PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3888, 18 September 1928, Page 3

PASSING NOTES.

j(From Saturday’s Otago Daily Times.) Clown: —What is the opinion of Pythagoras concerning wild-fowl? Malvolio:—That the soul of our grandam might haply inhabit a bird. Clown: —What thinkest thou of this opinion? Malvolio: —I think nobly of the soul, and no way approve his opinion.— “ Twelfth Night.” To-day, if a New Zealander, Malvolio inight be of another mind. Along with the universal press and public he would think nobly of the aviators who within the space of . hours have crossed' the Tasman Tea from shore to shore, proving the possibility of being in Sydney for afternoon tea and in Christchurch next morning for breakfast. The thrills and throbs proper to witnesses of such an exploit would be his, as they are ours. A bird might wing the distance in the time—perhaps an albatross on mighty pens,—but a bird and none other. Then he would bethink himself that not for nothing are the brave men that Hew

the Tasman “ aviators ”; isn’t “ avis ” a bird? Malvolio would know enough Latin for that; and what is the machine that carried them but a gigantic bird, fashioned by art and man’s device? Thus would he perforce come to the opinion of Pythagoras xmcerning wildfowl—that the soul of our grandam, or the soul and body of her progeny, might haply inhabit a bird. And so say all of us. Kipling said this long ago, said <t picturesquely and with emphasis. Read “ With the Night Mail,” in his “Actions and Reactions.” The Night Mail, London to Quebec, glides out on the level from Highgate Receiving Towers, 300 feet high, just as the Bombay Mail is coming in, “ forty minutes late.” The air is thick with traffic, but the Night Mail’s path across England and Ireland is lighted right and left. Pointing to the broad Atlantic her nose-cap, “ worn bright as diamond with boring through uncounted leagues of hail, snow, and ice,” she launches into the inane, controlled in part by her miraculous bowrudder:— aise that all but invisible plate thpee-eighths of an inch, and she will yaw five miles to port or starboard e’-e she is under control again. -Give her full helm and she returns upon her track like a whip-lash. Cant the whole forward —a touch on the wheel will suffice—and she sweeps at your good direction up or down. Open the complete circle and she presents to the air a mushroom-head that will bring her up all standing within half a mile. The Night Mail Packet is a box of tricks; her miraculous bow-rudder is a detail. How does she fare in midAtlantic? Very much as she inight in mid-Tasman. ,

I permit myself another extract from Kipling: — K / A vortex has us by the beak and we dive down a two-thousand-foot slant at an angle (the dip-dial and my bouncing body record it) of thirtyfive. Our turbines scream shrilly; the propellers cannot bite in the thin air. Captain Tim drives her by sheer weight bullet-wise through the maelstrom till she cushions with a jar on an up-gust three t m.—id feet below. “Now we’ve'done it,” says George in my ear. “Look out for laterals, Tim: she’ll want some holding.” “ I’ve got her,” is the answer. “ Come up, old woman 1 ’’ She comes up nobly, but the laterals buffet her left and right like the pinions of angry angels. She is jolted off her course four ways at once, and cuffed into place again, only to be swung aside and dropped into a new chaos. We are dragged hither and yon by warm or frozen suctions, belched up on the tops of wulli-was, spun down fyy vortices and clubbed aside by laterals under a dizzying rush of stars in the company of a drunken moon. . . For all that and .11 that the Night Mail glides into its dock at the Quebec Receiving Towers as smoothly as an express train arriving at a terminal station; and twenty minutes before time. For us in New Zealand these things are prophetic.

We are acquiring the habit—and it is not at all a bad habit—of recalling forgotten birthdays. We observe centenaries, bicentenaries, tercentenaries, which at present is as far as we have got. Last year was the tercentenary of John Bunyan; this year is the bicentenar of Captain Cook, to whom New Zealand, as we know it, owes its place on the map. He rediscovered it, coming in the wake of Tasman who, twentyseven years earlier, had sighted it from his ship, but did not land. Captain Cook was the fust' European to land on

these shores and he lost no time in taking possession, hoisting the flag and proclaiming to the astonished “ Indians ” the sovereignty of King George 111. Not at all friendly, the astonished “ Indians ”, received his overtures at the spear point, nor did the explosion of firearms greatly dismay them. After some regrettable incidents better relations were established, Cook learning from the “ Indians ” that their country was “ Tovy-Poenammoo ” (!) and bestowing upon them hogs, and fowls, and potatoes, cabbages, and turnips. He circumnavigated “ Tovy-Poenammoo,” disproving Tasman’s supposition that it was part of Australia; he found the strait that divides the two principal islands; he noted and named every headland and hill along the coast line—on this east side, for instance, from Saddle Hill and Cape Saunders to Cape Brett and the Bay of Islands. All this in his ship . e Endeavour, of 370 tons. But in the paragraph below I make room for Shellback, nautical adviser to this column from of old.

Dear Civis, —A word or two about Captain James Cook, one of the finest seamen that ever trod a quarterdeck. When Cook struck New Zealand he had come by Cape Horn and the Pacific Islands. His ship, the Endeavour, of 370 tons, probably chosen by himself, but commissioned by the Admiralty, had been a collier and was old and slow. It would never have occurred to Cook that she was too small fof an exploring voyage in perilous seas among faery lands forlorn. Drake and the mariners of his time knocked about the world in vessels of half the size. The. Sancta Maria of Columbus, judging from models of her in American museums, may have been of 100 tons burden or thereabouts. I have gone round the Horn from the westward in a barque of 300 tons, a good sea boat, able to take care of herself in any weather. In all latitudes there are varieties of weather. I remember that on a mild and misty morning, when we were drawing up towards' Cape Stiff, I had the wheel in the forenoon watch, and, lifting up my eyes, saw the loom of land on our port beam. Nobody had noticed it. I didn’t sing out “ Land oh! ” but said to the mate, who happened to be near, “ There’s land over there, sir.” Land it was, Diego Ramirez, an outlier of the Horn, and we slid past before a gentle breeze. A day or two later, off the pitch of the Horn, running before a hard gale, we passed a smaller vessel—“ one of Brocklebank’s brigs ” was the foc’sle guess—trying to round the Horn against prevailing westerlies. A tough job; she would be a week about it, possibly weeks. That way came Cook in his 370 ton Endeavour. I have since passed the Horn under steam; but give me sail for choice. And a barky of- 300 tons would be big enough.

The Parliamentary event of the weekis the Licensing Bill—the Licensing Bill and confusion worse confounded. On both sides of the House and in the Cabinet itself are hon. membe who every day take their kindly glass of whisky, yet are under election pledges to vote for Pussyfoot. Aware of the poor figure they cut before the country, these unfortunates are petulant, touchy, hypersesthetic. Even the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition, unpledged though we must think them, are unable to escape the general contagion. On a matter about which one of them should know everything and the other nothing at all, they give each other the lie direct, or as near to it ,as the forms of the House permit. Then Sir Joseph Ward, unless badly reported, speaks witn a double voice. He has lately visited Canada where, on the liquor question, the people have escaped from captivity to Pussyfoot into a system of State control. Yet in Canada Sir

Joseph saw with pain somebody, man or woman, in possession of six bottles of whisky, no less. Shocking! Yes, and in Sir Joseph’s home town he might see the same thing or worse, — Invercargill, where there is No License and where No License does not mean No Liquor. Go to the official for that purpose appointed, and you may obtain six bottles of whisky or sixty, and may carry them home with ostentation. Yet* spite of his Canadian experience, Sir Joseph in a later speech, as reported, declared himself “ opposed to the elimination of the third issue”—State Control—“from t’-e ballot paper.” So where are we?

I am well aware that on the liquor question American and Canadian statistics are no sure basis for argument, and that testimonies concerning the doings of Pussyfoot in those countries, for and against, cancel each other. You get as many on e side as on the other. But if there is any one witness likely to speak the truth without fear or favour and whose word you can trust, it is an archbishop. Listen then for a moment to the Most Reverend. David Williams, Anglican Archbishop’ of Huron and Metropolitan of Ontario, on ‘ Government .Control of Liquor The moral effect has been altogether good: It has removed the temptations to subterfuge for the evasion of law. The young people no longer consider it “smart” to have a whisky bottle at parties—a custom unknown before prohibition days, but now happily passing away since there is nothing “ smart ” in having what everybody can get if they want it. So far as we can judge, the general sobriety has improved. There’ have been fewer convictions for drunkenness. Though the number of motors, both local and tourist, has • been nearly doubled in this province, the cases of drunken drivers have been actually less than under prohibition. . In face of the unwonted spectacle presented by the Eucharistic Congress in Sydney, and-ot its wondrous doings, Protestants near and' far stand at gaze, not to say aghast. In remote New Zealand it is not, ours to bare the head and bend the knee as the Host is borne past; yet in the cables and in our mind’s eye we see thousands of British people doing these things, men and w ,ien like ourselves. What shall we call it—superstition, fanaticism, hysteria? Speaking for myself, I am not oi the Papal obedience, —far from it. But it would be idle to pretend that I am not impressed—impressed and puzzled. In the Roman communion are men and women of intelligence and education, versed in history, in literature, even in science; yet they believe things which seem to be unbelievable. Do they really believe? May we not in charity suppose that to them religion means sacrifice, and that, as they conceive it, the highest sacrifice is the sacrifice of their reason? Anyhow, put it as you will, religion is a power. It was a power when at the call of a cloistered neurotic emerging from his cell, Peter the Hermit, princes and people by the hundred thousand marched across Europe from West to East on the mad errand of rescuing the Holy Places of Palestine froi. infidel Turks and Arabs. To come a long step down, it was religion as a power that stirred the whole British people to concern themselves in the revision of he Anglican Prayer Book ; —not only religionists of every shade and grade, but Jews, Turks, infidels and heretics, all of whom were represented in the membership of the House of Compions. Never was the House so crowded, the debating so animated, the feeling so tense, as °when the Prayer Book was under discussion. Unquestionably religion is a power; I suppose it behoves us to see that we have the right kind of religion. That is the lesson of Sydney. Civis.

Discusing the freight war from Canada to New Zealand and the fact that four steamers are now en route to the Dominion from Montreal all packed with merchandise, an Auckland merchant said: “ This does not mean that New Zealand consumers are going to receive the benefit. It is far more likely that importers are taking the opportunity of bringing in goods at cheap rates for storage until' the freight charges go back to normal. It is importers with capital enough to do this who will profit from the position.” He that the freight war was unfortunate, for it was bound to do harm to British trade. The fact was that goods arriving at cheap freight rates were not necessarily British goods made in Canada. American manufacturers in the big industrial area extending from Chicago up to Montreal were sending goods to Montreal for shipment at a cheap rate rather than to New York. Both New York shipping and industiy in the British Isles were suffering.

Included in the mail carried across the Tasman by the Southern Cross was a parcel of photographs addressed to the editor of the Otago Witness. The photographs portrayed the closing ceremonies of the Eucharistic Congress, and included a view of the imposing procession an.l the benediction in St. Mary’s Cathedral. A selection from these appears in to-day's issue of the Otago Witness, and possess the novelty of being the first photographs carried bj' air mail to New Zealand.

The special committee appointed by the Auckland Automobile Association to evolve a scheme by which cheaper petrol may be obtained by members, reported to the meeting on Wednesday night that tentative arrangements had been made with an oil-importing company, and advice was being awaited about shipment before any announcement would be made. For some time past the Canterbury and Wanganui Automobile Associations had supplied petrol to members at about 2d per gallon below the rates ruling at retail service stations.

In a letter resigning his position on the Immigration Committee of the Presbyterian Church, a member of the Wellington Presbytery has drawn attention to what he regards as most unsatisfactory wharf arrangements for those whose duty it is to meet and assist new arrivals by overseas steamers (says the Evening Post). The members of the Immigration Committee appointed to meet the immigrants arriving by the Corinthic, he said, at a meeting of the Presbytery, were “ refused admission to the wharf until the last second, being treated like ordinary curiosity-mongers instead of assistants in a Government enterprise. Until we assert ourselves, and demand the right to go out with the port official to the boat as she lies in the stream we can’t expect much real satisfaction. ’When the boat ties up these folk are too anxious about their luggage and the Customs and trains, etc., to be bothered with anything else.” In reply to a suggestion that representations be made to the Government, it was pointed out by members of the presbytery that official red-tape had hitherto been in the way of the facilities suggested being granted. A circular memorandum has been received by the Otago Land Board from the head of the department on the subject of the growing tendency to form private companies for the acquisition of valuable Crown leases. The Under-sec-retary points out that such an acquisition virtually removes the control of leases from the Land Board, as the land could change hands through a transfer of the shares in the company. There was also another aspect—namely, a risk that the department might be aiding au evasion of the stamp duties imposed by the Death Duties. Act. It was suggested that the board should take all reasonable steps to prevent such acquisition, and the board unanimously agreed to the suggestion. Advice has been received stating that the Government motor ship Maui Pomai’6 loaded 2000 cases of bananas at Apia early last week for Dunedin. This represents half the shipment loaded at the island port, the other 2000 cases being consigned to Lyttleton. The Maui Poinare left Apia on Tuesday evening for Niue Island and Dunedin. The vessel will probably supplement her fruit cargo at Niue. She is now expected at Dunedin on September 22, and is scheduled to sail the same day for Lyttelton, Wellington, and Auckland. ..Local fruit merchants are hoping that the Maui Pomare s cargo will come to hand in sound condition.

Are stocks and dies and vices the tools of trade of a plumber? When a tradesman was examined in bankruptcy in New Plymouth a few days ago it was stated that the deputy official assignee had been to Waitara, and, on the advice of a creditor with expert knowledge, had impounded these and other articles, regarding them all as stock. It was pointed out by the solicitor representing him that bankrupt, unless he had the tools named, could not obtain a position in Waitara; because the small plumbers there would expect him to be equipped. A creditor contended, however, that in distinguishing tools from stock the position should be governed by what the man would need were he to seek employment- with a big firm in New Plymouth. They should not consider what tools he would want to start in business on his own account. Against this, it was argued that without the implements the' man could not get work with small plumbers. A lawyer’s law books and a business man’s office safe would be regarded ass' tools of trade. Eventually it was generally agreed that stocks and dies and vices came under thii category.

As a result of the dismissal of men from relief works on the Port Chalmers and Main South roads, the number of applicants for employment who have called at the Labour Department’s office recently has become very much larger. There were only 124 names on the roll of unemployed on September 3, but during the following week no fewer than 113 fr«A applications were received. In ap&e of the fact that 25 men were found employment'and 44 failed to renew their applications and were struck off the roll the number of names on the books at the beginning of this week was 168. Officials of the Labour Department state that there is a probability that some men will be dismissed from the road works at Merton shortly, but from 25 to 30 men are to be placed on forestry work at Beaumont. , The Railways Department’s Suggestions and Inventions Committee dealt with 1739 suggestions during the past year, as compared with 1245 during the previous year. Of these, 131 were recommended for adoption either wholly or partly; 479 were referred to heads of branches for their consideration, or were already in operation, or related to matters of policy; 983 were rejected; and 146 were under trial or investigation at March 31. The total number of staff employed by. the New Zealand Railways on March 31, 1928, including those engaged on works chargeable to capital, was 18,584, and the average number actually at work throughout the year was 18,541, as compared with 18,458 in the previous year.

“ I think the junior high school system is an ideal system, but the whole question has simply been one of expense,” said the Minister of Education (Mr R. A. Wright) in the House of Representattives on Tuesday when replying to the debate on the annual report of the Department of Education.. “In the past,” the Minister added, “ I have refused, and I refuse now, to be concerned with the launching of any system unless the money is provided for it, as it would only mean starving other branches.”

Probate in the estates of the following deceased persons has been granted"by his Honor Mr Justice Adams:—William Alexander Sim, of Dunedin (Mr Sim) and Rachel Selina Reynolds, of Macandrew Bay (Mr P. Lemon).

Amongst the boats and launches that are being built at. Port Chalmers at present, special interest is being displayed in the 40ft cruiser launch on the stocks to the order of Mr J. T. Paul, president of the Otago Yacht, and Motor Boat Association. Handsome in appearance and complete in equipment, this new launch possesses certain structural features which are of special interest to the men who seek the saltwater for work or pleasure. Her six;-cylinder Gray engine, capable of developing 90 h.p., is one of the principal features. On the stocks near the "presidential ” launch is a new fishing boat for Mr J. Main, with a length of 41ft. This boat will be fitted with a locally-made engine, developing 16-18 h.p. Several other boats are on order.

The capital invested in railway lines open for traffic in New Zealand, including the steamers and plant on Lake Wakatipu and other subsidiary services, on March 31, 1928, was £51,187,376, compared with £4.9,183,916 on March 31,. 1927, representing an addition of £2,003,460 for the year. This amount includes £322,876, construction charges on lines taken over from the Public Works Department during the year; £197,974 expended on new works and charged against capital account under additions to open lines; and £1,482,G10 expended under the Railways Improvement Authorisation Act, 1914. It will be remembered that on April 30 last the North End Boating Club suffered the greatest calamity in the history of the. organisation when its boathouse was totally wrecked and the rowing boats practically destroyed by a strong north-east gale. Members rallied together quickly, and promises of support being quickly forthcoming from members of other rowing clubs and the general public, a meeting 'was held to proceed with the work of restoring the boathouse. Thanks to the efforts of a vigorous committee elected at this meeting, a considerable sum of money had been raised, with the result that the club will shortly take possession of a splendid new and commodious boathouse. The four-oar boats are on order both locally and in Australia, and at the opening of next season there will be no difficulty as regards “ fours ” in the boating of members. All going well, the club should, before the close of the season, be in possession of a club house and plant which will be second to few in New Zealand.

Numerous alterations and adjustments have been made to the train services during the year to meet the ever-changing trend of traffic, says the Minister of Railways (Mr J. G. Coates) in the course of his annual Statement. A notable feature was the recent inauguration of night expresses between Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill. These night trains are being increasingly patronised by the general public and business community, and meet the long-standing demand of the South Island for facilities for night travel. In addition to providing increased passenger facilities for these expresses, it has been found possible to .use them to expediate the transit of urgent parcels and perishable traffic between the long distance centres, and the business community is taking full advantage of the quicker transport provided for these classes of traffic. The South Island night expresses also provide opportunities to improve the business relations between the two islands by providing an interval in Christchurch between train arrival and steamer departure, or vice versa, in which travellers going further afield may have a few hours at their disposal for business or pleasure.

With a view’ to providing increased facilities for railway passengers, it is proposed to open suburban booking offices in the larger towns for the purpose of issuing passenger tickets, reserving seats, and dealing with parcels traffic. Where the traffic warrants it the offices will be staffed by members of the Railways Department’s permanent staff; in some cases the work will- be undertaken by the permanent officials of the Postal -Department, while in certain suburbs the work will be carried out by the postmasters who are not permanent officers of the Postal Department and who will be remunerated by the Railways Department on a percentage basis. It is also proposed to open tourist booking offices in the larger towns which are not at present served by the Tourist Department. Railway Department officers will be in a position to book inclusive tours for rail, road, hotel accommodation, etc. Good progress has been made with the railway workships reorganisation scheme, involving the building of new workshops at Otahuhu and Hutt Valley, and the remodelling of existing v’orkshops at Addington and Hillside' (says the annual reJ><?rt of the Board of Management). The work of reorganising the smaller shops and depots has also been commenced. Although the programme for the larger shops is, generally speaking, about nine months late, due to the delay in supplying the structural steel from the contractors in England, the progress of the main buildings generally has been satisfactory. All the necessary plans and specifications for the various items in connection with the undertaking have been completed. About two-thirds of the necessary material is on the site, and about the same amount of work has been completed. Commitments amounting to about 80 per cent, of the total undertaking have been made, while a little more than half of the authorised expenditure has been paid out; The machinery as it has been ordered has proved satisfactory, and is at the present time being installed in the new workshops. The work- of putting down floors and providing ways and means for the occupation of the new workshops is well in hand, and it is anticipated that the whole undertaking should be in good working order by the end of the present financial year.

A picturesque personality in the Methodist Maori party to visit New Plymouth in connection with the celebration of the 106th anniversary of the establishment of the Methodist Maori Mission is Te Aho-o-te-Rangi Pihama (says the Taranaki Daily News). He is the nineteenth descendant in the direct male line from Hotura, the chief who brought the ancestors of the Waikato tribes to New Zealand in the Tainui canoe. He is a close relation of the Maori king (Te Rata Mahuta) and carries with him one of the king’s.taiahas■ as a sign of the king’s approval of his mission. Chief Te Aho is an outstanding orator. He Speaks in his own language and is accompanied •by an interpreter. - ■

A recent inquiry brought to light the information that the number of Jews in Auckland is 848, of whom 443 are males. That city ranks second to Wellington, which totals 896. Both Auckland and Wellington far outnumber Christchurch and Dunedin, which have a Jewish population of 182 and 190 respectively. The Dominion total is 2591, an increase of 211 over the five-year census period from 1921 to 1926. In ordinary passenger journeys there has been a continuous decline since 1921 (says the retiring report of Mr F. J. Jones (chairman of the Railway Board of Management), which is attached to the Minister’s annual Statement. No doubt a large portion of this decline is due to motor bus competition, but a much greater proportion is due to the large increase in the number of private motor cars. This is borne out by tallies that have been taken at different places. For instance, in February last a tally on the Great South road between Ngaruawahia and Hamilton showed that of 5165 motor vehicles 4274 were private cars; and out of a total of 17,000 persons travelling in these vehicles only 2500 were carried in heavy motor buses, service cars, etc. Again, on the ’ Hutt road a week’s tally gave the following figures:— Total motor vehicles 29,500, of which about 20,000 were motor cars, 2500 motor cycles, and the balance niotor buses or motor lorries.

An innovation is being introduced on the railways in the shape of organised tours by rail for business men. Arrangements have already been made with the Chamber of Commerce at Auckland -for the running of a cruising train. The journey will occupy about nine days. The train will be made up of sleeping and lounge cars, and every possible comfort will be provided. Such articles as shaving mugs, collar studs, buttons, hot water bottles, simple medicines, etc., will be provided, and telephones will be installed at the stations where the train is standing for any length of time. Meals will be served on the train or in refreshment rooms, whichever is the more satisfactory. A stenographer will travel with the train for the convenience of business men. Generally speaking, the running of the train will be an effort by the department to offer a tour de luxe at a very reasonable outlay. A party of five student-farmers who are touring the Empire to see the conditions of farming for themselves arrived at Wellington by the Makura. They are Messrs Smailes, sen., and Smailes, Plutte, Rex, and Kelsey, and they will spend 15 days in the- Dominion. They are investigating the possibilities of Empire migration under the overseas settlement Scheme fostered by Mr L. S. Amery (Secretary of State for the Dominions) . They have already visited South Africa and Australia,

“ I am a great believer in the movement for church union,” said Dr F. W. Burnham, noted worker for the Church of Christ, in the United States, who is at present visiting Auckland. “I believe the Boy Scout movement is one unifying force between Protestantism and the Church of Rome,” he added. “ Dignitaries of the Catholic Church are forbidden to take part in round table discussions, but many of them are intensly interested in the Boy Scout movement in the United States. On my way to New Zealand, I travelled with a number of priests bound for the Eucharistic Congress. One of them was prominently connected with the Scout movement in New York, and at once we had a common ground of friendship and understanding.” Dr Burnham is a member of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr James Aitken, a retired schoolmaster, who was marched out of Cook’s Gardens by a police sergeant on the occasion of the Duke of York’s visit, in front of a crowd of 20,000, and who sought redress in Parliament without result, has now forwarded a petition to the King. The petition is made out in triplicate and that for his Majesty contains actual photographs of the Duke and Duchess which Mr Aitken snapped on that occasion, when, it is alleged, he was making a nuisance of himself. He sets out in the petition that the Duchess actually paused for him on one occasion in order that he could obtain a photo, and this certainly Seems to be borne out by the picture attached to the petition. In it the Duchess is seen to be facing Mr Aitken’s camera arid smiling. Included in the Railway Statement, which was presented to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, is the retiring report of Mr F. J. Jones, chairman of the Board of Management. In the closing section of his report Mr Jones says: “ I feel it a duty I owe to the staff to place on record my deep appreciation of the good service that is rendered by all ranks, often dnder difficult conditions, in an endeavour to get the best results. The past few years have been strenuous ones. The many phases of reorganisation have affected all branches and all ranks. In a service of the magnitude of the New Zealand Railways it is no light task to reorganise on the scale that has been attempted. In all cases the staff has arisen to the occasion. In severing my connection with the service, I have the satisfaction of being able to report that the lines of railway' rolling stock, and equipment are generally in very good condition.” According to the annual report of the Board of Management of the New Zealand railways the total amount of interest paid during the past year was £2,130,867. The net earnings for the year, however, amounted to £1,839,415 only, leaving a deficit on the year’s working of £291,452. Interest charges represent 4s 11.99 d out of every 20 shillings of revenue earned. With the advent of summer preparations are now being made for the opening of the boating season on Otago Harbour. Yachtsmen, motor boat owners, and oarsmen are all turning their attention to the water, and already boats of all descriptions are under preparation for the season’s activities. A number of new speed boats, and at least two or three large and modern pleasure launches will make their appearance on the harbour before the end of the year. The various boating clubs have made arrangements for the holding of annual meetings, and when these have been disposed of and new delegates appointed, the Otago Yacht and Motor Boat Association will hold its annual meeting. In view of the cabled- report that a wireless plant is to be set up at Pitcairn Island, the following story is of interest (states the Wellington'- correspondent of the Lyttelton /Times): —Some months ago. a Wellington land and estate agent was asked to dispose of a residential property by a man who went to Pitcairn Island for a holiday. Owing to want of elasticity as to the terms, the agent found it necessary to communicate with the owner when a purchaser appeared, and, as Pit lsland was not on the wireless list he had to write concerning the particu lars. He asked for a reply by wireless through the medium of any ship that might call. A month went past, and then “ out -of the blue ” came the instruction to sell. The message was sent out in the first instance by the steamer City of Batavia. It was picked up by the Coptic, and sent on to the Rotorua, which broadcast it to Auckland. There it was picked up and sent to Wellington. -Dealing with the subject of motor competition, the annual report of the Railway Board of Management states that the road transporters are becoming more and more active, and have to some extent secured a proportion of the higher rate traffic which formerly went by rail. The ✓ advisability of the department taking up motor transport for the carriage of goods in a number of localities has been explored, but there is no area so far as can be seen where there is a reasonable prospect of success in competition with our present competitors. A close analysis has been made of the. activities of opposition motor concerns and many must be running at a loss, and there are numerous cases of these motor firms going into bankruptcy, but others seems to be always prepared to take up the runing. With-respect to the passenger traffic, the department has taken over a number of bus services throughout New’ Zealand, but so far only in localities where a decided saving in the train running costs can be effected by the adoption of road transport for the conveyance of passengers. The large number of school children to be carried makes the extension of this system more difficult than would otherwise be the case.

The number of ordinary passengers carried on the railways during the past year,was 9,299,157, a decrease of 1,005,908 compared with last year; 590,800 passengers were carried at holiday and other cheap excursion fares, and 211,862 children and adults at schools, factories, and friendly societies’ excursion rates. The total excursion traffic for the year was 802,662 passengers and £353,111 revenue, compared with 910,796 passengers and £384,184 revenue the previous a decrease of 108,134 passengers and £31,073 in revenue. The decrease is due to the large number of school children carried to various centres last year in connection with the visit of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York. The total number of passenger journeys for the year was 25,379,665, as compared with 26,002,137 for the preceding year. Every first class seat earned £36 13s and every second class seat £29 4s during the year, the-total seating accommodation provided being 19,618 first class and 49,075 second class seats. Some time ago the matter of commemorating the departure from Plymouth. England, of the barque William Bryan, with the first batch of emigrants for New’ Plymouth in 1840, was the subject of a letter from the New Plymouth Rotary Club to the Plymouth Rotary Club. The matter was revived last week, when Rotarian W. J. Penn informed the Rotary Club that he had received a letter from Mr R. Whitley, of the Plymouth Rotary Club, conveying the information that investigations were being made with a view to ascertaining which quay the William Bryan sailed from. If this can be satisfactorily determined, it is intended to place a memorial tablet on the quay commemorating the event.

According to a statement just issued by the general manager of New Zealand Railways (Mr H. H. Sterling) there have been indications recently of a definite improvement in both operating efficiency and the general financial position, to which both the public and staff have contributed. Although complete particulars were not available of the four-weekly period ended August 18, it was clear that the revenue was better by approximately £29,000 than for the corresponding period last year. That was accounted for partly by the spring vacation excursions and partly by the better patronage afforded the goods services. The July figures show that while the number of passengers travelling on ordinary tickets decreased by 22,000, the number of season ticket passengers increased by 34,000. The goods traffic increased by 35,000 tons, and the goods revenue by £21,000. Substantial increases were shown in live stock, meat, wool, grain, and potatoes, fruit, dairy produce, fodder, agricultural lime, coal, road metal, timber and benzine, while the traffic in imported merchandise, flax and flax fibre, and cement decreased. The principal sectional goods revenue increases were: Gisborne, 23 per cent.; South Island main lines, 14 per cent.; Westport, 15 per cent.; Nelson, 24 per cent.

Under the caption of “ Dunedin’s Good Example,” the Dominion of Tuesday has the following:—“Dunedin sets every other city in New Zealand a splendid example in the manner in which it publishes in book form ‘the full reports of the whole of its departmental heads, so that the publication becomes a permanent record of the year’s work. In the case of Wellington, a handy year book is published which gives in a brief, concise form, the municipal history of the city, its finances, reserves, and activities, but it does not pretend to give a detailed account of the year’s work such as is so 1 admirably set out in the Dunedin municipality’s publication. Naturally, when every departmental head is called on for a report, and that report is published in full, the whole range of the year’s activities goes on permanent record in a manner easily accessible to every citizen. The publication just to hand includes the reports (for 1927-28) of the town clerk and secretary of the Dunedin Drainage Board, the city treasurer, city engineer, superintendent of reserves, librarian, gas engineer, city electrical engineer, and tramways manager. There are also'the full balance sheet (general account) for the past year, with separate accounts for each department; accounts of the visits of eminent people, and some interesting graphs of photographs setting forth Dunedin’s growth. The model is an excellent one for other cities to follow.”

The attention of Squadron-Leader Kings-ford-Smith and Flight-Lieutenant Ulm was arrested at the reception accorded them by the Mayor of Christchurch on Wednesday morning (says our special correspondent) by the sight of a lady who wore the military cross, the distinguished flying cross, and the air force cross, and they sought an early opportunity of conversing with her, as also did Major T. Director of Air Services, and Captain J. L. Findlay, officer-in-charge of the Wigram Aerodrome. She was Mrs Nuttall, mother of Captain F. Nuttall, a famous New Zealand airnun, who served with distinction through the war, and later met his death in Mesopotamia. Mr F. W. Waite, M.P., has forwarded the following letter to the Minister in charge of the Forestry Department (Mr 0. J. Hawken) “On Saturday, September 1, at a very full meeting of sawmillers in the Gatlins district, the following resolution was carried, and I now forward it for your information: ‘The Conservator of Forests and his assistants in the Otago and Southland districts are giving every satisfaction, and this meeting of sawmillers would like this appreciation put on record, and communicated to the Minister-in-charge of the Forestry Department'’"

When the New Zealand forests vanish it might be profitable to start to mine for timber. The diversion of the Waikato River at Arapuni uncovered an ancient forest. Some specimens of the timber have been secured by the secretary of the Auckland Timber Workers’ Union (Mr E. J. Phelan), and samples of black maire, totara, and rimu are just as sound as they were when a forest flourished on the Arapuni Plain. In addition (says the Auckland Star) Mr Phelan has secured samples of some of the South Sea Islands timbers. One, loablo, grown in the Solomon group, is very heavy, as is kiola, another timber from that group. Samples of kauri grown in the Solomons are hard to distinguish from that grown in the Auckland province. “We are anxious to learn all we can about air conditions above the Tasman,” said Flight-Lieutenant Ulm at the citizens’ luncheon in Christchurch yesterday afternoon (reports our special correspondent), because if we still think the same about it when we have gone back we have it in mind to talk to your Government and to our own Government about the possibilities of a regular service across the Tasman.” We believe it is possible. You could not start it tomorrow. It might take two years of organisation to prepare for it. A special type of flying boat with a range of at least 2000 miles and the ability to climb to about 15,000 feet would have to be developed. We are sure that if the Southern Cross could have reached an altitude of 15,000 feet we would have missed most of the really bad weather on the crossing.” New Zealand mails which were despatched from Wellington by the Maunganui on August 14 for the United Kingdom, via San Francisco, reached London on September 11.