Air Mail for London

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23045, 23 November 1936, Page 8

Air Mail for London

The Singapore air mail despatched from Dunedin on October 30 reached London on Thursday last.

Governor-General'* Visit The Governor-General (Viscount Galway) will pay a visit to the Returned Soldiers' Club this evening. This will be the first occasion on which his Excellency has made such a visit, and a large attendance of ex-service-men is expected. During its existence the association has had many distinguished visitors, including three former Governor-Generals —Lord Jellicoe, Lord Bledisloe. and Sir Charles Fergusson. City Police Court There were no cases set down for hearing at the City Police Court on Saturday morning. Visit of Warship H.M.S. Achilles, the newest ship in the New Zealand Station, is due at Dunedin to-day from Akaroa, and it is proposed to berth her at the Victoria wharf on the tide, which will be at its highest shortly before mid-day. Whether it will be possible to do so depends upon circumstances, as the ship is the longest ever to come to the city wharves. Her length over all is 555 feet, compared with the Cornwall's 506 feet, which is the record to date. The Achilles has a beam of 55 feet and a draught of 18 feet, while her gross tonnage is 7030. She is capable of a speed of 32.5 knots, and is the first of the Leander type of cruiser to come to New Zealand. Her armaments include eight six-inch guns, four fourinch, high-angle anti-aircraft guns, four three-pounders, four anti-aircraft multiple machine guns, new to New Zealand, and 14 other guns, as well as eight 21-inch torpedo tubes. She- will complete her visit to Dunedin on Thursday.

Price of Raw Tobacco New regulations fixing the price for raw tobacco came into operation last week, and will remain in force until March 31, 1937. The main provision of the regulation is as follows:—" No raw tobacco shall be sold by the grower or purchased from him at less than one shilling per pound free on board ship Motueka or Nelson in the case of tobacco grown in the Motueka or Nelson districts respectively, and in the case of tobacco grown in any other district at less than one shilling per pound free on board ship or free on rail at the port or railway station which is nearest to the place at which such tobacco is grown. Notwithstanding anything in the provisions of the last preceding clause, the Minister may, in any case where he considers it proper so to do. authorise the sale ana purchase of tobrfcco at a price less than the price fixed." Dunedin Leads the World

The active measures recently taken by the Dunedin City Corporation in the way of disarmament attracted the attention yesterday of a visitor to the city, Dr D. M. Sutherland, a former Minister of Defence in the Government of Canada. Dr Sutherland spent some time yesterday afternoon in strpliing about the city, and during the course of his walk he visited the Queen's Gardens. What he saw there aroused" his curiosity, and last night, in a conversation with a representative of the Daily Times, he asked what was the idea behind the burying of the old guns. On being informed, the visitor was observed to smile as he remarked that Dunedin must lead the world in its zeal in this respect. Malicious False Alarms

Only three calls were received by the City Fire Brigade during the weekend, but each of these was due to a malicious false alarm. The first__call was received from Fulton street, Leith Valley, at 2.41 p.m. on Saturday, and the second from the corner of Grove and New streets at 10.4 p.m. the same day. The third call was received from the corner of Macandrew road and Loyalty street at 8.27 p.m. yesterday. Successful Railway Excursion . ; >

A successful excursion to ■ Timaru was conducted by the Railways Department yesterday. A train of 14 carriages left Dunedin at 7.20 a.m. and arrived at its destination at 11.50 with 440 passengers. On the return journey a number of passengers were picked up en route and, on leaving Oamaru, the number had been increased to 490. The train ran up to schedule time, arriving in Dunedin at 9.28 ■p.m. The weather in Timaru was fine and mild, although the sun was not shining.

Horse Stops Power Supply An interruption in. the power supply to Dannevirke and adjacent districts for periods varying from 15 minutes to two hours occurred on Wednesday evening last. The fault was caused by a horse on a farm at Tipapakuku rubbing against a pole in a 6000-volt line and bringing the overhead conductors together. As the lines in this locality run through private property the interference was difficult to detect. Through its back-scratching the horse occasioned considerable inconvenience to those who were milking and shearing, and the Power Board engineer has taken steps to prevent a recurrence of the trouble.

The Oldest Employee Another claim for the honour of being the oldest living employee of the Otago Daily Times Company has been made, the claimant being Mr Adam Glen, aged 84, who Is now a resident of Auckland. Mr Glen joined the company as an apprentice in 1863, at the age of 11 years. Mr Glen served his apprenticeship in the publishing department and afterwards resigned for other employment. He remained in active work, however, until he was 81. and about two years ago he left to take un residence in Auckland. Oldest Dog in Britain

Britain's oldest dog was discovered recently on a farm at Laindon, Essex, hv Mr Bob Martin, the famous authority on dogs. She was celebrating her twenty-third birthday. "Gyp's owner told me that she has always been game and full of beans." said Mr Martin. She had her last litter of puppies when she was 18, and until she was 20 she followed her master on a milk round. Though small, she has many a time tackled a fox single-handed, and once killed a vixen and brought it home four miles across country." She used to be black all over, but old age has turned her face white. " Only a few dogs live longer than 12 years, and one of our years is equal to about six years to a dog. Gyp's age is therefore equal to 138 in a human being."

Ex-Servicemen's Offer During the past fortnight a number of ex-servicemen possessed of artillery and machine-gun knowledge have offered to enlist in Auckland, suggesting that they might perhaps be useful in training young soldiers of the Territorial Army. It has not been possible, under present regulations, for their willingness to be turned to account. Only men between Ihe ages of 18 and 20 are being enlisted.

Quartz Specimens A resident of the southern portion of the borough of To Aroha, which was first built on in the gold rush days, recently made an interesting discovery of a fine collection of quartz specimens. They were probably stored about 50 years ago. The residence is one of the original buildings on the field (says the Auckland Star), and ia at present in the process of remodelling. A trapdoor with the ring-bolt was discovered, and under this was found a 12-inch down-pipe containing a large collection of gold-bearing quartz. Some of the specimens, however, showed iron pyrites and peacock ore. Experts state that the quartz are splendid samples. It has not yet beet" ascertained who lived in the house when it was first erected.

School of Horticulture Plans have been drawn up lor a school of horticulture in Christchurch, and will be placed before Ministers of the Crown soon, according to the report of the chairman (Mr J. A. M'Pherson) to the annual meeting of the Canterbury district council of the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. The report said that during the year the council supported a report from the Christchurch Domains Board on the proposal to establish a school, and that a detailed scheme had now been worked out.

Older Generation Slacking A recommendation that special steps be undertaken to improve the observance of Sunday as the Lord's Day was carried by the Presbyterian General Assembly in Christchurch. The first Sunday in July was appointed as a day for special services and Bible class lessons. Speaking to the recommendation, the Rev. J. Davie (Masterton) said the older people were " slacking" more than the younger generation. "Just now there is a majority of young people in our congregations," he added. " The fathers and mothers are letting them down." "

Railways and Hqardings , "The 'board-smashing' policy of the Government had little backing of public opinion behind it, and in the Railways Department harm rather good seems so far to have resulted," says the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Journal. "Ministerial control has already been responsible in Auckland for flagrant acts in the outdoor hoarding field which would have been illegal if done by private enterprise and which, whoever does them, are at variance with commonly accepted business ethics." A Large Dose

Although unwilling to discuss the recent political changes in New Zealand, Mr H. F. M'Ness, a visitor from Perth, Western Australia, gave his opinion of them in a very few words t 6 a representative of the Christchurch Press last week. " You have had very little experience of such things in New Zealand compared with Australia," he said, " but over there they were fed to us in very small doses. Here you are asked to swallow the whole bottleful in 12 months." i

Slackness in State Coal Mine* Slackness in the State mines on the West Coast has brought Mr W. Pendlebury, 6t .Runanga, secretary of the State Miners' Union, to Christchurch to investigate the cause. In the 14 days ended on Friday, the men at the James mine had had five days' work, and the men at the Liverpool mine hafl had about the same amount. Mr Pendlebury's investigations up to Friday showed that yards were well stocked. "The State miners are hoping," he said, " that they will not have to do relief work intermittently, as they did about this time last year.", An Optimist There is at least one would-be employer in Canterbury who is an optimist (says the Star-Sun). Recently a Cliristchurch labour agency received an application from a farmer for domestic help. The duties of the girl he proposed to employ included all ordinary household work. A knowledge of cooking was necessary, and in addition the applicant must be prepared to collect the eggs and feed the poultry and the pigs. The wage offered was 7s 6d a week. Needless to say, there was no applicant.

A Maelstrom Adventure Ah incident resembling Edgar Allan Poe's story, "A Descent Into the Maelstrom." was described by Mr A. P. Harper at the Alpine Club in Wellington last week. An Englishman, Colonel Strutt, his wife, and a guide were held up by a flood in the Lansbordugh, or Haast, river, an attempt to cross-which, in high flood, would have meant practically certain death. The party tried to make its way around Harper's Bluff, a well-known big bluff against the rocky face of which the river washed. The bluff was too much for them, and in a tricky spot the colonel slipped and dropped 30 feet into the river. Instead of being swept out by the raging torrent, he found that he had fallen into a whirlpool created by the river striking the bluff, and was going round and round. His wife, because.she was excited or because she became dizzy with watching her husband's gyrations, slipped and fell into the whirlpool. The guide was then faced with the unedifying spectacle of seeing both the colonel and his wife going round and round. With great presence of mind, he cut a sapling, and with no little difficulty brought the two to shore. Two years ago some of the wife's property was found in the lower beach some miles below. It was duly forwarded to Colonel Strutt and his wife, in India. Revival of Shark Industry A revival of commercial shark fishing on the eastern coast of Australia is planned by Mr N. D. Cran, an Englishman who arrived at Auckland by the Rangitata from London last week. Mr Cran and others associated with him made a good beginning in the industry some years ago, making their headquarters at Port Stephens, north of Newcastle. However, economic conditions became unfavourable, and in 1931 they ceased operations. Mr Cran is now convinced that in the present state of the market for shark products and at the existing level of wages in Australia the time is opportune for a fresh start. He also believes that the industry can profitably be carried on by modern methods in competition with Japanese enterprises of the same kind in other waters. Sharks yield excellent leather for a variety of industrial uses, together with oil and a number of by-products. Their fins are exported whole to China and Japan, where gelatine is extracted from them for the making of soup and for various other purposes

Shop early this Xmas. and shop at Williamsons, the jewellers. The fine selection makes choosing easy, and prices will suit your purse Opposite the Savoy.—Advt Eye Strain.-For eye comfort or better vision consult Stunner and Watson, Ltd., opticians. 2 Octagon. Dunedin.A A 7i E J. Bl'akeley and W. E. Bagley dentists. Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 12-359.-Those who are requiring an Engagement Ring will do well to inspect our stock Peter Dick, jewellers and opticians, 488 Moray place. Dunedin.— Advt.