TOPICS OF THE TIMES

Southland Times, Issue 25314, 18 June 1935, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE TIMES

“Dream House” Planned. The British Electrical Association for Women, which set out a little over ten years ago to make women electricityminded and, by the skilful use of electricity in the home, to help them to eliminate the more unpleasant forms of drudgery from household work, has just undertaken a new task. This is to design a house that every woman will desire. All the ingenuity and accumulated experience of the association is to go into the planning of this dream house, which is to have the maximum amount of comfort combined with the minimum of work. The selling price is not to be more than £lOOO, this price to include electrical equipment and a certain amount of built-in furniture. Bristol is to be the home, of this first exhibition house, which, it is hoped, will prove so popular that it will be adopted by builders in all parts of the country. _

“Spiritual Murder.” Prebendary H. W. Hinde, Principal of Oak Hill Theological College, London, speaking at the Oxford Conference of Evangelical Churchmen, said:—“There is little sense of sin to-day ,and where it is found it is often explained as morbidity ox- neurasthenia, and is regarded as an interesting opportunity for psycho-analysis. To tell a man that sin does not really matter, that it is natural, and, therefore, there is no need to be disturbed about it, approaches spiritual murder.” The Bishop of Leicester, on the same occasion, said:— “There are 17,000,000 persons in this country who are not in touch with any Church. lam afraid there are a number of clergy who have no Gospel that they can preach with assurance. There is a dangei- of the half-red churches."

Gallipoli Retrospect. In a review of the Gallipoli campaign twenty years after, the Morning Post concludes:—lf we were to trace the failure to its roots, we should probably find it in the lack of means adequate to the enterprise. Every soldier, Lord Kitchener knew, was needed in France. He agreed to the attack unwillingly on the representation that it might be done by the Navy alone; when the Navy failed he was still reluctant to risk the Army. He held back the 27th Division. It might be all that was said for it, but the Army in France faced the Germans; France'’ was invaded, Belgium occupied by the enemy, the West was the main and the critical theatre of war. It is stated in the Turkish official account that up to February 25, 1915, “the capture of the Straits by land troops would have been comparatively easy”; but the Straits were in reality protected by the German armies in. France. As was said, however, by Frederick the Great, “If we all knew before a battle, as much as we know after its conclusion every one of us would be a great general.” Where there is no controversy is as to the conduct of the troops, not the Australians and New Zealanders alone, but the British and Irish also, and we might add the Turks as well, it is something to the credit of humanity that so many men should have been found willing to endure an ordeal so terrible that it might have been put beyond the limits of endurance.

Cabinet meets on Wednesday to consider the depositions and the Judge’s charge to the jury and the report of the Judge in the Price case. Next day the Executive Council will . decide whether the sentence should be interfered with.—Wellington Press Association message.

Last evening the Dominion Meteorologist issued the following information: Pressure is very low over New Zealand, a cyclone being centred west of Cook Strait, while a westerly depression is passing in the south. Forecast: Winds westerly north of Auckland, but elsewhere north-east to north prevailing, of force light to moderate; a change to south-westerlies probable within the next 24 hours, with force rapidly increasing. Seas in New Zealand waters Smooth to moderate in parts of the coastal waters on the east coast.- and elsewhere becoming rough. Eastern Tasman Sea; Winds becoming southwesterly, and of strong to gale force, with rough to high seas. Weather cloudy to overcast and in places misty or foggy; rain at times all districts, and snow on the high levels of the South Island.

The following additional donations to the Mayor’s fund for crippled children are acknowledged: R, McK., £1 1/-; “A.G.H., £1 1/-; “J.H.,” £1 1/-. It is announced that as a result of a public appeal for the City Mission, a total of £2421 has been raised. Of this sum £5OO was contributed by the Government. —Wellington Press Association message.

A sedan car driven by Mr J. Kiddy, of Hamilton, collided with a cow on a road at Ngarua, Waikato, one night last week, and was so badly damaged that it had to be towed to a garage by a breakdown vehicle. The cow had run across the track of the car and could not be avoided.

“I have honestly tried,” said Canon Percival James in an address at Wanganui, "but failed to find what weather is really suitable for church-going. For in summer it is too hot, in winter too cold; when it is wet, of course, we cannot go, and when it is fine we need a breath of fresh air.”

On Saturday, Mr F. Sutton, a subsidy miner, found a nugget weighing 9 ounces 15 pennyweights on his claim at Prospector’s Creek, Mahakipawa. This nugget is worth about £75 and is twice the size of any of the nuggets found in this district in (lie last two years, states a Blenheim Press Association message.

The suggestion that considerable sums of money might have been lost by investors on Monday of last week through the breakdown in telegraphic communications was made by a Christchurch sharebroker. He stated that it had been impossible to get in touch with Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and even Timaru, and much business that would otherwise have been contracted had not been done.

An inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of an elderly man named Richard Goomes, residing at Bluff, who was admitted to the Southland Hospital on Sunday suffering from wounds in the throat and who died in the evening, was opened before the Coroner (Mr W. H. Freeman, S.M.) yesterday afternoon. After evidence, of identification had been given, the inquest was adjourned sine die.

That there will be an early spring this year is deduced by a Wellington aviarist, who states that some of the canaries he owns are already mating. The same fact has been noticed by other keepers of birds with whom he has conferred. The usual mating season is not until October. Further evidence of unusual climatic conditions is afforded by a horticulturist who has a nectarine tree about to bloom, despite the earliness of the season.

The weekly meeting of the W.E.A. literature class was held in Everybody’s Hall last evening when there was a representative attendance over which Mr I. L. Petrie presided The threeact play, "Men In White,” by Sidney Kingsley, which deals with life in a large hospital, was read by members of the class. As this play consists of nine scenes and requires no fewer than 28 characters, it offered unusual scope to the readers.'. Next Monday evening, “Twelfth Night,” will be read.

In the Maintenance Court yesterday, before Mr W. H. Freeman, S.M., Harry Frampton, for disobedience of a maintenance order, was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment, A like sentence was imposed in the case of William Alfred Dawson (similarly charged). Joseph Doe was sentenced to 14 days’ imprisonment, the warrant to be suspended so long as current maintenance is paid and the sum of £5 also paid within one month on account of the arrears of maintenance.

An unenviable experience befell Miss E. Reid, of Otara, Opotiki, as a result of which she is now suffering from severe burns and shock. She was bending over a kitchen fire adding coal when a startling explosion occurred. Miss Reid was severely burned on the face, hands and arms. Apparently some explosive had been left in the coal. The room became filled with smoke, but Miss Reid was able to telephone to, neighbours. The latter immediately assisted hex- and procured a doctor, who attended to her injuries. She is now progressing favourably.

A child named Eileen Graham; aged 12 years, who resides at Castlecliff, has been admitted to the Wanganui Hospital suffering from the effects of a bite by a katipo spider. Apparently the spider came into the house in a piece of wood and eventually made its way into the child’s stocking. Katipos, which have been fairly numerous at Castlecliff Beach this past summer, have. sought various places for shelter and warmth during the colder seafson, and rotten or broken wood affords them excellent places of retreat. A red stripe on the back distinguishes these spiders from the, ordinary species. The katipo’s bite is poisonous, and the symptoms following an attack are smarting pains at the site of the bite, pains in the back, and shivering.

Some Maori footballers in the past have sported names which sounded queerly in pakeha ears. Thus there is Paraire (Friday) Tomoana, the great Hawkes Bay half-back of the late eighties and early nineties. Wenerei (Wednesday) Rika, one of the All Black, side which toured Australia in 1929, was another whose parents fancied the days of the week for their offsprings’ "given” names, states the New Zealand Observer. But S. Reid, the 15st Hawkes Bay forward, who is a member of this year’s team for England, has a Chx-istian name far surpassing these in originality. Reid is usually known as “Tori,” which might easily pass for pukka Maori, but is really short for “Sanatorium,” which was the magnificent handle bestowed upon him at his baptism.

How Japan disposed of 3,500,000 unemployed in about five, years was briefly explained by Dr. Kagawa at Dunedin on Saturday evening. In the first place the family was held responsible for its members, and when labourers found themselves out of work they also found themselves under the necessity of returning home. This generally meant leaving the cities and going back to the land. About 3,000,000 unemployed went back to the farms of their families, and the cost to the Government was about £4,000,000 a year. Then came a paper currency and a flight from gold, and the yen depreciated in value by about 45 per cent. The Governhxent also issued annually national bonds to the value of 600,000,000 yen, and as a result the industrial output was swelled to such a*n extent that the unemployed were soon reabsorbed.

At the All India—Southland hockey match at Rugby Park on Saturday the collection taken up in aid of the Indian earthquake relief funds amounted to £35 11/4. In yesterday morning’s issue the total was given as £l5.

While emptying a bowl in which some goldfish were kept, a Palmerston North citizen the other day was chagrined to see one of his "pets’ disappear with the water down the gully trap. He thought it was destined for an untimely demise in the city’s sewerage system. Imagine his surprise twelve hours later to discover the tiny creature disporting itself in a nearby gutter. Unknown to the pisciculturist, the drain was purely a stormwater one, and led out into the water channel along the footpath.

“New Zealand business men stand alone in their preference for starting boys in business at the age of 14 rather than taking boys who have had postprimary education,” said Mr D. M, Rae, principal of the Auckland Training College, speaking at a luncheon of the Auckland Creditmen’s Club last week. “In America particularly the aim is to raise the age for continued education to 18 at least, and business men prefer to give opportunities to boys with greater training rather than to adolescents. New Zealand definitely stands apart from the rest of the world in this respect.”

The movement to have a fixed date for Easter was again at a meeting of the council of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last week. Mr A. G. Lunn said that in England legislation fixing the date of Easter had been passed some time ago, but had not been enforced. Similar action should be taken in New Zealand so .that the fixed date could become uniform. It was decided to ask the Associated Chambers of Commerce to bring the matter before the Government, together with a request that saints. days should be eliminated from the list of bank holidays.

After trying out the experiment . for twelve months, the vestry of All Saints Church, Nelson, has decided to revert to the old system of handing round the offertory plate instead of receiving offerings of the people in a box at the church door. Though the latter represents, perhaps, a more idealistic method, in practice it breaks down particularly with regard to visitors and strangers who are not used to the custom. The vestry for some personal reasons, regrets having to revert to the old and more generally-used method, but found after trying it out for twelve months that the work of the church was being severely handicapped through a big drop in income.

Two passengers proceeding from Wellington to Sydney by the Union Company’s liner Monowai on Friday are very lucky to have their luggage with them. The ship was all ready to sail at 3 o’clock; in fact, her last bow line was just being cast off when the passengers in question remembered that they had left their luggage in the Lyttelton Ferry shed. A request was made to hold the sailing of the vessel until they had retrieved their belongings, and the couple hurriedly left the vessel for the Queen’s Wharf. About fifteen minutes later they returned complete with a retinue of baggage carriers and hastened aboard the Monowai, which got under weigh a few moments later.

Although a recent cabled report from Munich stating that an eminent German chemist claimed that Germans could subsist on a diet of sawdust and sap and dress in birch bark in the event of another war did not occasion undue interest in sawmilling circles in New Zealand, it has recalled the use of sawdust as food in the Dominion. A resident of Wellington states that some years ago an enterprising engine-driver at a country sawmill established a fairly large flock of ducks, and augmented his earnings by selling eggs and poultry to the other mill hands. However, he found the monthly bill of bran and pollard something of a hurdle, and to reduce overhead expenses commenced to dilute the ducks’ rations with 50 per cent, of sawdust. Others who knew of the practised on the ducks were astonished when the birds continued to thrive on their changed diet, but the owner merely claimed that he had discovered how to supply the “roughage” picked up by ducks in their natural state, and consequently necessary to them. “There may have been quite an amodnt of logic in his contention,” the relater of the incident commented to a reporter. “The episode certainly seems to offer an avenue for experiments in the higher utilization of forest products.”

When the weather is cold, “DEWAR'S WHISKY.”—Advt.

Corsets and Corselettes famous for high quality and low price. Corsets 3/6 to 16/6. Corselettes 3/6 to 14/6 at MISS NOBLE’S, Dee Street.—Advt.

Girls’ Winceyette Night Dresses, 30, 33, 36 and 39 inch at 1/11, 2/3, 2/6, 2/9. —Wicks’ Ltd., Cash Drapers, Dee St. —Advt.

Newest Suits and Overcoats at big reductions at Carter’s Rebuilding Sale. All makes of Blankets at Bargain prices. Stock has to go to make room tor builders. (Advt.)

Warm woollen jumpers and cardigans are being cleared at sacrifice prices by THOMSON AND BEATTIE during Stocktaking Period; 5/-„ 7/6, 10/6, 19/6 buys winter comfort that would cost double in the ordinary way. See these woollens displayed in the showroom.— Advt.

Reading and travelling, the fumes and germ-laden atmosphere of townlife, the cinema, the constant irritation of tobacco smoke—all these take a heavy toll of your eyes. Is it any wonder that they often feel dull, hot and heavy, that they , get inflamed, and water easily, that eye headaches are so frequent. You -can relieve these troubles with OPTRINE. This safe and gentle tonic lotion cleanses the eyes of all impurities, soothes away soreness and irritation, and keeps your eyes clear, alert and vigorously healthy. 3/- per bottle, GEO. H. BROWN, Dispensing Chemist, 125 Dee Street.—Advt.

To our many customers who bought Fur Coats from us, we would like to remind them that our guarantee covers the following: Removing buttons or ties, new elastic loops, resetting buttons or sewing up slits. This work is done for nothing. We do not charge 5/- as rumour has it. Our workroom staff is at your service at all times. For all repairs and renovations, give us a trial.—The Mutual Fur Coy, Tay Street. —Advt.

For WINTER PHOTOGRAPHY. Make sure of GOOD NEGATIVES by using only the better fiIms—SELOCHROME, VERICHRCME OR ISOCHROME—then make sure of GOOD PICTURES by leaving your films at STEWART’S PHARMACY for DEVELOPING and PRINTING.—Advt. PEACE PREPARATIONS. For those who suffer from sleeplessness due to night coughing—here is the best preparation for "a peaceful night. Take a little Baxter’s Lung Preserver in warm water before retiring. “Baxter’s” is a rich, warming, soothing compound that soothes and protects sore and inflamed tissues of the throat and bronchial tubes, clears away congestion and permits free, healthy breathing. But it must be “Baxter’s.” Three sizes, 1/6, 2/6 and 4/6 at all chemists and stores.—Advt.

“There is one great boon to consuls who are accredited to British countries,” said Mr W. F. Boyle, United States Consul, speaking at the annual dinner' of the Auckland Consular Corps. “They have no need to trouble when a fellow-citizen falls into the meshes of the law, for they know that he will re-, ceive British justice, than which there is none better in the world.”

-The future position of the Maori Bishop is to be decided at a-conference to be held at Ohinemutu on July 25, to which all Maori clergy and laymen from each Anglican parish have been invited. The position was explained to a recent meeting of Maoris on the east coast by the Bishop of Aotearoa (the Right Rev. F. A. Bennett), who stated that the coming conference would decide among other things whether- the Maori Bishop should remain suffragan to the Bishop of Waiapu or be founded on the scheme propounded by General Synod in 1934, whereby the Maori Church would be converted to the jurisdiction of a special committee or have complete autonomy in all matters.

There are indications that the Waitaki hydro-electric dam has this year prevented the great bulk of the salmon run from reaching the cold, snowfed tributaries where they have been accustomed to spawn. Examination of such rivers as the Ahuriri and the Dobson has proved that practically no spawning has taken place there, while the spawning run in the Hakataramea River below the dam has been exceptionally large. Every year a few salmon spawn in the Waitaki River itself, below the dam, but here again a quite .-exceptional spawning has taken place. One of the reasons put forward for the failure of the bulk of the salmon to find their way up the fish ladder provided at the dam for them is that the bulk of the overflow is on the side of the river remote from the entrance to the ladder, which consists of a rising chain of pools which the fish surmount by leaping. This will be obviated, it is anticipated, later.