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Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 110, 11 May 1926, Page 6

Durinir the first three months of this year 2465 assisted settlers sailed for New Zealand, as compared with 1780 during the first three months of 1925. In January of this year there were 784, as compared with 601 in January of 1025: in February CGO, as against 000: and ill March 1021, as against 525. The Hororata sailed on April 10 with 024. the Mahana on April 13 with 780, and the Ruapehu on April 10 with 252, making the total for the week 1C62. °

This morning. Limited express from Wellington Was forty minutes late iv arriving at Auckland, having been delayed on the journey on account of having to wait at stations en route to cross other trains. Those on board the Niagara on her recent trip to this port witnessed a rather exciting scene as the vessel was about to leave Sydney wharf. A young man, deciding at, the last moment that he would not make the trip, pitched his portmanteau on to the wharf when the vessel was some twenty feet away. and deliberately attempted to follow "it by a _ record broad jump. But he fell short of his destination, and as he entered the water was struck across the back by a beam projecting from the wharf. It was later learned that he had been hoisted out of the water from under the wharf shortly after the mishap, and was recovering. Householders in the Mount Eden Borough have frequently complained of the defective supply and pressure of water. Reporting on the matter last evening to the council, the engineer, Mr. J. Rogers, was emphatic that where mains were provided there was an ample supply of water and abundant pressure on the mains. The deficiency of water pressure was solely due to the clogging of the private water service with°silt and decayed vegetable matter in suspension, and in the water supplied from the city sources. Ratepayers had to recognise this fact, and where the supply was defective the remedy was to provide a new service pipe. * j The Railway Department is at present compiling a new timetable to take the place of the one which came into i operation at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Novem- i ber 15. In addition to several other proposed changes improvements are being provided for in the mixed train service between Maungaturoto and Opua. j In the past it has been the custom to ' combine the Rotorua and Thames expresses, in the run from Auckland to j Morrinsville, during the winter months. This year it has been decided to maintain the separate running of these express trains. At present the Thames express leaves Auckland at 9.30 a.m. and the Rotorua at 10.30 a.m. Whether these departure times will be altered in view of the Daylight Limited suspending operations is a subject which is being discussed at a conference of railway ofli- ; cials in Wellington this week." * \ An epic of bush pluck is told in the : story of how a wood-cutter from Temora, New South Wales, drove 10 miles in a lorry while blood was spurting from a cut artery in his foot. Robert Starr is the hero of the story. He is a well-known wood-cutter in the district, and was alone in the bush at work when his axe slipped and made a nasty gash in his foot. Had it not been for the heel of his boot it is certain that he would have chopped his foot in two. As it was the main artery was severed. Though faint from loss of blood he dragged himself about 500 yards, to the road where his lorry was waiting, cranked it up, and crawled into the driving seat. He was losing a lot of blood, but he remained conscious throughout the 10-mile drive to the Temora Hospital, where he was given an anaesthetic and the wound was stitched. This is the second occasion when Starr has cut hjmself with his axe at work, j Only a montli ago he was able to re- : sume his duty after nursing a broken arm and collarbone caused through a fall from a bicycle. j Hitherto the actuarial work in connection with Government and local bodies' superannuation funds, the National Provident Fund, and friendly societies, has been performed by a special staff attached to the Government Insurance Department. The work has, however, grown to such an extent as to make advisable, if not necessary, the creation of a new Government subdepartment, which will be known as the Government Actuary's Branch, and which will deal solely with actuarial -—finer Government departments and special funds, thus freeing the Insurance Department of the responsibility therefor. The creation of the 1.-ii will make a vacancy in the office of Government Insurance Commissioner, and this will be tilled by Mr. A. E. Alison, formerly district manager at YVanganui. Invercargill and Dunedin. and at present district manager at Wellington. In the course of bis remarks at a; social function organised by railway men in Auckland. Mr. E. Casey, the newlyappointed divisional superintendent for the North Island, said he considered the personnel of the railway of New Zealand as being second to none, and that much of the success of the new system of management could rest in the hands of the rank and file. Mr. Casey made a strong claim for the co-operation of all railwaymen, with the object of giving to the public a service which would be adequate and efficient. The new divisional superintendent added that he did not want the men to feel that lie was unapproachable. On. the ■ contrary. lie knew that better results would accrue if all worked together with the spirit of giving national service to New Zealand's great iiVustries. Applications for winter farm schools were again received this year by the ! Department of Agriculture from the three centres where these schools were run so successfully last year. Three separate schools will be held, at Darga- > ville. Whangarei and Hamilton. De-! partures from the usual course at Darga- j ville are being made this year in that' lecturers are being sent to* some of the outlying districts, so extending the range of the school. The Waikato School is this year being held in Hamilton during winter show week, and not as in previous years at Ruakura State Farm. After travelling nearly 130 miles in seven days, two barefooted boys, aged 14 and 11, were arrested at Mercer and \ returned to the .Probation Home at Mount Albert. The lads were in serjvice at Parua Bay under license, and, absconding towards the end of April", endeavoured to reach their parents at Pirongia. Leaving school at mid-day, they walked to the Whangarei Heads! where next day they found a dinghy. After an adventurous journey southern shore, the lads tramped to Devonport. crossed in the ferry steamer, and walked on from Auckland to Mercer. About 100 miles of the journey was performed on foot. A business men's luncheon is to be held at the Y.W.C.A. to-morrow, at 12.30 p.m.. when the association's campaign for the purpose of raising money to build a new hostel at the rear of the buildin~ in Queen Street, on property owned by the organisation, will be fully explained. Mr. J. W, Court will preside, and the Hon. George Fowlds will be among the speakers. When the Daylight Limited express is taken off, .subsequent to Jone 5, it is proposed to run a passenger train' from Frankton to Auckland at the same time a* the Daylight makes the journey. The idea is to endeavour to preserve the afternoon train connection from Thames a_id Rotorua to Auckland,

A fire at Ruatoki, near Whakatane, yesterday, believed to have been caused by sparks being blown out of the furnace, destroyed a bakehouse belonging to Mr. George Wilson. The insurance is about £100, and the loss is estimated at £250. j "Next to the war photographs gallery, the most popular thing in the court was the small raised map of Gallipoli," said the sergeant-major of the military section at the Dunedin Exhibition. "Everyday ex-soldiers of the Main Body fought < their battles over again, and every day I was called in to be told how the landing was effected and what so-and-so did when he got ashore. That little map j was the meeting place for the Main | Body men, and _ have seen as many as | eleven of them, all casual strangers, drawn by a common interest, and each telling the tale with the greatest gusto. , The map has been called in to settle arguments and explain the positions so frequently that the names 'Anzac Cove and 'Suvea Bay' have been entirely obli- . terated by finger-marks." The many friends of Mr. Benjamin! John Hitchins, writes our London cor-, respondent, will regret to hear of his I death at sea, when, on the Ruahine, he ! was on his way to England to see a son whom he had left in England when be went out to New Zealand seventeen years ago. Although warned by his doctor that it was a risky trip for him to make, the late Mr. Hitchins started j on the voyage, and fourteen days out died and was buried at sea. One son j who was with him on the Ruahine is now in England with the brother, who lives at Swindon, Wiltshire, whom the , late Mr. Hitchins had set out to visit. Some information regarding the ! smallpox outbreak in California was i brought back by Dr. M. H. Watt, j Deputy-Directoi-General of Health, . who arrived at 'Wellington by the j Makura from San Francisco, yesterday. When Dr. Watt left the U.S.A. t there was, he said, a moderate amount | lof t-mahpox of a mild type in the ! | ■' Francisco, particularly ! at Oakland, but this was not an unusual condition, as mild smallpox was epidemic on the Pacific Coast. At Los Angeles, however, the outbreak was much more severe, though the authorities considered the back of it was not broken. In any case, however, Dr. Watt advised that passengers by i steamers should be vaccinated. i A surprising instance of suffering 1 through unemployment came under the notice of a well-known business man and a taxi driver last night. At 10 p.m. the business man called for a car, and was answered, "Excuse mc a minute, as I am endeavouring to do a good turn." The business man asked if he could cooperate in the good turn, and the driver agreed. They interviewed a youiTg man of 10, who, during the previous week, had walked in from Te Kuiti living on food that he earned by working for various farmers. He arrived penniless. A small amount of money was given him, and a.n early effort was made to place him in employment. The youth's first inquiry upon meeting the taxi driver a little while earlier had been, "What is the way to Helensville ?" Questioned as to his travellings, he said he had been put out of work through a slump in the boot trade, to which he , was apprenticed. ! When it was decided at last evening's meeting of the Mount Eden Borough Council to increase the rates in the j borough 2d in the £ to meet the inj creased hospital levy upon the district, the Mayor, Mr. E. H. Potter, said he tid not think the ratepayers would take any exception to the addition to the rates. The hospital was doing wonderful work and he was certain that if the citizens of Auckland paid a visit to the institution and saw for themselves the manner in which the work was being car-1 ried out they would be well satisfied, j "The Government valuation is responsible for the increase in the hospital | levy, so far as it effects our district," | said the Mayor. "The ratepayers cannot reasonably object, as the hospital is rendering a great service to the community, and the board's first duty is to the patients. Much prominence has been given to hospital matters in the Press recently, but I wish to say there is no friction at the institution under j the board's control. The honorary,! stipendiary, and nursing staffs are rendering efficient service, and every- . ;'thing at the institution is working | smoothly. The plans and specifications I made for buildings to meet growing re- ! quirements in connection with the board's activities were carefully considered by the board's departmental experts before tenders were called and the work proceeded with. I consider a departmental inquiry quite j unnecessary." j