NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 94, 22 April 1931, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Anzac Day. There will be no publication of < k the "Star" on Saturday next, Anzac Day. Value of Aero Clubs. According to Squadron-Leader J. L. Findlay, among the most successful pilots attending the recent Air Force refresher course at the Wigram Aerodrome were those who learned to flv with ! aero clubs. Most of the pilots, he could now join a squadron and do its work. The course altogether was most successful. The majority . of the pilots attending did the requisite amount of time to entitle them to their "wings," provided they passed the examinations in such other subjects as wireless. None of them had flown solo on service machines when the course besran. A Vigorous Nonagenarian. An excellent story is told of Mrs. Henry ; Mahon Jervis, of St. Stephen's Avenue. Parnell, who recently celebrated her 99th birthday. The old lady, who is wonderfully well, despite her : great age, was invited by her son to go for a , motor ride. She accepted, and when asked where she would like to go, said, "To the top of Mount Eden,'' adding that it was 70 years since she was last at the summit. At Eastertide the same oid lady announced her intention of dining out. . She explained that she had always made a point of having her Christmas dinner at home, but she had always dined at the house of a friend on Easter Sunday. . Safeguards for the Motorist. '"The extensive use of the automobile in the United States has brought about certain changes in the civil law relating tnereto which are , worthy of adoption in Xew Zealand," said Mr. T. C. Webster, barrister, of Auckland, who has : just returned from a tour abroad. "For instance, under the Xew Zealand law a casual, picked up by a motorist and given a free ride, can claim i damages against the motorist, in the event of an accident, through an error of judgment on the motorist's part, resulting in personal injuries to , the casual. The injustice of this was soon rectified in California, where the recipient of a free ■ ride at his own request, can. very properly, make ! no claim against the person who was good enough to give him a lift.*' Good "Road Sense." Children attending the Mangere Central and i Takanmi public schools have a good "road sense," according to a report laid before the Manukau , County Council yesterday. "Their knowledge as to their safety on the roads is very noticeable,'" saio. the inspector. Regarding the Takanini school • the inspector drew the council's attention to the , fact that there were a number of children who ( had to travel on the Great South Road. At the present time there were no signs to warn motor- • of the presence of a school, and he suggested that signs should be erected at each intersecting road connecting the school with the main ( road. "I believe that traffic moves faster over this particular portion of the Great South Road ! than any other part of the county," he added. I Public Accountant's Wealth. "I once heard of a public accountant who retired from business worth £,50.000—he accumulated his wealth by strict attention to his ; work, long hours, the closest economv, and a ! legacy of £49,900." Mr. G. W. Hutchison, a candidate for the Auckland Mayoralty, raised a good _ laugh when he told this story at the Parnell Libraiy Hall la.-t evening. The candidate said • it had been suggested that, as he had stated I he was not seeking office on any other public body, he should be asked how many jobs he was ' holding already. "That must refer to my private business, and I am sure the person who sug- ; gestcd it does not want me to retire from busi- [ ness. which, I believe, has jriven me the qualities ( which make nie a fit candidate for public office," said Mr. Hutchison. i , Fire in Launch. Whilst returning from fishing off the lighthouse at Kaipara Heads last week, Mr. L. F. Defarelle was pouring benzine into the tank of his launch when an explosion occurred. He held on to the blazing can of benzine, carried it into the cockpit, and hurled it overboard, but in doing so was severely burned about the face and right arm. Mr. Geo. Bailey, who was in the launch assisting, was burned through his clothes catching on lire from the blazing tin. Although the engine room by this time was ablaze, by the use of sand and wet sacks the fire was suppressed. 1 Mr. E. Pook. who was fishing nearby, went alongt side and towed the launch to sheltered waters at . Potito. Later the launch was towed to Ruawai. j where first aid was rendered the sufferers by ; Mrs. H. Wallace. Mr. Bailey was taken to the ■ Northern Wairoa Hospital. His left side is badly ! burned. The launch was little damaged. Its l engine ran until the benzine tank was empty. 1 Dunedin's Whisky Plant. The distilling of spirits in Xew Zealand is - one of the industries that is banned ; on grounds of Government policy. It was , stated in the Supreme Court yesterday, during the hearing of an application for a writ of J mandamus to compel the Minister of Customs ' to issue a license for a distillery to be built in ;. the Auckland district, that almost GO years had t passed since the legal distilling of whisky was carried on in the colony. Mr. A. M. Gould, who ; appeared in support of the application, said that i legislation passed in ISGB fixed the excise duty . on Xew Zealand spirits at half the Customs duty on imported spirits, and was intended to en- ' local enterprise. A Qunedin plant was ' established, but it produced in such quantity I that there was a public outcry about the loss • of revenue. Parliament decided" in 1574 that the , p.xcise should be the same as the import duty. A curious feature of the voting was that the [ sole prohibitionist in the House voted for the : retention of the distillery. The Dunedin owners ( were compensated for revenue reasons to go out of business. , Lower Hospital Revenue. 1 The proposal of the Director-General of ; Health to cut down the Auckland Hospital t Board's maintenance expenditure to £162,571, which is nearly £60,000 less than last year, -was 1 strongly opposed at yesterday's meeting of the < board. It was decided to discuss the matter at ; a fcpecial meeting to be held on Friday, when r the estimates will be considered. The board decided that in the meantime Mr. M. J. Savage, ' M.P., v. ho is a member of the board, should be ' asked to take the matter up. During the year 1 ended March 31 last the receipts of the board amounted to £308,690, and the expenditure exceeded that sum by £9012. In the previous year the debit balance was £30,673. The question of expenditure on hospitals and charitable aid has ' been raised several times lately by various local bodies, and a conference of delegates is to be held in the Town Hall to-morrow to discuss the ■ matter from the standpoint of the contributing bodifs. The conference was called by the City , Council. The Southern Cross. The confidence of the Australian public in , air travel was clearly shown when, for the first \ time since the Southern Cloud was lost with ■ eight lives, the Melbourne-Sydney service was • resumed. The Southern Cross, in charge of AirCommodore Kingsford Smith, made the trip in 4£ hours, and carried seven passengers, including one '■ woman. One of the passengers was Mr. Guy ' Menzics, who made the solo flight across the , Tasman in the Southern Cross Junior. Since , Kingsford Smith and C. T. P. Dim bought the ' Southern Cross from Sir G. H. Wilkins. she has ' done barely 40,000 miles, including the Pacific, i Tfisman. London and Atlantic flights. When she ; was brought into the regular air services of Australia, she was kept in reserve. She has now ' set off for Timor Island. All the experts of the 1 Australian Xational Airways now confess them--1 selves completely bewildered about the Southern , Cloud. While Kingsford Smith cannot ignore the evidence which indicates that the liner with her '' two pi'ots and six passengers went into the sea, ' another pilot is confident that the lonely ranges hold the secret.