NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 134, 9 June 1938, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Three Serious Accidents

Yesterday was marked by the occurrence of three accidents in the city, in which the victims were gravely injured. As the result of one mishap a cyclist died in the Auckland Hospital this morning; owing to a blasting accident, another man was still in a serious condition to-day; in the third, a motorist was severely injured. ' A Giveaway. Teachers at one of the Christchurch schools are still chuckling at the typically i childish giveaway of « small girl pupil. A class was told to write an essay on how they spent their holidays. One little girl told the story of how she and her daddy had gone shooting rabbits on a certain property. They had failed to find any rabbits, but instead daddy had shot a sheep and buried the skin and taken the sheep home. The teacher was a relative of the owner of the sheep. Poppy Day Proceeds. Setting a record for the association, the Poppy Dtiy appeal of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers' Association this year raised £1092 14/o, which is £.'l2O more than the proceeds of last year's appeal. '"This satisfactory result is mainly due to the enthusiasm of suburban committees,said the president. Mr. A. W. Mewton, at a meeting of the association's executive. Mr. Mewton said sub-committees had done excellent work, and the appeal made by Dr. F. L. Scott and Mr. D. XV. Russell was also the means of adding to the success of the appeal. " An Interloper." I ''\X e have an interloper among us to- ! night," said Mr. I. J. Goldstine at last night's meeting of the One Tree Hill Borough Council. '"Certainly he is a councillor, but not yet an official one." His little joke was directed against Mr. M. J. Hooper, who, because ot absence from previous meetings, had not yet signed the statutory declaration which legalised his position on the council. Amid the badinage of his fellow councillors. Mr. Hooper made the declaration in a determined voice, and, after congratulations had been extended to him by the Mayor, sank back into his chair as a legal representative of the residents and ratepayers. Outfitting Line Umpires. The proposal that linesmen at the headquarters ground for Rugby matches should be specially uniformed was discussed by the Auckland Rugby Union last night, when the chairman, Mr. A. Baker, suggested that the linesmen wear the same rig as referees. This, it w;vs pointed out, had been definitely- ruled against by the New Zealand-Union, as the referee for the third Test match last year had instructed a linesman who turned out in shorts and blazer to get back into ordinary clothes. White "longs" were suggested by one member, while another thought that grey flannel trousers and the special blazer of the Referees' Association would make a distinctive and appropriate outfit for the linesman. The meeting decided to get the views of the referees on the subject. Butchers' Winter Supplies. ■ Butchers fear a shortage of fat stock later in the winter, following the eczema , losses on top of a heavy export season. As salevard -prices are already at a high level, butchers are wondering how to meet the situation. Yesterday morning at the Westfield fat stock sale it appeared that the shortage of cattle had already become severe. A late ' stock train augmented supplies, however, and i in the end there was a bigger yarding than , usual. Prices eased in the later stages of the sale. In the sheep section, too. the entry 1 of fat stock was heavy, and values were easier except for choice lots. Thus it appears that graziers are still cutting down their herds and flocks to meet the winter shortage of feed, and keeping the market well supplied. About August the seasonal scarcity of fat stock aggiavated by this y T ear's special circumstances, is expected to be at its worst. Fisheries Patrol Mooted. The Minister of Marine, the Hon. P , Fraser, following representations made to him by the \\ hakatane Chamber of Commerce during his recent visit to the district regarding the depletion of fish in the Bay of Plenty coastal waters, states that he "knows thai sometimes seine fishermen trawl their nets The Government could draw a line for fishing limits, but that was not effective. Mr. Fraser said it might be possible to have an office? appointed with a patrol boat in the Bay ol Plenty, although it was impossible to do ir Xew Zealand what was done in Britain, where the Xavv watched the fishing interests. The Bay of Plenty, he.realised, was an ideal breeding ground for fish, and the Department was fully alive to the position. He thought if might be a good idea if Air Force aeroplanes kept a watch when passing along the coast It was not fair that the law should be broker and fish supplies elepleted. Diviner in Hot Water. While boring for fresh water to provide a supply for the Rotokawa native school on Te Ngae Road, about five miles from Roto rua, a well borer and water diviner. Mr. A G. Thompson, struck hot thermal water at a depth of approximately 58ft. The water hael a temperature of 128 degrees, and is believed to have valuable curative- properties, as it is in the neighbourhood of a thermal spring, of which the curative value has been known foi a number of years. At the time the boring operations were being carrieel out the Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, was visiting Rotorua, anel he visited the scene of operations. On his instructions Mr. Thompson put flown two other bores in an effort to locate fresh water, but in each case further thermal water was tapped. Finally Mr. Thompson divined an underground cold water stream flowing away from the nearby lake, and this will be used to provide the school water. Mr. Fraser was most interested in the discovery of the underground spring of hot thermal water, and he has given directions for an analysis to be taken of it. In discussing the matter the Minister mentioned the possibility of tapping a supply to provide a hot thermal bath, which could be used by the .-school chilelren, while the possibility of heating the school by means of a hot natural spring was also mooted. Further investigations are to be maele with the object of exploring the practicability of these two suggestions. Wellington's Old Hotels. "Something could well be elone to make the hotels of Wellington worthy of the city and to put them in a condition to fulfil their function," said the chairman, Mr. J. n. Lux ford, S.M., at the quarterly meeting of the Wellington Licensing Committee yesterday He said the committee had asked him to em phasise the question of rebuilding, which liac 1 been raised just before the depression but hat since been in abeyance. "A practice is beinc adopted which seems to me to be an infringement of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Licensing Act," said Mr. Luxford. "I refer tr the practice of taking in permanent boarders The primary object of a hotel, since it is ? common inn. is to provide accommodation foi the travelling public, anel the practice of fill ing up the hotel with permanent boarders anel thus turning it into a lodging house, i: not in the spirit o* the Act. If a hotel takein permanent boarelers their visitors at night enable a large amount of liquor to be sold It is apparent to anyone that many of tin hotels of Wellington neeel replacing, but tli; law is not concerneel with the adequacy <> the accommodation. It is no concern of tb< committee so long as the minimum accommo elation is supplied, nor can we take int< account the ag:> of the build'ng or its grne v :' r.nsuitabilitv. The committee feels it is unfortunate that this matter, which has beei before the committee for so many years, has never been tackled by the Legislature."

The "K. 0." for "0.K." The general understanding is that "O.K.'' is an Americanism, but according to Mr. V. Duff, of New Plymouth, employers' representative on the Second Court of Arbitration, this is not so. During the hearing of a Dominion industrial dispute in the Court in Wellington. Mr. Duff said he had discovered that "0.K." was an English expression, but lie liked it no more because of that. "I like to think it is an American expression." said Mr. W. J. Mount joy. advocate for the employers. "So do I," replied Mr. Duff. Interest in Elections. Newmarket showed most interest in the Auckland Electric Power Board elections last month, according to voting percentages which were laid before the board at its meeting yesterday. The percentage of electors who exercised their vote in Newmarket was 01..'5. and the next highest proportion was in the Auckland city area, where .'>(l.o per cent voted. The lightest voting was in the Mount Wellington road district, where only 2."> out (if every 11)0 eligible electors went to the polls. Newmarket's high ratio, however, may possibly be explained to some extent by the compactness of the borough, and the lower percentages may be attributed to the more scattered nature of the outer districts. Pioneers' Memorial. An enlarged photograph of St. David's (Pioneer) Memorial Church was presented by Mr. .f. D. Twentyman at the last meeting of the Canterbury Club in Auckland. The church was recently completed. It was erected at Cave, South Canterbury, by Mr. T. I). Burnett. M.P.. in memory of his parents, and the pioneer settlers of the Mackenzie countrv. The architect. Mr. Herbert Hall, of Timar'u. was awarded the gold medal of the New Zealand Institute of Architects for the best design of 1932. Designed in the early Norman style, the building is constructed mainly from morraine boulders obtained in the locality. Mural tablets in marble record the names of original settlers. Among the best known are those of Burnett, Tripp. Cracroft, Mackenzie, ActonAdams, Hope, Macdonald otul Burke. When Is Winter? "Lovely day! Doesn't seem like winter at all. ' This remark was heard on all sides in the tram a week ago, when a crisp early morning was succeeded by warm sunshine. Frost accompanied by a south-east zephyr at the week-end changed the tenor of the tram comment on the weather to expressions of certainty that winter was with us at last. Somehow or other the public mind seemed fixed on the gloomy season's approach, perhaps from a natural" dread that the beautiful and long-sustained summer which had been enjoyed up to Easter would have to be paid for under the natural law of compensation. Autumn delights seemed shadowed by the expectation of a premature and protracted winter, for according to the calendar it is all wrong to look for winter in early .Tune. When is winter? According to Urett's tale of the New Zealand seasons autumn ranges from March 20 to June 20, and winter from June 20 to September 22. Motorists and Cyclists. A practice among motorists which is stated to cause danger to cyclists is the throwing open of the right-hand doors of motor cars pulled up near the side of the road. In Christchurch there is a by-law against this practice, and drivers or passengers ore required to use the left-hand doors in the urban area. Auckland has no such bylaw, but the increase in the number of cycli-t----has made it evident in the past year or two that the careless opening of doors on the side of oncoming traffic is liable to cause accidents. The danger was recently brought under the notice of the Automobile Association in Auckland hv a cyclist, who said he had had several unpleasant experiences when riding past a line of parked cars in the city, and added: "If motorists must open their doors in our faces, they might at least look behind them first and also give some sort of warning signal." The association regards it as the duty of every motorist to take care that he does not endanger the life of other users of the road, and has brought the mottcr under the notice of its thousands of members. Delay in Raising Loans. Efforts made by several of the smaller Auckland local bodies to raise loans which would enable them to employ more men on labouring work were mentioned at the conference of metropolitan mayors and chairmen with the Minister of Mines, the Hon. P. C. Webb, yesterday afternoon. It was stated that the ability to employ men on special works was largely governed by the availability of loan money, and that considerable delays were often experienced in obtaining authority and borrowing the amount rennired. The Minister expressed surprise that difficulty had l>een experienced. "I don't know of one local body throughout New Zealand which has not been able to get money for approved schemes at 31 per cent." lie said, "and if there is one I would like to hear of it." ITe added that in all cases brought under the notice of the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, the necessary arrangements had been made. Mr. Webb was informed of one instance, in which the Waitenirtta County Council had been endeavouring for several months to raise a loan of £">7OO at per cent, but so far without success, and an appeal was made on behalf of the Ellerslie Borough Council for assistance in facilitating a loan proposal of £.~>ooo. which would enable additional men to be taken on.