NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

I Quis Custodiet? ! "The i-::al -launhter of niir glorious niknu ' palm wn; the t'.'-i ibinu timt -truck lr.o when 1 i entered the Town Hall last night," writes an ! indignant ratepayer. "When will these apathetic ! citizen- of Auckland realise that.every time some 1 di>tnuivi-d'.ed person arrives dozens of this lovely 1 tree, our one aiul only palm, are slaughtered to | make a one -Ili t show, and then he thrown out jon the iiw-i heap The saddest part of this I \ ai.dali-m i- that it i- done. or at least permitted. ! I,\- the verv people that should set the public an example m preserving the remnant of our magnificent forest. Every one of those lovely nikau head- stuck up in the hall last night to hide the pillar- of the gallery would be the result of at least half a century'- growth. Merely to make a show that could easily have been achieved by other means, the City Council ruthlessly sacrifices centuries of Nature's priceless handiwork, and who i- one whit the better for it this morning? Last time we were told the nikaus used came from land that was being cleared.' I wonder what the excuse will be this time? To those of u- who love the glorious Waitakere bush this shocking disregard of the beauty of these slowgrowing palms is all the mole disquieting from the f.i't that the City Council is custodian of thou-ands of acres of this same priceless forest. How do we know that the Council is observing its bounden duty to preserve for posterity this priceless heritage? Systematic and periodical spoliation makes one very suspicions. - ' Sport and Globe Trotting. There is a deal of globe-trotting done nowaday- in the name of sport. Once upon a time the youth, with eyes set on adventure and strange places, used to ship before the mast and work his passage, but in the nineteenth century, under tin 1 same old urge, he pours his glorious energy and courage into tennis courts, cricket and football fields instead of on the shrouds and yards of the wind-jammer or in the stokehold of the tramp steamer. For instance, the Australian cricketers last year travelled in coinjiarative comfort over historic ground in Europe and Britain. Before them the All Blacks practically circled tlie globe in similar style, to be followed by the Maori Rugby players and the New Zealand League footballers. Yesterday there landed in Auckland from Sydney, one, H. L. Ilendry, who had reached his Melbourne home in December from a tour with the Australian crickeiers. Early this month he had hurried by train from Melbourne to Bri-bane, to reinforce the Victorian cricket team against Queensland, and, reaching Sydney on the way back, branched off by the LTimaroa for New Zealand to join his mates of the Melbourne ( ricket Club, now at Palmerston North, for which centre he departed last night by express train. Visiting Trotters' Success.

A feature of the racing at Epsom yesterday, when the Otahuhti Trotting Club brought tie summer meeting to a close, was the remarkable run of successes scored by horses owned outsi le the Auckland province. Opening with a win in the first event, the visitors captured every race, and the score was seven to nil against Auckland when the final event came to be decided. Then the locally-owned Luvan put a stop to a com plete rout by winning, but even then the second and third places wete filled by visitors. Backers were in great form, and during the afternoon six first favourites were successful, the two other events being won by a second and fourth choice. It is not often that the summing tip works out so correctly as it did yesterday. Dignity and Impudence. i As befits a duke and his duchess, dignity and poise is the keynote of behaviour on all occasions and, to the credit of Auckland, people have acted courteously towards the Royal couple on their every public appearance. However, incidents which provoke laughter are bound to happen in the best-regulated proceedings. This was exem plified last n.ght, when the procession of official ears left the Town Hall after the big reception. Hundreds of people had remained in Queen Street to catch a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess, and a glimpse they got of a smiling lady and a handsome gentleman. People waved and cheered as the procession of expensive cars flashed by. Then the cheering was drowned in a tornado of laughter, for at the rear of tho procession came a much battered "Tin Liz," with a soliuirv occupant. He grinned from ear to ear. and raised his hat with a comic gesture. Appreciating the humour of thy thing, the amused throngs on the sidewalks gave the unofficial car a round of cheers. That Waterfront Train. V\ hen tho waterfront railway was first opened for traffic trains shunting trucks to or from Princo's wharf observed a restricted time-table, in order that North Shore residents who have to cross to the Ferry Buildings might not be inconvenienced. Time has passed, however, and there havo been alterations to the original time-table, so that trains cross the foot of Oueen Street at moments which sometimes coincide with the arrival of a ferry boat. The other night people arriving from Devonport at 7.20 were more than a little annoyed when a long rake of trucks, moving at the. regulation snail's pace, obstructed their progress. r l liey had. perforce, to remain on the footpath while a score or so of empty trucks clattered by. Then the train stopped and several irritated pedestrians climbed across the couplings. A number of Devonport and Takapuna people feel that this sort of treatment is intolerable, especially as they are accused in the newspapers of being guilty of "dooking in and out" among the traffic and spreading out like a fan when emerging from the ferry entrance. Blackberry Time. One of the local collects of the over-supply of rain in the'early summer and the subsequent continued spell of sunshine has been a late fruiting, but a generous one, of the blackberry. To townsfolk this berry is not a pest, but a prized fruit. Campers round the beaches at the holiday time missed the blackberry on account of the late ripening, but towns-people during the past fortnight have been haunting the country roadsides on Sundays and weekly holidays a-blaekberryinsr. In other years the Wiri district was tremendously popular at blackberry time, but this year word has gone round that in the Waitakere* and Titirangi districts tho blackberries arc large and luscious beyond compare. Courteous France. Aucklanders, who are not over-famous for their manners when riding on trams or buses, may be surprised to know that in France a man or woman carrying a child is certain of a seat in tram, train or bus, by right, not by favour. In the thickest crowd an official will push away everybody else to let His Majesty the Baby through. It is the same with wounded or mutilated soldiers. They have a right to a seat everywhere. In the metropolitan trains some of the seats are numbered for their exclusive use. Anvone occupying one of these seats is ignominiouslv turned out if he does not vacate it immediately on the entry of a cripple. Much consideration is shown children at big public spectacles, since they are usually allotted special reserves in the forefront of the crowd, and barriers are erected so that any sellisli adults, who might otherwise press on the juveniles, may be kept back.

Claims of Taxi-owners. Amongst the deputations which waited upon the Prime Minister in Auckland to-day was one representing the owners of large taxi-cabs. Under the existing law a taxi of over two tons weight is liable for a heavy traffic license, and to-dav's deputation urged that this was unfair. Thev claimed that taxis of every kind should receive equal treatment. Mr. C'oates undertook to give the matter his consideration. Kiwis in Thames District. Sportsmen out searching for wild pigs on the hills between Thames and L'oromandel during the week-end report that kiwis are unusually plentiful this year. Farmers in the Tapu district, near Thames, frequently hear the cries of the hirds at night, and recently a full-grown specimen was seen within a chain of the main road.