached to one of the large claws. 1 ’ . , . . ■ A list ;of Italian taxes Compiled by a Genoa newspaper suggests that Italy must be the most taxed. country on earth. Ah unmarried man in business has to pay the following imposts:—National .land ■■ tax, provincial land tax, communal land tax, gross income.tax with supplementary taxes on portions of income derived from business, bachelor tax, supertax on both income and wealth, communal tax on his business, communal tax on. profession, corporation tax for Fascist corporations, social insurance tax, highway maintenance tax (one for home and one for business)y highway occupation .tax; sign tax, tax for provincial council’s economy, tax on rent paid, license for conduct of any. kind of business, trade or profession, tax for each - aqueduct tax, tax on pianos, and tax on servants.

• The Taranaki farmer who was unfortunate enough to use caustic soda in mistake for sugar quite possibly had the, opportunity to do so (says the Christchurch Times) because his wife was in the habit, of .making soap in the interests of house- , hold economy. A generation or so ago soap-making was just as important an accomplishment for a housewife as breadmaking, but, as with bread, common soap is'now made on such a large scale commercially and can be supplied at so low a price that there is little incentive for the lady of the house to make it herself. However, soap-inaking, apart from requiring careful watching, is .not a difficult operation, and it is still carried on occasionally in many homes as a means of turning to useful account the surplus fat that always accumulates when much cooking is done. “ It is not generally realised in Hew Zealand that the police in London are in a totally different position from those in all other English cities,” said Mr C. I). Johnson, formerly Comptroller of the Lorn don County Council, when speaking to a reporter in Christchurch. “In the other cities they are under the control of the local authority, whilein some places there is the county constabulary, but in London, which is the Imperial City, they are under a Government department. Another,pointis that in London they are the licensing authority for hackney carriages, a term „ which includes omnibuses, so that they are in charge of such matters ,as the routes they may use and the number of buses using the routes.”