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Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 220, 16 September 1924, Page 4

"The secret of good roads is not so much a matter of concrete as of the dressing that is put on top of the macadamised surface," said Sir Joseph Carruthcrs, formerly "Premier of New South Wales, who is returning by the Makura from a trip to Honolulu. Ho .said the -beat roads he had ever travelled I upon were to bo found in the Hawaiian Islands. For three days he travelled about with the. mayor of Honolulu, who showed him all there was to be seen in the matter of road-making. Sir Joseph found that the experts were of opinion that it was useless to use tar for roadmaking; all the good had been burned out of it. Bitumen was the ideal material for sealing the surface of the macadamised road. 'He was tremendously impressed with what he saw and was certain that the bitumenisetl roads as laid down in Honolulu would last fiftytimes as long as the roads in Australia. In a conversation with a leading Dunedin land agent, a reporter was informed that, notwithstanding the shortage of money for investment purposes, there was still keen demand' for properties. Five to six-roomed houses were much sought after, particularly if the price was within a reasonable distance of fIOOO , . Although the exhibition might be expected to cause a certain hardening of values it was not considered that it would cause the rise that some had predicted. It was considered that the shortage of money for mortgages was chiefly due to the number of municipal loans that had been floated during the past year at fairly tempting rates of interest. The number of buildings in course of erection throughout the city and suburbs, however, seemed to suggest that Dunedin was taking a distinct step forward. At a recent meeting, the Taihape Borough Council amended conditions pertaining to the letting of'the Town Hall,, to provide that all members of tho council be granted free tickets for all entertainments except those for charity purposes. The effect of thi3 is already apparent, as two travelling companies recently cut out Taihape rather than submit to these conditions. Whatever compensation councillors may bo entitled to for their services, it appears certain that they anMiot going to have free entertainment if the travelling companies can help it. It is understood that when the council's decision was announced, most of the companies were circularised, and that there is an agreement among fhem to cut out Taihape unless the ,Town Hall conditions arc amended. "Now we will get on with the examination, after the witness has wasted half an hour, and Mr. Upham has given ; a lecture on the psychology of a stupid witness," said Mr. 0. T. j. Alpers, in exasperation, during the cross-examina- , tion of a witness in the Supreme Court lat-Christc-hurch. "You might admit that I you shared in the waste of time," said I Mr. W.-.J. Hunter, \vlio, with Mr. J. H. j Upham, was opposing counsel. "1 never "opened my mouth. I would get ion much 'better if my learned friends I would not . interject," replied Mr. Alpers. "Yes, if you knew your case," said Mr. Upham. "I think we had better get on with the examination, gentlemen," his Honor said, pouring oil on the troubled waters, and the lengthy evidence was continued. Advice has been received by Mr. W. H. Hayes, surveyor, of Te Awamutu, of his selection for the position of ..engineering surveyor to the Fiji Kauri Timber Company, which intends to exploit a huge tract of timber country on the mainland of Fiji. The work to be undertaken by Mr. Hayes is of considerable magnitude, including the laying out of a road that runs right across the island north-westward from Suva, a task which was being carried out by a former Te Awamutu resident, Mr. Scaly, who was murdered a few weeks ago. Mr. Hayes leaves for Fiji in a few days' time, and expects the present task to occupy two or three months. The mild weather—warm days, and an entire absence of frost—has caused a good growth of pasturage throughout the district (writes our Taihape correspondent). Lambs are to be seen everywhere, and are doing splendidly under the best of conditions. If no late snowfalls are experienced, the lambing should be a record for the district.' Dairy-farmers are having a good time just now, and supplies of cream have increased considerably during the past week pr two. One company operating in the district is making advance payments of 1/7* per pound for butterfat. Abo'jt sixty members of the Wellington Savage Club, including the orchestra, went \o Christchurch on Friday night to attend the korero of the Christchurch Savage Club on Saturday evening. It was the return of the visit paid by the Christchurch Club to Wellington last year. On the trip down the orchestra j played a number of selections on deck, which were quite enjoyed. Afterwards the hat was sent round, and £7 0/9 collected towards the Ripple fund. "You will never have many successful results until you have motor cycles,"said Mr. Wyvern'Wilson, S.M., of Christchurch, to the city motor inspector, during the hearing of a case of alleged speeding at night. The Magistrate said that a motor cyclist following a car could check the number more easily, and also could make a definite test of the speed over a certain distance. At the last meeting of the Otahuhu Borough Council, the district school committee requested that free water or a reduction on the present charge of 1/ per 1000 gallons be granted. At an adjourned meeting of the council held last evening, it was resolved that in view , of the school grounds being available' as a. public recreation ground, a donation of £10 per annum be made towards their maintenance.

1- A small fire,. probably caused by a , spark from a burner used by painters » who were working on the building during ) the day, was discovered in the Normal . School, Wellesley Street, at about 7 -, o'clock last evening. The City Fire , Brigade were summoned by a passer-by, r who noticed smoke coming out of the , building, but, on arrival, the firemen 1 found that the fire was almost out. A ' few scorched lining boards was the ex- . tent of the damage. An outbreak in '_ the Borough Council rubbish tip in Dominion Road last evening was re- \ sponsible for the Mount Eden brigade ' receiving a call. The services of the | men, however,'were not needed. A meeting of the Stanley Bay Rate- . payers' Association was held in the Methodist Hall last night, Mr. L. J. Haselden presiding. The chief matter [ dealt with was the consideration of the . timetable which the ferry company had , brought into operation about two months ago. Considerable discussion took place ' on the need of improving the service at ' different periods of the day. Eventually , it was decided to ask that a direct boat i \ be- put on between 9.20 and 10.3S a.m., j \ a direct boat from the city between 2 and -. 4 p.m., and a boat from the city between j 11 p.m. and midnight. It was also agreed to ask that the Sunday boats be i altered, as at present there was only one | direct trip from Stanley Bay between j 10.1S a.m. and 0.8 p.m., and that was the 2.48 p.m. boat. All the other boats j for the city were via Devonport. Messrs., Haselden, "Philson, Wilson and Aldridge were appointed a deputation to wait on j the ferry company in regard to the matter. The meeting resolved to write to I the Borough Council and ask that a fault at tlie pumping station be attended to as early as possible as it was causing much annoyance to residents. "What about the private owners?" asked a taxi-driver in the Magistrate's Court at Christchurch, when he was charged with having overcrowded his car by carrying eight passengers in it. He said that private owners thought nothing of "stacking their cars up," but nothing was done to them. The city motor inspector (Mr. H. Macintosh) said he hoped that offenders of tha* class would come under new regulations. The Wellington District Methodist, executive, holding office as a temperance and public morals committee of the Methodist Church of New Zealand, has passed a'resolution earnestly protesting against tho proposal before Parliament to grant licenses in the King Country and calling upon Parliament to resist it. The total amount collected by the Dunedin Jockey Club for the benefit of the widow and children of the late T. W. O'Conneil, who was accidentally killed at the June meeting at Wingatui, is £031. This amount was transferred to the Dunedin District Committee, which has arranged that the Public Trustee shall take charge and administer the fund by way of the purchase of a'house and furniture. A cheque for the amount has been handed to the Public Trustee. Of the three great modern beverages— chocolate, coffee and tea—chocolate was 1 the first to reach western countries. Tea ' followed in 15S8, and coffee in the fol- \ lowing century. Cortcz found cocoa in ; Mexico in 1519, where its use by the natives dated from time immemorial. The people of Abyssinia have used coffee 1 from the remotest times and. according to Chinese traditions, tea was drunk in ' that country 3000 years B.C.