Overseas Mail

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22721, 6 November 1935, Page 8

Overseas Mail

The s.s. Tainui is bringing 819 bags of English mail -to New Zealand. The Dunedin portion is expected here on November 13. City Police Court In the City Police Court yesterday, before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., two first offenders, charged with drunkenness, were each fined 12s 6d, in default 24 hours’ imprisonment. A third man, similarly charged, who did not appear, was fined 20s, with an alternative of 48 hours’ imprisonment. Missing Man Found The police have been notified that Mr Andrew Morrison, who was reported missing from his home in Upper Shetland street, has been staying with friends since Friday last. Painting of Milford Sound One of New Zealand’s most attractive views is the subject of a painting which Mr J. W. Rooney has executed as part of the decorations in a shop in the Octagon. On a canvas 21 feet long by four feet high, Mr Rooney has presented the view which the visitor to Milford Sound obtains from the accommodation house there. Mitre Peak, Lion Rock, and Pembroke Peak are included in the wide landscape which is depicted, and a pleasing effect has been gained by a representation of sunset upon the snow. Invitations to Business Men An invitation to attend the annual conference of the Western Division pf the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, which will be held this year in Honolulu from November 27 to November 30, has been extended by the chamber to New Zealand business men and especially to officers of the Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand. A similar invitation has beqn issued in respect of the " Pacific Foreign Trade Council’s; annual meeting, which will be held concurrently. A letter from the vice-pre-sident of the division (Mr Phillip J. Fay) states that visitors will be cordially welcomed at the meetings, where they may make the acquaintance of the many business men who will be gathered at Honolulu and give their views upon the important inter-Pacific trade questions set down for discussion. Among these questions will be the Pacific air hues and foreign trade, trends of Pacific Ocean trade, relief from fluctuating exchanges. conditions of Pacific lumber export trade, foreign trade policy for the Pacific, the future of the Philippine Islands in Pacific trade, the effects of Empire preferences on Pacific trade, the American merchant marine, problems of trans-Pacific communications, and reciprocal agreements.

Mails for England " The postal authorities advise that the final direct mail of parcels, periodicals, and newspapers' to be despatched from New Zealand in time to reach England before Christmas will close at the Dunedin Post Office on November 16. Other mails by direct vessels will close earlier in the month, while letters for Great Britain, via America, must be posted by November 23 at the latest. The three last mails for England, via the Panama Canal, will be by the Akaroa, from Auckland, to be despatched from Dunedin to-day; by the motor ship Port Chalmers, from Auckland, closing at Dunedin on November 12; and by the Rangitiki from Napier, closing at Dunedin on November 17. V. Tlie mail by the. Akaroa is due at London • on December' 11, ,that by the Port Chalmers on December 17, and the Rangitiki's mail should reach England on December 22. As the Rangitiki will be the last vessel to reach London just before Christmas, it is possible .that-her mail will, not reach all parts of Great Britain before the festive season. Packets weighing up to 21b can be despatched by later mails. Such mails will connect with the Aorangi and Lurlinc, which will leave Auckland for Vancouver and San Francisco respectively." Mails by the Aorangi and Lurline' should reach London op December 11. The last letter mail will close on November 23, and will be despatched by the Makura from Wellington on November 26, via San Francisco. Mails by the Makura should reach London on December 24. In all probability . the Makura's mail will not reach England in time to be delivered' to all parts of the country before Christmas.

Bursaries in Fine Arts • The Minister of Education (Mr S. G. Smith) announces (says a Press Association telegram from New Plymouth) that he has approved of the institution of bursaries in' fine arts for the purpose of training specially-selected students to be teachers of art subjects in technical schools. Two bursaries, which will include provision for boarding allowance where necessary, are to be awarded annually,, tenable at the Canterbury University College School of Art for a total possible period of four- years. It will probably be a condition of the award that applicants shall have passed the preliminary examination for the New Zealand University's diploma in fine arts. February 1 is the proposed closing date for the receipt of applications. ■ Insuring Scholars • An insurance scheme to.cover pupils of Wellington College against accident while engaged in sports or in other ways during school hours has been approved by the Wellington Colleges Board of Governors. An insurance company, at the reaiiest of the headmaster (Mr W. A. Armour), submitted a scheme covering the- scholars up to £lO for medical expenses. The' premium would be 2s per pupil per annum for coverage against accidents ' arising : within the college Grounds and 2s 6d for; coverage beyond the school precincts, as in the ca'se of a football team on tour. The scheme requires a minimum of 200 participants, the expense falling on, the parents. The scheme was left in the headmaster's hands to circularise parents.

Tait Hall, Kelso, Scotland The Kelso (Roxburghshire) papers l report the ceremony of: the opening on September 25, in that town, of the Tait Hall, a handsome structure built through the. generosity of Mr William Edgar Tait, of Invercargill, who died in Edinburgh on January 26, 1930, and, bequeathed the sum.of £IO,OOO for the erection of the hall. Mr Tait, who had settled in New Zealand for health reasons, was engaged for some time in the timber business in Southland and efterwards became proprietor, of the Woodlands Canning Factory, which he sold ihortly "after the Great War. The name of Tait was honourably associated with Kelso for'nearly 120 years, the first member of the family to' settle in the town being an East India merchant, who, when he retired in 1815, went to live there. The site on which the Tait, Hall has been erected was presented for the purpose by Mr Arthur Middlemass, a former Provost, and* while Miss Tait, sister of the donor, performed the ceremony of opening the hall, one of the first toasts at a luncheon^.which followed the opening, was that of the Middlemass family. Provost Scott (Kelso), Provost Wells Mabon (Jedburgh), and Provost Fisher (Hawick) were among the speakers at the luncheon, and the company that was present included Provost Roberts (Selkirk), a son of Sir John Roberts, of Dunedin, who thus constituted a. link between New Zealand, and Scotland on" this interesting occasion.

Food Fads Condemned Dr Elizabeth Gunn, medical officer of schools for , the Wanganui Education Board,, when lecturing recently, under the auspices.,of. the; Pl.unket : Society, said there-appeared to be a wave of hysteria in the Wanganui district.:; She. said.she did not object to adults following starvation cures and having meatless days, vegetable days, and other "less" days, but she did object to children being put on. such treatment. She said she wished to impress on parents the necessity for giving children, fresh milk, meat, vegetables, bread and butter. She had found some children attending schools and trying to do a day's work on an orange, half an apple or a lettuce; lunch, and being sick in school and falling ill and fainting. "Beware of fads for children," she said, in stressing the value of milk, She suggested - that farmers, when sending cream to a factory, should provide a gallon of skim milk daily for distribution among children in the towns. By adopting that course it would be found in six months that people got so used to plenty of milk that they would not do without it, and children would materially benefit.

Farmer's Narrow Escape A valuable farm horse was killed and a farmer had a narrow escape from serious injury when a fence on the property of Mr J. E. Meuli, at Okaiawa, in Taranaki, became "alive" owing to a defect in the electrical supply to: the farm shed which the fence touches. Mr Meuli was informed in the morning that one of the horses which he used for taking milk to the factory had died, apparently from heart failure. He found the animal against a fence. Observing the horse's mane tangled in the barbed wire, he started to cut it loose. He felt- a slight tingling in his hands, but attributed it-to. the animal electricity in the hair. It was not until he touched the fence and received a. severe shock, the reaction from which threw Him several feet, that he realised what had caused the animal's death. The shed was also " alive." Although members of Mr Meuli's family had been in.it, none of them had touched the 'building. Burns were found on the horse.

" Flood-lit Geysers " The Mayor of Rotorua has suggested that the thermal area of Whakarewawera should be flood-lighted, and that the geysers and steam when so illuminated would present a remarkable attraction " unequalled throughout the world." The general" manager of the Tourist Department, who commended the suggestion, remarked later that he looked forward to the day when the Whakarewarewa and Ohinemutu villages, would be " real Maori villages in appearance." The Auckland Star states that the confusion and conflict of aspirations indicated by these remarks is apparent. Obviously it is no longer possible (nor, oh other grounds,' is it desirable) to set up " real Maori villages " at Rotorua, though the general manager made it clear that he hopes to see dwellings which shall be Maori in external design but modern' iii interior amenities, but surely the village at Whakarewarewa would be considerably less in harmony, with its surroundings if there were floodlights nearby. No" doubt it would be possible to floodlight the geysers, but is it desirable? Would it attract more tourists?

Green Island Drainage "The progress of the work continues to be satisfactory," said the engineer of the Green Island Borough Council (Mr F. J. Williams) in his report to the monthly meeting of the council last night on the drainage scheme in th» borough. " The following sewers have now been laid:—Twenty-one-inch sewer, 4624 lineal feet, 11 manholes; 15-inck sewer, 3767 lineal feet, 17 manholes; 12inch sewer, 3529 lineal feet, nine manholes; nine-inch reticulation, 560 lineal feet, one manhole; —total 12,480 lineal feet, 38 manholes, or 2.36 miles and 38 manholes.

First Visit to City Two glorious days of crowded- life have been spent in Auckland v by 24 boys and girls of the Whangape Native School. Their school is situated about 17 mii-« south of the Ninety-mile tfeactl, and is so distant that to reach Auckland at 5.30 p.m. on Wednesday last they had to start at 3.30 a.m. As the children,had never before': seen a. tram or: a traihear, their interest in the wonders of city life may (the New Zealand Herald says) easily be imagined. Time was found in the two days at their disposal to visit the zoo, the warships *at Devonport,, the War Memorial Museum, Civic , Theatre, the Supreme Court,*and other institutions. They were entertained at luncheon by the Farmers' Trading Company, and tasted the thrills of shopping in Queen street. During the children's session they sang, at the IYA studio. The party left by the north express, and a final 80-mile bus journey took them to their destination, richer for having made direct contact with-a world which before they could only dimly imagine. ;

The Examination Season However unwillingly tlie schoolboy creeps to school at other times of the year, November is.for him a month'of activity, for the spectre of examinations looms large. The University entrance examinations begin on December % aud continue for nearly a fortnight, and for those in the lower forms of the secondary schools there is the intermediate examination. The Training College entrance examination is held from November 22 to- November 27, and ..the technicological examinations are conducted„at the same time. Chamber of Commerce examinations in book-keeping, shorthand, typewriting, handwriting, and business practice open on November 25; and the various 'secondary.. schools... have v.doubtless evolved their own mental hazards for their pupils. ; ,

The Railways Department is running another popular, day excursion from Dunedin to Timaru on Sunday. Particulars of the trains and the special cheap fares are advertised in this iesue.... ... '..-., In the Concert' Chamber to-night at 8 o'clock the sixth concert of-the third season of the Dunedin Junior Orchestra will take place. Mr C. Roy Spackman , (conductor).: has-, arranged, an interesting programme. Mr J. Simpson (vocalist) arid Dorothy Sriidill (flautist) will assist. There is no.mystery about it. • Williamson's rings 'sell because they represent full value, arid the designs are popular. You get dependable service, too. 31 Princes street. — Advt. ••• ' • •:' i E. ■ W.. Walden, Architect. 34 Dowling street, arid 22 Hart street, Roelyn.—-Advt To see' or not to seeT-The question is who to see? ' See Sturmer arid; Watson, Opticians, 2 Octagon/ A. E. J. Blakeleyand W. E. Bagley. dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone,l2-359.r-rAdvt. ~ Who is Peter Dick? The leading firin for optical and jewellery service. , Peter Dick, jewellers arid opticians, 490 Moray place, Dunedin.—Advt:- •-,'. r -;'.'