NEWS OF THE DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1934, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Bathed in bright sunshine, Ngamotu beach, New Plymouth, presented almost a summer scene yesterday. Although the beach was sufficiently attractive to make it the venue of a fair number of motorists, however, no bathers were seen, the most adventurous confining themselves to paddling.

The fact that registered unemployed now pay a quarterly unemployment levy of Is is attributed as the reason for 170 more payments at the New Plymouth Chief Post Office during the quarter just ended than in the August quarter. Two hundred payments were received on Saturday morning, and some others were made personally or by mail in the afternoon, with the result that the payments for the quarter number 4126. Snow sports were popular on Mount Egmont yesterday when a light fall of snow early in the morning made the conditions excellent for ski-ing. North Egmont, Dawson Falls and Stratford Mountain House all had numerous visitors. Twelve cars visited North Egmont and 12 from the Stratford side reached the Plateau. Owing to extensive snowfields on the lower levels climbing conditions were difficult, and no summit ascents were made.

The two Western Federated Flying Club planes at present stationed at New Plymouth airport were kept busy yesterday when club pilots took advantage of excellent weather and air conditions to make numerous short flights, mainly over the town. Pilot Officer lan Keith made a number of instruction flights with pupils, and several passenger trips were also made. There was no crosscountry flying.

A woman in a Taranaki town was preparing to leave New Zealand after an extended stay and she had many suitcases, hat-boxes and trunks. She ordered a taxi to take her to the station, and a neighbour’s two small daughters went to assist. Tire taxi driver’s sarcastic remark, “When are they bringing out the piano ?” was lost on the children, who hastened to inform him there was no piano in the house. They had looked right through and they knew they were right;

Two young New Plymouth residents claim the distinction of being among the few people who have sat through church service on bicycles! Meeting a touring cyclist yesterday a few miles from the town they first believed that he. was “rather eccentric,” or was rehearsing a public address. But closer investigation showed that he had a portable radio set strapped to his back and had tuned in to a sermon broadcast from a special Auckland service. The three wheelmen listened attentively until the outskirts of the town were reached.

It is the intention of the Public Works Department to push on with the work of improving the Wanganui River Road, the route from the city to Pipiriki. Construction of bridges and further metalling will be done. Out of a family of ten children all born in the district who attended the Waverley school (the youngest now being over 40 years of age), all were at the celebrations. The future publicity of Napier was discussed at a meeting of the Napier City Council publicity committee. Mr. G. G. Stewart, head of the Publicity Department of the Government, was present, and he was recommended to bring down a comprehensive scheme of publicity for Napier, including newspaper, screen and railway advertisement, and also for the production of 20,000 booklets for distribution in various parts of New Zealand and overseas.

Before this month ends the evening daylight will have another half-hour directly added to it, for under last year’s Summer Time Amendment Act the annual putting forward of the clock takes place on the last Sunday of September, in this case September 30. Summer time thus inaugurated will continue until the last Sunday in April or for a period of seven or eight weeks longer than in the past. Summer time used to begin on the second Sunday in October and end on the third Sunday in March.

That an English steel syndicate was negotiating for the lease of 50 acres of reclaimed land at Dunedin was mentioned by Mr. J. Miller at a meeting of the Wanganui and District Development League. He offered the suggestion that the Wanganui Harbour Board might negotiate with the syndicate for a branch of the industry to be started at Wanganui. Mr. Millar said that the port of Wanganui was in a central position. It was agreed that the harbour board should be asked whether it was advisable to take steps in the matter. “We in New Zealand have every reason to be proud of our police,” said Mr. George Ebbett, J.P., district coroner, in a speech made at a farewell ceremony at Hastings to Senior-Sergeant D. J. O’Neill and Sergeant G. F. Bonisch, two officers of the Hastings police force, who will shortly be leaving on transfer. “When we read what has been done by members of the police forces of other countries, and we realise that not one in 100 of our own police force can be bribed, then we are all the more proud of our police,” he said. * They are a wonderful body of men and are held in the highest regard.”

“My quarrel with the Unemployment Board and all these things is that the scrounger is taken as the standard. There are some very decent men who have been forced to ask for help and it is easy to sum up a man,” said the Rev. W. Bramwell Scott at this week’s meeting of the Wellington Returned Soldiers’ Association when the manner in which men recommended by the association to the Red Cross were received by the latter was being discussed. A motion asking the Red Cross Society to accept the association’s recommendation of any man upon his proving his identity, without further examination, was carried. Saturday was an anniversary of interest in the history of the Auckland Savings Bank, for it was on that day 41 years ago that an unreasoning panic among its depositors caused a wild, if brief, run upon the bank. The run had been preceded by various startling rumours about the position of the bank, and when once depositors began to withdraw nervousness spread like wild-fire, until the police had difficulty in controlling the mass of men and women Struggling to reach the pay counter. The prompt and open manner in which the bank met all demands soon served to allay suspicion, and the panic. subsided almost as quickly as it had arisen. Next day most of those who had shown such frantic anxiety to rescue their money from the bank quietly replaced it in the same safe keeping.

A single standard for the marketing of cream—a milk fat content of not less than 40 per cent—has been adopted by the Auckland Metropolitan Milk Council. Under the Sale of Foods and Drugs Act it is laid down that cream must have a milk fat content of at least 35 per cent., but provision is also made for the sale of reduced cream, containing not less than 25 per cent, of milk fat.' It was explained by members of the council that in the past vendors had been permitted to weaken cream with milk in order to produce reduced cream. The council's decision would mean the abolition of this practice and the sale of cream of a defined standard. ■New Zealand’s book shops are generally much bigger and more extensive than those of Australia, according to the impression of Mr. E. V. Chaffey, who has returned to Christchurch from a visit to Australia. Book shops in the Commonwealth were smaller than those of New Zealand, he said, mainly because ground in the cities was so valuable, and space therefore much more restricted. The Australian shops could not carry such extensive stock as New Zealand shops. Another reason .for the difference was the better climate in the Commonwealth, allowing people to get out into the open air more than the people of New Zealand could. Because of this there was a slightly smaller demand for books.

“The income for the carrying on of the work at the Cawthron Institute, Nelson, is derived mainly from what is known as the Cawthron Trust. Owing to the shrinkage in returns from investments, the institute was face to face. with a serious curtailment in its activities,” according to the annual report of the Dairy Control Board. “Some of the work done is of considerable importance to the dairy industry, such as pasture investigation, control of ragwort, and the investigation of the possibility of securing parasites for control of weeds and insect pests. In conjunction with the Meat Board and the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, the board carefully investigated the position. Finally it was agreed that the Dairy Board would contribute up to £2lO per annum for two years, the other two organisations referred to also contributing substantial amounts.” England’s largest plane tree —a giant measuring 40ft round the butt and 120 ft in the length of its timber, was felled at Hackbridge, Surrey, in June. Its only rival, the plane at Ranelagh Club, Fames, now stands unchallenged as the largest tree of its kind in Britain. The Hackbridge monster finally measured its length on the meadowland upon which it is popularly believed to have stood for nearly 1000 years after four days of work with axe and saw by Mr. Alf Knight, of Merton, the tree-feller, and his four stalwart sons. Mr. Knight, who is 68, has spent more than 50 years in felling giant trees. “This old fellow we have just cut down I have known for at least 30 years,” he said. “Year after year I have watched him grow bigger and bigger in girth, extending his branches each summer, until they cast a cool shade for scores of yards around. It was a real pity to put the axe to the old chap. He was good for hundreds of years more, and I wish he could have been kept standing like his old rival at Ranelagh. But there is a demand for houses on this meadow site, and it just happened that he stood in the way of what is to be a new street. Tree lovers tried to save him, but it was no good. There are still fine oaks, poplars and other trees to show that we once grew real large timber in England. But they are going fast owing to building, and there will never be another plane like this one at Hackbridge.” Mrs. H. Harrison and son have returned to Motunui after a short holiday.