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Otago Daily Times, Issue 22259, 11 May 1934, Page 8

An Anonymous Gift The ; Rev. V. G. Bryan King experienced a pleasant surprise this-week, when he received an anonymous gift of flO. The money has been placed to the credit of the fund for the relief of distftss.

Trotting Horses for Oamaro A number of the horses which took part in the Forbury Park Trotting Club's meeting on Wednesday were carried to Oamaru by the Invercargill-Christchurch express yesterday. The horses were entrained at the main platform, and the express,was delayed for about 14 minutes to enable them to be placed in their boxes. ''.",'■ '•' '•-. : ■• •":-* .

British Art Collection •■'_,- Interest in the Empire Art Loan Collection at the Pioneer Hall is. being well maintained: In spite of.- the unfavourable weather, yesterday, the attendance was again good, and the numerous-attrac-tive works by well-known artists were much admired. A section which has aroused considerable favourable comment is the display of etchings and pen-and-water drawings, which are of a.most representative character. Next Tuesday evening Mr J. D. C. Edgar will give a lecturette on the etchings. - Hospital Administrative Block

Advice was received yesterday by the Otago Hospital Board that the Minister of Health has granted permission for the erection of the new administrative-block at Dunedin Hospital to be proceeded with.' •:'! •""--■' •'■'

Gold Mining on the Molyneux Gold-mining operations oh the Molyneux River from Roxburgh to Cromwell have been practically at a standstill lately as a result of the ' flood conditions in the river. The ' level of the water is now fully six or seven ■ feet above normal summer level, and prospecting and fossicking parties on the banks have been flooded put—in many cases with- considerable loss of equipment and plant. As most of the parties engaged in this locality are relief miners operating under an Unemployment Board subsidy the stoppage has had serious results for a lot of men who depend entirely for their livelihood on the gold they win to' supplement the allowance made under the Board's relief scheme. The river rose very'rapidly last week, and: many miners were caught unawares with their equipment, right down oh the water level, wheelbarrows, cradles, pans, and shovels all disappearing down the river, i. .....';"'.. ■ ';■:"•:•■' ■ ■ ■,;■ i ■','" "■'

City Police Court In the City Police Court yesterday morning Claude William Porter appeared before Mr. J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., on a charge of drunkenness, and was fined 10s, in default 24 hours' imprisonment. He was further charged .with having obtained the sum of £2O from the Drapery Supply Association by means of a valueless cheque, and, on' the application of Chief Detective Young, who stated that further charges 'were pending, was remanded for a, week.

The " Trial of the Pyx " ■ An Order-imCouncil gazetted last night provides that, the New Zealand■, silver coinage should be . submitted to the "Trial'of the Pyx," in the same manner as the silver coins of the United Kingdom are tested. The "Trial of the Pyx" is the annual trial by weight, and assay of the gold and silver coins of the United Kingdom issued from the Mint during the preceding year. , The ceremony derives its name from the Pyx!,'a box'in the Royal Mint in which .specimen' coins are deposited; The Pyx is .taken to the Goldsmiths', Hall in the custody .of officers of the Mint and'is opened in the presence of a jury of goldsmiths,-who proceed to examine the coins in regard to their number, weight, and fineness.. The verdict recording the results of the trials releases the officers of the Mint from their'responsibility in regard to the coinage, and affords the public a guarantee that the standard of the currency is.well maintained.. ~

A Dense Fog, Motorists travelling over Mount Cargill on Wednesday evening experienced considerable difficulty in negotiating tbe section' between Upper Junction and tbe watering trough on the Waitati sjde on account of the heavy blanket of fog. that enveloped the surrounding bills. A motorist who uses this road regularly told a Daily Times reporter yesterday that the fog was the • thickest v he hsid seen for years, and driving along the section between the Upper Junction and Mount Cargill schools he had literally to feel his way. On two occasions he was compelled to leave, the car to. get ; his bearings, and it was only by' keepins a strict look-out for the reflector posts that border the road and the white lines marking the curves that he was able to make any progress.

National Hospital Day To-morrow will be National Hospital Day, when the 104th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birthday will be celebrated throughout the British' Empire. In connection with the Dunedir observance the Otago Hospital Board will entertain past and present nurses of the Dunedin Hospital at the Nurses' Home to-morrow afternoon. On Sunday Divine services will be held at St. Joseph's Cathedral in the morning and at Knox Church in the evening. The nursing staff of the Dunedin Hospital will attend the latter service in uniform. Florence Nightingale was born in 1820, and was known as the first organiser of nursing among the English-speaking people and of the Bed Cross movement. She died in 1910.

New Union Company Ship . The Union Steam. Ship Company's new 2260-ton steamer Waitaki, now on her maiden trip to New Zealand, is reported to , have arrived at Safaji, in the Red Sea, where she is to load phosphates for Bluff and Wellington. She will leave Safaji next Monday and will proceed to South Australia, where she 1 will load general cargo for the Dominion'; . Slie is expected to reach Edithburg about June. 11, and after calling- at Melbourne will go on to Bluff. When she reaehe* New Zealand she will' replace the Wainiii in the Union. Company's cargo service between Melbourne, Bluff, Dunedin, Lyttelton, and Wellington. -.". X, Obstetrics Hospital ' .* The following telegram has 'been despatched to the' Minister- of finance (Mr Coates) and the Minister ; of Health (Mr Young) by Mr W. J. Morfell, chancellor of .the University of Olago: "The Otago University strongly urges on the Government the acceptance of Saving Bank's offer and the Otago Hospital Board's proposition regarding 'the maternity hospital, The erection of the hospital is urgently desired' in the interests of the. Medical School." The Otago Expansion League has telegraphed to the Prime Minister urging that in the interests of. the nation's mothers, the'Government should. approve of the offer of the Dunedin Savings Rank. .• Winter Flower Show Notwithstanding the rain that fell yesterday, the DuuCdin Horticultural Society's winter flower show attracted '.a large number of. visitors .to the-Early Settlers' . Hall. It was/ apparent -that patrons derived much pleasure from their inspection of, the different' exhibits. The champion bloohis were; singled'.'but for special inspection and criticism; and many, of "the other blooms "came in for. high commendation, while the hew features, especially the cascade varieties of chrysanthemums, weire viewed with .great interest. Last. night the hall again .presented a pleasing appearance, with, ; its numerous coloured- lanterns. Begg's chestra was in attendance and played acceptable music at v intervals. ; , When the show-closed -at 10 O'clock the-presi-dent (Mr James Nelson) expressed his pleasure at the success that had attended it, and his thanks not ■ only .to growers for .sending in exhibits, but. to.', the public for liberal patronage. ■ . Electric Stove Forgotten ' .An Auckland housewife■ who left: her electric, stove full oh for eight days when she was away from home, and returned-to find the oven red-hot; made.'.an application for a reduction. .in ; her. account in a letter received at. a , meeting ;of .the Auckland Electric • Power -Board. . ..The woman said • she forgot the power- : was on when she had to leave- home hurriedly with ■ a sick child: ; . v She found later that no damage had-been caused; either to the electrical equipment or to the enamel. After considerable discussion the request for a rebate-was referred to the general manager, Mr. R. H: Bartley. who said the use of the stove for such a long period had'made a considerable difference to the account. "Bible Marathon".- •- ' .. About 300 people attended a Bible demonstration at, the Salvation: Army Hhll, Ponsonby road, Auckland, which followed the "Bible marathon," a continuous reading of the whole of the New Testament. The reading, which was organised "by C?i>tain and Mrs H. G. Wallace, commenced oh Monday morning, at % o'clock, and: was concluded at ■ 7.32 i>.m. r- ; When : the "marathon" began, sue-readers -were at the table, and after reading a chapter or a verse or two thesejgave; place to others. In all-85 readers took part. ■'-.':.:-

Students and Politici Students in British universities take a much greater ; interest -in politics than those in New Zealand;'isaid Mr. Ei Hurley in an address to the Overseas League 6£ Wellington. "The reason,"ie;said, "i* probably because we 'here are : out .of the Btreath l of thought:that is constantly;, mov* ing. in the centre of. things." .He had been to the English-Speaking - Union in London, and /had fouhdytheV topic:, to; be "Restlessness." , Europe was -teeming with students' conferences,!the great subjects .being the relation! of the individual to the State, and the, conflict of his, religion with his duty; to .the State. . -"

Active at Ninety-five . Octogenarians and even/horiogenariahsi are not. uncommon in- Auckland (states > a Press Association message)', but Mrs. C. A. Henwood, of Mangere, who was\ 95 last week, is out I of., the ordinary.: She rises every day at 5 o'clock, makes tea for the men before they:begin .milking, and then does all : the work l6-roomed two-storeyed house. She accepts her sons' help in the flower .garden, which is/'large, but the vegetable garden,, which; supplies all the household needs, is entirely her own care. She was .'digging'with ; a" spade in her garden when .interviewed oh Wednesday. She also ,refuSes ;help to chop kindling wood for the house. not how do any milking, because when she was 87 she fell and broke,both her wrists. Mrs Henwood has never worn glasses "and reads the newspapers every day. She is only 4ft llin in height and weighs! about seven stone.- . '?; .-:.'.■

Pigeons* at Sea ■ Two carrier pigeons were blown oa board the New Zealand Shipping Company's liner Rotorua when she was at anchor off Tokomaru ;Bay last week during a severe north-.easfcgale; The'feather was so bad that the liner had to put to sea and heave-to. off. the coast, returnitig to Tokomaru Bay two days later. The two pigeons were blown 'on board the after part of the vessel -'and they were so exhausted that they were easily caught and put into a cage. They were very thirsty and hungry and ate and drank eagerly when food.and water were put into the cage. The pigeons had been released by the crew of the trawler Mauol E., which was sheltering "from the gale at Port Awanui, a few. miles south of East Cape., Attached to. the. birds' legs were messages written .on tissue, paper, referring to the catches of fish the : trawler had made and the quantity oh board. The birds had been unable .to fly to Auckland against the gale and were blown to the south. When the Rdfcorua arrived at Auckland the pigeons were returned to their owner. .",-" ..•■;■•' City Milk Supply

City and suburban milk vendors.and distributors generally favour the* attitude of the City Council towards a"better .and purer milk supply as .provided for in the proposed new. by-law- in . this connection. The Dunedin Milk Producers and Retailers' Association, had not.,previously discussed the matter as a body, but it was represented on the committee, responsible for. the proposal by its' executive officers. Inquiries made by a Daily Times reporter yesterday showed that dairymen generally are more than willipg to cooperate in the matter; but it is apparent from the views expressed that the majority are interested more ,from the standpoint: of greater .consumption and better prices than from the viewpoint of purer milk only. By this it is not intended to imply that the distributors are unmindful, of the necessity for the. cleanest and purest milk. None of them considers that he is offering the consumer anything hut the best, and if ways and means of improving the supply can be shown there will be no lack of support from distributors; The establishment of an actual municipal milk supply on the plan of those in operation in Auckland and Wellington will, if it is ever proposed, meet with mixed reception, however.: Distributors are agreed that municipal control would improve the trade generally, but they would infinitely prefer to compass that improvement themselves. The assumption of the milk trade by the municipality, with the coinpensa- * tion for pasteurising and bottling plant*, which, as Cr J. L. M'lndoc emphasised at the meeting of the council on Wednesday night, would be essential, is general!?regarded by the trade as a last resort,"

Charge for Poppies A recommendation that a cheaper poppy be made for sale on Poppy Day and that the price be reduced from Is to 6d was adopted at the annual meeting of the Woolston Suburban Committee of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers' Association. Mr W; Hill, who introduced the question, skid that the sentiment attached to the poppy was practically confined,to the older generation, and the younger people were willing to pay 8d in most •aies, but did not care : to contribute Is. The quality of the poppy now sold was so good- that iriany people kept thera from year'to year, and on last Poppy Day he had seen many instances of this. r He suggested a. cheaper, poppy,, and that the tag. attached to it should be of a different colour every year. Mr R. K. Elliott expressed the opinion that the poppy had outlived.its usefulness, and he said that he had experienced instances of money feeing lost because.the charge was fixed at Is. He considered that a red poppy ahoiild be printed on a coloured ribbon, with a different colour for each year. Mr G. A. Daboyrn, a member of the executive of .the Christchurch Association, said he would like'to; see. the recommendation brought before the executive, and he felt sure there would be an interesting; discussion.. ...

Degrees'of Orthodoxy ' ■ A charge, of orthodoxy can apparently be made even against the followers -of Ma jpr C. H. Douglas, whose \re vol utionr ary plan for the reform of the monetary aystem has- received so much . criticism from the representatives of conservative economic " thought. Miss G... Valentine Howe, when addressing Christchurch supporters of" the Douglas Social Credit movement, caused laughter when she made such a. charge, against the members of her audience. She was emphasising the difficult task which any reformer had to face in trying to convert the mind (< of the average man-to any great change. "After all, :you- are not extremely .unorthodox yourselves/' she,said, "or you men.would not ibe' wearing collars; nor would the women be wearing hats. There is a principle, involving a little household change, about which-you. are orthodox. Yet you ask'.the bankers, of the world to make e'uehV-'i' tremendous change in their aystem."' >'■ "',.•• , : -y'. : -\.\ ■-. "•; •

Price of minim In.'.'gome of 'the islands of: Melanesia marriage* are arranged by the parents of tie • bride and bridegroom, and the bride is.bought,.the.price being paid in pig*. :-■ Once the price begad to rise on one of the islands until a bride wag worth 40 pigs, the Bishop of Melanesia (the Bight Rev: W. H. Baddeley) told a Christchnrch andience. Few could afford to pay, so high a price, and the : result was that .many young men and .women, had. to remain bachelors and spinsters. It was realised. that this was not a good thing, •b-a conference waa held arid the standard; price of'* bride-, was fixed at 25 pigs/ 'Everyone should have been happy, but-the girls were.furious, resenting .the suggestion that' they were worth, less than' their mothers. : ■■".'

Seagull* Atttck Imitation Kiwi An amusing incident occurred on the New Zealand Shipping Company^-liner Rotorua when she was loading at lokomaru Bay last week On the vessels, main •mast;'«nd fastened to the truck is a large kiwi.made of metal, and.it was attacked by two seagulls. One bird was perched •mttii long beak of the kiwi pecking dt the eyes and-.the other seagull was peck-ing-at the. back, of- the kiwi. The two birda'continued their combined attack for a, considerable time. . Road to Central Otago , . vT&i niain Crbiite 'to: Central Otago through Milton and Manuka; Gorge and - up the Molyrieux River to Alexandra is not the. road it usedto be, ' The highway is/showing definite signs of. suffering from the'general depression; That motorists nightmareforio many years, the 12 miles Milton, ia ? now ; bf the-best stretches of the road,- and the .Bruce .surrendered--the doubtful distinction' of -being the motor cari-grave tbrotber counties.. From ton "onwards-the surface of the road .become* very -rough, deep .corrugations making travel anything but ■comfortable. The v Manuka; Gorge, considering "the character of the road; is in fairly-good order, but there are many bad patches between the gorge and Rae's Junction. Along: the flat to Roxburgh the road is rapidly crumbling, and after leaving the ' Teviot; centre tihe motorist'has to be: very careful unless •he wants a ; succession of broken springs and body-shattering bumps; Some welcome improvements have-been- effected on the road between Roxburgh and- Alexandra , which reduce - eome'of the hazards of the journey. One of these is -the new bridge over Shingle Creek; the erection of which has enable.! oneof the worst corners on the road to be-'removed. The widening of other corners and'the reduction of' unnecessary grades have also been carried; out, but for; the most part the "surface is very rough, .in some places to the point of danger, consequent on the road being worn right down onto, the solid rock. .... •Tne Clyde Bridget i TS% Clyde bridge over the Molyneux River is still closed to all but pedestrian traffic, and it is anticipated that the new structure will not be ready for traffic • for another. six months at least, so that for some time yet the only direct line of communication between' Alexandra anaClyde must be across the sand flats. Good progress has been made by the contractors in ,the erection of the new bridge. ■w.hieb will be considerably wider than the old structure. It is. a matter for regret that the massive stone piers from which the old bridge was suspended must be removed. They are splendid specimens of the rapidly dying art of the stonemason, and there are not so many examples of such solid and ; lasting construction left in the province that the destruction of these can be regarded as of no account. Street Meetings Disallowed A Press Association message from Auckland states that applications from Communist and unemployed organisations to " hold' evening street meetings were refused by- the City Council last night.

A; E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley. dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets, next Telecraph Office). Telephone 12-359.- Advt. Save your eyes. Be wise", and consult W.' V. Sturmer, optician (2 Octagon). thu9,conserving good vision! for old age.— Advt : ■ /Those who are requiring an engagement ring will do well to. inspect ou* tings.— Peter Dick, ring specialist, 490 Moray place, Dunedin.—Advt. :... >