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Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 308, 29 December 1924, Page 4

A car, owned by Mr. N. D. Robertson and driven by Mr. H. Drummond, overturned on the road between Te Rapa .and Te Kowhai on Saturday. Besides the driver, there were seven passengers in the car. Apart from a severe shaking and a few cuts and bruises no one was seriously hurt. Another fire, said to be due to the combustion of some rags soaked with linseed oil. broke out last evening. I n this instance the outbreak was in a rubbish box on the ground floor of the premises in Albert Street of Messrs Smith and Smith. The City Fire Brigade extinguished the fire with chemicaie Deface any eeriou* -damage r^gnltftd.

The star item on the programme of the Auckland Trotting Club on Saturday, the Auckland Trotting Cup, did not provide the exciting contest of other years, and victory went to the Christ-church-owned Locanda Mac, who was in front from start to finish, and was followed home by two other Christchurchowned horses in Logan Chief and Ahuriri. During the running of the race Jewel broke in front of the stand, and Hypo, who was immediately in behind on the fence, collided with jewel. Hypo fell, and dragged his driver, \V. Kelsey, along the ground for some distance, but although given a severe shaking, the driver escaped serious injury.

A hiccup epidemic was lately reported from Australia where some distressing symptoms were the result. It was hoped that the complaint would not reach these shores, but during the Xmas season a very bad case developed in the Epsom district, the unfortunate sufferer having to take to his bed, and having to endure an amount of inconvenience which is almost inconceivable. The cause of the ailment seems to be in the nerves, and in the case under notice it is thought that spinal treatment may lead to a cure. Perfect quietness seems to 'be essential, because any effort to carry on a conversation causes a recurrence of the trouble. The hiccuping goes on incessantly and there is no chance of sleep and no chance of real rest. Drinking hot water ca.uses temporary relief, and it is hoped that in due course the distressing complaint may run its course. Broadway, Newmarket, was last evening the scene of an accident betweeu two motor cars. One of the vehicles, in charge of Mr. D. iMcCarten, of Onehunga, was being turned from Parnell into Khyber Pass, when it met a car driven by Mr. H. Kayes, which was going towards Parnell. The latter car had a spring broken and a headlight and mudeuard damaged. The running board of'the other vehicle was slightly smashed.

The remarkable growth in popularity of trotting was demonstrated on Saturday, when the Auckland Trotting Club inaugurated the Cup meeting. The weather was not encouraging, and rain fell at intervals during the morning, but cleared off towards noon, and when racing began there was a record attendance at Alexandra Park for a trotting meeting in Auckland. Those present must have been well provided with money, as the large sum of £80,030 10/ aws handled at the totalisators, which was _C 11,513 more than on Cup Day last

Brown people seem to be born "wet bobs." From the kiddies that dive for pennies off the bridge at Whakarewarewa to the plucky youngsters that swarm round the ship at Colombo and snap up the thrown coin before it reaches the bottom, there are dozens of instances of the love of the brown-skin for the water, or. perhaps one should say his skill in it. One of the passengers by the Tofua had to thank this facility of the native for the recovery of her purse, which contained some £12 in money and her passport, as well as other valuable papers. When she was leaning over the rail at Suva she dropped the purse into the sea, and, being weighty, it soon fell to the bottom. The alarm, was raised, and a couple of Fijians were soon taking headers off the Suva wharf after the missing property. One of them, a. Suva man, got tired of the task, but the other man, a Fijian steward on the Tofua named Philemonne, stuck to it, and after repeated efforts he at last emerced triumphant with the purse in his hand. There wa-s over six fathoms of water alongside the wharf where the purse was dropped, bo the retrieving of the lost article was not an easy thftig. The owner of the purse gave Ihilemonne a handsome reward, and everyone that saw his feat agreed that he deserved it. A patron of the Trotting Club who was present at the trots on Saturday, for the first time for a number of years and who had lost touch a good deal with the sport, thought it would be a good thing to work on a system, such as he had seen described recently in the newspapers, to see how his luck would turn out. He decided to back horses with Scotch names and started with Loch Lomond which came third in the first race. With no horse of a Scotch name starting in the second race, he backed Bawldy Locanda which was unplaced. In the third race he backed Locanda Mac and more than recouped his losses. Maggie was backed in the fourth race and Our Jessie in the fifth, and still the speculator was a bit to the good, and at the end of the day, was satisfied that, system or no system, ho had a good day's sport and picked the horses more successfully than most. "We tried to get this old man into the Auckland Infirmary," said Sergeant Rowell iv the Police Court this morning when dealing with the case of an old fellow who was charged with having no visible means of support. " The home is crowded," added the officer "and there is a long waiting list." "Do you drink", constableV" inquired counsel at the Wanganui Court. "No " was the prompt reply. "Are you a teetotaller?" "No." The constable then qualified the remark by stating that he did not have a drink that day and that accounted for Ibim being able to smell the beer on the other chap. "How long have you been drinking?" asked counsel. "All my life," was the candid reply. "What do you drink?" "Beer," beefed out the constable. When a patient is admitted to a hospital he is required to answer several questions including one concerning ihis religion. At a local district institution an incoming patient was asked the usual question, says the "Wanganui Herald." This appeared to be a puzzler. "I'm Mowed if I know," was the reply, and then, as a bright idea struck him he immediately asked, "Are you. short of any?" A headmaster of a school in South Canterbury, finding himself at the end of the year without a sixth standard, amused himself with the fifth standard' He put them up for the sixth standard proficiency examination, and five out of the seven passed. He expects to be expelled from the Teachers' Union. In tea rooms at Timaru, a lady left the estabishment leaving her purse (containing £10) behind her. On her departure her table was immediately occupied by a demure young lady, who foolishly pocketed the purse, and made a quick get-away. I n her haste she inadvertently dropped a letter addressed to herself. When the owner of the purse returned to find her property missing, she informed the police of her loss, and by means of the letter the authorities were soon hot on the trail. A rabbit shot near the Knebworth golf course was found to contain two jzolf balls. A visitor from Aberdeen who, whilst playing recently on these links, lost three balls, has now. de-