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Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 10, 13 January 1926, Page 6

An inquest was held this morning, before Mr.' J. W. Poynton, S.M., on the body of William Taylor, an elderly man, who was knocked down by a train at Victoria Crescent Crossing, Newmarket, on Saturday afternoon and who died in hospital yesterday. After evidence of identification had been taken the inquest was adjourned till Friday. A rather important departure from the previously recognised reading of the boundary building by-law was made by the Northcote Borough Council last evening. It had been understood that the by-law insisted that no part of a wooden structure could be placed within four feet of the side boundary. This was obviously a safeguard for preventing the spread of a fire. The Mayor, Mr. C. -A. Deuxberry. last night informed the council that the by-law was of an alternative dharajcter, and the Teal reading was that the council could not prevent the erection of a wooden building on the boundary so long as there was eight feet of space between the two buildings. As there was a distance of fifteen feet from the adjoining building in the case of the application under review, the council granted a permit for the enlargement of the wooden building, though this would bring the new portion within two feet of the side boundary of the property.

Speaking of fishing experiences at I Russell during the holidays, an Auck- J lender eaid to-day that there were * plenty of signs of swordfish' around Cape j Brett and Piercy Island, as indicated by < the shoals of flying fish* As a member ' of a party of five, he took part in land-'' ing a catch of over 3cwt of fish during i one afternoon. There -were nine ha- { pukas, averaging 281b each, two king- I, fish, one red schnapper, and several rock [: cod, trevalli, schnapper, parrot fish and ' brown eels. I One of the most popular beaches on! the Manukau Harbour is that which is j! generally known as Green Bay. At present a large number of people are in I res'hience there, including campers. Recently substantial bathing eheds have been erected in brick by the aid of donations and voluntary labour. No charge is made for the use of the facilities provided, and there is little or no supajj vision. Under these circumstances sneak j thieves have been busy, and relieved j bathers of various sums of money that they have left in their clothes while enjoying a swim. Money was taken last evening, and bathers are accordingly warned. , The Australian Ladies' Pipe Band's attempt to find the ugliest man in Auck- ; land is meeting with great success, and on Friday, in the Civic Square, a lively < scene sJiould 'be -witnessed, when the ] votes are registered on the blackboard. The medal which is to be given to the ' winner is at present on view in Lewis 1 R. Eady's window, Queen Street. It is ! really not the ugliest man, or an ugly man, who will win. It may be Auckland's handsomest, as the votes count - more on popularity than on looks. The • band is in need of lady helpers to assist ' •them in' the sale of the Auckland and district on that date, ! Willing helpers are asked to get into touch at once with Drum-Major Darwin, care Travellers' Club. The Public Trust Office advised the Northcote Borough Council last evening ' that, as a result of the successful progress of the Public Trust Office in recent years, combined -with the exercise of strict economy in expenditure, it had been found possible to increase the ' rates of interest allowed on certain : classes of. funds held in the common fund of the office. Accordingly, from the Ist inst., the interest allowed on local body sinking funds and superannuation funds would be increased , by one-quarter per cent. This, it was explained, was a substantial concession to those local bodies who had entrusted funds to the Public Trustee for investment, and was a part of the '■ settled policy of the Public Trust Office > to share with its client's the benefits of the successful working of the office. A race that will long be remembered . was the 100 yards swimming championship of Auckland, held in the Tepid Baths last night in connection with the Auckland championship tests. For years there has been a keen struggle to "break the minute" over the distance,!. and A. D. Adamson, the holder of the I title for that distance covered it in 58 4-os, which constituted a New Zealand record, .and, incidentally, is the fastest time ever done by a New Zealander. The Dominion record of 59s was held by L. L. Kronfeld. Six men left the mark in this race, which provided much interest, and when Adamson sprinted in to'win by two yards he was greeted with prolonged applause. ■Wellington may escape, but almost ■ certainly will not, the latest dieting craze, the devotees of which for two • days, two weeks, two months, or even , in some cases longer, pass by the \ butcher's shop and have no gas or fuel . bills worth mentioning (says the "Post"). Everything is eaten as the garden grows it, raw carrot, raw parsnip, a cabbage leaf or two, the choice , heart of a snow-white cauliflower, beetroot for colour, pears, and apples (skin, core, and pips)—all grated finely to an appetising (if one feels that way) dish. It is not mere vegetarianism, it is uncooked vegetarianism, and apparently there is not the slightest objection to an extension of the system to include' meats, except that, to be consistent, the seeker after perfection must eat his (but mostly her) meat food also in a natural state, preferably bitten direct from the animal on the hoof. The new food is eaten, with or without relish, purely in the interests of the willow wand figure, and much is claimed for it as a 100 per cent reducer, so j much so that folk previously distinctly , on the wrong side of correct-weight-for- ( height have after a couple of months ( on raw vegetable mush continued to lose • weight simply as a result of the worry ; over the sudden alarming slackness of last season's summer clothes; even the hat band must be padded. Already several towns in New Zealand have been bitten hard by the new idea; and Wellington will escape only by miracle. A bright shining sovereign may not have any more purchasing value than a dirty, torn £1 note, but the scarcity of the coin adds a little sentimental value to iAwhich may not be realised by the younger generation, who, possibly, have not even any knowledge of what a sovereign looks like. An Aucklander | at present on a visit to Morrinsville, tells I an amusing story which shows that at! least one young Morrinsville person had |' no use for £1 in a single coin. The Aucklander was in the main street of Morrinsville the other evening and entered a shop to make a small purchase, tendering a sovereign in payment.' The_ dainty assistant, who perhaps had not a score of years, gently, but i very firmly, refused to accept the coin, as, she said, she had never seen "any of those things before." The Aucklandei was .temporarily bewildered, but, as he ' really wished to complete his purchase, which meant that he had to "bust ,, his sovereign, he wandered along to a chemist's shop, and discreetly asked for change. Mr. Chemist was only too willing. He had not seen many of those kind of things—not recently anyway— but he had seen sufficient to cause him to utter: "Welcome little stranger!'-' The total amount received by Mr. J. j S. Brigham, honorary treasurer of the i Auckland provincial' fund towards the j national memorial to the late Prime! Minister, the Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey, is £1668 19/7, to January 8. This sum, less 16/ for bank exchange and charges, has been remitted by Mr. Brigham to the treasurer of the national fund at Wellington. 'Of the money collected in the province the Town Hall lists produced £683 12/, and the local bodies and organisations to whom lists were, sent returned £985 7/7. Whangarei headed the country contributions with £119 5/3. Mount Eden Borough coming next with £77 12/3, and it is interesting to note that the racing and trotting clubs of the province contributed £223 among them. Since the amount in the fund was remitted to Wellington some further contributions have come in, and it is hoped that the fund will be yet further augmented before it is finally ■closed.

Amusement was created in a Marton shop recently when a zealous assistant, | ever watchful of her employer's inter-1 ests, declined to accept one of the new issue Bank of New Zealand notes, declaring: '"None of that Ratana Bank stuff for mc." The new issue portrays the head of a Maori and it is thought that this caused the mistake. A waterspout was seen at sea yesterday morning by the master and officers of the steamer Hikurangi, while en route from Whangarei to Auckland. It was a particularly high waterspout and was passing Rodney, 45 miles from Auckland, travelling in a south-easterly direction towards the Hauraki Gulf. The waterspout -was sighted just after 11 o'clock - , at the time of the torrential downpour in the city. In a discriminating notice on the exhibition of paintings at the Goupil Gallery, London, the "Times" comments very favourably on the work of an Aucklander, Mr. Frederick J. Porter. Out of an exhibition of nearly five hundred the "Times" selects two. for particular commendation, and one of these is "The Pond," by Mr. Porter. "It is a purely naturalistic representation of the scene," says the paper, "but being conceived and executed in terms of paint' ing it remains in mind wnen most else is forgotten." Irrepressible youth is always present at swimming carnivals, and one of them provided an amusing interlude at the Tepid Baths last night. The America* athletes, J. V. Scholz and L. Hahn were being introduced to the gathering, and upon the announcement that the former was the world's champion sprinter, a youthful voice cut in: "Can he swim?" Amid laughter, Mr. Scholz made a rush for the aide of the batrF and took up the position of a swimmer about to leave the mark. This action met with approval from the youngster, who yelled his appreciation. , A Gisborne runner's experience in the Bay of Plenty during the Christmas season is affording his friends some amusement. The local man was induced to enter for a sprint race at a picnic sports meeting, and after some hesitation did so. The handicapper placed him on the three yards (a yard behind the limit man) and when the Poverty Bay athlete won the final by nearly twice his handicap, the organisers naturally repaired an error of "omission, and inquired what previous performances he had to his credit. The 440-yards P.R championship badge in his coat lapel should have given him away earlier. "Hold him still, professor," said a stock buyer at the sale to a vendor who was leading a 'bull round the pen by a rope in the manner of a parade at the agricultural show, says the "Wanganui Herald." The farmer obeyed, and when the laughter subsided he began to recite the bull's pedigree. "How much am 1 offered?" commenced the auctioneer. After silence for a few minutes: "Five pounds. Who'll give mc £5?" The bull's owner looked pained. "Xo offer," shouted the auctioneer. "Well, £4, then," he coaxed. "He won a prize last year," urged the owner. "He's a good bull. I can guarantee that." At last came an offer. "I'll give you three-ten for him," said a buyer. The owner looked furious. "I won't take anything under a fiver," he bellowed. But he was beaten at his own game, and let the "pedigree" bull go for £3 10/. "Will you drive him to the works for mc?" asked the purchaser, who was a bit of a wag. "No, and I won't give you the rope, either," growled the disappointed vendor, as he let the bull loose in the pen. Then there was a scatter for the rails, tout the bull hadn't sufficient energy to express his indignation at Leing sold at such a low figure. "How about the ring in his nose?" queried the , purchaser, in jest. "Do you want that back?" "Yes, you'd better let mc have it," said the farmer as he left the yaTds, amid laughter. Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Auckland provincial executive of the Farmers' Union last evening, .Mr. R. Fiesst, of the Waikato sub-provincial area, said the impression was abroad that resignations were weakening the strength of the union. This was, he contended, by no means the case. Therp had bee.n- the usual batch of resignations owing to sales of properties, changes of residence, etc., but the new enrolments more than compensated for these losses. The organiser, he said, had recently put on no fewer than 100 new members. A reduction in the price of gas was promised at the recent annual meeting of the Birkenhead and Northcote Gas Company. This has now been definitely decided upon, the amount of the reduction being five penec per thousand cubic feet.