Overseas Mail

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23499, 13 May 1938, Page 8

Overseas Mail

The Waitaki left Melbourne on Wednesday for Bluff with 14 bags of Australian mail for Dunedin. The mails will reach the local office on Monday evening. “ Perfide Albion ” “The English people arc like ostriches.” said Commander R. C. Harding, of Christchurch, in the coiirse of an address at the annual meeting of the Navy League (Otago branch) yesterday. “ When there are unpleasant facts about, they try to hide their heads in the sand. An instance of this, was seen in the attitude of the people when the German war fleet was sunk at Scapa Flow, and another instance was the manner in which war talk was avoided at Home. It is a kind of mental camouflage which leads to foreigners calling us hypocrites.” “ Really Pitiful ” “ Those of us who have been overseas must regard physical education in New Zealand as really pitiful,” said Mr W. L. S. Britton in an address on his European experiences to the annual conference of the New Zealand Technical School Teachers’ Association in Wellington. “It is almost as pitiful as our library system, in most cases,” he said.

Interest in Kaikorai Trams The tramcars in Dunedin and, in particular, the Kaikorai cable cars, have furnished newspaper correspondence with a debatable subject during the past few weeks, and although the tumult has now subsided, it is interesting to note that the Dunedin-Kai-korai Tram Company is receiving fresh attention, but from a different source. Sharebrokers on the Dunedin Stock Exchange are displaying interest in the shares of this company, and at the call-overs yesterday buyers came forward for the first time for approximately 12 months There was, however, no response from sellers. Coal for the Railways The importance of the railways to the coal mining industry was referred to a few days ago by the Minister of Railways (Mr D. G. Sullivan). He said the coal used by the railways for the financial year ended March 31 reached the record total of 511,850 tons, and that the department u-ed over 20 per cent, of all the coal mined in the Dominion. In the year ended March 31. 1937. a total of 1,606,227 tons of native coal was carried by the railways, exclusive of that required for the department’s use, and the quantity conveyed during the current year would probably be considerably nigher. Another fact of interest was that only New Zealand coal was used by the railways, which had imported no coal since 1931 “As Others See Us ”

During his recent tour of the South Island, giving displays of parachute jumping, Mr G. W. Sellars had some amusing experiences, not the least of which (says the Christchurch StarSun) was an encounter, at the breakfast table, with a woman who called him a fool and doomed him to an earlv death. She did not know to whom she was speaking when she looked up from reading the paper and. addressing Mr Sellars, said: “ I see this fool Sellars has been jumping out of an aeroplane with his parachute again. What a fool of a man he is. He ought to know that he will do it once too often and kill himself. You mark my words, he’s done it often enough now; he won’t get away with it much longer.” Fortunately, Mr Sellars does not suffer unduly from nerves, and her gloomy prognostication did not interfere with his appreciation of the bacon and eggs. “ Many a Micklp——” In these days of high prices, generally good wages, and plenty of money in circulation, a shilling is thought of not very much importance by most people. An exception (the Evening Post says) is the Otago Football Association. which, in a letter received by the council of the New Zealand Football Association on Tuesday night, had the following to say:—“l have to advise that in the newspaper report of the annual meeting of the N.Z.F.A. it was stated that the entry fee for the Chatham Cup competition would be £l, whereas your circular stated one guinea. Although we feel sure that the fee stated by you is correct, we would be pleased to have confirmation of it.” The council decided, with an almost inhuman levity, to inform the southern association that £1 Is was the fee.

Bullion by Air > Five thousand pounds’ worth of gold in bullion—probably the most valuable air cargo New Zealand has known —was transported recently by Union Airways from Christchurch to Auckland on one of the air line’s regular flights. The gold came from the West Coast by rail, and was delivered into the personal charge of the pilot by officials of the bank. Special arrangements to distribute its 151 b weight had to be made inside the air liner, since only a certain weight is allowed to be carried on each square foot of floor space. As the bullion exceeded the maximum, boards were put in to spread its weight easily. It was delivered without mishap to bank officers at the Mangere airport. Oldest Presbyterian Church The congregation of St. Andrew’s, Lower Symonds street, the mother church of Presbyterianism in Auckland, observed the ninety-first birthday of their church on Sunday last. The actual anniversary fell on the previous Wednesday, for it was on May 4. 1847, that a public meeting held in the old Auckland Courthouse resolved to erect a Presbyterian church and to seek a minister from the Free Church of Scotland. The present stone building was commenced the same year and opened on April 7, 1850. The tower and portico were added in 1882. Although a “ down-town ” church, St. Andrew’s carries on its activities vigorously under the ministry of the Rev. P. Gladstone Hughes.

Unrepentant When a youth, who was charged with escaping from the Borstal Institution, appeared before Mr R. C. Abernethy,. S.M., in the Children's Court at Invercargill (says the News) 1R months was added to his present sentence. The magistrate severely censured the accused for his conduct and pointed out the futility of following a path of crime. - “ You can’t beat society for society will beat you.’" said his Worship. The youthful offender, who recently made his second dash for freedom in a motor car, did not seem a whit abashed, and later told his escort that he was only sorry the car was not fast enough or he would have got away. “It would do no more than 70.” he was heard to remark ruefully The Logic of Science Dr Karl Popper, lecturer in philosophy at Canterbury College, is visiting Dunedin to lecture to the Otago branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand to-night. Previously, Dr Popper was a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Vienna. He is one of the most distinguished representatives of the Viennese School of Logical Positivists, and has, indeed, been named the “ official opposition ” of the school, since he dissents from it in many important theoretical issues. The Logical Positivists are a circle of thinkers formed in Vienna in 1928. whose principal representative—Rudolf Carnap—is now a professor in Chicago. Logical positivism is based largely on the logical researches of Bertrand Russell and their elaboration by his Austrian disciple. Ludwig Wittgenstein. It attempts a rigorous overhaul of scientific concepts and methods, its fundamental postulate being that, in science, the unveriflable is also the unmeaning. It believes that the vast majority of the problems which have puzzled human intelligence in the past are linguistic puzzles, which will disappear when language is made more precise, and its nature and limitations are recognised. Dr Popper's views are systematically set forth in a work entitled “The Logic of Discovery,” which contains very* important and interesting discussions on scientific method and the theory of probability. He is thoroughly acquainted with modern physics and mathematics, and holds original opinions on the meaning of the Quantum Theory. Though his speech is that of a foreigner, he is both intelligible and fluent, and often light and amusing. Dr Popper’s lecture to the Royal Society is entitled “ Some Recent Developments in the Philosophy of the Sciences.” He will also give an address to students and others interested in the upper Oliver room. University, this evening, the topic being “ Determination and Indetermination.”