NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 85, 11 April 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Good Friday. There will be no publication of the "Auckland Star" on Good Friday. The advertising office will be open until 9 p.m. on Thursday for the receipt of advertisements for Saturday's issue.

Removal of Gum Trees. The grove of eucalypts in the upper part of Myers Park is being cut down by order of the City Council. In a couple of years this gum tree plantation showed extraordinary growth, and though the shade and beauty generally have been appreciated, there has been complaint about the height of the trees spoiling the view from neighbouring residential buildings.

Maori War Veterans' Flag. On Anzac Day there will be carried by the Wanganui Empire Veterans' Association at the head of the procession an historical flag which belongs to the Maori War Veterans. This emblem is of great sentimental value, and it is intended that the last survivor of the soldiery of the Maori War period, Mr. W. Hudson Davis, shall officially hand it over to the president of the Empire Veterans (Mr. W. H. Cannan) at some appropriate time during the ceremony in Cook's Gardens.

Auckland Student's Success. I' - was reported at yesterday afternoon's meeting of the Auckland "University College Council that Mr. E, C. Dawson, who gained the college diploma in architecture last year, had been awarded a prize in the recent competition for cement houses held by the Cement Marketing Company in Great Britain. Over 800 designs were submitted for ten prizes, and Mr. Dawson's entry was highly commended and was awarded a prize for draughtsmanship. The council decided to note Mr. Dawson's success with satisfaction.

Surprise For Maoris. Two Maoris had a painful surprise in the Rotorua Magistrate's Court on Monday. They were brought up 011 charges of a breach of the Arms Act, and when asked if they could speak English promptly replied, "No," and a smile went round the Court. An interpreter was found, and the accused seemed quite pleased with themselves. There was a blank look upon their faces, however, when tho magistrate, Mr. SI L. Paterson, told them that, as they had confessed inability to speak English, they would have each to pay 12/6 towards the interpreter's fee.

Need For Practical Thought. "One of the grave dangers of democracy is that we seem to think that the State is like a benevolent cow; that in some magical way we can come along with our pails and get as much milk as we desire," remarked Mr. J. S. Barton during the course of his address to the Napier Townswomen's Guild. "There arc, 1 understand, 250 ladies hero this afternoon," continued Air. Barton. "Now, if each contributed £1, and we put all the pounds in a box, no talk, nothing you could do, no resolutions you could pass, no hoorays, no cheering would help yoai to get more than £250 out of the box. But when the box is a big one, and the contributors run into millions—people can persuade themselves to the contrary. That is one of the greatest evils which has forced 11s into the position we occupyl to-day. The nations are suffering from it, and the towns are suffering."

Trawlers Laid Up. The two steam trawlers Muriel and Phyllis, which trawl out of Lyttelton for Messrs. P. Feron and Son, have been laid up, rendering 15 men idle. An official of the firm said that the price for fish, which is only about half of what it was last year, did not justify the heavy expense which would bo involved in having the trawlers surveyed, as was required by the Marine Department, .before sending them to sea. Also each vessel used about 30 tons of coal in a week, and that was another heavy item. It has been suggested that the Unemployment Board might see its way to assist, possibly by subsidising the wages of the men, which would enable the owners to send the trawlers to sea; but the board has not yet been approached.

A Sleep-Jumper. An extraordinary case of somnambulism, in which a youth, in a nightmare, fearing that he was about to be murdered, leaped over a balcony and escaped death in a miraculous manner, was reported at Newtown, Sydney, in March. The boy, in his leap, although ho missed spiked railings by inches and struck tlie asphalt footpath with great force, escaped practically unhurt. The lad's mother heard him crying in hie sleep, and decided to investigate. However, as she entered his room, she was horrified to see him leap from his bed, and a few moments later jump from the balcony. He was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, to have an X-ray of his spine. The boy appeared quite cheerful, and, save for a bruise on the spine, he appeared none the worse for his experience.

Wellington-Auckland Walk. Not content with the setting of a walking record, when he walked recently from Auckland to Wellington in ten days at an average of 45 miles per day, Neville McCarthy, 18-year-okl excliampion walker of Sacred Heart College, on Tuesday morning next will start on his return journey. Tlii? time his route will be via New Plymouth, and not the Main Trunk road, by which ho journeyed down. Progress reports will come to hand at regular intervals as to his distances, etc., and much interest will be evident in Ilia trip. McCarthy's ambition is to lead up to a trial, so that he may be in the' running to bo sent away as a New Zealand representative to the 1936 Olympic Games, when a 50-kilometre (31-mile) walk will be the eveut on the programme for heel and toe men.

Plea To Shooters. "Now that the season for the licensed firing at certain wild birds in this Dominion is drawing near, it is well to make a plea to shooters that they should act honourably, humanely—fairly and squarely —on the principles of true sport," writes Leo Fanning in "Birds," the organ of the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society. "After all, unless the attack on game is made with such a code, which gives birds some measure of fair play against well-armed men, it ceascs to be sport and comes under the contempt of conscientious sportsmen," Mr. Fanning goes on. "The worst enemy of eport is the person who feels that the payment of a comparatively small license fee entitles him to go his own way, however callous or careless it may be, in his blazing at the birds. Ho stupidly takes a long shot, which hits a duck, but has not shock enough to bring it down at once. It manages to escape, but the wound saps its strength, and it becomes easy food for a hawk or a weasel."

Cat Runs the Gauntlet. A black and White cat that attempted to cross Upper Symonds Street at a point just above Grafton Bridge at the height of the traffic rush shortly after 5 o'clock last evening experienced excitement that it should remember until the end of its lifetime. As it bolted from the footpath on the eastern side of the road it narrowly escaped being run over by a motor car, and when it reached the first set of tram rails it escaped death by a hair's breadth. For a second it stopped in the middle of the road, but the honk of a motor horn sent it scampering on again. _ A boy on a push bicycle travelling towards the city avoided running over the cat only by turning his front wheel so sharply that he all but capsized. The cat by this time was thoroughly frightened, but it had sense enough to stop dead to avoid running under the wheels of another motor car. With the danger over for the moment the cat wheeled about and raced back across the street to the side whence. it had started, avoiding a fast-travelling motor cycle by making a splendid leap, which landed it well on to the footpath.