NEWS IN BRIEF.

Otago Witness, Issue 3958, 21 January 1930, Page 28

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Mr P. J. M’Lean stated at a meeting; of the Greymouth Harbour Board the? other evening that when visiting shipbuilders at Renfrew he had aarerta:ned that it would cost from £75,000 to £BO,OOO, to replace the dredge Mawhere. In conversation, one of the visiting Canadian bowlers remarked that if Roto-; rua were in Canada, no town would hold all the people who would come to live in it (says the Chronicle). Another remarked that the farmers in New Zealand had no work. In Canada, they had to' house their cattle for six months andf feed them, the following six months being; wholly occupied in growing feed under", strenuous conditions. He would recommend young men to see the land here and" the conditions of farming before starting; on the hard life of a farmer in Canada. ’

“ Though wages are high in America,’’ declared Mr D. F. Dennehy, of Christchurch, in an interview on his return from a trip abroad, “ the people seem to have difficulty in making ends meet, because so much credit has been given on time payment, particularly in respect oE motor cars, radio sets, and houses. It has been estimated that it will take ap-’ proximately two years for the population to clear off its present commitments. This statement has been made repeatedly by economists, and shows the extent of the credit system. Business people are going to extremes to prevent a crash which' generally follows, and in this ease have followed a collapse on Wall street.” A doctor’s certificate puzzled a complainant in an assault case heard in the Magistrate’s Court at Wellington on Tuesday, and it was also not clear to Subinspector Lander. “ Did you get a cerli*. ficate from the doctor at the hospital?’* the complainant was asked by Mr Lander. “ Oh, I got one all right,” replied the complainant, “ but it is all in Latin or something.” “ Read it yourself,” suggested the accused's counsel (Mr J. Meltzer) to the sub-inspector. Mr Lander took the certificate and started to read: “ I found him suffering from a contusion of the left eye, er, with . . .” but he got no further. “I think I shall leave it to your Worship,” said the sub-inspector to Mr T. B. M'Neil, S.M., with a smile, and the doctor's puzzling certificate was handed up to the magistrate.

That there is already a perceptible swing back from the talkies to the real stage, was the opinion expressed in an interview by Major R. Goddard, of Brighton, Eng? land, who was a passenger by the Makura from America to Sydney. Both his wife and daughter, he stated, were interested in a repertory season at Brighton last year, and he therefore made a point of feeling the pulse of the English? speaking world towards the legitimate stage wherever he went. In London he found that after the first hectic rush to the “ talkies,” they were losing their pull, and the legitimate stage seemed to be coming into its own again. In New York, too. during his fortnight’s stay there, he had found that at the 16 performances? he had managed to be present at, the business was good where the play wag worth it. The “ talkies ” had set out to crush the stage, but they could not do so; and, given good plays, the stage would hold its own the world over. It was too powerful a factor in the lives of the people, and must come back the world over, however attractive the clever? ness of mechanical production might prove for a time. The tender of a local firm in the sun? of £6855 has been accepted by the Nelsoij Hospital Board for the repair of earth? quake damage and the strengthening with steel ties of the hospital building. The chairman of the board (Mr F. W. O. Smith), in a statement outlining the efforts made by the board in respect to the damage and restoration of the hospital building, said that after the earthquake last June essential repairs were done immediately, over £5OO being spent on chimneys, roofs, and hospital services, in order that the work of the institution could be carried on with the least possible inconvenience. Some time ago the board had received notice that Cabinet had granted £5200 toward the work of pitting the building in an absolutely safe condition. The repair and strengthening contract would take £6855, and, in addi-

tion, £5OO had already been spent, making the cost of repairs £7400. The difference of £2200 between the two amounts would be obtained by a levy on the local bodies contributing to the board. The

actual cost of restoration would not be £7400, but the building was being strengthened.

Two young women in evening dress, evidently bound for a cabaret, got out of a car the other night in Queen street, Auckland, and walked across the road smoking freshly-lighted cigarettes, went into a Chinese fruiterer’s, made a purchase, puffing the while, and calmly walked back to the car. People turned round to look twice. Many Aucklanders will remember the mild thrill that shook the conventions when the first woman smoked a cigarette in a hotel lounge in the city (comments the Star). In the tea rooms the after-coffee cigarette is quite common, but convention dies hard, and we have yet to get used the female who openly smokes in the street. Like the young women going to the cabaret, she waits until the lamps are lit before she also lights up. But the women are getting on. When an overseas steamer arrives in Auckland the women (in the expensive parts of the ship at least) stroll along tha deck puffing away at their ‘‘ fags ” without a shadow of embarrassment. Some women at Home have even been known to toy with a cigar, but so far the women have left the men in the enjoyment of their odorous pipes. One could scarcely picture a well-seasoned briar in a vanity bag.