NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 128, 1 June 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Negligent Driving. That negligent driving liais been largely responsible for accidents at the intersection of Park and Grafton Roacle close to the Grafton Bridge is the opinion of Mr. G. Hogan, chief traffic inspector, who reported to that effect at last night's meeting of the- City Council. He explained that lie had not sufficient staff to place an officer at the intersection, but recommended that notice boards bearing the word "Slow" be erected. The report was adopted. Unfair Competition Alleged. Unfair competition was complained of in a petition signed by 220 business people in Queen Street and its vicinity, presented to the City Council last evening. Opposition to the further licensing of street stalls and bar-; rows in the heart of the city was expressed : on the grounds that it was unfair to the eignatorios as ratepayers, and against the common good. The petition was referred to the legal and by-laws committee. "To Hell on Wheels. ,, "Gentlemen, we are going to hell on wheels," said Mr. Morrison nt the Wanganui j Farmers' Conference. "We arc paying far too j much in transport. It costs to-day just about 50 per <-ont in transport on all production, whether in secondary or primary good*. Road transport alone last year amounted toj £35,000,000, ae against iU4,000.0(>0 in 1914. j What is required i* a co-ordination board to j I take charge of shipping, harbour, railways! and road transport." Increase in Pukekos. In certain parts of Southland pukekos (or as they are more familiarly called, swamp turkeys) are so numerous a-s to constitute a menace. This was the opinion expressed to a "Southland Times" reporter by two farmers, who complained of the severe damage done to their stacks by the birds. "A long period of protection has caused pukekos to increase greatly in numbers and to grow very bold. They may frequently be eeen by motorists perched on stacks, plucking at the top sheaves," said one of the fanners. "I am a lover of native birds, but it is beyond a joke when they begin to over-run our farms and i cause a lot of damage. It is time that an open season was declared, even if only for a limited time." Bones of Maori Dog. Remains of that, interesting animal, the Maori dog, which ie now extinct, were found recently by Messrs. J. R. Wilson and Andrew' Sharpe, of Tawanui, states the "Otago Daily Times." While exploring the small island adjacent to that township, they came on a ' Maori midden, and excavations in thie brought to light a collection of bones. These were f eent to Dr. Benham, curator of the Otago University Museum, by whom they were identified ae being seal bones, moa bones and j

ill ' the top portion of the skull of a Maori dog. Ie The Maori clog, specimens of which have 'it .._ various times been found, was a small animal, with eharp features and of attractive and 1S intelligent appearance. n Purely Technical. a Two young ladies with their mother drove all the way from Seddon to Christchurch one day last week with new number plates, and 76 were not held up by any traffic inspector on 3e the way, although they were committing an ._. offence by using the plates on the car before June 1. It wae only when they parked their ,n car in Caehel Street to do some shopping next t. morning that notice was taken of the strange blue platee with their white numbers. A traffic inspector slipped a note into the car, • asking the owner to call at the chief inspector's office, and the call was duly made. The ,£ J'oung lady said that she thought in putting the new number platee on her car that she IS was avoiding trouble rather than running into h it for her holiday in Christchurch. Unfor--0 tunately for her she had to garage her car until she could get the old plated back from ' Seddon, entailing a matter of a day's delay. ;e Apparently Departmental red tape admitted if of no flexibility in the regulations to meet. n the case of a motor'st erring on' the right side in trying to keep the law. e A Notable Tangi. e The largest tangi to be held in the Wni- -, roa (Hawke'e Bay) district for a great number of years took place last week at tho e homestead of Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Carroll, ■t Huramua, in connection with thd passing of f Mako Kara, widow of the late Mr, Thomas f. Carroll, and mother of Mr. A. T. Carroll. There wae a large attendance of relatives j a and friends of the deceased at the homestead, r . and on the well-kept lawns fresh contingents e from all parts of the district, as well a« Poverty Bay and Hawke's Bay, were greeted in the native fashion, with wailing and lamentation interspersed with speeches by Maori e orators telling the story of the past and incij. dents of note over a long period of years. It is estimated that between 400 and 500 were e preeent on Wednesday, and there was a large 1 accession on Thursday, when, in addition, J several hundred Europeans attended to pay! their last respects to one who in her day had helped to make local history. 3 Building Subsidy Scheme. "A measure of our success for the past t year," Mr. F. E. Wells observed in his address ae chairman of directors at the annual meeting of the North Wairarapa Permanent Buildl ing and Investment Society, "was due to the I Unemployment Board's No. 10 building sub- , eidy scheme. It must bo admitted that at a \ period when building operations were almost ■ at a standstill, it permitted ikilled tradesmen ! an opportunity of getting back to their own i trades at a higher rate of pay, thereby keep- . ing up their morale and contributing to the ' welfare and health of their families. Had : the scheme not come into being, they would : have been engaged on ordinary unemployment relief work, with no resultant community gain, with a reduced standard of living and loss of self-respect. Masterton received its share under the scheme, the value of work done in the borough being approximately £50,000, the greater portion of which represented new dwelling houses, on nine of which I we advanced loans amounting to £5075. Considering tl?e improvement in housing condi- : tions, the benefit to commerce, and especially the moral advantage to skilled tradesmen and i their families, I think the scheme a practical <

and advantageous one." Arbor Day and "Tree Sense." A resolution heartily endorsing the objective of the Wellington Horticultural Society in reinstating Arbor Day and requesting the co-operation of the society in the selection of trees and correct methods of planting, wae passed by the board of governors of the Wellington Technical College. Commenting on a letter received from the society, the director of the college, Mr. It. G. Ridling, said that the children of New Zealand were lacking in a tree 6en3C. They were allowed to grow up with the thought of trees as things that were in the way. This was an idea passed on by earlier generations' to the children of the present clay. Unless it wad! checked, it was likely to develop into van-1 dalism of all kinds. Discussions with the I children on the value of trees should be-' arranged. Mr. L. McKenzie, endorsing the director's remarks, said he wae sorry he belonged to other bodies which were fond of cutting down trees. He did no» think the people of New Zealand had a tree sense. Anybody who travelled in England knew that much of the charm of the country was due to ite trees. Wellington, however, was a difficult place in which to grow trees. He suggested the board should "get advice from the director of parks and reserves, as to suitable trees to plant arouni the school.

Shelter Sheds. The City Council last evening decided to have erected two shelter sheds at the boundary of the Stone Jug property. The engineer, T Mr. J. Tyler, stated that the locality wan x j very exposed, and the shelters, which he I recommended be built of stone, would be of j great convenience to people visiting the zoo ! and etadium, and also later on the proposed ; J municipal golf links. ■j No Funds. ,' An offer of an area in Turner Street, , which the trustees of the Neville Newj comb estate considered would be ideal for a I park, was declined by the City Council last evening, '/he trustees offered tho land free i of any ground rent for 23 years, provided the ! City Council paid the rates. The' council J decided that the locality was already catered ■ for, and no funds were available for the lay- | out of the area. Quadruplet^, The births of 'he quintuplets of Mrs. Ovlia Dionne, of Corbell, Toronto, as reported in the cable news on Tuesday, recalls a case of quadruplets in the Auckland Province about ten yeare ago. Dr. B. Martin, of Ngamawahia, attended in his district the births lof four boys, all of whom were perfectly I healthy. .Some months after, three of the four contracted erysipelas, and died. H is understood that the fourth child is sti'.i living. Cat Appreciates Music. I The latest radio tstory comes from a ! Christchurch suburban home, whore a cat, ! evidently possessing a definite faculty for the appreciation of music, spends hours nestled close to the wireless set. listening to music from different stations. Recently (states the "Times"), a beautiful piece of music was being played, and the man of the house was endeavouring to provide a, whistling accompaniment, when, to his astonishment, the cat left his usual perch by the wireless, jumped up on his master's knees, and placed a paw over the offending mouth. The- whistling ceased, and the cat contentedly resumed his position in front of the set. Rent Reduction Declined. An application for a reduction in the rentals of certain city leases in Albert and Myers Streets was before the City Council last evening. The applicant stated that the rentals were assessed at a peak period, and since then his business had passed from one that was earning a profit to one showing large annual losses. The town clerk and city treasurer reported that the applicant's figures had been checked and found correct. Hβ had ! received, however, all the relief he was entitled to by statutory enactment, and was in no different position (except possibly in degree) to many other lessees. If it were decided ; to give him relief because his business had been unprofitable, it would form a precedent for consideration in numerous other casee. It was decided to take no action. North Shore Water.

A deputation from the Devonport, Takapmia and Northcote Borough Councils asked the public services committee of the Auckland City Council recently tn etate the price at which the council would supply filtered or unilltered water at Waitakere, The deputation asked also whether the council had any surplus water during the year, and, if n, upon what terme the North Shore boroughs could be supplied with it; and whether the council had any unused area in the Waitakere Ranges which could be leased to the North Shore boroughs for development as a catchment area? At last night's meeting of the City Council it was decided that consideration should be deferred until questions arising from the recent conference of local bodies regarding the water supply in the metropolitan area had been disposed of. A Mutual Surprise.

A surprise was in store for a party of men who were working in tho Domain vegetable gardens yesterday morning. They were digging on a slope adjoining the path from Stanley Street when suddenly there appeared a large hare, ambling towards them from the top of. the hill. The colour of the animal blended so perfectly with the light brown of the newly-turned earth that it was almost invisible when it stopped. The presence of the men was evidently also a surprise to the hare, for, after a brief inspection ahead, it turned sharply to the right and loped off towards the path. Here again it halted, impelled by that curosity which so often proves fatal to wild creatures, and for fully half a minute it was boldly outlined, with ears cocked, against the grass. It was within easy shooting range, but, of course, there were no guns, and not even a stone was thrown at it before it crossed tho path and entered the woodlands. Hanes are occasionally seen in the streets of country towns and tho smaller settlements, but they are rare in Auckland, although one was observed in Victoria Street near the entrance to Albert Park a few years ago. Electric Currents. An extensive test of- stray electric currents in the water mains of the city was carried out last October and November with a view to ascertaining whether such currents were of sufficient magnitude to be likely to cause damage to the mains. It was found that positive results could be obtained in all case**, but only in a certain number was the strength of the current sufficient to cause any likelihood of damage by electrolysis after being continued for a considerable period, or alternatively to accelerate any corrosion that might be caused by soil action. In a repeat series of measurements made in the last few weeks results of similar magnitude were obtained, showing that the values previously recorded were not simply a chance occurrence, but were of a persistent nature. A summary of all instances deserving attention has been forwarded to the Transport and Power Boards by tho city waterworks engineer, Mr. A. D. Mead, who has received advice that action will bo. taken to detect the source of, and to isolate the currents as far as possible from the water mains.

Yugoslav Journalist's Praise. I A Mgft opinion of New Zealand's natural beauties, its people and its Press has been formed by Mr. Milorade Raitchevitch, the Yugoslav journalist, who has beer, collecting ' material for a book. "It's title," he said to- \ day, "will be 'New Zealand and Australia, , for in that order is their appeal." He ex- ' pressed keen appreciation of the hospitality ' accorded him in the Dominion, and added: "I I speak the truth when I say of the New Zealand dailies that in pabulum, printing and ' general merit they compare more than fav- f ourably with any that in a wide survey I have ' known. I can most emphatically say the * same regarding your beautifully illustrated { journals, and the several publications devoted ' principally to women. There are ]iot any in r Europe that surpass them, and they are a £ credit to your progressive and artistic coun- s try. I have experienced much pleasure i» ° visiting the farms and homes in the North * Island, and have been thrilled and awed with c the wonders of your thermal regions, the c Waitomo Caves, National Park, the Auckland r Museum and the volcanic cones, these latter <" a lare and natural national asset. To the New s Zealand Tourist Department I owe a debt of n gratitude, not only in Auckland, but in each «■ place I have visited, for its graphic directions, t kind assistance and Departmental urbanity to a myself, a stranger from mid-Europe. Should b any New Zealand journalist visit Yugoslavia, n I desire to extend a brotherly invitation, and w the assurance that I will see to it that your j p generous hospitality ie reciprocated so far as'tl in Yugoslavia's power lies. Without boast-'.<?< fulness, you would see some of the finest n Riviera coast in the world on t!is Dalmatian si coast, plus its historical interest." la