PLANS FOR THE CENTENARY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23529, 18 June 1938, Page 14

PLANS FOR THE CENTENARY

The meeting held this week of the Otago Provincial Centennial Council adopted a sensible course in appointing a small committee to bring down definite recommendations for the organisation of the centenary celebrations. While it need not be suggested that the Centennial Council has, up to the present, been lacking in enthusiastic supporters,, there appears to have been a lack of direction in regard to the Otago arrangements for marking an event of importance to the Dominion. One reason for a certain confusion may well be the plenitude of committeemen with responsibilities that have not been clearly defined. Another, possibly, is less than a complete measure of co-ordination between the central Centennial Council in Dunedin and the local authorities which are in charge of plans in their several districts. The main objects to be attained are definite enough. Two of them, the erection of memorials in Dunedin, and the representation of the Provincial District at the Centennial Exhibition at Wellington, will require considerable financial support from the public. And while the appeal for the Otago Court must be directed throughout the provincial district, that for the memorials will probably make a more limited appeal. The actual celebrations of the centenary will also require some monetary contribution from local bodies and presumably from the public as well. Since the Exhibition is to be opened in less than eighteen months, it is obvious that the Centennial Council cannot too long delay the finalisation of its organisation. And it is equally necessary that when an approach is made to the public the nature of the schemes for which financial contributions are solicited shall be clearly stated. That, as the chairman of the Centennial Council* Mr Sutherland Ross declared, the committees will work hard, once their functions are decided, will not be doubted. Both from the historical viewpoint, and as a means of advertising the Dominion, the centenary can be made an event of considerable significance in the life of NeH Zealand. • .

Community Singing There was another large attendance at the weekly community sing in the Strand Theatre yesterday, those present entering with zest into the numbers chosen by the leader (Mr H. P. Desmoulins) and Messrs J. F. Himburg and A. Pettitt. By request, Mr H. Marsden sang two Irish songs, ‘My Old Irish Mother" and ‘Does Your Mother Come From Ireland,” and as a result of his effort brought in several promises of donations. Miss Freda Elmes’s two numbers from “ The Vagabond King" also proved popular. A white huskie pup, presented for auction by Mrs Robertson, of Glen road, brought the satisfactory price of £2 10s, the purchaser being a resident of Mataura. The collection at the sing totalled £ 15Mishap to Penang It is anticipated that the Finnish barque Penang will be brought up to Dunedin early next week, probably on Monday if a berth is available, to enable her mainmast to be repaired. The crew of the vessel was engaged yesterday in disentangling the rigging, the upper top-gallant yard being lowered on to the deck after being taken off the broken mast. Advice to Motorist* ‘‘Motorists who turn on intersections seem to assume that the offside rule still applies to them," remarked Mr H. W, Bundle, S.M., when a motor case was being heard in the City Police Court yesterday. “It does not apply in that case. In those circumstances, common sense has to be used. There is not hard-and-fast rule governing change of direction on an intersection, a fact of which many motorists seem to be ignorant.” Political Broadcasting In the course of his speech at Balclutha on Thursday night, Mr A. G. Osborne, M.P. for Mankau, said that with the advent of political broadcasting the public was in a position to listen to both sides They had now no excuse to continue regarding the editors of newspapers as the only people who could mould public opinion in New Zealand. The editors were no better equipped than anyone else He considered that the editors of the metropolitan daily press in New Zealand had been most unfair to the Labour Party.. By this he wanted his hearers to understand that lie was referring only to the metropolitan daily press, and hot to that of the towns or the country press. The latter sometimes criticised, but he believed such criticism was based on the honest belief that the Labour Party had done somethihg wrong. Up to the present, however, in the opinion of the editors of the metropolitan press, the Labour Party had ,not done anything that was worthy of commendation. It was the editors of papers like the Otago Daily Times, the Dominion (Wellington), and the Southland Times, who regarded themselves, as something in the nature of supermen who had the right to form opinions for the people. Now, however, with the advent of radio broadcaisting the editors of the daily press did not. possess, the confidence of the people as they, did. before. Centennial Exhibition Feature Proposals, that a Maori, Samoan, or other Native house or village, complete with inhabitants in traditional garb, should be a feature of the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, have been mooted and are receiving consideration. If anything of the sort is arranged (says our special correspondent in Wellington), it will be as part of the Nc ,v Zealand Government’s contribution to the exhibition and will be administered by an appropriate Government department. It is understood that the suggestion has been made that the Native Department’s exhibit should take the form of a Maori village or house, but precisely what form the Maori, court will take and how extensive it will be has not yet been decided. It will depend largely upon the exenditure and the amount of space reserved by the Government which can be allotted to the department. A further suggestion made by the Department of External Affairs on behalf of the Samoans is that a Native “ fale ” or thatched house should be the exhibit representing the mandate. Handsome Return of Gold A handsome return of 1540 z of gold won on the Central Shotover claim was brought into Queenstown on Wed-, nesday by the manager (Mr Vernon). The gold (says our correspondent) was a beautiful sample—a nice, clean, deposit, and was won from the middle of the river by hydraulic sluicing about 150 yards below Deep Creek. The ground on either side was worked by the early miners, when payable returns were won by primitive methods. The parcel of gold referred to was taken from one paddock in a period of from three to four weeks The manager of the claim is confident that, provided conditions are favourable, and with the aid of modern equipment and water, good returns can still be won from the b?d of the Shotover. Guaranteed Price Tribunal An emphatic chorus of “ No ” greeted a direct question which the Prime Minister (Mr Savage) put to a gathering at Ohau, when he asked them if they wanted a tribunal to fix the guaranteed price. “ I asked them if they wanted a tribunal, and in one voice they said ‘No,’” Mr Savage said later. “That makes one think. I was at a Farmers’ Union conference in Wellington, and they carried a resolution asking for a tribunal presided over by a Supreme Court judge. I want to give you farmers here to-night a bit of, advice. If you want that tribunal, you are going to get It. and when I say that, you will get it. The answer, coming from a farming community, struck me as amazing." Mr Savage said that farmers could bounce him round the room as much as they liked, and they did. They could not do that with a Supreme Court judge and a tribunal. The Shortest Day The occurrence of the shortest day next Wednesday marks the commencement of the calendar season of winter After the recent cold, rainy spell experienced throughout the Dominion many will be convinced that winter has already begun. Actually, the calendar season is a purely arbitrary arrangement and in a general sense June, July, and August ere regarded as the winter months. The sun will be at the most northern part of its orbit on Wednesday, and consequently the southern hemisphere will then receive the least amount of heat from the sun The coldest days, however, may be expected some six weeks or so after the solstice, because the warmth absorbed by the • soil during the mild autumn experienced has not all been re-radiated, and until the soil reaches a state of balance in which it radiates heat as fast as it absorbs it the coldest days cannot be expected.

Motorists' Improved Behaviour An Indication that the roads were becoming safer, and that, motorists were paying more attention to the laws laid down for their safety as well as for the safety of the general public was given by the Minister of Transport (Mr R. Semple) in Christchurch on Thursday He said that there seemed to be fewer accidents at present, and that he was not contemplating „ any further restrictions of speed The ,maln thing was to provide safe roads for the motorists, and then if the accidents continued to introduce regulations and restrictions. No serious consideration had as yet been given to imposing a general speed restriction for night driving.

Communism v. Socialism

" I am not one of those who deliberately and unfairly confuses Socialism and Communism,” said Mr W. R. Lascelles, in an address on politics to the Christchurch Advertising Club. “Although both had, more or less, a common origin, it is grossly unfair, in many critics, because one creed is discredited, to transfer its name to the other creed. The Socialism of the Labour Party is not Communism, and it is an unfair political trick to call it Communism ” Received Car Door Handle

There has recently appeared on the streets of Wellington a motor car with door handles completely recessed in the panels. Several nasty accidents have occurred in New Zealand recently (the Dominion says) as the result of people being struck by sharp car door handles, sometimes in circumstances that, had there been no handle, the injuries would have been merely braises. A child was killed by the handle of a car moving comparatively slowly penetrating a vital spot. A traffic regulation prohibits the fitting of sharp objects to cars where they might strike people, but it applies only to ornaments The removal of dangerous handles has been left to manufacturers, and the appearance of the car referred to may indicate that they have realised the danger of sharp projections on car sides. Doctor* in China

News of Dr R. B. Grey and Dr H. C. Tremewan, who were sent to China by the Joint Council of the Order of St. John and New Zealand Red Cross Society, is contained in a cablegram from Dr James Maxwell (secretary to the International Red Cross Committee at Hankow) Dr Grey is safe at Chengchow, and Dr Tremewan has been transferred to Ichang, Ichang is on the Yangtse-kiang River, about 200 miles west of Hankow.

“ Play the Game ” “What are you going to do with the years that lie ahead? ” the Prime Minister (Mr Savage) asked the assembled school chilldren of Palmerston North on Wednesday. “You will all have to do some kind of work, and I hope you will all be ready to do it well and always for the good of your country. Just think of the farm wealth from your own district. What does it signify? It means that you fathers and mothers have done something worth while in taking from the land the products which give prosperity to New Zealand. What are you going to do to make your country better? I cannot give the answer, but let me tell you that nothing is more important than love of home and country and a determination to be honest and industrious, knowing that there is always a reward for those whose lives have been useful and good. If I were to speak for hours it would be impossible to say more to you than this: ‘ Be fond of your parents and friends; stand up for your country; avoid everything that is mean and vulgar; play the game, and go forward into life with strong bodies and fine thoughts.’ ” Minister’* Speech Praised

“I have listened to one of the best speeches on preventive medicine I have ever heard. It could worthily take it place at a medical conference,” said Dr K. G. Salmond, of Feilding, after the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E, Parry) had outlined to a deputation what it was hoped to achieve through the National Council for Physical Welfare and Recreation Dr Salmond also advanced the opinion that it seemed to him the move for physical fitness should really have formed part of the national health proposals and have been financed from that source.

An Appeal Casa The appeal by W. H. Cadwaller, inspector of awards, against a decision by Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., in proceedings taken last year by the Labour Department against Ross and Glendining. Ltd., in respect of an alleged breach of the Northern, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and Southland woollen mills employees’ award, has now been referred by the Arbitration Court to the Court of Appeal. The case camd before the Arbitration Court in Dunedin last week, Mr Justice O’Regan then indicating that the court would take time to consider its decision. Fire Brigade Calls

An accidental false alarm from the premises of Messrs Cadbury Fry Hudson, Ltd., necessitated the City I'ire Brigade turning out at 12.16 p.m. yesterday. At 4.40 p.m. the brigade turned out in response to a justifiable false alarm to the residence of Miss M. A. Beaton, 220 St. Andrew street. Automatic false alarm calls were responsible for the brigade being called out to the Hillside Workshops at 7.34 p.m. and at 8.3 p.m. Military Band at Theatre A performance by the Band of the Ist Battalion, Otago Regiment, in the State Theatre buildings last night created a scene reminiscent of wartime recruiting activities A film which is being shown at the theatre deals with measures that are being taken for the military defence of the Homeland and with the efforts that are being made to form an efficient territorial force. As the film indiCc.es directions in which the defences of the Dominion may be developed, it has aroused the interest of local territorial officers, and, as a result, the officer commanding the Otago Regiment (Lieutenantcolonel J. M. Samson) granted permission for the band to play at the theatre.

Deer on Stewart Island A scheme submitted by Mr George Jaquiery, who died last year, and Mr J. B. Thomson for ridding Stewart Island of deer has not found favour with the Department of Internal Affairs. A letter from the department, received by the executive of the Southland Progress League at its last meeting, described the scheme as impracticable and one which “ could quite easily result in disaster.” An assurance was given that every effort would be made to exterminate the deer on “ this national reserve of great scenic and scientific value." The letter was received.

The United Starr-Bowkett Building Society, on June 23, will dispose of £2OOO by sale and ballot, and £2OOO on July 28. The Oamaru Little Theatre Society has been requested by the Dunedin Repertory Society (not the Little Theatre Society as stated in yesterday’s issue) to stage “Love From a Stranger ” in Dunedin in the near future. Tenders are Invited for the lease of the Trocadero Hotel, Wellington, for a period of five years, covering the period of the Centennial Exhibition, and close on Monday. June 27. Particulars are advertised. In this issue the Railways Department is calling tenders for the erection of a new car and wagon shed of structural steel and concrete, about 220 feet by 110 feet, in the railway yard near the corner of Mowbray street and Falsgrave street. Christchurch A. Frank Anderson, surgeon dentist. 6 Princes street. Dunedin will visit Waipiata and Patearoa, Thursday, June 16; Ranfurly, Friday. June 17; Omakau and Oturehua Monday June 20.—Advt, ■ , Electric Radiators. Buy radiators for winter comfort. Barth Electric, Ltd., have on show Radiators from 11s 6d to £ll 10s to suit all tastes and purses. Inspection invited.—Barth Electric, Ltd. 36 George street. Dunedin.—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. Telephone 12-359.—Advt,