NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 226, 24 September 1938, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Liberation of Trout Fry. t The Wellington Acclimatisation Society 1 has approved allocations for the liberation of - 1,150.000 brown and 400.000 rainbow trout fry 1 in rivers and streams of the district. The 1 fry will In- liberated immediately. A lack of ' ova earlier in the s'aeon threatened a forced > reduction of the allocation. l.nt eyed ova have 1 recently been found in the Smith Island, so 1 that extensive libei at ions can be made. The ova are held pending liberation in the. Masterton hatchery, where they were hatched. Seldom Hit. [ Kxpei iini-nt.- in th" remote control of ' acroplaius now being carried out by tlie Royal Aircraft J.stablishment in Hampshire were described by Dr. V.. P. ( oupcr, D.Se.. in a talk at the. ( liristi-hun-ii Hu.-inei-s .Alen's Club luncheon. So far the experiments have proved that as long as an aeroplane, was in view it was capable "t lenmte control by wireless. Queen Pee machines, flown by remote control. 1 were being it-ed by the .Admiralty for target ' ]>ractice. "I hey seldom hit the aeroplanes,'' said Dr. Cooper, -'but that is not. the fault of the aircraft."' Worn in Trust. "Although I got the Cross, I wear it few, times a> possible, because I 10.-t six good men in getting it: there w ere eight with] me at th.- time, and .-i\ w.-it; lost."i j said l aptoiu S. l-'rirklefoll. A when lie responded at the annual reunion of the! j llutt Valley ex-members of the Xew Zealand Rille lirigadc to th' toast. "Our A'.C.'s." - T wear the (ro-.s as a triu-t for the Xew Zealand Kill- Pri'ja.le, said Captain Frickletoll. '*1 the (i.5-1 \ii toria Ciosses awarded in the Creat Wor. 11 were gained by Xew Zealande.s. Maoris and Fish. Before any member of the Maori rac can be prosecuted for a breach of the Fisheries Act, the permission of the Native -Minister mu-.t lie obtained and filed in Court. This fact was mentioned bv .Mr. K. in the I'oliiv Court yesterday when ic prot-ecuted, on belml! of the Superintendent of Marine all Auckland, three Mami women on a charge of taking oysteis at Maractai. J're-imiablv t'iie reason that the .Minister's permission must, be fihd in Court, is that lMi is looked upon by the. Maoris as their natural fond. As <1 matter of fact, the three detendant*, when asked by the magistrate if they knew they were doing wrong ;u taking the oysters, replied that, they were merely eating the food that their ancestors ate. Bradman for the Evening. Reference to the fact that although a number of other Ministers of the Crown" had been unable to attend and had sent apologiep, Cabinet, had been able t., spare the lion. P. C. Webb for 1 lie evening was made by Mr. J. S. Barton, when .-peaking at the annual dinner of the New Zealand Institute of Secretaries (reports the "IVi«t"i. Mr. Barton said that, it reminded him of tic story about the first Australian eleven to -\isir Now Zealand. When they got to Wellington they sent, in two of their number to bat, left two more behind in ease of <111 accident, and the remainder of the team went out to the races for the day. >:i this occasion they have apparently been able to ppare Bradman for tlie evening,'' concluded Mr. Barton amidst laughter. The Machine Age. The man who invented a wheelbarrow did a more permanent job of work than he knew, for barrows have remained barrows ever since, a load to push in themselves. Not I=o a newbatch of wheelbarrows used by the road builders at the Kxhibiiion grounds, Wellington. These are rubber tyred—balloon tyres at that—and are built of one of the aluminium alloys, with a saving in weight of between 401b and fiOlb so that the bin capacity can be made considerably larger and the return trip, empty, is just so much walking along. A trial wan made by the council some time ago of a. really mechanical barrow, with a, caterpillar tread in place of the wheel, but it was too heavy on epares or made the horses shy, or something like that. In any case, it was not a wheelbarrow. Old Man at the Wheel. "Surely a man 83 years of age is too old to be driving a car,"' ohserved Mr. .T. Miller, S.M., in the Waipukurau Magistrate's Court, when Ole Hansen, of Waipawa, retired farmer, aged 83, appeared before him charged with negligently driving a motor vehicle on the Waipukuraii-Waipawa main road. Hansen pleaded guilty through Mr. C. G. Harker. His license was suspended for a year and a fine of £2 was imposed. A recent accident formed the basis of the charge. Mr. Harker said that Hansen had had a license for nine years, and this was his first accident. He was known as a elow and careful driver, but he speeded up to pass a lorrv. Defendant's foot had slipped, thus putting the car out of control. He was a man in good health and a teetotaller. "ProbaTily the man's flge had something to do with his foot slipping," paid the magistrate. Counsel: "He complied with a very severe test nine years ago, and i-s prepared to submit to another test." "His license must be cancelled for the benefit of the public," said the magistrate. "The time comes when elderly people should not drive at all."

"Blossom Time." In orchards and private gardens throughout Central Otago at the present time the traveller is confronted on all sides with a profusion of colour which is a delight to the eye, ■states the "Otago Daily Times." The fruit trees are now bearing full blossom in certain districts, and around Roxburgh, Clyde and Alexandra pink and white blossoms make a picturesque scene. Almond -blossom, which is used to decorate many a table, is bountiful this year, and is to be seen in many private 1 gardens. Stately poplar trees and beautiful i willows are bursting into leaf, and in a few j weeks' time they should be at their best. A Matter of Punishment. , '"As this man'-- wife writes to the Court 1 explaining his inability to attend, and as she , states he is guilty of the offence. I daresay he has been punished already." said Mr. ,T. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court at : Wellington, when the name was called of a ; man alleged to hove been found on licenced premises after hours. "That is probably sc.. your Worship."' said Sub-Inspector .T. Detnpsey. "We frequently have requests fronn 1 men caught on licensed premises to have the summonses served nt their work rather than at their homes." "A very prudent preeau- 1 tion," commented the magistrate. A fine was t imposed. A Bull Among the Buyers. i There were some tense moments in the i .selling pavilion at the Chiudelands Show- ' grounds during the Waikato Combined 1 Breeders' Bull Fair, when a Jersey bull, which was being offered for sale, twisted itself 1 free from the attendants and hurdled the : barrier separating the sale ring from the public gallery. The buying bench, which had pro\cd lethargic during the. afternoon sales, was suddenly electrified into brisk activity, and it. wa> only a matter of seconds before the pavilion was void of buyers, with the bull triumphantly occupying the top gallery. The animal, a two-year-ohl beast, was finally! seen red after the auction had been delayed fori l."> minutes. j, Flowers in High Street. City workers have by now become accus-1 . tomed to seeing spring blooms in the various parks and gardens near the metropolis, but some surprise has been occasioned in the past few <hiys at their appearance ill one of the most unlikely spots imaginable. High Street is one of the city's bu.-iest avenues of commerce. and as most workers hurry along it few have time to think about the beauties of 1 Nature. Those who have chanced, however,! to look at the usually unsightly clay bank on j the side of the footpath in front of the cor-! parking area have been pleasurably surprised l to see growing thereon a choice selection of; freosias, lachcnalias and other flora 1 har-j bingers of the new season. Whoever was re- j .sponsible for planting them has shown public spirit, that is. we are told, all too rare immng Aucklanders. New Aeroplane Damaged. After the first Tiger Moth which the Xew Plymouth Aero Club was to receive on loan from the Gover ment crashed into the | sea during tests at Auckland early this ycar.j a second machine was ordered. 11l luck has again attended tlie club, for during transit from England one of the cases in .which the machine was packed was apparently dropped and the fuselage was severely strained, ncces-! sitating extensive repairs. Flying-Officer lan Keith, instructor, flew to the Hobsonvillc air b«ise on Thursday to inspect the machine, the fault in which was discovered only when the cases were unpacked. It is not. known when repairs will be finished, and the machine can be taken over by the club. One of the club pilots, Mr. .T. Malton, flew one aeroplane to the base, and he was accompanied by Mr. Keith and Miss Zelda Parker in another aeroplane. On the return flight Miss Parker flew back alone. Judge on Mechanical Misfits. Tho present age is a mechanical age, characterised by speed and a. tendency to dis- . regard the humanitarian aspect of life. Yet even the old servant of iron and steel can be driven beyond endurance. Reminders of this came frequently from the Hon. R. Semple in his warrant of fitness campaign, "to drive off , the roads the antiquated motor junk in the , interests of human safety." Apparently there , are other mechanical misfits which need atteni tion, judging by remarks made by Mr. Justice : Quilliam in the Supreme Court yesterday i about some documents he met on the legal i road which leads to divorce proceedings. "This s document should not have been admitted to I the Court files," said his Honor, as he en- ; deavoured to decipher a very faintlv-typed 1 sheet which was put before him. "It has got ? there now, but such documents will not he > admitted again," lie added. "The machine on , which it was typed needs a new ribbon, and i the type faces are, out of alignment. Al6o . there appears in it a word, 'registrara,' no 5 doubt a slip, but it should have been 6een - and corrected. There is no such word." t Probably his Honor, when having trouble in 1 deciphering the document which occasioned t his remarks, mentally contrasted it with the 5 beautifully legible and legally accurate cni grossed documents of pre-typewriter days in law offices.