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Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 54, 5 March 1926, Page 6

The triennial election for secretarytreasurer for the Auckland and Suburban Local Bodies Labourers' Union resulted in Mr. Bernard Clews, retiring secretary-treasurer receiving 726 votes, and Mr. Horace E. Veart 150, the majority of Mr. Clewes being 576. "The large class of up to sixty is one of the traeedies of education." said Mr. B. N. T. Blake, principal of the Thorndon Normal School, in a lecture at Wellington on Wednesday night. "It is a tragedy when a teacher addresses a class which cannot express its individual views. What chance have any of you merely listening to mc to-night of expressing your individualities? We must have more schools and more teachersWe must have some system of school building that will overtake the growing population. In the Dunedin district it is not so bad, in Canterbury and Christchurch it is bad enough, in Wellington it is worse, and in Auckland worst of all. I heard of three schools built for 300 and 400 children being filled the day they were opened by new pupils. It is a pressing problem. The Department: has schemes, such as the light school that may be run up in a day, and the scheme for moving schools to meet changed needs, and it is only fair to say that an attempt is being made to meet the position. But there is the case of the district which is changing its population, going back from cows to sheep, where the school is emptied. I have one in mind. And there is the other case of the needs called up by a population rapidly springing up, such as a railway camp. The "chief difficulty, however, lies in the expensive conditions of building in the towns."

During the past few weeks negotiations have been in progress between the Mount Eden Bus Company and four smaller bus proprietors, who were runing suburban services to Avondale, New Lynn, Mount Albert, and Blockhouse Bay. The result is that the smaller services have been absorbed by the Mount Eden Bus Company. This gives the company a fleet of 28 buses, and thus makes its fleet one of the largest in Auckland. Already there has been an extension to Glen Eden to give a half-hourly service Suburban residents on the northern side of the city have experienced a decided improvement in their travelling facilities. The services absorbed are those known as the G.0.C., Peter Barrett's, T. H. Newton's, and E. L. Crowe's. At a meeting of delegates from various A. and P. Associations in the Auckland province, which was held this morning, Royal Show matters were discussed. The president, Mr. \V. W. Massev, asked for support ■ from kindred societies, stating that the Royal Show was an Auckland province concern, and not an Auckland A. and P. Association function alone. Delegates from provincial associations promised that as far as their individual districts were concerned, they would go back with the strong endeavour to give what help they could. Excellent jumping was witnessed at the Waikato Central Show, held at Cambridge on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, but the contest for the champion hunter event eclipsed all others. Some of the best horses in the province were competing, and when nine of them had been eliminated the result rested between Major A. M. Samuel's El Arish and Mr. E. Johnston's Toki. These two are old rivals in hunting events, and yesterday El Arish succeeded in wiping off his defeat by Toki at Matamata. Mr. W. T. Gleeson's Gulielmus was third, and Mr. C- Merdith's Nero fourth. By winning the champion hunter event" at Cambridge yesterday, El Arish holds the honour ot being adjudged champion hunter in the Auckland Province for the agricultural show season, his wins in various shows placing him in that position. Major Samuel has now won the silver cup outright and yesterday he announced that he would donate another for competition. Referring to lighted traffic domes, the city traffic inspector in a report to the council last night expressed the opinion that the domes were proving most effective, and the council decided that lighted domes be placed at the corners of Pitt Street and Karangahape Road, Ponsonby and Great North Roads, Parnell Road and Domain Drive, Mountain and Khyber Pass Roads, Symonds Street and Khyber Pass Road, and Mount Eden and New North Roads. The one near the Town Hall had cost approximately £30. Two cases of motor cars having been taken on unauthorised excursions have been reported to the police in the past two days, but fortunately in each case the car was found undamaged. The first, a five-seater Chevrolet, belonging to Rev. A. A. Murray, was removed from outside the Grafton Library on Wednesday evening, and was found again in Halston Road, off Dominion Road, yesterday morning. A five-seater Dodge car, owned by Mr. W. D. Lysaght, was taken from Symonds Street, at 8.30 p.m. yesterday, but was recovered in Station Street, Newmarket, this morning. A most interesting event on People's Day at the Waikato Central Show was the children's events. Much work was entailed in working up the innovation, some 18 schools competing. All the events took place on horseback in teams of five or two as the case might be. There were also single competitions for the little ponies ridden by the kiddies. Two of the most interesting events on the programme were the senior and junior pony high jumps. The former was won by Master Graham Porritt on his own pony Toby, and the junior event by Master Hargreave's on Mr. Sands' Duchess. "Safety First," the slogan with which all Canadian highways are bespattered. in the same manner in which brilliant signs welcome and farewell the visitor, is attained in regard to level crossings, says a recently returned New Zealander_ by means of long spars which automatically fall whenever a train is approaching, and bar the road to all traffic until the train is past. All engines are provided with a large bell, swung on the ; front, which the driver turns on by pressing a switch at points where he thinks there may be danger. This bell also rings automatically until it is turned off, and it is used in the shunting yards as well as on the express runs. Its clangour is audible even in enclosed cars. Level crossings are common all over the country districts, but level crossing accidents are few and far between. Another mattei in which motorists are better safeguarded in Canada, he says, is the protection of every bank where motor cars might meet with an accident through leaving the road, by means of a fence composed of sleepers, seven feet long, strung or two strong steel cables, the whole fence giving when struck by a motor car, bul never allowing it to break through. In a letter to the City Council last evening the Auckland branch of the Institute of Architects drew attentior to the Government's distasteful practice of displaying advertisements on public buildings, and specially mentioned the chief post office as an example. The council decided to accede to the requesi of the institute to make representation! to the Government to discontinue thi practice. The reflection on the windows of a residence on the hill at Chelsea of the glare from the Albert Street fire in the city, just as darkness was setting ir last evening was responsible for an impression that the manager's house was ablaze- Messages were received by Constable Bishop at Birkenhead to this effect, and inquiries were made from as far away as Birkdale and Northcote the illusion of the reflection being sc very realistic. The Norwegian whaling ship Sir Jamei Clark Ross, states an Invercargill tele gram, has on board a collection o Emperor penguins, which were secured by the ship's officers for the Auckland Zoo. These birds, which stand aboui 3ft in height, are young once, and so fai have shown no ill-effects as the resuli of their removal from their natura. habitat. The first of a series of meetings to be held under the auspices of the Point Chevalier branch of the Labour party was held on Wednesday night in the Point Chevalier Hall, when there was a crowded attendance. An interesting lecture on "Labour's Aims International* was delivered by Mr. M. J. Savage, M.P. As a sequel to the reading aloud of the entire Bible last summer, all the hymns in the standard hymn books of the Methodist Episcopal Church were read, recited, or sung in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Yucaipa during an 11-hour period (says the San Francisco "Bulletin"). A total of 74S hymns were used in the service.