NEWS ITEMS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12586, 17 October 1911, Page 8

NEWS ITEMS.

A bountiful copra season is being experienced m the German Island possession m the South Sea Islands. The steamers, it is said, cannot carry it all away. During the last two years some 20 companies have been formed to work new plantations.

Messrs Nicholls and Griffiths are exhibiting m tjieir window ah excellent design of a villa residence by Mr W. Whealen, architect. The house contains ten commodious rooms, with all necessary wardrobes and conveniences. The exterior is of a pleasing design, and an excellent harmony is maintained m ths two elevations shown. Those who are intending to build a home for themselves should take the first opportunity of viewing it.

The prospects for the coming tourist season m New Zealand are considered to be bright by Auckland touriat agents. The weather so far has been particularly fine, and there are already a fair number of visitors m the Dominion. In about a month's time the season will start properly, and as there are no counterattractions of any note m other parts of the M'orld, incoming vessels are bound to have long passenger lists. Anticipating a big influx, the larger city hotels are making provision for extra accommodation, and m Southern towns similar provision is being made.

An illustration of the destruction wrought by the teredo, a worm-like marine bivalve mollusc, has been presented to the Canterbury Museum by an Auckland professor. The illustration is a piece of stringer from a wharf m Auckland harbor. It was m position only for 14 months, but it is riddled m all directions with the teredo's borings. The creature bores m wood, usually m the direction of the grain, unless it meets the tube of another teredo or a knot m the timber. It attacks soft wood rapidly, but oil, teak, and other hard woods do not escape.

A fact not widely known is that the wireless apparatus on most, if not all. the intercolonial and island steamers belongs to some or other of the wireless companies. This matter of ownership is contrary to a very general Jbut inaccurate conception that the wireless installation belongs to the ship. The operator is nominally a member of the ship's crew, but he is m the employ of the Wireless Company actually as though he were employed at one of their shore stations. The charge for wireless messages is according to a fixed tariff rate, and is, conducted on a strictly cash basis.

In order that members of the Philatelic Society of New Zealand should have authentic information regarding Yhe proposed new issue of postage stamps, the hon. secretary of the society recently wrote to the Postmaster-General (Sir J. G. Ward) asking when the new stamps might be expected, and also for certain pai - ticulars regarding the method of printing that would oe adopted, etc. The following reply was received from the. Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department : — " . . . it is hoped the new issue of stamps will be ready within six months. . . . It is not m

tended that there shall be a London printing, as was the case with the pictorial issue. The stamps will be printed from steel plates, as at present, excepting the halfpenny and penny values. \lt has not been decided definitely whether the series will be complete."

By the Marama, two prominent figures m motoring circles m the persons of Messrs -Syd. Day and C. B. Kellow returned to Sydney after a towr of the world. Mr Kellow was "greatly impressed with what he saw of the automobile movement m Great Britain and America, particularly the latter country, where he states cars ore being turned out at the rate of 200,000 per annum. "America is simply motor mad," he states, "and there are as many ladies driving there as there are men m Australia." "Detroit is," states Mr Kellow, "the greatest motoring city m the world. But the American roads — they are terrible. The best roads I saw there were worse than the stretch between Albury and Seymour, m Victoria, and that is bad enough for anything." The motor industry is booming m England, and some of the firms, notably the RollsRoyce, are now booking orders for 1913. The manufacturers of the Wolseley car — the biggest motor concern m Great Britain— employ 5000 hands.

Lively, experiences have befallen some of the speakers who have addressed open-air metings m Ashburton, on the past "i'three; Saturday nights, under the attapioes- o£ the Ashburton No-license League. Qn tho Saturday before last 'the 'crowd was more hostile than pre-!-viously, v and the meeting culminated m 'an'- 1 uproar. The main speaker was the Rev; T. R. B. Wboloxall. There was qu^et for a few minutes after the opening^ remarks.; , The audience then began to'annoy the 'lecturer, and as the crowd gvew, .*so, did. the, offensive^ remarks, unffi' eventually the hooting and uproar jcould be heard, a long distance off. A section of his hearers was m sympathy >\j'ithV the: - speaker,. but the majority — ! rt'.i^d *" the loudest shoufcer — were evidently there with the intention of drowning his voice.. The lecture was punctuated with insulting remarks. Mr Woolloxall retorted i; on one or two occasions, but *th£se 'attempt^ had not the desired effect, ;aud Mere greeted with more on-prohibits'-'epithets/; and sometimes longcontinued hooting; and jeering. The climax was reached,- when Ensign Hiayman, of Salvation Army, took the platform £ and owing to an indiscreet reference to a late fatality he was soon forced>to abajndon an attempt to quieten the "crowd." .. Several of the elder portion ..of, the crowd rushed the improvised platform, and expressed their disapproval m language more forcible than polite, and at that stnge it appeared likely that the meeting would have a serious termination. However, an antiprohibition advocate saved the situation by mounting the platform, amd briefly -addressing the afreinblage. He narrated a story at the expense, of the No-license advocates, and sang a comic song, after which the crowd dispersed m an ordeirly manner.

"Beaumont" (or Lieut. Conneau, as his real name is), the winner of the £10,000 Daily Mail prize for the circuit of Britain air-race, made some interest?? ing observations on the use of the aeroplane during a. recent conversation with a representative of the Paris Temps. "The working of the aeroplane," he said, "is a delicate matter, it requires a special touch just like the working of a sailing boat. . . There is no magic m it; it 011I3' requires a little practice. But ia there a single aviator to-day who has had more than a year's practice — 'L men.n serio.is work! ... In ten years' tune we shall smile at our feat.s of to-day as an old car>tain of a sailing ship smiles when he thinks of the excitement of his first tack. The machines of to-day need to be perfected, but we need, above all, to learn to use them."

A most important speech, and one which has aroused great interest m all parts of the South African Union, was delivered by Mr R. W. Kotze, State Mining Engineer, before the Institute of Engineers at Johannesburg. Mr Kotze pointed out that South Africa's coal resources were bound to become of the greatest importance m their national ■life. They at present -were extracting some 7,000,000 tons of saleable coal m a comparatively wasteful manner. He estimated that if a area of' 5000 square miles' be taken as containing saleable coal, and an average thickness of 6ft be assumed, and 55 per cent, be assumed as extractable saleable coal, a total of 20,000 million tons was arrived at. That estimate would be regarded as moderate, and the point he wished to make was that they were possessed of the world's largest coal field, and the most valuable coal fields were situated on healthy uplands.

Archbishop Bourne, an English cleric, recently performed the unique ceremony of blessing a motor waggon, which" is to be used as a travelling chapel by the Catholic Missionary Society. * The ' archbishop was surrounded by a gathering of the clergy, and it is planned to use the travelling altar through a number of towns. The "chapel" is bnilt on the chassis of a Straker-Squire omnibus chassis, and m its furthermost interior is an altar at which ma?«i can be said. The motor van provides steps for the altar without causing the altar to be dwarfed, and thfe roof being raised to afford extra space. Small windows are fitted to the vertical section of the roof, so that a good light may be thrown on the altar. Through the open end of the \»n and from the windows at thei side the worshippers without can obtain a good view of the altar, and the services already held have proved its usefulness.

While m Australia, inquiries were made by the Mayor (Mr C. J. Parr) regarding the flotation of, loans for the Auckland City Council. On being asked upon his return whether he could make a statement on the subject, Mr Pansaid he found that m Australia the local bodies obtained their money on the local market. "For instance," \\s said, "the Syoney City Council is inviting tenders for a loan of £350,000 at 3£ per cent., and it expects to get the money at par. Brokers and financiers whom I consulted considered that the Auckland City Council loan would run a fair chance of being taken up by the Australian public at 4 per cent., but, of course, I did not do any business, it being my duty to consult the City Council first about a matter of that kind. The debentures are sold over the counter by the City Council m Sydney,* the public coming along and buying them. Already the Sydnej' City Council has borrowed over £1,000,000 m this way."

Mr A. R. Barclay, who has announced his candidature for Dunedin North fit the coming General Elections, has been on a visit to Wellington, and it has been obvious to his friends that he lias been threatened with some form of nervous breakdown. Strong-willed as usual, Mr, Barclay could not see his way to submit to the complete rest advised him. On Wednesday last his brother, Dr H. C. Barclay, who has been at the Medical Conference m Sydney, returned to Wellington and induced the ex-member for Dunedin North to place himself m tho hands of the medical profession for treatment. This Mr Barclay is now doing, and the' doctors say that, m a few weeks Mr Barclay will m all probability, be restored to his former vigor. Slowly accumulating worry over political matters is stated to be the cause of his illness, and it is thought that the temporary breakdown may prove a blessing m disguise by forcing the active and genial ex-member to take complete mental rest and treatment.

"Wax matches do cause a creat many files, said Superintendent Woolley of the Auckland Fire Brigade, to a reporter "but the root of the evil is the wooden house. New Zealand is wooden built from end to end. The so-called brick areas hardly deserve the name. In the majority of the houses a sparkin one room only needs three minutes' start, and the place is on a fair way to total destruction. They are built like timber stacks. Brick "buildings, as I have seen them m New Zealand, are far from being safeguards against "fire spreading. From the outside they seem quite fire-proof, but inside the ceilings and often the Jloors are wooden, while the walls ade covered with scrim and paper. The walls are varnished just as if they -were being prepared for a blaze. Wax matches can easily spread ruin. Here m New Zealand,"" continued the superintendent, "we have to watch both buildings and contents when fire breaks out. In most places the firemen have only £0 direct the hose on the contents. Adelaide, for instance, .is a brick built city. Brick houses there are brick houses — no wooden papered- walls, no flimsy partitions, no inflammable ceilings. Each room is a fire break. That is all seen to by stringent city by-laws and watchful inspectors." .