NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 19, 24 January 1939, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Supreme Court Session. The long vacation of the v Auckland Supreme Court will conclude on Tuesday next, and on Wednesday, February 1, the finst criminal session of the year will open before Mr. Justice Fair and Mr. Justice Callan. Meantime, the court offices will be open, till ■ Wednesday of next week, only in the-morn-ings for public business. . Fire Protection Measures. ■ At the present time the superintendent of the Auckland Fire Brigade is inquiring into the question of lire protection at the Auckland Hospital. Mr. A. J. Moody, chairman of the hospital board, gave this information to members last evening when a circular wan received from the Health Department asking for a report on the subject. Mayor's Donation to Hospital. To endow a cot at the Auckland Hospital costs £500, it was pointed out at the board meeting last evening. The question arose during a discussion concerning.a donation to the hospital by the Mayor, Sir Ernest Davis. Sir Ernest had forwarded £25 for the establishment of a cot, and £10 as the first annual subscription towards the maintenance of the cot. It was pointed out that the donation "waw in the form of a tribute to Sir Ernest's mother, Mrs. Leah Davb.. and the Mayor aslcM that the cot be called the "Leah Davis l"ot." It was decided to thank the Mayor for his donation. Ballboy Wept. The daily pa|ier had just come out and one of the hallhovM at the Stanley Street courts, where the Auckland provincial tennis champioiishi|w were continued yesterday, secured a copy on loan and hastily scanned it. to see if a close relative had been successful in the matriculation examinations. First a rarefill, and then a fronzieil »earch, failed to reveal the family "inoiiniker." and the poor lad licgan to weep. Which juM. goes to show that some families have a loyalty towards each other and a fierce pride in the achievements of their members. Curios and Customs Duty. The boy scouts of tile Wellington contingent. who had spent most of their pocketmoney while attending the international jamboree in Sydney, expressed surprise on landing at Wellington at having to pay Customs duty on iMioincrangs and other curios and souvenirs they had brought back with them. W hen asked by Customs officers had they anything to declare, the scouts displayed their souvenirs, not for the most )»art of verv great monetary worth, and were informed that they were dutiable and would have to be paid for at the rate of 25 per cent of their value. Back to Its Element. Snapping its huge beak with a noise like fcandclappinp. ami at the same time making a turkey-like gobble, the albatross which made it forced landing at Hororata some days ago was loaded into m delivery truck on Friday afternoon and dispatched to Akaroa. so that it may live on aea food. The journey by car from Hororata did not seem to upset the bird. It was taken to the CanterlHirv Museum, where measurements were taken for recording purpose, and It was found that the bird weighed 131b, had a wing-span of Oft 2in, and a body Mln long. Its ' beak Was flin long. The bird's age in estimated at 18 months. It ha* proliably reached ita full sixe, though it still ha* juvenile feathering. It is grevish brown on top, with white underneath the wi■«*, and will later ha*e more white on Barrett, -who vgti in charge of tW bird at Hororata, has placed a metal ■t»g on one of ita teg*;* Awtw'i Biggest Bookings. The Awatea had a record passenger list of WI whim she arrived at Wellington .yes terday, Of that total the assistant boarding inspector, Mr. K. R. Robson, was- able to pass tt§ within half •• hour of boarding the ship off Point tfalswelL Passengers would have been able to mareh straight ashore on the •hip's berthing had not two women failed to present themselves. The remainder of those on board were held up a further 20 minutes before, after many requests, they at last put in an apjiearance. The Xew Zealand contingent of 000 boy scouts to the international jamboree at Sydney brought the number of the Awatea's passengers to arrive at Auckland last week and at Wellington to-day to the two largest totals ever carried across, the Tasman Sea by a single vessel in regular services. Including the Auckland contingent of boys, the liner had WW passengers on board when she arrived at Auckland, compared with fifll when she reached Wellington yesterday. In spite of the large number of passengers and all their bags and baggage, in addition to the usual cargo and | mails, the Awatea wae prompt in her depar- 1 ture from Sydney on Friday. Although she ? arrived in port at 8 a.m. "she sailed again f promptly at a p.m. It was a remarkable a piece of work by all concerned," said Captain c A. H. Davey. "It would have taken two days ( in. Wellington or Auckland and two and a n half days in Lyttelton." f

Taxis in Hospital Grounds. Though an appeal was made by a taxi company that taxis should be allowed to enter the hospital grounds to set down and pick up passengers, the Auckland Hospital Board decided last evening to adhere to its decision to liar the admission of all motor * care. The restriction did not relate to sick '> and infirm people, it was emphasised, and instructions in this regard had been iseucd 8 to the orderlies. 1 Fire Threatens Houses. Several houses were encircled by flames when fire swept through teatree and scrub on a property at Oneroa, Waiheke Island, yesterday -afternoon. Over (30 people fought f for almost three hours to quell the flatrn . ) There was a moderate eolith-westerly wind • and the lire travelled nearly half" a niiL' before i reaching the main road. Occupants of the i threatened houses at one • stage began to ; remove personal belongings, but the elf (its r of the fire-fighters prevented damage to the buildings. The blaze was finally extinguished by seven o'clock. | Power Supply in Holiday Time. I Commenting on operations for the holiday , period, the general manager, Mr. R. H. , Bart ley. reported to a meeting of the Auckland Electric-Power Board yesterday afternoon that the Work was satisfactorily carried out with a skeleton staff. The maximum demand for power was on Christmas Kve, the ! figure being 38.300 kilowatts, which was not considered excessive, and the traction peak at . the Epsom sub-station, as the result of race traffic, was slightly above the peak reached during the last two years. Several troubles experienced were of a minor nature. Future of South Africa. The opinion that the future of South Africa lay within and not beyond the Empire was expressed by Mr. B. O. Schoncgevcl. who with his wife is visiting Wellington in llie course of a tour of the Dominion. Mr. Nchonegcvel was one of the leaders of Ceneral • lan Smut's party before its fusion with General Hcrtzog's party. He is chairman of the executive of the Empire Unity League and his home is now in London. Discussing the suggestion of disaffection in .South Africa ayainst the British. Mr. Sehonegevel said lie had the authority of a statement made less than a month previously by General Smuts that "if England was at war South Africa must necessarily be at war, too. If war came South Africa would play her part 100 per cent." Motorless Eden. In these days of motoring, when even to go up the street for a loaf of bread the domestic car is requisitioned, it is a strange thing to hear of a motorless paradise. Such, however, ie Bermuda. It Is one of the few places on the face of the globe where there are no motor cars. Efcryone cycles or rides in little open victorias under fringed sunshades. It is true there is a niotor railway (with accommodation for cycles in the van) running to the remote parts, or rather, one should say. remote islands, a* most of the larger islands arc connected bv bridges with fine another. But the railway itself is in keeping with the fields of freeslas and the cedar woods through which it runs. Its station* are little gardens, and one steps from the train on to a lawn bordered with white kerb-stones and gay with flower beds.

Pioneer Farming Brothers. Within the past three weeks the death has occurred of two brother*. Messrts. Sydnc.v John ining and Thomas Llewellyn Vitiing. who farmed together for 08 years on 3000 acre* of land at Mangatangi, writes n Pokeno correspondent. The former died nn January 3 at the age of SO. and the latter died oil Saturday at the age of 01. The elder brother wa« born at Frenehay. Gloucestershire, while the younger brother was born at Hambrook. in tlie Mmc county. They came to New Zealand by the ship Ida Zelpler in 1800 thii gaihed experience of farming by taking a position on an East Coast station. Later the brothers acquired their own land at Mangatangi «nd developed it as sheep farm. Thev lived there for the rest of their lives. Mr. Thomas Vlning ts survived by his wife and one son and two daughters. Mr. Sydney Vining was a bachelor. When England Prepared. An interesting sidelight on the war preparations in England at the time of the recent crisis was given by Miss A. J. Boss, diet supervisor of the Auckland Hospital, when reporting to the board last.evening regarding a visit to English hospitals. They had discovered then the need for adequate etore.roonis for emergency purposes, she said. On the Thursday morning when the crisis was at its height a month's supplies were delivered to every hospital. She instanced the case of a new hospital at Birmingham which was not completed. Without warning, food supplies, enough to last 800 patients and a staff of 300odd for a month, were delivered on the doorsteps. The hospital was not opened and the staff did not know what to do with it. That same problem was experienced in varying degrees bv all hospitals. When the crisis passed the food was not taken back. "The rats and mice had a marvellous time." she said, referring to the lack of proper storage accommodation. Speaking of the matter after the meeting Miss Ros* *aid that the food came from the Ministry of Supply. It indicated the preparations that had lm-n made and the splendid organisation that was ready for any einergehcy.