Overseas Mail

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23688, 21 December 1938, Page 10

Overseas Mail

The Orford left Brisbane on Monday for Auckland with 222 bags of Australian and Empire mails for Dunedin. The Dunedin portion should be to hand on Monday next. Wills Proved

Mr Justice Kennedy has granted probate of the estates of Thomas Cornforth Harrison, retired school teacher; Emma Gibbons Barclay Bell, widow (Cromwell); Mark Fahey, farmer (Lawrence); James Lockhart, farmer (Tokomairiro); Mary Mitchell Carson, spinster (Kaitangata); Alexander McLean, labourer (Balclutha); Edmund Carroll, confectioner (Dunedin); James McDonald, retired farmer (Ranfurly); Marion Williamson, widow (Oamaru); Alexander Taylor, farmer (Oamaru).

A Valuable Estate The estate of John Wardell, merchant grocer, of Dunedin, has been sworn for probate purposes at under £45,000. Police Court There were no cases set down for hearing in the City Police Court yesterday.

A Frank Brangwyn Etching The latest acquisition of the Dunedin Art Gallery is a fine original etching by the noted artist Frank Brangwyn, which has been presented by Mr H. Mandeno, and was secured by him during' his recent visit abroad. “Old Women, Bruges” is the title of the etching, which is a good example of the strength of Brangwyn’s work, and is well worthy of study.

No State Lotteries A definite statement that the Government does not intend to establish State lotteries is contained in a letter which the Dunedin Presbytery has received from the Prime Minister (Mr M. J. Savage). The letter was written in reply to a resolution of the presbytery protesting against a proposal which had been made that lotteries should be instituted. This, with a statement of the presbytery’s views, was forwarded to Mr Savage. “It is not the intention of the Government to give effect to any proposal of this nature,” said Mr Savage in his reply. Care of Pets

The necessity for owners of pets to make arrangements with some responsible person to take care of them during holiday times was a matter which was discussed at yesterday’s meeting of the Otago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Mr R. Fountain stated that it was an unfortunate fact that the welfare of their pets did not enter Into the holiday arrangements made by some people. If nobody could be relied on to take care of the pets, there were "boarding places ” for animals with which arrangements could be made. New Power Link

An important development In the electrification of Southland occurred late last night when the province was linked up with the South Island network of electrical generating stations by the switching on of the power of the new service line between Halfway Bush and Gore. The actual switching on at Gore was performed by Mr G. D. Ashman, assistant electrical engineer of the Southland Electrical Supply, acting on the instructions of Mr W. H. Gregory, district electrical engineer, who was at Halfway Bush. The load was successfully carried by the Southland system. A flickering of the lights for a short time when the actual change-over was made was all that informed the'public that the link had been effected. Red Tape

A story against himself was told by Dr C. E. Beeby, the recently-appointed Assistant Director of Education, speaking at the Christmas party of the Wellington Education Board staff. After remarking that, before his appointment, he had been known as an expert in education, which had been described as “ anybody who doesn’t have to do the job," Dr Beeby recalled that shortly after his appointment he received a letter from his former employers, the Carnegie Corporation in New York. It was very large and very official, and, when he opened it, out fell masses and masses of bright red tape—and nothing more.

Import Licences Since the announcement of the Government regulations, the staff of the Customs Office in Dunedin has been besieged with inquiries and applications for export and import licences, and so large has the volume of business become that arrangements have been made to employ extra clerks. It is probable also that the office accommodation may have to be extended. “ We are trying to meet the importers as far as possible,” said the Collector of Customs (Mr G. F. McKellar) yesterday, “ and they are giving us every co-operation, but it is a big job.” At a rough estimate, approximately 1000 applications have been received, and they are still flowing in, so that, when it is considered that some importers may have to make separate applications for anything up to 100 different classes of goods, some idea may be gained of the work involved.

Increasing Toll Traffic For some lime the toll traffic between Dunedin and Central Otago has been steadily increasing. In keeping with the Post and Telegraph Department’s policy, an additional circuit, operated on the high frequency principle and known as the carrier telephone system, has been installed between Dunedin and Cromwell. The carrier telephone system provides a most efficient service, there being practically no loss on the speech volume. Additional telephone facilities on the same lines to other Central Otago towns are also contemplated.

Harrop Scholarships The Otago District, M.U.1.0.0.F., advises that the results of the examinations held in connection with the two Harrop Scholarships, which are tenable for two years at £l2 10s per year, have been handed in by the examiner,’Mr W. A. Sproat. There were in all 22 competitors, and the examiner reports that the work done by the candidates was very good. The first place was taken by Dorothy Jeanette Robinson, a pupil of Otago, Girls’ High School, with 4034 marks out of a possible of 450, or 89.6 per cent. She secured top marks in composition, comprehension, and geography, and also the possible in formal English. The runner-up, who also earned a scholarship, was William F. J. Pedofsky, of Strath-Taieri School, Middlemarch, who was credited with 381 marks, or 84.6 per cent. He gained the possible in spelling and history. and top place ,in arithmetic, with 984 points out of 100. No fewer than 17 of the 22 competitors gained over 70 per cent, of the possible marks.

New Parking Regulations A certain amount of amusement was caused at the meeting of the Mosglel Borough Council last evening, when the business was interrupted to permit two councillors to shift their cars in front of the Town Hall, where they had been parked in contravention of the new regulations. The traffic inspector entered the council chamber seeking the owners of the cars, and the two offenders made a hasty departure to rectify the situation. Sharehawkers

“The sharehawker still carries on his objectionable calling in New Zealand,” stated the chairman (Mr Harman Reeves) at the annual meeting yesterday of the Dunedin Stock Exchange. “He is now adopting the method of offering shares in Australian companies in exchange for shares in New Zealand companies. This must lend itself to the unloading of doubtful securities. In England and also New South Wales the laws already in existence are to be tightened up in an attempt to safeguard further the uninitiated investing public. The law in this Dominion also requires amendment. L would again recommend intending investors to seek the advice of their banker or a member of the Stock Exchange before parting with their money or signing any papers when reputedly attractive investments are brought to their notice.”

Level Crossing Signal The erection of a warning signal at the Edendale railway level crossing is in progress, and the signal will probably lse in operation before Christmas. A request was made for a signal at the crossing after a fatal accident there early this year, and the Minister of Railways (Mr D. G. Sullivan) gave a promise that a warning device would be provided. , An Effective Deterrent

Paying tribute to the Minister of Transport (Mr Semple) for his efforts to reduce' motor accidents, Mr G. Ebbett, district coroner, in the course of an inquiry into a fatal motor accident in Hastings, said he did not believe in the imprisonment of dangerous and drunken drivers. “But I would keep them off the road,” Mr Ebbett said. “ Where at the present time their licences are being cancelled for six months, I would double, treble or even quadruple that, in the belief that lengthy cancellation of licences will prove more effective than a term in prison.” In giving that opinion, said Mr Ebbett, he was not condemning the Minister’s policy; the Minister thought imprisonment was the remedy, but Mr Ebbett thought long-term cancellations would more effectively meet the position. A New Hot Spring

Boiling water issuing from a Assure in a tunnel driven into the Spencer Range near the suspension bridge at Maruia, 37 miles from Murchison, has led to the discovery of another hot spring. The Government has granted £IOO for tests to ascertain the flow from this spring, which is’ situated close to the present bathing house. When the spring at Maruia was first developed the flow of mineral water was only 800 gallons an hour, but this has now been increased to 3600 gallons, which will be considerably augmented by the flow from the tunnel.

Trespassing on School Grounds The desire of the Minister of Education .(Mr P. Fraser) to stamp out trespassing on school grounds, and the fact that he had asked the Police Department to keep a strict watch and to prosecute offenders, with the publication of names pressed for, were reported at a meeting of the Wanganui Education Board. The secretary, Mr G. N. Boulton,'stated that he had told the Minister in an interview that the board was trying to stamp out what it considered an undesirable practice. The Minister had. communicated'with the police in Palmerston North, only to be informed that prosecutions had been taken, but the names had been suppressed. The Minister had considered that wrong, as the publication of the names was the greater part of the penalty.

Difficulties of Import Control That he had had three girls working overtime in finding and classifying the information required by the Government for the operation of its import control ■scheme was the information given at a meeting of the executive of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association by Mr H. C. Urlwin. Mr Urlwin, who contended that it was not possible to estimate the requirements for certain raw materials six months ahead, suggested that the forms should be drawn up in more simple terms, and that a blanket licence should be issued to cover the importations of certain goods. No action, however, was taken by the association.

Roads to Mount Cook Motorists intending to make trips to Mount Cook or Queenstown during the holiday period will be interested to learn that the roads to the Hermitage and Queenstown, both by way of Mount Cook and the Lindis, have been greatly improved. Although accommodation at many holiday resorts is reported to be taxed to the utmost, this does not apply to the Hermitage and the tourist hotels at Queenstown, where there is still ample accommodation available at all rates for the Christmas and New Year holiday season.

Thrilling Chase Proceedings at the annual break-up ceremony of the Woodend School (Canterbury) were proceeding smoothly, and the children were lined up with their pets of all descriptions, which were to be inspected for the best kept pet prize, when a rabbit, escaping from its owner, hopped away across the school grounds. Immediately a big dog, drawing its small master along with it, dashed after it, and in a few moments the whole school was off in pursuit of the runaways. Around the grounds they dashed in full hue and cry, until finally the rabbit succeeded in eluding its pursuer, and dived under a shed to safety.

Large Shoal of Eel» A huge shoal of eels, which .took a long time to pass a point in the estuary of the Waikato River, and was so thick tftat an outboard motor could not be started, was observed by a Pukekohe resident, Mr W. Porter, who recently spent a holiday in camp on the shores of the Waikato Estuary. The noise made by the eels awakened Mr Porter late at night. He stated that the fish were swimming very close together. Fishing lines were thrown out, but the eels would not bite. Maoris in the district told Mr Porter that the eels had probably been down to the sea to spawn and would not bite when returning in shoals.

Commencing on January 1, Station 4YA will rebroadcast from Station 2YA the weather reports for aviators. These reports will be given out at 6.50 and 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on week-days and 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sundays. The Burns Club has arranged * special programme for to-night’s concert in the Town Hall Concert Chamber. Members are reminded that subscriptions are now due. A. E. J Blakeley and W E Bagley, dentists, Bank of Australasia corner of Bond and Rattray streets. Teleohone 12-359 —Advt For rings watches, and jewellery, try Peter Dick, jewellers and opticians. 59 Princes street Dunedin'.—Advt