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Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 9, 12 January 1926, Page 6

There was a short sitting of the Supreme Court this morning, when Mr. Justice Reed ' delivered two reserved judgments. The Court will not sit again until Wednesday, January 20, when prisoners will appear for sentence. "As a resident of the Great North Road, I would draw your attention to the way in which some motorists are using the new concrete road ,to the danger of children in the day time and adults at night."' So wrote a New Lynn ratepayer to the Town Board last even? ing. He further' pointed out that as there were no lights, and the footpaths j in a bad state of repair, the road was ; the only place for one to walk on at night. Surely the board could do some--thing to stop the dangerous practice of "speeding. The' chairman (Mr. C. F. Gardner) stated that the main road footr paths had to be put in order for the use of pedestrians; at the same time, people using the concrete at night should carry a light in fairness to the motorist. The question of a speed limit was ■ cussed, and eventually 25 miles an hour ]. was decided upon. There will thus he a difference of ten miles an hour between ; the speed limit of Avondale and New Lynn, the Avondale figure being 15 miles an hour. Whilst fishing in the Tuki Tuki River, ', Waipukurau; a. resident was surprised to see a water rat emerge from its hole, swim over to the opposite bank, and deftly catch a fbur-inch trout lying in the shallows. The rodent then swam swiftly away, with its prey in its mouth, | to its lair. Many fishermen were sur-! prised to heai: of such an occurrence,' •but apparently the rat _may ha -idded to the list of natural enemiee i_ .he trout. I'

t "It lias made its appearance after a long and painful illness of some months' duration," said a commercial traveller, pointing to the clock on the arrival platform at the Auckland railway station this morning. Eor some months the clock in question has had a piece of brown paper pasted over its two faces and it was not a particularly handsome object on the already dingy station. It appears that the timepiece, -which is a "double-facer," has been causing the officials much trouble on account of its erratic movements. The works were removed and sent to Wellington to be i "fixed up." The mechanism of this particular clock is of a very delicate nature and on account of the vibration at the station it has been most difficult to adjust. The slightest touch of the regulator causes either one face or the other to show a gain or a loss of time. This morning saw the works placed in position, and the faces, which have not looked upon the public for months, again told the time of day to within a minute of each other. A letter was received by the New Lynn Town Board last evening from Mr. Carr Rollett, on behalf ,of a number of Titirangi residents, in which the board was asked to assist by approaching the Auckland City Council, Waitemata County Council, and other local bodies interested, seeking their co-operation in pushing forward the early construction lof a good road from the concrete highway at New Lynn to Titirangi. It was considered that if the New Lynn Town Board took a lead in the matter a considerable contribution could be obtained from the city, and probably a substantial grant from the Government, besides help from the Waitemata County Council and a special loan from Titirangi ratepayers. The matter was left in the hands of the chairman.

Four classrooms are being added to the Northcote primary school, at the corner of Lake and Onewa Roads, to make provision for the removal of Standards 111. and IV. children, hitherto housed at the Junior High School. The whole of the accommodation at the latter building is required for postprimary purposes. For the time being the portable buildings which were in use at the Royal Oak school have been transferred, and are now being re-erected at Northcote. Each of these rooms will accommodate about one hundred pupils. This structure, however, will be removed as soon as the new building, to contain four classrooms, is ready. This will be constructed in wood, close to the present main brick building. There will then be a total of seven classrooms at this school. Tenders for the new portion of the school will .shortly be called. The f additions necessitated at this school i reflect the growth of this district, _in keeping with the great expansion taking j place on the North Shore.

Prior to his engagement as general secretary of the A.S.R.S., Mr. M. J. Mack was in the service of the Railway Department and a. contributor to the superannuation fund v An Order-in-Council published last week invests him as from December 1 last with tho rights, privileges, and liabilities to which a contributor is entitled, on the understanding that the A.S.R.S. pay forthwith to the fund the sum of £887 5/6, and that Mr. Mack's regular contribution be 5 per cent of the salary he receives from the society. The Order-in-Couneil may he revoked in the event of the members of tbe A.S.R.S. striking or should Mr. Made he guilty of misconduct, which, if he had been a member of tlie Department, would, in the opinion of the Minister of Railways, have justified his dismissal from the service.

The boy who "stood on the burning deck, whence all but he has fled," has won the immortality of a well-known poem, but probably a certain skylark will not find her pdfct, though she certainly deserves one. While beating out a field fire at Feltham, Middlesex, firemen noticed a skylark sitting on her nest on the ground in a direct path of the flames. Even when the flames caught the grass of which the nest was constructed the bird did not stir until the firemen were close upon her. So struck were the firemen with the bird's heroism that they determined to save her home at all costs. They set about isolating the nest, and were so successful that, although the fire spread all around, the nest was scarcely damaged and the eggs remained intact.

As has been the case with most of the .other districts, New Lynn has experienced a year of progress. A total of 72 new houses were erected at a value of £40,318, while shops and other buildings erected amounted in value to £8617. A new picture theatre is at present in the course of erection on the Great North Road, with a seating capacity of 700. There is nothing to stop the district from making rapid "strides when the concrete main road through the Town Board area of New Lynn has been completed: The board has. the matter of putting all the roads "m modern condition, but as the scheme will involve a considerable amount of money, it is doubtful whether the whole of it will be submitted to the ratepayers. The prospects for this year in all respects are most bright and New Lynn will in time become one of the leading suburbs of Auckland.

, A startling experience befell a Marton drover who was giving his horse a drink at - a dam. The animal, which waa attached to a gig, suddenly plunged forward and got into deep water. The drover hurriedly scrambled on to the bank, partially undressed, and dived into the water to release the struggling horse from the gig- By this time only the nose and eyes of the steed were visible. With great presence of mind the driver managed to undo the harness, when the horse jumped over his rescuer's head, missing him by a fraction of an inchThe drover then swam ashore.

The impulsive generosity of the New Zealander was' demonstrated in an unusual manner at the New Plymouth prison on Saturday night. The prison concert party was bowing its acknowledgment of the applause of the many visitors, when in a flash they came under a bombardment of cigarettes and tobacco, the week-end "smokes" of the audience. Of course, it was against the regulations to give the prisoners the tobacco, and many realised this later, but the hope was expressed that, in view of the special circumstances, the authorities would allow the men to enjoy the gifts. Fully -fifteen different ingredients figure in the curries that make up an important part of the fare on board the steamer Hughli. There are about 250 Indians to be catered for, not including the ninety in the crew, and the importance attached to spices and peppers, with such names as cumin, tamarind, turrnerie, coriander-seed, shows that the average Indian, who is sufficiently wealthy to pay for a sea voyage to these parts, is not satisfied with a simple meal of rice. He has mutton, potatoes, fish, tea, and a whole variety of other edibles, the names of which cover Se* closely printed pages.