NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 95, 23 April 1928, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Anzac Day.

There will be no publication of the Auckland Star" on Wednesday, Anzac Day, Advertisers should make their arrangements accordingly. High Water. If present conditions are an indication, passengers on the Devonport ferries are likely to get wet once or twice during the winter. This morning, although the tides are not spring tides, i eVel - water was only a foot below the decking of the new DevQnport wharf, Such high water, it is thought, is due to the strong easterly winds which have been blowing I n winter, \v hen seas are high, and "white horses" aie rolling up harbour, the waves may come perilously near to washing over the wharf. A Change of Opinion. Nothing but a few spots," said Betty contemptuously, when «he was informed that her brother, aged seven, was 'being kept in bed and was not going to school. '"Some people have all the luck! she added, with a truly feminine antff of disdain. She then departed with her satchel, and an air of virtuous superiority such as a martyr might well have envied. Later in the day mummy sent for the doctor. His dictum in the case of Rowley was: "Chickenpox. A fortnight in bed, and—keep all the children at home for a fortnight." Betty's face was a study when she heard the news. "Perhaps he wasn't such a fraud, after all," she said. From the City's Heights. The ''nip" of winter was impressed upon the hundreds of Aueklanders who vesterday scaled the heights of Mount Eden, One Tree Hill, Mount St. John and other commanding positions in the city, there to drink in the invigorating air and enjoy the wonderful panoramic views of Auckland and suburbs. The day dawned dull, but turned out beautifully line in the afternoon, and landmarks could be picked up from the heights with the greatest ease. The forked arms of the Manukau Harbour could be seen receding in the distance, while the various bays flanking the Waitemata, studded with yachts, were clearly defined. In the dim distance the contours of Coromandel Peninsula, Little Barrier and Great Barrier could be traced. Good Work for Orphans. Acting, no doubt, on tTie principle that it is better to say good things of a man while he is alive than to place flowers on his grave, the chairman of the Relief Committee of the Hos-' pital Board eulogised the work of the Rev. F.j R. Jeffreys, who for many years was superintendent of the Presbyterian Orphanages in Auckland. Regret was expressed that Mr. Jeffreys had resigned his position. The retiring 6uperin- j tendent had been of the greatest assistance to the board, always showing an intense desire to help to the utmost the little orphans committed to his care. It was generally agreed that Mr. Jeffreys was specially gifted for the work he had carried out so successfully for many years. The board hoped that he would be happy and prosperous in whatever work he might turn his hand to in the future. Vice-regal Etiquette. The democratic garden party given at Government House on Saturday afternoon by his Excellency Sir Charles Fergusson recalls the fact that Lord Islington, when Governor-General of New Zealand, an afternoon tea party to iarmers. It was during Winter Show week,, and the farmers visiting Auckland were invited to Government House on a certain afternoon. No invitations were issued. The farmers were asked to call, and the only stipulation made by his Excellency was that each guest must write his name and address on a slip of paper and hand it to the A.D.C. This procedure did not seem quite the thing to some of the wayback farmers who called at the office of the show secretary and asked for tickets for the Governor's tea party. The secretary assured the farmers that neither invitations nor tickets had been issued, but they were far from satisfied. Finally one of them 6aid: "If we go up to Government house and can't get in, it's only a shame what will happen to you when we come back." And the crean; of the joke was that during this little episode Lord Islington was sitting in the secretary's office. "On with the Dance!" Stygian darkness descended on New Lynn, Henderson and Swanson a little before 11 o'clock ou Saturday night, when the electric lights failed. I Not till midnight was the current restored. Two dances were in progress in the districts affected, one being in the golf house at Titirangi, where the opening of the season was being celebrated. The other was in the Delta Theatre, New Lynn, where the crowd of young people declined to stop dancing simplv because of such a minor circumstance as absence of electric light. Candles were procured and set at various points, and the dance went on with even more merriness than before, the twilight effect being appreciated rather than resented. When it was time to go home, a motor car flashed its headlights on to the front i steps of the hall, and all got out without accident. The electric lights failed owing to a tree having fallen across the line in the Waitakeres, thus throwing out the switch at the Henderson sub-station. The Waitemata Power Board's staff spent a busy hour in locating and rectifying the trouble. Out and About. I Sir Charles Fergusson, popular GovernorGeneral, follows the fashion set by his predeces- ; sors in office, and sometimes goes out quietly among the people, scores of whom pass him by unaware of his identity. Only the other night Sir Charles was noticed in Queen Street elad in quiet tweeds and a raincoat, with a black and white collie dog running at his heels. An observer remarked at the time that scarcely any among the early evening crowds recognised his Excellency. Earl Jellicoe was well known for similar habits, and was frequently encountered on the Domain Drive quite a time before breakfast. One night at Frankton Junction he was patrolling the railway station, which was in darkness, the Main Trunk not being due for an hour. A newspaper man asked him for a match, and it was not till the flame flared at the end of the pressman's cigarette that John JeTlicoe's rugged, kindly "ace was recognised. "Not at all, not at all; only too happy," said the hero of Scapa Flow when the journalist apologised for his action. Had to Walk Home. "Whether to wait for the dramatic unmasking of the villain, and so miss the last bus home, or to leave twenty minutes before the end of the play, and miss the biggest thrill of the evening —that was the question we had to decide the other night," said an Avondale resident to a< "Star" representative. "We decided to see the villain caught, though it meant that had to walk from Point Chevalier Hall to Avondale. It was pretty tough on the women in the party. Why should ratepayers in the city area have to walk home after a theatre? To catch a bus we would have to be at Surrey Crescent at 11.15, as there was no through bra from town. There is something wrong with a bus 1 - service that finishes fifteen minutes before the last tram leaves Queen Street. Scores of people are leaving Avondale to return to city slums because of the inadequacy of the service. We claim equal rights with other city ratepayers, especially as some of us have had our rates doubled since Avondale joined the city, and it is surely not unreasonable" to claim that we should be able to attend the theatre without the uncomfortable thought of a long walk home ut the end of the evening's entertainment." i