NEWS OF THE DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 21 February 1935, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Cotton Tree in Bloom. A cotton tree in full bloom is to be seen in Mr. Heal’s garden at the Meeting of the Waters. This is a rare sight in Taranaki. Boundary Hedge Burned.

Sparks from a gorse fire on Tuesday, aided by a strong north-easterly wind, were responsible for the destruction of several chains of a large boundary boxthorn hedge on properties on the Ahaiapaipa Road about three miles from the Okaiawa township. The gras..- on both sides of the hedge was burnt for some distance. Within 48 hours.

Postal efficiency in the discovery of an address was strikingly demonstrated in the prompt delivery of a letter to a resident of New Plymouth the other day. It is 17 years since Mr. L. W. Oldridge lived at Timaru and in the interim he has been at Wanganui and Palmerston North. Yet a letter from Australia, addressed simply as “Mr. L. W. Oldridge, Timaru, New Zealand,” was delivered to him at New Plymouth within 48 hours of its receipt at Timaru. The Silent Typewriter.

“You must try to speak up,” said His Honour to a man in the witness-box at the sitting of the Supreme Court at New Plymouth yesterday. “You see,” he continued, pointing to the typewriter alongside him on the bench on which his associate was typing the evidence. “I have to listen against this, and this is a machine specially constructed so. that I shall hear nothing else. It is,” he added with a trace of bitterness, “a silent machine.”

“Always”—“lnvariably.” Counsel and a stock inspector witness in the alleged cattle stealing case being heard at the Supreme Court at New Plymouth yesterday were agreeing that the crossing of Jerseys and Holsteins inevitably resulted in what the witness called “broken colour” in the progeny. “Always,” said witness. “Invariably,” said counsel in agreement. “Always,” repeated witness. “Invariably,” said counsel, again in hearty agreement. “Oh, well,” said witness, “have it your own way!” His Honour leaned forward to soothe the witness with the information that his words, and not the words used by counsel, were taken down in the court depositions.

Supplying Revenue. Members of the Matiere Chamber of Commerce are by no means satisfied that the experimental move recently made by the Railway Department in allotting Matiere railway station a part-time porter is having its intended effect of determining just what traffic the small northern .township su .flies the railways. Yesterday the secretary of the chamber, who cam,e to New Plymouth with a party of farmers, stated that of 19 who joined the train, only one purchased his ticket from ; the porter, the rest paying their fares'to the guard. Furthermore, the facvAhat the porter was not on duty at the station when the express trains went through gave the credit to the supplying of ,an amount of railway revenue to other stations.

A Jones Not Needed. When the committee of th 2 Taranaki branch of the New Zealand Faculty of Insurance formed last night was announced by the chairman of the meeting, Mr. C. J. E. Smith, the names read, “Russell, Clark, Denny Brow., Brown, Smith.” “Then a Jones would hardly have been required,” remarked Mr. S. O. Jones, who had declined nomination. Local Authority Finance.

The success attending the promotion of a competitive thesis on the subject of the finance, accounts, costing and statistics of the dairy industry encouraged the New Zealand Society of Accountants during last year to invite entries from members for a similar thesis on the accounts and finances of local authorities. The number of inquiries received indicates that competition is likely to be keen.

Daughter Prepares a Meal. To arrive home wet and find the chops burnt, the potatoes without salt and the fried tomato flooded with water was the trying experience of a New Plymouth man last night. His wife was in bed with a cold and his daughter had “prepared” the meal. With a book on her lap she had let the chops bum in front of her nose. She had ignored the potatoes’ demand for salt and had poured water freely on to the tomatoes. “And they say girls are naturally cooks,” he remarked.

Competitors’ Disapproval. Blinking its aristocratic eyes with the maddening serenity of its breed, a brown Pekinese heard the news of its success in the New Plymouth Kennel Club’s match parade last night. Applause broke out among the human spectators, but there was no such homage from the other competitors. The clapping was the signal for an ear-splitting medley of sound, the deep baying of an Airedale and a setter mixing uncertainly with the yelp of terriers and the fearful bark of a bulldog. Every vanquished dog strained at its leash hnd howled its disapproval of the judge’s decision, while the Pekinese complacently wrinkled, ns nose.

Camps and School Work. While making it clear that they were not opposed to military camps as camps, members of the Taranaki Education Board took exception at yesterday’s meeting to what they considered unnecessary interference with school work in holding the militray camps so soon after school work for the year had commenced. They considered that arrangements could be made whereby the camps could be held before the school vacation ended. On the motion of Dr. W. M. Thomson and Mr. J. C. Barclay, it was resolved to protest to the department at the interference with school work caused by the attendance of teachers at military camps and to suggest that further representations should be made to the defence authorities with a view to having the camps held before the school vacation ends. Vogeltown Streets. »

General satisfaction was expressed at a meeting of the Vogeltown Progressive Association on Tuesday night with improvements made by the New Plymouth Borough Council to roads in that area, notably on the main road where the tarsealing has been widened and footpaths and guttering improved. The council will be officially thanked by the association for its efforts. It will be requested, however, to give attention to a short stretch of the main road between Shortland Street and Holdsworthy Road where tar-sealing should be extended to the kerbs. Attention will again be drawn to the unsatisfactory condition of Brooklands Road and the dangerous state of portions of the eastern footpath. Permanent improvements will also be sought to the footpath at the bottom of the Carrington Road hill.

Professional Ethics of Accountants. The code of professional ethics, originally issued in 1927, was completely revised and reissued- to all members during the year, said Mr. H. Valentine in his annual address to the convention of public accountants yesterday. The vital importance of high ethical standards as between members themselves and as between members and their clients of employers, the society and the general public could not be too strongly emphasised. The foreword of the code said: “The standards of the general body of members in respect of ethical conduct and professional etiquette, no less than standards of professional skill, determine the status of the profession in the public estimation.” He would earnestly request all members to study the code carefully so that they may be familiar with both the letter and the spirit of the principles laid down therein. Water for Schools.

The necessity for care being taken to clean tanks to ensure a pure water supply for schools was stressed in a circular letter to education boards from the Education Department. Members of the Taranaki Education Board yesterday pointed out that at this time of year if the tanks were emptied for cleaning there was the danger that the schools would be without water for weeks. Silt could be siphoned from the bottom of the tank without disturbing the clear water above. Some members appeared sceptical about this and it was considered that it would be far better if the department’s circular had been forwarded earlier so that the tanks could have been cleaned at the beginning of the holidays and thus have a reasonable chance of being refilled before school opened. The board decided to circularise all school committees in its area to that effect prior to the Christmas vacation. The Biter Bit

When nominations for the committee of the Taranaki branch of the New Zealand Faculty of Insurance h~ been received last night and a vote was about to be taken, a member raised the point that, while it had been decided to form the branch and to elect a committee, those present were not yet members of the branch and so were not entitled to vote. The chairman decided to get over the difficulty by allowing a vote to those who intended to join. It was then discovered the member who had made the objection evidently would not be joining the faculty. “Well,” said one of the nominees, “my nomination lacks a legal seconder, for Mr. was my seconder.,, “And my nomination lacks a proposer,” said another. The member who had taken such an interest in running the affairs of the branch and who had not decided to be a member, agreed laughingly to join with the rest to avoid complications. “Fire-Mindedness.”

The need for impressing the child mind with the rudiments of fire prevention was mentioned by Mr. T. M. Charters, chairman of the Christchurch Fire Board, in his address at the opening of the conference of the New Zealand Branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers. “So far as fire prevention is concerned, and, after all, this is the crux of the whole problem for prevention is always better than cure—it is pleasing to note that the authorities have at last recognised that much can be done in this direction by getting close to the child mind and impressing upon it the dangers to be guarded against, and how to meet them,” said Mr. Charters. “I can conceive, of no better method of making the future citizen ’fire-minded.’ Although one could hardly expect any tangible results to present at this stage, there is no doubt that they will have a direct bearing on the position in the future.” LA