Overseas Mail

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22999, 30 September 1936, Page 8

Overseas Mail

The mail which left Dunedin on August 31 via San Francisco reached London on Monday last. The.tanker South Africa, which le'ft Sydney at 9.53 a.m. yesterday for Dunedin, via Newcastle, with 12 bags of Australian mail for New Zealand, and the Tokyo Maru for Auckland the same day with eight bags of Australian mail for Dunedin. The mail by the South Africa should be to hand about Sunday, and that by the Tokyo Maru on Monday. City Police Court There was no business set down for hearing before the City Police Court yesterday morning. Melbourne Summer Service The Union Steam Ship Company’s vessel Marama will from next month to April, 1937. maintain a three-weekly service between Melbourne and South Island ports, with calls at Bluff, Dunedin. Lyttelton, Wellington, and. occasionally, Hobart. Weather and other circumstances permitting, she will call at Milford Sound every trip on the way from Bluff to Melbourne and from Melbourne to Bluff. On her first sailing of the season, from Wellington on October 27, and Bluff on October. 29, the Marama is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne on November 2 in time for the Melbourne Cup race, which will be run on November 3.

Malicious False Alarm The City Fire Brigade responded to a malicious false alarm from tha corner of Maryhill terrace and Glen avenue at 18 minutes to nine yesterday morning.

Success of Placement Scheme A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that the number of placings in private employment for the week ended Saturday was 769—a record for any month since the inception of the placement scheme —bringing the total to 8195.

Sidelights on India Interesting sidelights on India were presented in a letter which Mr W. H. Down, secretary of the New Zealand Hockey Association, produced at the meeting of the association in Christchurch on Monday night. The writer (Harbail Singh), a member of the Indian hockey team which' visited New Zealand last year, stated that India had seen terribly hard days in the last two years. Some of the factors, he says, are the Bihar earthquake, the Quetta earthquake, the communal rioting in Lahore, the Allahabad fire, and at present the monsoons, followed by heavy floods in the United Provinces and the Punjab. To crown them all, he says, are the coming elections for the new constitution, which might prove another havoc because of the tension in the various communities, and, above all, is the Congress stand over the matter and the tension that exists between supporters and nonsupporters of the new constitution. It goes without saying, he adds, that the masses are against it. Before proceeding to discuss hockey matters he extends his congratulations to New Zealand on Lovelock’s smashing success at the Olympic Games. Kea Shot on Auckland Farm

The first kea ever known to have been found in a wild state in the North Island has been shot at Kohimarama. The bird was seen a few days ago by Mr Finley Smith, a shepherd living on the property of Mr C, W. Anderson, Kohimarama road, and on which there are valuable stud Southdown sheep. Mr Smith said that as soon as he saw the bird .in flight he recognised it as a kea. Darkness fell before he could obtain a gun, but the following, morning he was prepared and shot the bird while it was settled on the branch of a dead tree. Mr Smith said he had .had considerable experience of keas when engaged in sheep farming in the South Island, but that he had never known one in wild state in the North Island. He had as yet made no plans as to what he would do with the bird, but he said he would probably preserve the head. Mr R. A. Falla, ornithologist at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, said he was inclined to think that the kea was a tame one and bad escaped from captivity.

A Factor in Prosperity The view that the v monetary expansion. which would "result from the heavy expenditure by the Government on public works as part of its considered policy of relieving unemploy‘ment would be a factor of great importance in maintaining prosperity, was expressed by Mr F. W. Hobbs, the retiring president, at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce on Monday afternoon. When moving the adoption of the report and balance sheet. Mr Hobbs said that the public works expenditure should aid in reviving trade and placing more spending power in the hand® of the community. “This expansion of currency is against the principles which have been generally observed in the past,” said Mr Hobbs. “ but we are to-day living in a new economic world in which many old-established orders are going overboard and non-inflation is being, replaced by a governed inflation. It is interesting that no country has achieved a recovery by the reduction of costs, and it seems_ that that once orthodox method of countering a slump is hopeless in a world-wide depression. I draw this conclusion from the statement; that costs cannot be materially reduced, that nations will not tolerate a reduction in the " standard of living.”

Japanese Sailors A smiling little Japanese seafarer, Mr Kichisake Kawano, arrived at Wellington in the Maunganui from Sydney on Monday. He, was at the head of 23 other smiling little Japanese sailors, and is to be the chief officer of the Union Steam Ship Company’s old freighter Kanna, which has been sold to shipbreakers at Osaka. Mr Kawano was occupied with two things when interviewed on board the Maunganui—first, getting his batch of seamen safely through the Customs, and secondly, finding the location of the Union Company’s offices. Aiding him in his first task was a bulky passport covering himself and all of his compatriots. He managed the job without difficulty, and with many smiles and deep obeisances to all who assisted him. More bowing and smiles spoke his gratitude for directions to the Union Company’s offices. This is not the first time he has visited New Zealand. He sailed the Kawatiri without incident from Lyttelton to, Qsaka not long ago, and towed behind her an old oil tanker, the Vincas, from Melbourne, the voyage of 60ff0 miles occupying 56 days. The Vincas was broken up and the Kawatiri was sold to a Chinese shipping company for use on the China coast service. He said the Kanna would probably also find her way to the Chinese coastal service. The Kanna will leave Auckland early next week for Melbourne, where she will pick up the famous old Bass Strait steamer Loongana, and tow her to Japan. ' The Fishing Season

During the past few weeks Mr F. W. Pellett, curator-ranger for the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, has made a special examination of. all the rivers and pools within the society’s area prior to the opening of the fishing season to-morrow. Mr Pellett stated that the inspection revealed the fact that the fish varied in size from those under the regulation to well over the limit. Of the rivers visited, the Opihi and Te Ngawai were perhaps the best for anglers at present, both condition and size being the two important features noticeable. Both these rivers are well stocked, and Mr Pellett confidently anticipates that good sport can be obtained for at least three months. Speaking of the number of trout liberated. Mr Pellett said that ovei 600.000 brown trout have been liberated during the season, including 104.000 in the Opihi and 100,000 each in the Hangitata and Opua rivers. About 72,000 have been placed in Te Ngawai River, The 52,000 brown trout which had been collected in Muddy Creek, in the Mackenzie Country, and taken to the hatchery, have been liberated in the Opihi. When grown to full size, it is anticipated by the curator that they will be more inclined to stay a length of time in fresh water, which will help to provide a larger stock of brown, trout m the upper reaches of this river. Commenting upon the experiment of collecting a number of brown trout ova from sea-going fish which travelled up-river to spawn in the Opihi, and which had been hatched in Temuka and liberated in Muddy Creek, tha curator said that this was the first experiment of its kind attempted in, South Canterbury. The sea-going fish were of a much stronger type than those which had been land-locked, and his opinion was that the infusion of the blood of these fish would react beneficially on the brown trout in Lake Alexandrine and its tributaries, wHicb were land-locked.

Fault in Railcar Through trouble with the railcar in which he was travelling, the Minister of Industries and Commerce and Railways (Mr D. G. Sullivan) was unable to attend the golden jubilee gathering of the Auckland Manufacturers’ Association on Saturday, and was represented there by Mr J. A. Lee (Parlia-

mentary Under-secretary to the Minister of Finance). With the Minister and an official party the railcar left Wellington on Saturday morning at 7 o’clock, being due at Auckland at 6 o’clock that evening. A fault developed in the electrical equipment of the car, and a change was made to a steam train at Marton, the railcar, after temporary repairs, returning to Wellington on Sunday. The Minister and his party reached Auckland early on the morning of Sunday. Parents at Health Camp “Parents are more trouble than they’re worth,” said one of the Otaki health camp nurses to an Evening Post reporter. “First, they make the children homesick; and secondly, there is always some parent who insists on giving ‘My Johnnie a tuckbox, not seeming to realise that the food here is really quite good and that it is a pity to spoil the child’s diet.” The children are taught to share and share alike, she said, and if anyone did have a tuck-box its contents were always divided equally among the children. The most welcome things of this nature were gifts of fruit. The staff work very happily together, six nurses and three school teachers being in charge of the 102 children in camp. This number is made up of 50 boys and 52 girls. The average age of the children is 10 years.

A “ Gull ” at Golf A golf “ birdie ” story comes from the Waipapakauri (North Auckland) correspondent of the Auckland Star, who Vouches for its truth. For the benefit of the uninitiated it may be mentioned that a “ birdie ” in golf parlance is the feat of doing a hole in one stroke fewer than “ bogey," and that “ bogey ” is the customary allowance of strokes for each hole on the course. To carry the comparison a stroke further, the feat of doing a hole in two strokes under the customary allowance is spoken of by golfers as “an eagle.” Now for the point. The Waipapakauri correspondent reports that an enthusiastic golfer was having a few practice shots on the grounds of the local -aerodrome last week when a large black-backed seagull swooped down and carried away h'is ; ball. The bird soared high into the air and dropped the ball. It repeated this performance twice. Several more gulls arrived to investigate, but the proud possessor of the ball rose for a third time and Carried the ball away into space Did the golfer do a ‘'gull,” did the gull do the golfer, or was it just a case under the rules of St. Andrews of “lost ball”?

Tenders are invited by the Public Works Department for the supply of the following;—Tents and flys, machine tools, tools and equipment, multicore cable and boxes, 11,000 volt cable and boxes,. Details are advertised in this issue. Attention is drawn to the Railways issue' referring to the running of an excursion train to Lawrence at cheap fares on Sunday next in connection with Daffodil Day. As only a limited number of passengers; can be conveyed by the special, early application for tickets should be made. For 40 years Williamsons have been making good rings. Beautiful finish and expert craftsmanship is the reason for their popularity. Opposite The Savoy—Advt."' . • Eye Strain.—For Eye Comfort, or better vision, consult Sturmer and Watson, Ltd., Opticians, 2 Octagon, Dunedin.—Advt, _ _ , A: E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley, dentists;'Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph: Office).;;.-Telephone 12-359. Advt. . . _ Those who are requiring an Engagement Ring will do well to inspect our stock. Peter Dick, Jewellers and Opticians, 488 Moray place, Dunedin.— Advt.