GENERAL NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20108, 15 May 1935, Page 8

GENERAL NEWS

Band Concert. Befr.j the installation to-night of the Mayor (Mr T. W. Satterthwaite) and Borough Councillors elected at the recent poll, the Timaru Municipal Band, under the direction of Lieutenant W. H. Osborne, will play selections outside the Municipal Chambers between 7 and 8 o’clock.

Relief of Distress. The Mayor (Mr T. W. Satterthwaite) has received from Messrs Hammond and McArthur the sum of £7l being part proceeds of the Big Prize List Art Union allocated to Timaru, and has handed it to the Central Relief Society. The Mayor also acknowledges the sum of £25 received from Mr I. Phillips, local manager of Woolworths (N.Z.) Limited towards the relief of distress in Timaru, which he has handed to the Central Relief Society.

Unusual Use of X-rays. An Interesting Illustration of a use of X-rays not usually known to the public was given in a lecture to the Auckland Zoological Society on the plumage of birds. In describing the internal structure of birds, Mr R. A. Falla showed a slide of several petrels collected during an Antartic expedition. To examine their skeletons without damaging the specimens the birds had been laid on a table and X-rayed, the result being a particularly clear picture of their bones.

Forgot Where He Was. To have his motor-cycle catch fire immediately in front of the Wellington Central Fire Station was the experience of a motor-cyclist. The thought of seeking aid of the firemen, however, apparently did not occur to him, for, after laying his motor-cycle in the middle of the road, he procured a sack, with which he attempted to cope with the fire. Seeing his difficulty several firemen assisted with an extinguisher, and within a few moments the outbreak was suppressed. Free Place Forfeited. A pupil of the Waipukurau District High School has forfeited his free place through not making the average attendance required by the Education Department. At a meeting of the school committee the headmaster, Mr E. E. C. Boyes, stated that parents should note that although secondary education is not compulsory, 80 per cent of possible attendances must be made or the free place is forfeited. This regulation does not apply in case of illness.

A Slip of the Tongue. An amusing slip of the tongue was made by Mr Kenneth Mackenzie, president of Auckland University College, in his address at the graduation ceremony in the Auckland Town Hall. In referring to the school of engineering at the college, Mr Mackenzie said it was "threatened with distinction,” and then quickly added “extinction.” There was a burst of laughter. “I trust that finally it will not be with both, but with the former,” Mr Mackenzie added. Sales Tax Returns. An increase of T 6.6 per cent, is shown in he returns of sales tax for the year ended March 31, the total collected being £2,153,913, compared with £1,847,273 in 1933-34, according to the Abstract of Statistics. This increase is a significant indication of greater purchasing power, since the tax is levied on wholesale sales of commodities, and thus indirectly reflects retail buying. The amount of sales tax collected during March was £162,246, an increase of £4593 over the total for February, but a decrease of £l7O compared with March, 1934.

Pigeon’s Strange Experience. On April 2 one of the Egmont Homing Club’s pigeons, No. 342, was dispatched from Manutahi, South Taranaki, on a flight to New Plymouth. The pigeon did not arrive at her destination that night, and was given up for lost. Nothing was heard of her until a month later, when she made her appearance at her owner’s residence, fit and well, but minus one leg. There was not even a stump left, nor any scar or mark. The only solution that the owner can suggest is that the bird was injured on the journey, but fell into the hands of some person well versed in animal surgery. The operations of amputating the leg must have been done by an expert and the bird most carefully nursed.