NEWS IN BRIEF.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 59, 16 April 1914, Page 10

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Yesterday morning the auxiliary schooner Houto arrived from Wellington. She experienced calms till off Kaikoura at 5 a.m. on Thursday, when a heavy N.W. gale struck the vessel and carried away the topsail yard. After that variable weather was experienced until the Houto arrived at Lyttelton. She loads under the auspices of the National Mortgage and Agency Co., Ltd., for Dargaville, and leaves port next Tuesday.

The following programme will be played by Dr. Bradshaw, city organist, at the grand "Mozart-Grieg" organ recital to be given in His Majesty's Theatre on Sunday next, at 8.30 p.m.:—Grand fantasia in F minor, for the organ (Mozart), Solveig's Song (soprano solo) (Grieg), Larghetto from the Clarinet Quintet (Mozart), Suite for full orchestra "Peer Gynt" Op. 46 (Grieg)—(l) Morning, (2) Death of Ase, (3) Anitra's dance, (4) In the Hall of the Mountain King—Motet for chorus "Ave Verum" (Mozart), Trauermarsch (funeral march) (Grieg), Poeme Erotiqxie, Op. 43, No. 5 (Greig), minuet and trio from the Symphony in v - E flat (Mozart).

On Saturday at Auckland the delegates to the conference of the National Association of Spiritualists of New Zealand adopted several important amendments to the rules of the association, the object of which was to protect the association against '' quacks and charlatans." Another amendment was that the word "society" or "association" be dropped and the word "church" be added. It was pointed out that if they were to be looked upon as a religious v people they must not only preach the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, but they must have their meet-ing-house called by : its proper /name. Henceforth the organisation will be ■ known as the Spiritualistic Church. Two men in the Tuniut district (New South Wales), says a writer in the Sydney "Mail," are making good money at peculiar occupations. One is catching live snakes and the other catching bullfrogs for the snakes to feed upon. The former occupation is extremely risky, as the snakes must be uninjured when caught. From 4/6 to 5/- each is freely given for the snakes, so that good wages can be made when the .'' game'' is plentiful.. The work of the frog-catcher is chiefly carried on at night, and the rivers and marshes in the district are ideal places for the -frog-catcher to pursue his calling. The method adopted for catching the frogs is to get a bright light at night time—a bicycle lamp preferred —and go in the rushes, etc. The frogs will then be seen hopping in all & directions, and are easily caught.

While the Royal departure was rather amusing to the ordinary pakeha, one at least of the travellers is quite in earnest about the matter, says the Auckland "Star" in describing the send-off given to the Maori "King," Rata, and his companions, on leaving for London on Saturday. Tapu Taingakawa is an old man entitled to respect, both from .his descent and his own character. In his time he has played no unimportant part. He is convinced that there- have been violations of the' Treaty of Waitangi, more especially in regard to dealings with Maori land. He thinks he has not received the satisfaction from the New Zealand Government the case demands. He has come to the conclusion that it is no use "talking to the son," as the Maoris say, and he is now going right to the King,' "the father." Armed with letters of introduction from the Government to the High Commissioner and Lord Emmott, this aged Maori is taking his grievances Home. , - Notwithstanding the prevalence of ■various epidemics (measles, croup,

whooping cough, and other forms of children's ailments) and the dislocation of many schools by the smallpox scare and consequent vaccination (according the inspector's annual report to the Ilawke 's Bay Education "Board), the high average of 88.9 was attained. If in the Department's method of calculation it may be rerelied on that the basis of comparison is the same, the above is a better average than that attained' in England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States of America, or the Dominion at large. It is a working average, i.e., excepted half-days —on which less than half the pupils are present—are excluded from the computation. "The closing of schools in order that teachers might undergo a course pf physical culture caused the number operating 420 half-d'ays to be fewer than usual; in fact, only two attained 420; 29 others recorded 400 half-days and upwards. We consider there are too many odd holidays, especially in the, earlier part of the year, when the school work is liable to be broken into and disorganised by functions that might equally well be arranged during the vacation."

The Lake Coleridge electricity scheme ■was the cause yesterday of a most unpleasant accident befalling Mr 11. S. Barns, a member of the local staff of Messrs Dalgety and Co. Excavations are being made in various portions of the city for the '-installation of wiring, and Mr Barns,, who failed to see a rope closing a roaU where such excavations arc being made, was caught in the neck by the obstruction when proceeding at u smart pace on a-motor-cycle. He was thrown with violence to lire ground, being severely cut about ami shaken. "Ambulance Day'' is being held in Lyttelton to-morrow, the lady members ;ind friends of'the St. .lohn Ambulance Association taking up a collection iir the streets. work of the association in the district Jims grown vastly of late years, so' far as teaching and preparation is concerned, and as the calls upon ;it .grow each day, it is hoped that the public will respond cheerfully. This annual collection is the association's great stand-by. an in the district it has no fixed income. The grocery establishments will be cpen until 9 p.m. on Friday, and 6 p.m. «wi Saturday. 1081

A fall from a cycle in Ashburton yesterday afternoon caused Mrs W. Morgan to sustain a broken leg.

Detective O'Connor arrested a man this morning, charged with breaking and entering, and the theft, of a gramophone, valued at £5. The opening took place this afternoon of the Bligh 's Eoad School,. the ceremony being conducted by the chairman and members of the Papanui School Committee.

Permission was granted by the Lyttelton Borough Council last night to the St. John Ambulance Association to hold a street collection in the port to-morrow.

To-day's river report describes the condition of the rivers of the district as follows: —Clear, Waimakariri North, Rangitata, and Opihi; dirty, Waitaki, Rakaia, and Waimakariri South. At the Lyttelton Borough Council last night it was decided that at 10.15 a.m. on May 2, a civic reception be accorded General Sir lan Hamilton, on the occasion of his forthcoming visit to Lyttelton. In connection with the issue of efficiency badges for Senior Cadets, the following standard for signalling has been laid down in General Orders: — Large flag, 5 words a minute; small flag, 6 words a minute; semaphore, 8 words a minute; helio and lamp, 6 words a minute; accuracy, 95 per cent. The standard for marksmen will be as laid down in the musketry course.

A petition is at present being circulated in Rangiora asking the Mayor, Mr J. Sansom, to allow himself to be nominated for a third term of office. Another petition is also out asking Councillor C. J. Jennings to become a candidate for the Mayoralty. Mr Sansom announced to a SUN representative this morning that: he is prepared to stand against all comers.

At the annual meeting of the Industrial Association a suggestion was put forward that a Mardi Gras should be held in Christchurchi Mr J. B. Laurenson, president of the association, has been, successful in obtaining the loan of a kinematograph film of the Napier Mardi Gras held last Christmas. Arrangements are being made, in accordance with the conditions on which the film is lent, to have it screened privately at one of the picture houses for the benefit of the members of the association, in order that they may gain an impression of how a Mardi Gras was conducted in the North Island town.

On Tuesday afternoon the Eev. Father Hickson, Administrator of the Thorndon Catholic Parish, met with a motor-ear accident of a painful though not dangerous nature, says the "Post." When the motor-car in which he was driving was turning the corner of Ellice Street and Kent Terrace it collided with a traimcar. The front of the motor-car was damaged, and Father Hickson was badly cut about the face by the broken glass of the wind shield; Although serious consequences are not anticipated, Father Hickson will be confined to his-.-room for some time; He was reported to-be doing very well.

No apology is ;! offered by the Commonwealth wireless telegraphy officials for their strange"' action in placing a skull and crossbones on the notice board at the Pennant Hills (Sydney) wireless station*," warning persons against trespass,, says the Sydney "Telegraph." They do not even attempt to lessen the gravity of the offence by pleading, as might have been expected, that it was in the nature of a joke. It was placed there in all seriousness. "Such signs are used in Germany and countries," said the Federal wireless expert. "It is not a joke at all." ; The idea is to have "something striking, something that the public cannot fail to see."

Up to Thursday,'last the supply of fish came in very regularly' to the Wellington- municipal fish market, and in sufficient quantities to meet the demand, but awing to the rough weather during the past few days fish has been 1 scarce. The business done for March this year amounted to £320, as compared with £B4 for the same month 1 last year. The receipts for the first eight days" of this month 'reached the satisfactory total of £l4O.

On January 1 it. was estimated that the population of Australia was 4,872,059 as compared with 4,455,005 in April' 1911, when the last census was taken! This shows an increase of 417,054. The greatest proportionate advance is shown by -West Australia," whose population, according to Mr Knibbs (Commonwealth Statistician), has increased by 38,000 in three years. With the exception of Tasmania, all the other States shared in the increases in almost equal proportions. During the last year there were 1.35,714 births in the Commonwealth, and 51,789 deaths, while 41,582 matrimonial alliances were entered into. The birth rate has increased considerably since 1901. A decrease is noticeable also in the death rate. In 1901 it was 12.22 of every 100 a of the population, and last year it fell to 10.78. About 80 per cent, more marriages were celebrated last year than in 1901. ' ' ■

The annual report of the New Zealand Poultry Association contains "a word of warning to beginners not to venture into the work of poultry farming in a large way until experi-; ence has . been gained. The report! quotes an expert as saying:—"While! the poultry business is not a, goldmine, nor a get-rieh-quick scheme, it is a legitimate "business. When properly! conducted it will pay liberal interest on the investment of capital and labour. The keynote -to success in it is to begin in a very modest way, and only enlarge the plant, if it be enlarged'at all, as the fundamental principles of breeding and management are thoroughly mastered. Chickens are not machines. They are living creatures. A poultry plant is not a factory. It partakes much more of the nature of a girls' boarding school, with a strong leaning on the part of its inhabitants towards suffragette doctrines.

Poultry management is a biological problem, and: to be successful must have due regard to fundamental biological principles." At Brisbane yesterday, C. Nicholls, of New Zealand, won the Australasian Y.M.C.A. individual gymnastic championship.—Press Association.

Two provisions of importance in the recently gazetted Public Service regulations are:—"By passing the senior examination, including the subjects required of professional officers in any department, an officer of the general or clerical division may qualify for promotion to the professional division of such department." '' The Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, from time to time transfer from the general division to the eighth or seventh class of the clerical division any person who has served for at least two years in the general division, and who has passed the examination prescribed for candidates for appointment to the clerical division. Every person so transferred shall, so far as seniority for promotion is concerned, be placed at the bottom of the class to which he is transferred, but he shall be entitled to not less than the same salary as that which he received immediately before such transfer."

The N.S.W. Minister of Education. Mr Carmichael, at a "bon voyage" gathering tendered him by a number of Sydney pressmen and artists, foreshadowed the establishment of a Chair of Journalism at Sydney University. He showed that something had been attempted for art, science, and music, and he saw no reason why the 300,000 school children of New South Wales should not be encouraged to enter the profession of journalism, and after those with the necessary talent had been schooled injthe practical work, it would rest with the university to finish them off in the higher branches. He was fully aware, of course, that "journalists were born, not made." —just as artists and musicians—but he believed in this direction the aid of the university could be called in with advantage. At any rate, this was a matter which he assured; those present was receiving his earnest consideration, especially having in view the developments that had taken place in this respect in the United States.

As Minister of Education the Hon. J. Allen has in hand the preparation of a ew Bill which will contain inter alia, provisions for increasing the salary of teachers and the improvement of staffing and grading. He cannot sayjust exactly how far the financial betterment will go, but he hopes to be in a position to make a substantial increase (telegraphs the Wellington "Post's" Dunedin correspondent). He will certainly do all he possibly can to improve the service generally. Questioned as to the likelihood of the establishment this year of an advisory council of education somewhat on the lines recommended by the latest Eoyal Commission on Education, Mr Allen said he could not say definitely what changes would be sought or provided for this coming season. The most important legislative measure this coming, session affecting the departments under his charge will be the Education Bill. There will be no banking legislation, but there may be naval defence regulations required, also a few machinery measures dealing with different departments of the State.