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Otago Witness, Issue 3870, 15 May 1928, Page 48

The trustees of the Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen’s Blind Soldiers and Sailors’ Fund have received £2O 14s 3d from Matamafa, £4 Ils 3d from Port Chalmers, and £4 16s from Apiti, being Anzac Day collections,*

Katipo spiders are becoming increasingly common at Tahuna, Nelson’s seaside suburb. Recently six large spiders, accompanied by a number of young_ ones, were discovered under a piece of driftwood by Mr F. Spencer. Although the effect of the bite of these spiders has often been exaggerated, it is pointed out that bathers and picnickers should be careful not to disturb any collections of driftwood, paper, or other rubbish, particularly on the drier parts of the beaches.

In its amended form, the overture submitted to the Wellington Presbytery a month ftgo on the question of discouraging remarriages was approved by tho Presbytery on Tuesday evening (says the Post). The Revs. J. R. Blanchard and J. H. MacKenzie were appointed to support the overture at the General Assembly at Auckland in November. The overture now reads: “Whereas ministers are from time to time requested to remarry persons already married by the civil authority or by some religious body; and whereas it is unlawful under penalties to impugn in any way the validity of such civil or other marriage; and whereas the parties concerned are remarried under their married names and sign said names in the register, the form setting forth that they were previously married on a certain date; and whereas it is unseemly that a sacred service should be linked with a marriage ceremony which has no legal significance and which virtually impugns the validity of the previous marriage, this presbytery overtures the assembly to take these premises into consideration and enjoin that all minister discourage these remarriage functions and that a religious ceremony of benediction be offered in place thereof; or that the assembly resolve otherwise as in its wisdom may seem best.”

With a view to securing for inclusion in the club’s library, copies of General Sir lan Hamilton’s diary on the Gallipoli campaign, the secretary of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association communicated with Sir lan, asking where copies could be obtained, as none was obtainable locally. A reply has now been received from Sir lan, who has forwarded two autographed volumes of his diary, as well as an autographed photograph of himself in the uniform of a Highland officer. The following is an extract from the letter which accompanied the gift:— “ Memories are so short nowadays that I do not think you remember my having been in Dunedin in the spring of the year 1914. I felt very much at home even in those days with my friends the Jirither Scots who were serving in the local forces and who turned out in such large numbers to greet me. Still more would I do so now when with them would be joined the brave fellows who fought under me and Sir Andrew Russell on Gallipoli—(signed) lan Hamilton. It was announced in fh» Qu nr <■>-*>-! Court on Thursday by Mr W. G. Hay that the case of the Otago b'armers' (Jo-opera-tive Association v. George Finch had been settled, the claim of £390 10s 6d having been paid.

Mr Justice Sim had before him on Tuesday an application by M’Callum and Co., timber merchants, Oamaru, against Stanley Gordon Reid and Ruth G. Reid, Oamaru, for an order, under the Wages Protection and Contractors’ Liens Act, entitling the plaintiff to a charge of £542 12s 2d for material supplied and joinery work done in connection with the contract of Alfred Adam Wright for the erection of a dwelling on the property of the defendants at Deborah, near Oamaru. His Honor made an order, in terms of the summons, on the moneys payable to the contractor, and a further order entitling the plaintiff to a lien for £233 Ils, the amount of the joinery contract and their interest in the land. Costs were fixed at 20gns and disbursements. There was also a claim by the contractor, Alfred Adam Wright, against the Reids for an order entitling him to a lien for the sum of £1227 6s 2d, the amount due to him to date in connection with the erection of the dwelling referred to in the previous case. The contract price was £1639, but owing to the default of the employers in the payment of progress payments he had been forced to discontinue building operations on February 24, when work to the value of the amount claimed had been done. His Honor made an order in terms of the summons, costs being fixed at 20gns and disbursements. In each case leave was reserved to the plaintiffs to apply for an order for the sale of the defendants’ interest in the land. Mr J. H. Main appeared for . the plaintiffs in both actions, and consent was filed in each instance by Messrs Ongley and Grater on behalf of the defendants. At the annual meeting of the New Zealand Public School Assistant Masters’ Association in Wellington yesterday the following remit was carried unanimously: —“ That in view of the benefits received by school pupils from the operation of the Summer Time Act, this association is strongly in favour of extending the operation of the legislation, and making it permanent.”

The intercolonial steamer Manuka arrived at Dunedin on Tuesday morning from Melbourne, via Bluff, with, about 70 passengers, 20 3 of whom landed here. The remainder are booked for Lyttelton and Wellington. The Manuka’s freight included a large quantity of fresh fruit and flour. A shipment of Australiangrown melons, consisting of 11 large crates, were also carried by the vessel for a local merchant. The melons are in splendid condition, and will meet with a good demand. As the Australian season has closed only one more shipment of melons will be brought to Dunedin.

Ihe traffic of the Marlborough Sounds is largely conducted by water, barges being more useful than lorries, especially in the absence of roads. An old project was revived at the recent annual meeting of the Pelorus Sound branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, when it was decided to request the Government to appoint an engineer to report on the feasibility and cost of connecting Pelorus and Queen Charlotte Sound by a water tunnel for barges, between Onakau Bay and Te Mahia Bay, where there is only some 25 chains to cut through. .This would give Pelorus Sound access to a deep water port, and it is considered would increase tourist traffic.

In a paper prepared for the State Forest Service, Dr L. Cockayne, in referring to opossums, says:—“These treedwellers stand, economically, in a class by themselves. At the present time there are those in favour of the opossums—a considerable majority—and those who decry these animals. As for myself, after a wide experience in New Zealand forests of all types—both prior to the coming of the opossum and at the present time—l certainly come into the first categorv. Were the opossum doing noticeable damage, the forests would undoubtedly point to this in their dead trees. But the forests, so far as damage from opossums goes, are as they ever were. If damage of any kind there be, it is so slight as to be negligible. Nor do these animals affect the all-important floor-covering or reduce the seed crop to any extent. Leaving this matter of problematical damage out of the question, the point of moment is the great value of the skins. If, for instance, it can be shown that an acre of forest, at present bringing in no revenue, will yield as the home of opossums a yearly income equalling that of even very poor pastures, and that a constant revenue can be made by trapping opossums, these animals have coine to stay. At any rate, if it is proved eventually—which is most unlikely—that opossums are a menace to the forests, their skins are so valuable that at any time the animals can be replaced in numbers to the extent desired without cost. Unlike the deer, it would pay handsomely to keep the opossum under strict control.”

There are several ways of securing wild ducks to grace the dinner table. One is to shoot them, this being the popular method; the other is to “pinch” them, a method that is regarded with extreme distaste by true devotees of the waders and gun. A certain Waikato man whose gun had apparently not barked as often and effectively as its owner would have desired was skulking along the bank of a river when he came on a bird stuffed into a game bag. It di’d not take him long to transfer the bird to his own keeping and decamp, taking with him for a light breakfast a few apples that the bag also happened to contain. But this ardent sportsman's luck was out (says the Auckland Star). The bag -was the property of the local constable, who, returning 10 minutes later with another bird, lost no time in the tracking down of the duck and the apples. In all probability the little adventure will have a sequel in the Police Court.

At the meeting of the Otago Land Board on Wednesday Willis Alan Scaife, the holder of a pastoral license over runs 334 c and 334 d, situated on the western side of Lake Wanaka, and known as Glendhu Station, applied to exchange the tenure to a small grazing run lease. As area (21,490 acres) exceeds the maximum area of a small grazing run (20,000 acres), Mr Scaife applied to transfer a piece to Francis D. Thomson, the holder of an adjoining run containing 7260 acres. Mr G. Black, manager for Messrs Dalgety and Co., waited on the board in connection with the application, and gave details concerning the family history and the manner in which Mr Scaife and his father had worked the run. He stated that a fern-covered flat had been turned into a very fine piece of land, and that part of the area had the benefit of irrigation. He made a strong plea for the granting of the applications, which would encourage a very fine settler to increase production by the further conservation of water. This conservation would enable a larger area to be worked, and there would be an increase of perhaps 1000 sheep in the carrying capacity. The Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr R. S. Galbraith) pointed out that there might be a strong demand from would-be settlers for areas on this run. Mr Black contended that it would be in the best interests of the country that there should be one prosperous settler rather than two who were merely existing. The board decided to inspect the property and to hold a public meeting at Pembroke after the inspection. The meeting will probably be held on Wednesday, May 23. Dr T. B. Strong, director of education, has agreed to adopt the suggestions of the United Fire Brigades’ Association to include in the school syllabus fire prevention lessons and fire drill.

A report received from the city engineer on the subject of the carrying out of some of the water department’s work by contract will be laid on the table at the meeting of the City Council. The report recommends that work in connection with the existing reticulation should be done by the department’s own staff, and that when a suitable opportunity arises of carrying out some extensive works suitable for execution by contract the matter be then considered.

Mr Justice Sim, sitting in Chambers on Friday granted probate in the following estates—Jesse Crust (Mr P. Lemon), James Alexander Park (Mr C. J. Payne), and Janet Wilson (Mr C. B. Barrowclough) .

According to the Dominion tenders for the erection of the new post office in Dunedin will be called either this month or next month.

An interesting report on the deerstalking conditions in the Manapouri district from Mr Eric M. Russell, was read at a meeting of the Southland Acclimatisation Society on Thursday night. I found the deer extremely plentiful,” Mr Russell, “ and quite apart from the deer actually seen, the whole country side, both flats and bush, showed evidence of the existence of great numbers of animals. However, throughout the the two weeks I spent in the locality, during which the whole block was thoroughly combed, I saw only one head which a stalker would be proud to have as a trophy. Two explanations occurred to me to account for this marked deterioration, and of the two inbreeding is undoubtedly the more tenable. To my mind the only way to improve the Manapouri herd would be to reduce drastically the number of animals and then introduce sires of desirable quality. I have used the word ‘ reduce ” rather than the term cull, as I do not think the latter term can be applied with accuracy to a deer herd in its wild state in New Zealand native bush. Culling can be effected by the stock breeder without difficulty, as by yarding the animals, he has opportunities of close observation and can easily ascertain and eliminate the unsuitable specimens. With deer in their native state the question of judging at a distance whether a young animal should be destroyed or preserved is often a matter of difficulty. In addition to this, I understand the usual method is to pay for destruction on a royalty basis, and having regard to the frailty of human nature there is a great probability that every animal within range will be destroyed regardless of whether it is a suitable specimen to perpetuate its kind. For these reasons, even if the number of animals is largely reduced, I think the same proportion of poor specimens will still be left to perpetuate their kind, and I am personally of the opinion that money spent in reducing will be absolutely thrown away unless it is intended to follow this up by the introduction of fresh animals of a suitable strain.”

For the purpose of conducting a comprehensive survey of the boot industry with a view to placing it on a sounder basis, Mr G. W. Clinkard, advisory accountant of the Department of Industries and Commerce, and Mr E. T. Spidy, superintendent of workshops for the Railways Department, arrived in Christchurch from Wellington on Tuesday morning The survey (says the Christchurch Star)' is being commenced in Christchurch. Mr Clinkard will inquire into the financial aspects of the industry, and Mr Spidy who has had extensive experience of faj tory layout and management, will deal with those aspects of the industry. Mr H. Duckworth, of the firm of Duckworth, Turner, and Co., is assisting in the investigation on behalf of the Boot Manufacturers’ Federation. The co-operation of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has also been promised in connection with the survey.

The keepers of the light on Portland Island (Hawke’s Bay) early on Thursday morning attracted the attention by means of a Morse lamp of the steamer Kahika, en route from Gisborne to Lyttelton (states a Press Association telegram from Napier) in order to get assistance for the wife of keeper Gaucer, who was seriously ill. At daylight Mrs Gaucer was taken off in a surf boat and brought by the Kahika to Napier for treatment. The incident once more brings forward the need for some sort of communication between Portland Island and the mainland.

There is a prospect that four little boys and the same number of girls who have travelled all the way from Bengal with their parents, may become eight good New Zealanders (says the Auckland Sun). The prospect of travelling across the Indian Ocean, transhipping in Australia and then crossing the turbn’nnt lasman —this sea more than maintained its reputation during the Maunganui’s trip—did not deter Mr and Mrs ~.

Cummsky, despite their large family. Away back in Bengal Mr Cummsky (wlio also brought Mrs M’Cormack, his mother-in-law, in addition to the eight little Cummskys), is an engine driver. At the moment he is enjoying IS months’ leave. He had heard so much about New Zealand, however, that he determined to bring the whole of his family to see the Dominion. If the prospect pleases—and there is every possibility that it will—there is every likelihood that the Cummsky menage will be established in New Zealand. The Cummskys have four sons. The outlook for boys in India is not particularly bright. It is even less attractive for girls. Therefore, Mr Cummsky came to the conclusion that New Zealand would have something better to offer.

It was advocated at the New Zealand Educational Institute Conference in Wellington last week that there should be established degrees of bachelor and master of education, forming a complete cultural course of status equivalent to the LL.B, and similar degrees. It was pointed out that training college students had to work for their certificates and degrees at the same time, with consequent breakdown in health. The degree examinations should include all the certificate subjects, the course being homogeneous and progressive. The value of the present M.A. degrees, several speakers maintained, was negligible to teachers. “ I have had one for years now,” declared one holder of an M.A. degree, “ and on any professional plane it has not raised me above hack level.”