Community Singing

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22392, 13 October 1934, Page 10

Community Singing

The financial objective of the Dunedin Community Singing Committee, the securing of not less than £3OO for the Mayor s Relief of Distress Fund, will be more than realised, that amount having been reached as the result of the weekly session at the Town Hall Concert Chamber yesterday, while there arc still some “sings” to be held. The leader was the committee’s very efficient secretary, Mr J. F. Himburg, who carried through a lengthy programme of popular numbers, assisted by Mr A. Pettitt at the piano, and Mr W. F. E. Simpson as the operator of the lantern projecting the slides. As special attractions Miss Tui Salt sang “0 Listen to the Band,” and a Maori party from Puketcraki, under the leadership of Mrs Te Tau, sen., presented a number of picturesque items. Contributions from the tramway employees, business firms, the city and suburban police, and the children of Mornington' School, who sent along a generous subscription of £2 3s 3d, the takings up to the total of over £24.

Terms Unsatisfactory

It is understood that the negotiations between the Napier and Otago Harbour Boards, following inquiries by the northern board with respect to the terms on which it could charter the dredge Otakou for six months, are likely to fall through. The Otago Board's terms were submitted to the Napier Board a fortnight ago, and it is reported that advice has since been received . that they are not considered satisfactory. The altitude of the Otago Board, however, is said to be that the northern board must either accept or reject its terms, and it is making no further move in the meantime.

The Crown Range Advice received by the Otago Motor Club states that the Crown Range is now open for traffic between Queenstown and Pembroke./ It will be necessary for motorists to exercise care at the creek crossings, which are deep on account of the snow melting. There are slight washouts at some of the crossings, which, however, are not considered dangerous. More Work Campaign

One of the favourite recreations at this time of the year is gardening, but there are many who cannot spare the time necessary to keep their properties in order, and it ie suggested that this is a direction in which support might be given to the More Work Campaign which is at present in progress. Not only are th»re gardens to be put in order, but fences, walls, and other fixtures have a habit of falling into disrepair, and the present is suggested as a suitable time to have these attended to, thus providing work where it i 9 badly needed.

Old Coins Found Memories of the days when the miners came in their thousands to the Otago goldfields are revived by the successful mining operations which Mr R. S. Thompson is carrying on at Wetherstones, on an area near the site of the late Mr Hurd's residence, and adjacent to the old .Waipori road. Mr Thompson has found a half-sovereign dated 1860, and minted in Sydney; a shilling piece dated 1819, with the head of George 111, and a fourpenny piece dated 1846. All the coins are in an excellent state of preservation.

Indian Church Union Present movements towards church union in "India, which he considered would be of immense value, were described by the Rev. J. L. Gray, of the Punjab, at the meeting of the Auckland Presbytery on Tuesday evening. In Southern India the movement would probably culminate in the union of the South India United Church with the Church of England, while in the north considerable progress had been made towards a union between the North Indian United Church and the Methodist and Baptist communions. Although the village Christians did not know very much about sectarian differences, tliey were barriers to the more intelligent and better edupited people, who took an interest in churcn work.

Tourists' Motor Gas's For some time the Automobile Association of Otago has been endeavouring to make arrangements for the admittance of New Zealand tourists' motor cars into Australia on the same terms as those of Australian tourists are admitted to *he Dominion, and advice that these efforts have been successful has been received by Mr A. E. Arisell, M.P., in a letter received from the'Australian Trade Commissioner (Mr R. H. Nesbitt). letter states that in future the Commonwealth regulation will be on all fours with that of the one operating here, which means that tourists' cars be admitted, when accompanied by the tourists, upon security subscribed by a bank or an approved guarantee company, instead of the actual duty and sales tax having to be deposited.' Preserved in a Jam Tin

To lose a valuable gold wristlet watch and then have it restored to her some 19 months later, has been the experience of a young woman residing in Napier. In January of last year the young lady concerned had her watch stolen from her purse while bathing near the beach at the breakwater. The matter was reported to the police, but nothing was ever heard of the stolen watch. A few weeks ago several labourers working on a vacant section on the hill were clearing away a pile .of rubbish. The refuse included an old and battered jam tin, which one of the men chanced to discover contained a gold wristlet watch. The article was handed in at the Napier Police Station, where it was identified by a name engraved inside it and returned to its surprised and delighted owner. Surprisingly enough, the watch* was little" the worse for wear, merely being overwound.

Young Countries That New Zealand is not the only "young country" in the world was mentioned by Mr F. N. Lawrence at the meefc ing of the Canterbury Economics Society on Thursday evening. Not long ago, he said, he had been talking to an American industrialist from California about New Zealand secondary industries, and, thinking that the visitor might not be greatly impressed, had reminded him that New Zealand was a young country, and that the Canterbury pilgrims had arrived only in 18$0. "Oh," said the American, "have you never heard of the 'fortyniners' in California?" The pioneering of the miners had led to the development of California, which really had been properly settled for no longer a time than New Zealand. "The trouble from an industrial .point of view is not that the Dominion is so young," said Mr Lawrence,* "but that it is so small."

Panama Canal Opening By pressing an electric button at White House 21 years ago last Wednesday the then President of the United States, Mr Woodrow Wilson, exploded a huge cjjargc of dynamite 4000 miles away and thus, removed the last natural barrier in the Panama Canal works' separating the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The waters of the two oceans were not united until later, as further work had to be done, but the great explosion permitted the waters of Gatun Lake to flow into the Culebra Cut, making the canal navigable from the Gatun locks to the Pedro Miguel locks, about two-thirds of the entire length of' the canal. Tlfe occasion was celebrated throughout the cities on the Pacific Coast of America and by Americans in London, and was the last major chapter in a chronicle of achievement which rendered possible a direct steamer service to London with which many New Zealanders are familiar.

i " A Golden Deed " This month's New Zealand School Journal contains the story of the heroism of Frances Mason, aged 10,,. who. with her cousin, ..Molly Camplin, aged three, was killed by a train on the Kakariki railway bridge last Boxing Day. At the inquest the driver of ihe train testified that when the elder girl saw the train coming she tried to protect her cousin with her own body. A framed inscription to the bravery of Frances Mason, accompanied by a memorial message signed by I a ten-year-old girl from each of the WelI lington schools, was recently placed in | the Kakariki School, Wanganui, of which I the girl was a pupil. - Now, at the in- ! stance of the Minister of Justice (Mr J. G. | Cobbe), who made representations to the Minister of Education, the children of New Zealand will be told the story in the School Journal, in which a comparison is made between Frances Mason's unselfish bravery and the golden deeds of history. Fate of Niagara Falls The break in Niagara Falls in August led geologists to foreshadow the fate of the falls, but as their extinction is set at about 20,000 years from noV, the American public showed little alarm. Estimates of the time that has elapsed since Niagara came into existence are 25,000 years or more, and then the falls were probably seven miles down river from their present position. Records in Cornell, kept for 161 years, show that the falls have receded in that period 820 feet. These figures, made from actual measurements, covered the time up to 1925. The researches showed an annual cutting-back of Niagara of a little mere than five feet, and the 110 feet observed from 1905 to 1925 shows a recession of just under six feet a year. Most falls cut back the lip, and by a wearing-down process eventually % develop into cataracts, and later into rapids. But the Niagara cap-rock is jointed at right angles, and when this breaks away the softer underlying rocks are worn back by the action of the huge volume of water, leaving a comparatively perpendicular face.

Malicious Fire Call A malicious false alarm, registered from a street box at the corner of High and William streets, was responsible for the City Brigade turning out at 10.18 last night.

The monthly entertainment of the Dunedin Burns Club, to be held in the Early Settlers' Hall on Wednesday evening, will take the form of a basket social and dance. „,-»*•* The Rev. Kenneth Saunders, M.A., B.Litt. (Oxon.), will address a public meeting in the Concert Chamber on Thursday. Mr Saunders has made a special study of world economics, lne details of the meeting are advertised in tliis J The Pacific Starr-Bowkett Building Society notifies the disposal of £2OOO on October 16 in groups 6 and 7 and £3OOO at the annual meeting on October 30 in groups 6, 7. and 8. The Railways Department advertises in this issue particulars of the" cheap combined rail and motor tour which it is proposed to run from Dunedin to Eglinton Valley and' Lakes Te Ahau and Manapouri during the coming season. The tour will extend from Friday to Monday (inclusive), and the first trip will be made on October 19.

The Railways Department advertises in this issue particulars of train arrangements in connection with Labour Day and Oamaru races on October 22, and Gore races on October 22 and 23. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the formation of the Otago Christian Endeavour Union, a Labour Day weekend convention has been arranged ;to which all interested are cordially in-, vited. The annual meeting''-will be held on Saturday. 'On Monday meetings'will be addressed by the Rev. C. G. Hedley Bycroft and the Rev. A. Austin. Attention is drawn to-a. list of meetings in connection with the visit to Dunedin of Mr F. C. Perry, the New Zea* land secretary for the Mission to Lepers. Mr Perry is paying his first visit to thii city since succeeding the . Rev. F. A. Crawshaw, who was transferred to Australia at the end of last year. ,- ■■■■ • The United Starr-Bowkett "Buildina Society will hold its thirty-second annual general meeting on Thursday, October 18 Appropriations amounting to £2300 will be disposed of by sale and ballot. _.. A preliminary announcement appears in this issue regarding an entertainment to be given by the pupils o£ the Dunedin Academy (Misses Sheila Nelsqp,: Alice Wilson, and Bertha RawlinsoA). The proceeds are in aid of the. Junior Red Cross.

Attention is directed to the advertisement in this issue concerning the jubilee celebrations of the Mosgiel Baptist Church, to be held on October 20, 21, and 22. Akaroa—Well endowed with ..Scenery and Climate—An ideal Holiday Resort. Make reservations with Booking Bureau, P.O. Box 9. Akaroa.—Advt. A. Frank Anderson, Dental Surgeon, Princes street, Dunedin, will visit Waipiata and Patearoa on October 18 and Ranfurly on October .19.—Advt., Correct time all the time is what you get when you buy a watch here. You never regret your purchase, because we iguarantee every sale.—Williamson's, 31 Princes street. —Advt. , \ '" " C. W. Sundstrum. Dentist, Dunedin, wil" visit Waipiata; Naseby, Ranfurly, on Monday, October 15, and Oturehua and Palmerston, Tuesday, October 16. 1934. Advt. ."-*,•; Donald Stuart, Limited, Slate Merchants, Experts in Asphaltic and Bituminous- Applications. including Rock Asphaltes, Sheet Asphaltee, Bituminom Felts, Bitumens, Bitumen Paint, Bitumen Compounds, Cork Insulation, 82. Bond street -—"-.Advt' * .-,..--. A. E J. Blakeley and W.. E. Bagley. dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 12-3 59.— Advt.' Don't delay with eye troubles, they lead to other troubles. See the optician without delay. To give satisfaction ig the Ideal of W. V. Sturmer, Optician, 2 Octagon, Dunedin. —Advt.