NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 45, 22 February 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Smelling Liquor. A witness at, the Wanganui Court was ;ij-kotl if lie. smelt liquor on a defendant in a case. "J am no good at smelling liquor," lie replied. "I am not like the wife. She can smell liquor a. mile away." Old Crimea Veteran. Sergeant-Major K. Bezar, of Wellington, celebrated his With birthday last week, and the veteran of the '"Diehards" received many congratulations. He joined the Wiltshire Regiment in lSo.j, and in the following year was transferred to the 57th Regiment, the j "Diehard*," with whom lie served in the I Crimea, Malta, Aden. India and New Zealand. | He arrived in New Zealand in January, 1801, I and nerved through tlie Maori Wars. He is well known in Wanganui. Already Overpaid. A claim for £370 as compensation, arising out of the death of Charles Stoop, who was killed while driving a tunnel at the claim of the Callaglian's Gold Mining Company on March 3 last year, was heard l>y tile Arbitration Court at Ilokitka last week. The plaintill' was Charles William Stoop, miner, of Kimu, father of deceased, and the defendant was the company. The Court held, on the evidence, that plaintiff was able to claim £.'!(il, but, on the other hand, lie had already received an amount in excess of that sum. Judgment would therefore be for defendant. The question of costs was referred to counsel to arrange. Gunpits to be Filled. "At last they have decided to do something," said a councillor at last night's meeting of the Devonport Borough Council, when advice was received from the Lands and Survey Department that a grant of £20 had been made for the purpose of tilling in the gunpits in the old fort on Mount Victoria. The Mayor said the disused gunpits had been a source of danger, especially to children, ever since the mountain had been opened to the public, hi reply to a question, the Mayor said that the old guns would probably be buried, unless the Japanese bought them for old metal. Four Years' Play. A correspondence draughts championship, which has just been concluded after four years of play, has been won by Mr. D. Calderwood, of Hamilton. About 30 players from all parte of New Zealand took part in the tournament, which was organised by Mr. E. Gibbard, of Dannevirke. The player with the next highest total to Mr. Calderwood was Mr. J. O'Neill, of Dunedin, and Mr. Gibbard was third. Mr. O'Neill and Mr. Gibbard were the only players in the tournament able to draw a game against Mr. Calderwood, but he defeated them both in the later rounds. Mr. Calderwood has taken part in three correspondence tournaments without losing a game, and he has won the New Zealand crose-board championship six times.

Danger to Motor Tyres. Splinters of iron from tram rails in the city and suburbs are a danger to motor tyres, according to Mr. 11. E. Cliamptaloup, touring manager of the Automobile Association. At last night's meeting of tlie council of the association, a splinter of iron about ISin long wars exhibited, and it was explained that it had been picked up in Symonds Street, where it projected about 3in above the level of the ' line. Splinters bad been picked up in various localities, and were a menace to tyres. It was decided to write to the Auckland Transport Board suggesting that the tram rails should be adequately maintained, and requesting that steps should be taken to safeguard the tyres of motor vehicles. A Small Adventurer. The seven-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. G. Martella, Rogers Street, had a remarkable escape from drowning at Picton on Saturday. Accompanied by a playmate, the boy left hie parents' car to purchase an ice-cream, but wandered down to one of the wharves, where some launches were making ready to go out to follow one of the rowing races. The boy climbed on board the nearest launch, and was looking round when the engine was started up and in his hurry to jump back on to the landing he misjudged the distance, and fell between the boat and piles of the wharf. Several people on the launch saw the splash, and were able to pull the little chap out before much harm befell him. When asked his name the lad made no answer, but turned on his heels and made straight for his father's car. "Like Whisky and Soda." "I don't think that the United States Recovery Plan will do much good, because it is an artificial means to recovery," stated Mr. O. Kawamura, Australian and New Zealand manager for the Mitsubishi trading enterprises, in an interview at Chriytehurch. "A country that is tired and ailing wants some stimulant, such as a whisky and soda. This may be all right for a while, 'but continual drinking of whisky and soda is no good." Mr. Kawamura admitted that the depreciation of the Japanese yen had helped his country's export trade. The cotton mills, however, were equipped with modern machinery and were run on economical lines, resulting in low production costs. The only' Government subsidies given were to steamship lines, following the practice of some other countries. Industry in general, lie was firmly of opinion, must be on a sound foundation and not on an artificial one created by the practice of giving subsidies. Women's Cricket Views. Feminine opinion of the Australian cricket team was invited in Melbourne recently when Mrs. F. E. Bean, wife of the former Test selector and "father" of the Victoria Cricket Association, said she thought the latest Australian team was well selected and sound, but she considered it hard that wives of players were not allowed to travel. '"Why not make thein pass some sort of test?" she queried. "They should bo able to retain their savoir fairc under all circumstances," added Mrs. Bean. "I once travelled with the Victorian side to Xew Zealand. I was the only wife with the team whk'h returned home victorious. Anyhow, I have great hopes that "Woodfull will bring back the Ashes. Both he and Hans Ebeling went with us to New Zealand. Then, Ebeling was one of the kindergarten, and I am delighted to see him now going overseas." Other women were too modest to give their opinions, but several of them concurred in the fact that the team was a goodlooking side! These "Mystery" Monsters. Strange creatures on land and sea seem to be quite the fashion in overseas public sensatiojis these days. The "mystery animal" which lately has caused so much excitement in Gippslaud, Australia—being variously described by scared people as some sort of lion, enormous dingo or a panther—has been captured, and proved to be a huge wombat, the largest ever seen. It has been placed in the Melbourne Zoo. Residents of Gcelong are the latest to have a thrill, for holiday-makers at Ocean Grove have seen a strange sea monster cruising round the coast. Mr. Sydney X. Smith, secretary of the Geelong Racing Club, who swam within 40yds of the monster, described it as being 20ft in length. Two flopping horn-like feelers appeared from the head, and about a third of the way along the back a long flopping dorsal fin rose nearly 3ft out of the water. Many who have seen the monster have called it a serpent. A New Zealander classed it as a New Zealand blaekfisli, but an official at the National Museum was inclined to regard the monster as a sailfish, a wanderer from the tropics and relation of the spearfish and the ewordfish families.

A Post-flood Replacement. The Rodney County Council decided yes-, terday to replace Fitzhum's Bridge, rear I'uhoi, in the old position, the bridge having been carried away in the recent floods. It wan mentioned that, the bridge was carried away en bloc, and eventually turned turtle, with piles still fastened to the decking, but now up in the air. A Dairy Farmer's Cheque. A settler not far from Auckland has presented to a "Star'' correspondent for inspection his latent cream cheque and account, hoping thus to inform the public of the struggle in which dairy farmers are engaged owing to the collapse of the butter market. The period was January 1-31 1034. The butterfat supplied was 30.171b, from four cows, and the return was 14/11. Of this, 7/•"> was deducted as an instalment of county rates, in arrears, so the farmer got 7/(5 for his month's work with his cows. Relief Applications. The fact that -applications for relief have shown an increase during tlie past three week* was mentioned by tlie Rev. T. Hallidav in a report to the Auckland Metropolitan Unemployment Relief Committee. He said that the requirements had mainly been groceries, but there had been requests for clothing for children who had to attend secondary schools. There had also been numerous applications in connection with maternity case*, and single men on sustenance awaiting work had been given assistance with meal tickets. A Life of Adventure. The death occurred last Monday at Palmerston North of Mr. Michael (Jill, aged 9(5.1 When the Napier earthquake occurred he was an inmate of the Old People's Home at Park Island, and he was buried for two days in the ruins of the building. When rescued lie was uninjured, and not affected in any way. Air. (iill had many reminiscences of the Crimean War. He entered the service of the .">7th l'oot Regiment (known as the "Diehards") as a boy, and he remembered meeting Florence Nightingale, and the privations suffered during the siege of Sebastapol. He later saw service in Malta and Aden, and finally served as a forest ranger under Major Von Tempsky. Boys' Farm Training. The settlement of boys on the land after they have received training and learned the job should be a satisfactory experiment. This opinion was expressed by Air. A. E. Ansel], M.P., to representatives of the Auckland i Boys' Employment Committee at an informal | conference recently. The report of the meeting states that a lot of disappointment had occurred in the past owing to the lack of training of those taking land. The training of the lads must cover the scientific aspect if they were to meet world competition successfully. Up to two months of training was offered in the South at various institutions. Mr. Ansell said that Dr. C. J. Reakes, Director of Agriculture, seemed sympathetic to the arrangement of tuition at Ruakura, but a difficulty would be the mixing of paying and non-paying boys. A Christchurch proposal had been for a camp established by the Public Works Department, the cost of transport and food to be covered by the Boys' Employment Committee. It was a definite part of the Government's policy to encourage primary production, said Mr. Ansell, and he did not attach much weight to the bogy of overproduction. Greetings from Ulster. After a meeting of the Ulster Association in Auckland, Mr. W. J. Holdsworth sent greetings from the association to the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Mr. Crawford McCullagh, and has just received the following reply: — "I heartily reciprocate, the greetings from the Ulster Association, Auckland, conveyed by you on January 8, and I hope the efforts to expand the trade relations between New Zealand and Ulster will be successful. Mr. H. R. Farwell, of the New Zealand Dairy Produce Board, is just completing a very successful ten days' exhibition and distribution of samples of your country's butter and cheese. The window-dressing competition in connection with the exhibition has aroused much interest amongst the shopkeepers of the city, and there are 158 entries. I am distributing the prizes for this competition this afternoon in the Grand Central Hotel. Our shipyards have at present an order for six ships for tlie New Zealand trade, and I hope the time is not far distant when the trade : between the two countries will require further vessels, and that these also will be i ordered from us. As Lord Mayor of the capital city of Northern Ireland, I extend ' hearty good wishes to all Ulsternien in New 1 Zealand and their descendants." '

National Fire Control. At the Otahuhu Borough Council meeting last night a letter was received from the Minister of Internal Affairs with reference to a national fire control council. This matter, said the Minister, would be discussed at the forthcoming Municipal Conference, and he would be very pleased to receive the view of tlie council. The suggestion was that, except in cities and certain other cases, the lire boards at present existing should bo dissolved and the administration of the lire brigade handed back to the local authority; that in order to give the insurance companies their share in tho control of the service which is justified by their contributions to its cost, in lieu of the present representation by the companies on the small local lire boards, the financial affairs of the brigade operating in fire districts should be controlled by a Dominion board, similar to those in existence in the Australian States, 011 which both local authorities and insurance companies would be represented. It was pointed out by the town clerk that this meant that the council would retain control of its present service, but lose control of the finance. The memorandum was referred to the lire brigade committee for examination and to report. Traced After Three Years. A charge hoard in the Supreme Court at Xapier recently was of great importance to another person beside the accused. The case goes back to May, 15)31, when a badly injured motor cyclist was taken,' to the Xapier Hospital, after being hit by a motorist who failed to stop. The hospital, having, in consequence of the earthquake, few facilities at that time, the patient was rushed 40 miles to Waipukurau, where a scries of operations was performed. After some time there, he was taken back to Xapier, where more operations were performed, but eventually the surgeons were forced to amputate one leg. Finally, after a big fight for life, the young man was discharged, after being two years and six months 111 tlie infirmary, only to find that the insurance company could not pay out, as there was 110 proof that he had been struck by a motor vehicle. However, the doctor who had charge of the case made representations to the police, and eventually a notice appeared in the daily papers, intimating that, though the motorist could not be allowed to go free, the law would take a lenient view of his case if he would come forward. This proved fruitless, and the young man then offered a £50 reward for information that would lead to the motorist's apprehension. This bore fruit, and the motorist was tried, convicted and punished. The victim then proceeded with a civil claim for damages, and it was settled out of Court. Thus, after three years, the j young man, though permanently debarred 1 from his former occupation, will be able to draw insurance compensation and damages,; the total sum being considerable, and enabling i him to make a fresh start. 1