Concerning the tragic deadlock in England there is an infinitude of things to be said, but one is oppressed by a sense of futility in saying them. When Job’s friends who came to condole had looked on his evil case, they sat on the ground for seven days and seven nights and said no word. As comment on calamity, the finest on record and the most expressive. — by ‘Civis’
‘Strad’ in Oamaru
A resident of Oamaru thinks he possesses a genuine Stradivarius violin. He says he obtained it from the late Mr Henry Howe, who died some months ago at the age of about 90 years. The instrument is of beautiful timber, the back being of mottled cedar, and it possesses an exquisite tone. In the inside of the instrument are printed the words ‘‘Antonius Stradivarius Cremonentis, Faciebat Anno 1717.’’
Dodgy dealings
The Dunedin Stock Exchange in its latest share list warns investors against dealing with ‘‘share salesmen,’’ who, it states, ‘‘go round country districts offering, in many cases, shares of a more or less doubtful value.’’
The following paragraph gives the warning more weight: ‘‘Recently a case came under our notice of one of these ‘share salesmen’ selling to an investor shares in an Australian insurance company at 15 shillings (10s paid up and 5s premium). Had this investor consulted a broker he would have learned that these shares could have been obtained at 5s 3d per share (10s paid up).’’
Strawberries in May
Owing to the mild season around Palmerston, one district settler has been gathering a small quantity of ripe strawberries in his garden at intervals during the past fortnight.
The colour of money
Soon the difference in the shade of bank notes of the same denomination, issued by the different banks, will be a thing of the past. This was stated by Mr H. W. Lever, chairman of the Associated Banks, in Wellington on Wednesday. The Chambers of Commerce in various parts of the Dominion have expressed the views of the business community on the subject, and these amount to an objection to the confusion which is created by the present issue of notes.
‘‘The business community wanted the uniform size and now they have got it,’’ said Mr Lever. ‘‘It was decided by the conference to adopt the size of the Union Bank of Australia for future issues of bank notes, and at the same time to use the colours employed by the Bank of New South Wales, the oldest bank in Australia and New Zealand.
‘‘Thus the new 10 shilling notes are yellow, pound notes purple or black, £5 blue, £10 red, and so on, but the trouble was that the printers in London used different shades of ink. We have not adopted one printing firm, as each of us has been employing a different printer.
‘‘But now instructions have been sent home for the London representatives of the banks to confer, and future issues of notes should be in the same colour.’’
— ODT, 8.5.1926
