A WATERFRONT CONSPIRACY.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 115, 16 May 1924, Page 4

A WATERFRONT CONSPIRACY.

A pretty conspiracy is afoot to defeat the refusal of Parliament to sanction the Harbour Board's waterfront railway. The Harbour Board has discovered that it can do away with the necessity of going to Parliament, by getting from the City Council a "tramway license" for • live years. The City Council has actually made itself a party to this evasion. It has agreed to grant the license subject to the condition that the board will control the traffic and operate the "tramway" "in such a manner as will safeguard the safety and convenience of the public." This is made part of 4 re-confirmation of the joint scheme of development which the board and council embodied in last year's bill. It is good of the council to look after the safety and convenience of the public in this way, and if we are going to have a waterfront "tramway" it may be a benefit that the council and its engineer will be there to keep an eye on the trains-r-we mean trams. These trams, we may point out, will go to Freeman's Bay as well as the Prince's wharf. But is Auckland going to have this line? Having repulsed an open attack, are the opponents of the railway going to allow themselves to be defeated by this flank move. A more cynical attempt to override the authority of Parliament we do not remember. What does the Government say to this? It is difficult to believe that it ha 6 not been sounded about its attitude towards this deal, and tho view the Railway Department will take of the new "tramway." Is it prepared to condone this flouting of Parliamentary responsibility ? On account of the heavy motor traffic expected op the Titirangi Park Road on Sunday, when the Governor-General opens the memorial church at the Park, the Waitemata County Council will restrict all vehicular traffic that day to one way between certain hours—only inwards between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.." and only outwards between 3.15 p.m. and 5 p.m. / The famous McEwan's culvert at Silverdale, which was one of the biggest structures swept away by the recent Hood in the north, has become the scene of a miniature strike. The council member, Mr. Poynton, of Dairy Flat, was having a temporary wooden bridge erected, two chains long, estimated to last five or more. Mr. Fox. a White Hills settler, collected a party of workers numbering about four, and, under the county assistant engineer, the I work was proceeding oh wages. The ' work was important and urgent, as it I linked the Albany and Helensville roads to Silverdale. It had reached the stage when 0116 hour's work would have made ■ it, available for precarious foot and i pony traffic and enabled the cream sup- j plies to Silverdale cream depot to j cro. s. when the men "downed tools." It ' is officially stated that the trouble was! due to non-arrival of wages from the \ council. Owing to the council's system j of issuing cheques xfortnightly. and un- I avoidable delay involved, by sending I in the pay-sheets, it is stated that j several weeks' pay were overdue! Mr.j Fox warned the council by 'phone, and | the county treasurer made a special! effort to find two councillors in Auck- | land to sign an urgent cheque. He could ! find only one. The men say all the : Silverdale stores demand cash, and they must have cash for their work. The bridjre is now beins finished by Messrs. \ Bowden Bros., of Albany. The Auckland Horticultural Society Ims decided to fret together and issue for the benefit, of amateurs and novices . a series of lists of experienced local j growers of roses, dahlias and crysanthe- \ mums from whom seeds and cuttings I can be obtained of strong, vigorous and free-growing plants and varieties. The idea is to save novices in horticulture the disappointments so often experienced . when dabbling in varieties which are not ' fully fixed, or not of free growth, by directing them to places where they will pet not only guaranteed goods, but also knowledge which will encourage them to go on wjth horticulture. Much praise has been given the little souvenir booklet that the Auckland City Council issued for presentation to the officers and men of the Fleet. The booklet, which was prepared by Mr. R. Hill, gives an admirable idea of Auckland, both in the letterpress and the wellselected photographs. j

Traffic at the Prince's wharf gates was well controlled this morning, when only school children and their guardians were admitted on board the Hood. A large number of children and their escorts went aboard, but the police t-.oK particular care to si?e that no wouid-'.ic "uardians or "children" from the of 18 up to about 50 crept in. By 11 o'clock a very small crowd —in fact, a mere sprinkling of people —were standing at the gates, and there were no less than six policemen "regulating" the crowd—a somewhat different ftate of affairs than existed on Sunday last. It is always interesting to note how the backing of first favourites pans out at a race meeting, since many of the investors, being without inside information, and either unable or unwilling to ask for such as a gnide. work on the fimp'.e | method of following tlie money. The c.ld dodge for having a bit of sport combined with an assurance against heavy loss is to put i-1 on each first favourite and give up all expectation of "striking it rich." A person who adopted that plan at the Forbury trotting races last week, says the "Dunedin Ftar." would have profited •5/6 the first day and come out exactly square on the second. First favourites won three races each day. Some amusement was occasioned in the Wellington Supreme Court by the replies of a witness to remarks from the Bench by the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout). "Don't you know the difference between an old and a new suit of clothes?" asked his Honor. Witness: "No, Mr. Stout, they are ali the came to mc; I have never been ueorl to good suite, but I can tell when they are absolutely ragged." "Didn't you have a watch?" was another question ptit'by his Honor later, when an hotel scene was being described. Witness: ''No, sir. I can't afford a watch." His Honor: "If you can afford liquor you should be able to afford a watch." Witness: "Tastes differ." His Honor: "Appartntlyj how did you know the time, then?" Witness: "I knew very well that the clock in the bar was ten minutes fast," (Laughter.) The attempt to heat the Hobson Street Baths by using one of the boilers in the Hobson Street Power House hae proved a failure. This was announced by the Mayor (Mr. .7. H. Ounson) at last evening's council meeting. The Mayor said that on trial the method proved insufficient and futile. However, the city engineer, and tramways engineer were low working on an alternative scheme, Thich it was felt would satisfactorily (vercome the difficulty. A proposal to nstal Turkish baths at the Hobson itreet Baths was recently brought forward by Councillor Tom Blood worth. The :ity engineer reported that such an installation would mean the entire renodelling and rebuilding of the front of ;he baths. His opinion was that the lite was inadequate for Turkish baths in conjunction with the ordinary provision >f swimming bathe for both sexes. On -lie motion of Councillor Bloodworth the vhole matter .was referred back to tho Parks Committee. The Prime Minister, speaking at Auckland on Saturday, remarked that he Dominion's expenditure on defence vould soon be £1,009,000 a year, but here is an impression abroad that wheii flaking this statement Mr. Massey was eferring to naval defence alone. In he course of an interview at Wellington'esterday Mr. Massey made it clear that iis remarks had reference to both laval and lend defence. "Some people nought wl)en I mentioned the cost hat I wae speaking bf naval defence," aid Mr. Massey. "I was speaking of he total cost 'of defence, both naval md military, and I said that in all >robability it would reach £1,000,000 within a year or two, and was not very ar short of £1,000,000 now. A million or the size of a population like Xew lea land is not at all a bad contribu;ion." The cost of the maintenance of J.M.B. Dunedin, which was about to >ecome the flagship of the New Zealand Jivision, Mr. Massey proceeded, would >c between £250,000 and £300,000 per innum. Much amusement was caused at the Inal meeting of the Devonport War Memorial Committee meeting last night when one speaker in referring to the rarious members of the committee eaid that some of them were bo full- oi :nergy that they were capable of iccompliahing almost anything, and hg 'elt sure that the member of the hospital Board, Mr. Howitt, would never ie satisfied till he got an old men's iome established at Stanley Bay. Thia ■eferenee to this classical suburb ■topped the speaker from making any urther remarks for a minute or two, jut he capped it by saying he was in leadly earnest. A deputation from the Mangere re?ilents round the head of Mangere bridge raited on the Power Board yesterday ifternoon to urge the running* of a line icross the bridge from One-iunga, and womised that there would-be a, profitable Inmand tor current. The board received -he request sympathetically, and will nake 9. personal visit to the locality to nquire into the matter. "Why did you say it was dangerous :o have revolvers in a ■ public bar?" isked counsel in a Supreme Court case it Christchurah. Witness (the hotel >roj>rietor) replied that when there were juns in a bar he liked to have them mi his side. Counsel suggested that ;hey were unloaded. "They can very tasily be loaded," replied witness. There have been several interruptions )f late in the alternating current areas >f the Auckland Electric Power Board, md, reporting on the matter to the board p-esterday, the engineer (Mr. A. Wyllie) said the trouble had arisen through the rery unsatisfactory character of the high '.ension transformer fuses that had been supplied to the board. The contractors iad now landed an. improved type, and if t appeared satisfactory the defective jnes would be at once replaced. Filial negotiations in connection with he introduction of electric lighting and >ower into Waihi are now takinj place >etween Thames Valley Electric "Power Joard and the hydro-electric committee >f the Waihi Borough Council. It is loped that reticulation will be taken n hand at an early date, and it is inticipated that onca the service is Lvailable it will rapidly extend. Owing to a breakdown of the lowe elevator drum at the Waitemata Count ;tone-crusher at Oakley on April 20, th output for 6G working days in the pas couple of months was cut down to 2 lays' crushing. The production was 79 aubic yards of metal at a cost of 10/ per yard, which the county enainee :onsidered satisfactory in the circun: stances. In replying to words of praise give: :o him for his work as treasurer of th Devonport War Memorial Fund, M,r. J Sew Harty said last night in h,umorou rein that if they would only make hit Mayor of Devonport he would consol: Inte the funds of the boroueh and con rert them into four and a-half per cent ;hen he would have about £350,000 a lis command and he would show then low to run » borough.