NEWS OF THE DAY

Stratford Evening Post, Volume I, Issue 63, 21 February 1931, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Work on Climie Road County Council workmen are at present engaged filling a dangerous dip and improving the surface on the Climie Road. Mangaotea Tunnel On the motion of Mr. Moss at the meeting of the Power Board yesterday it was decided to make a recommendation to the works committee to expedite the work of opening up the Mangaotea tunnel', so that completion will be completed by November.

Postal Officer Charged A postal ofh'ceF "named William Sydney Evans (29), of Inglewood, was charged at the New Plymouth Police Court yesterday with the theft of tne sum of £IOG ICs 9d. He was remanded to March 4, bail being granted. To Defer Local Body Elections • It is stated in circles usually wellinformed regarding political matters that in view of the present financial and economic conditions of the Dominion, the Government is seriously considering deferring the elections of local bodies, such as borough and county councils and harbour boards. Eye Strain Thousands of red-coloured postcards sent from a London theatre to advertise a play were banned by the British Post Office on the ground that the work of sorting them might cause eye-strain. The cards were prohibited under an inland post regulation which forbids the delivery of any packet “likely to embarrass the officer of the post office.” Maoris and Levy Reporting to the Unemployment Board concerning his recent visit to Ohinemutu, in connection with the board’s schemes, Mr. G. Finn, a member of the board, states that the Maoris in that district were voluntarily paying the levy. They were not at all likely, said Mr. Finn, to be obliged to seek assistance from the board, but desired to assist their pakeha friends in their industrial troubles.

Our “High Class” Cheese! Many queer finds have been made by English.grocers when cutting up New Zealand chese, but the astonishment of one when he discovered a large-sized scrubbing brush recently may well be imagined. The cheese was consigned from a well-known Taranaki factory, and a photograph of the cheese, showing the brush deeply embedded in the centre, was sent to the factory by the Tooley Street agents through whom it was consigned.

Wanganui's First Plane For some time the Wanganui Aero Club committee has been negotiating for the purchase of a plane, and on Thursday finality was reached. The club has purchased the latest model De Havilland Moth with slots, dual control, a special compass and the latest equipment. Delivery will be taken immediately the hangar is completed, which should be in about 10 days’ time or so, and the machine will be flown from Auckland and landed on the airport by the pilot instructor, accompanied by Mr. F. H. Goodey, the secretary. The new plane is the exclusive property of the Wanganui Aero Club, no other club of- the federation being connected with the acquisition. Award Hours 1 A most amusing incident occurred in Napier recently. The naval parties were hard at their respective duties when a person who said he came from the south looking for relatives accosted an officer of marines. He asked how long the sailors had been working, and when told that they had been on the job since early morning, started to lay down the dictum that the debris, etc., w r as to be cleared by labour working only award hours, and that the sailors had no right to be employed more than eight a day. Exactly what the officfer told him is not recorded, but it was pretty short, sharp, and decisive in the naval way, causing the agitator’s rapid withdrawal. He then transferred his attention to the Minister of Defence (Mr. J. G. Cobbe), who had great difficulty in gettingrid of him. The agitator left the Minister, uttering threats of what he would do when he got to Christchurch. New Golf Game Midget golf is unexpectedly already on the wane in the northern hemisphere, but a new golf game is making its apeparance (states a Melbourne paper). This involves the use of a special tunnel of metal,, or wood, suitably lined, and having a number of twists, turns, or coils in its length, with holes at appropriate intervals. The player drives a ball into the tunnel, and tin? ball travels an appropriate distance, according to the length and direction of the drive, before dropping into a hole. The full distance represent# an accurate drive of about 250 yards. Golfers, it is contended, will find this game much better practice than the putting of the present miniature golf, and it will certainly give them the joy of being able to open their shoulders. Cost of Living While there has been some controversy, especially since the Prime Minister’s economy proposals have been announced, whether there has been any appreciable fall in the cost of living, there is no doubt there has been a drop in prices for some household commodities. One well-known Dunedin firm of soap manufacturers, McLeod Bros., Ltd., for instance, has announced, for the third time within .12 months, a substantial reduction in prices, and other soap manufacturers throughout New Zealand have been compelled to follow suit. As a result of tliis policy soap is now being sold at practically pre-war prices. While the price of soap cannot be said to be a heavy item in the cost of living, it is pleasing to be able to read that the local soap company has been sufficiently progressive to reduce its prices as sqon as the reduced cost of raw materials admitted of its doing so.