In Town And Out

Southland Times, Issue 22999, 19 September 1936, Page 8

In Town And Out

King Solomon Mine.

Advice was received by officials of the company yesterday that the King Solomon deep lead gold mine would be idle to-day for the third Saturday in succession, as the men persisted in their determination to observe a fiveday week of 40 hours.

Chimney Fires at Gore. The return to wintry weather at Gore yesterday was marked by two chimney fires, which resulted in calls to the brigade. In the late afternoon an alarm was received from Canning street and at about 7 p.m. the brigade received a further call to Fairfield street. Both outbreaks were quickly suppressed.

Straw Hats Again. Many things in Christchurch show the approach of Spring, but it is officially recognized when telegraph messengers change their headgear (says The Press). Thursday’s warmth brought out some at least of the telegraph messengers in straw “boaters,” complete with mooring cord, which gave them a dandified air. When policemen and traffic officers don white helmets it may be possible to forget the winter.

Tamatea Delayed. The Public Works Department advises that the Tamatea, which was scheduled to leave for Milford Sound yesterday with passengers, mail and cargo, has had her itinerary altered. Loading operations have been held up on account of the continued bad weather. She will now sail for Stewart Island on her scheduled run on Wednesday. She is expected to sail for Milford Sound on September 24.

“Cheap Law is Bad Law.” “Cheap law is notoriously bad law,” said Mr Wyvern Wilson, S.M., in the Auckland Magistrate’s Court, when a defendant pleaded that a Government department had been interviewed about his responsibilities, but had been unable to give a definite answer. “If people are in doubt about their legal rights they should go'to a lawyer,” said Mr Wilson. “They are foolish to shelter behind what they have been told by some unqualified person.”

Quick Work. Police efficiency reached a still higher level last night. At 11 p.m. a Southland Times reporter left his bicycle outside the Times Office in Esk street. When he went to go home at 1 a.m. the bicycle was gone. The reporter went into the police station cherishing the hope that the bicycle would some day be recovered by an enterprising constable. But a pleasant surprise awaited him. “Your bicycle was brought in from No. 1 gardens 10 minutes ago,” he was told.

Political Wager Refused. An enthusiastic Labour supporter created endless amusement at Mr F. W. Doidge’s political meeting at Penrose on Wednesday night. He kept moving from one part of the hall to another and maintained verbal exchanges with, the candidate. The climax arrived when he flourished two £1 notes, and marching up to the platform, offered to make a wager with Mr Doidge that he would not win the Manukau seat. The candidate laughingly declined the invitation “to cover the notes.”

A Little Game.

“There is one good thing about opening school buildings: no one wails foxthe opening to be done,” said the Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, at the Parnell School, when told that the new infant department had already been in use for a week. “People are not so illogical as to keep out of a new school just because there is no Minister- of the Crown about to say that it is open. To-day we are all playing a game, just as children do, and as the children have already opened this building themselves, all I mean to do is declare it open.”

“Hope Springs Eternal.” Some people are almost sublimely optimistic in respect to art unions. Recently the Wellington Women’s Hockey Association conducted a small art union with a £5 prize, the tickets selling at Id each. At the meeting of the association this week, a letter was received from a woman resident in New South Wales stating that her husband had purchased six penny tickets while in Wellington. He had since returned to Australia, and had received no notification whether his expenditure had achieved any result. The writer went so fax- as to give the numbers of the tickets. It was decided to advise the inquirer- that hex- husband’s tickets had not been as successful as he had hoped.

“False Alarmist No. 1.” The person who has become regarded by the Christchurch Fire Brigade as the city’s false alarmist No. 1, because of his habit of calling the brigade engines to different points of the city at one time, has not been active lately. Superintendent C. C. Warner reported to this week’s meeting of the Fire Board that five malicious false alarms were received during the past month. This caused Mr W. S. Mac Gibbon to make an inquiry whether there was any indication that the person who had been the cause of a great deal of trouble was still causing apprehension. The chairman (Mr T. Charters) replied that the individual had been keeping quiet during the past few weeks, but a watch was still being kept. “Sufficient Power for Many Years.” Waitaki would be sufficient to supply all estimated electric power needs fox- many years to come, said Mx- G. Dash, chairman of the South Canterbury Electric Power Board, at Christchurch on Thursday, when commenting on the proposal to dam Lake Tekapo for supplementing the flow of water- through the Waitaki powerhouse. The residents of the Tekapo district and others interested in preserving the present attractiveness of the lake were wise to remain alive to the danger of the resort losing its value as such, but it would be probably as long as 10 years before any scheme to supplement the flow of the Waitaki river would be put into operation. “Whether the present capacity of the Waitaki power house will reach absorption point will depend on the result of the poll in Southland to a certain extent,” said Mi- Dash. “If the Government is given control of the Southland Board’s affairs it is the Government’s intention to supply the territory with powex- from the Waitaki. Provision is also being made to transfer current from the Waitaki to the West Coast. If these schemes are put into operation it will be necessary to supplement the flow of the Waitaki in some way.”