NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 155, 4 July 1927, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Pacific Relations Conference. flic New Zealand delegates to tlic soeoiul eon lore nee of the Institute of Pacific Eolations, to be held at Honolulu, will leave bv the Acnangi tomorrow.. the party comprising' Dr. P. 7oa\ i T 1 h ' se< ' retar y of the Ncw Zealand Labour party, Mr. W. H. Cocker, barristei, Auckland and the Rev. W. Mawson, Chinese missioner. The Australian delegation arrived bv ■ tlio Aorangi. v : Level Crossing Dangers. , Ihe danger of level crossings was once again exemplified yesterday, when a motor ear, driven j by Mi. ,T. 1. Dickon, of Epsom, was struck by a train at Argyle Street, Morningside. Although ' , W ' ,s 1 ravcl,| "g at a very moderate , co . ' '' lc car was turned completely round, l ™ rne <l some distance, and p'ushed against the fence. Air. Dickon sustained a fractured rib. but two other passengers in the car escaped without i serious injury. The vehicle was considerably damaged. J Fishing Regulations. The following new regulation pertaining to the taking of salmon and trout is gazetted:— No person whilst engaged in fishing for salmon or trout with rod and line shall have in his possession, or under his control, or convey or causc > to be conveyed to the vicinity of any place where he fishes with rod and line, any fishing . or fishing implement of anv description what- , soever except his rod and line,'permitted bait and . hooks and containers for same, landing net, or - gaff. Any person committing a breach of these regulations shall be liable to a line of £20." ' Fast Sailing. ' 'Shellback' writes: Once in the old days the • smart little Hobart barque Loongana, 296 tons, loaded sawn timber at Auckland for tlie Mauri- ■ tins linder command of the late Captain Fisher, • who was afterwards signalmaster at Mount Vic- , toria. 1 hero were three routes available—across the Australian Bight against the prevailing squ'5 west wind, through Torres Strait and around the • north of Australia, or round Cape Horn and the t Cape of Good Hope. Captain Fisher chose the , latter route, and made the trip w*ith practically a fair wind all the way. Loading sugar at ■ Mauritius, he sailed for * Auckland, and thus ! circled the world in tlio Roaring Forties. I forget . tho time taken for the trip, but it was very fast, i Tho Loongana was afterwards credited with hav- ' ing made the trip from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Auckland in 5J days, which time has never been beaten by a sailer. Railway Change-over. Iho final change-over operations in connection with tho bringing into use of Auckland's modern locomotive depot were effected by a gang of ; 40 men at the new railway yards yesterday. The , work entailed tho taking-up of fifteen chains of track and tho laying of about twelve chains of new line. The transference of engines to their ! new home commenced at 5 p.m., and the removal ( of two sets of points and crossings, the shifting I of another set, and the construction of two "diamond" crossings involved heavy labour. For 1 traffic reasons there is no through passage in the [ new depot, which may be entered from one side i only. The undertaking will have the effect of alleviating the congestion that has existed in the local yard for some time past. On occasions L it has taken from two to three hours to clear ■ a ballast train through the moving and standing rolling stock. 6 ' Blenheim's Lament. The action of the Government machinery 1 inspector in visiting the Blenheim municipal ■ abattoirs and driving a hammer through a . boiler there was roundly criticised at last week's | meeting of the Borough Council by ihe Mayor (Mr. M. McKenzie), says the "Express." His Worship said it was not as if the boiler was i used under pressure, as were the boilers of ■ H.M.s. Renown, or some torpedo destroyers; it was nothing more or less than a big kettle used for heating water to scald pigs, and he felt that in the circumstances the action of the inspector was high-handed. "I think," proceeded his Worship, "that local bodies should be protected from this sort of thing, and should be able to call on some independent person to act as a sort of referee, instead of having to abide by one man's opinion." The council took no further action in the matter, but approved of the purchase of a new boiler at a cost of £148 10/. Historic Auckland School. The Normal School in Wellesley Street, a portion of which was gutted by fire yesterday afternoon, is one of Auckland's oldest educational institutions. Opened in 1873, it was originally known as Wellesley Street School, and thousands of Auckland citizens of to-day received their education there. In the early and mid-'nineties it was Auckland's leading school, with a roll number of over a thousand. The headmaster of that time was the late Mr. Henry Worthington, a disciplinarian who achieved excellent scholastic results, although young Auckland of that time lived somewhat in awe of him. He was in charge of the institution from its foundation in 1873 to ISOli. The school has suffered from the disability of a cramped playing area, as games in the adjoining Albert Park have received small encouragement. In tho mid-'nineties, despite the disadvantage of an asphalted playground, Wellesley Street had the champion school football team, the hard surface being a wonderful spur to develop unselfish play and the pass-tlie-ball method of progression. Local Body's Dilemma. Tha Wangauui City Council finds itself in an extraordinary position concerning a loan of £6000 raised last year for the relief of unemployment. In addition to other works, tho men were put on the extension of Ridgway Street, but the work was eventually stopped because the road had to pass through a cemetery, the owners of plots having refused to allow * the dead to be disturbed. After a month's delay it was decided to divert the road with an overhead bridge over the railway. The Railway Department was preparing to erect the bridge, and it was decided that work be resumed to afford employment for the workless. The legal side now comes into the picture, as the original loan stipulated for a course through the cemetery, and the money, apparently, cannot be diverted, even if the road is diverted to meet tho position. The hold-up is a most unusual one. Those having dead relatives in the cemetery are alarmed, and will not permit the graves to be disturbed, while the City Council and the Railway Department cannot proceed because the loan money must be spent in the manner originally intended when the loan was raised. Probation Committee Appointed. The setting up of a Probation Committee in Christchurch, a new departure in connection with the administration of the probation law of the Dominion, was announced by Mr. E. D. Mosley, S.M., at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Justices of the Peace Association. "During the past week," Mr. Mosley said, "an able officer of the Prisons Department, with the approval of < the Minister of Justice and the Inspector-General of Prisons, has been in Christchurch, and has persuaded a number of reputable citizens to become members of a Probation Committee, with ' the object of advising and assisting the probation • officers in carrying out their very onerous and important duties. The services of the members of the committee will be entirely honorary, and will result in great benefit to the community. Christchurch is, I understand, the first of the larger towns to have the benefit of such a committee. It has not been thought fit to ask any judicial officer to act as a member of the committee, and no Justice of the Peace as such. But < the Government have asked me to act, formally i as- convener of the committee, with the object of having a meeting now and then in my chambers at the Court, and to advise members of the committee occasionally, and help them along, if < I possibly can. I have consented to do so, . because if I can do anything to help on the good ' •u" tho community, or of New Zealand, I am oniy i ' " do it." '