NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 112, 15 May 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Busy Night in City. Sunday ni»ltt is usually a "dead" period fur Queen Street, hut evening there was, for in> apparent reason, an unusual amount of activity. The trains were nearly all full, particularly round aliout ft) o'clock, and pitch refreshment shops, as were open wore well patronised. The railway station also presented an unusually busy .scene, nnd the excursion train from Frankton. which had a larire number of carriages, was packed. A Lucky Dog. No cold, comfortless pave:.;.'in for tliis dojr. for surely he is one of the luckiest members of his kingdom. With his elderly master this pup makes his headquarters outside the reserve at the corner of Symonds Street and Kaianoahape Road most evenings about dusk. His master provides for him a sleeping bag made from a sugar sack, and there he lies, sound asleep, quite oblivious of the passing trallic. There is even a handkerchief at the j top of the bag lest the rough edges chafe the | pup's neck. Balmoral " Kite-Flier." A trail of valueless cheques are alleged lo have.been left behind by someone in the I'.almoral di-triet on Friday last, a number of shopkeepers being the victims of the false pretence ""client," w ho. in each case, left shops not onlv with goods but chaise ib well. However, the cheques were for small amounts, so the losses were not great. In all cases the cheques presented wen- drawn on the Otahuhu branch of a bank and signed by one' person and made payable to an..l her. The police are interesting themselves in the operations. Volunteers Build Church. 1?y the .united efforts of keen volunteer workmen a new Methodist church ha* been built at lieach Haven since the beginning of this month. When the scheme was launched on Saturday. -May <i. satisfactory progress was made, and the construct 101 l was completed last Saturday. Parties of carpenters and other tradesmen -were organi-od under the control of a skilled supers i-or. resulting in the maximum return from the labour available. The building, which is of wood. lis flSft long and 20ft wide, with a gable roof. Part consists of an entrance porch, leaving ■2»ift by "20ft as the dimensions of the church. A lean-to at tlie rear, 20ft by I'it't. will he used for Sunday school and oilier purposes. With lined interior and electric lighting, the building is comfortable and should serve the requirements of the district for many years. Napier Breakwater. The construction of the Napier breakwater harbour was advanced another step on Friday, when the last pile of the hi-t pier of the new concrete wharf was driven. There is now every indication that the structure will be available for Use by ovcl-eas -hipping by the end of September. During the piledriving ».-><» reinforced piles were bored Inland driven. The work traversed varying trpes of sea bottom, and >! the early stages a particularly dillicult piece of -round was encountered.* In addition, the cud of the wharf abutment contains l!I specially constructed and interlaced piles. The new wharf is JftOft long. Two' rows of timber piles covering a distance of llU't, outward from the end of the wharf have yet to be driven. The concreting of the superst ucturc of the wharf has been advanced rapidly, and now reaches a distance of 578 ft from the seaward face of the abutment. Motor Registrations. Motor registrations in Auckland have been somewhat sluggish during the past fortnight, and the official-s engaged on the work etrongly urge motorists and other owners of motor vehicles to secure their new number plates and licenses without delay, instead of waiting until the usual end of May rush a fortnight hence. The figures so far recorded at the motor registrations branch of the Tost Office in Wellesley Street show a decrease as compared with last year, and as the total number of motor vehicles on the roads has increased in the meantime it appears that the motoring public is not as punctual as usual in attending to the annual obligation. The officials give a reminder to all motorists that, it is necessary to have the information regarding engine and chassis numbers, in order to identify each vehicle, when applying for re-registration. Also, if there has been a change of ownership, information must be produced showing that the registrar has been notified. Motorist And Bull Fight. A fresh addition to the hazards of motoring was experienced by a Pallia!na resident when driving through the Maklll'i Gorge on Saturday evening. On rounding a bend he was astonished to see two bulls, a Jersey and a Shorthorn, fitrliting vigorously in the middle of the road. Although both'hulls were dehorned, this apparently made no difference to the ferocity of the struggle. The motorist came upon them so suddenly that there was bandy time to stop without striking them. \s it would have been dangerous,to hack in the dark on such a narrow road, he was compelled to stay and watch developments. which were not long in coming. The Jersey bull, observing Ihe car. suddenly turned and charged it. striking the left front mudguard with terrific force and shattering the headlight on that side. Kxamination showed that the bull must have been injured to a certain extent, as there was blood and hair on the ear where it had been struck. After the impact the Jersey continued on past the car. followed by the Shorthorn. allowing the motorist to continue on his way. which he did. leaving the two bulls continuing their battle behind him.

Rent and Interest Returns. In the widening net of taxation returns the Income Tax Department is now demanding from all persons who pay interest or rent, as well as from those who receive such payments, a statement of the amount involved for the past financial year. This will mean that large numbers of persons who have not made out returns in the past will be called upon to do so this year. Among tenant occupiers, those who rent houses from the State, of course, now form the largest group in the Dominion, and in the new return they will have the opportunity of informing the Government of the amount they are annually paying to it. Front Door Milk Delivery. Discussing the suggestion made at the hist meeting of the Auckland Metropolitan .Alilk Council that considerable time would be saved to roundsmen if a front door delivery were insisted upon. Mr. A. McGarry, who was a. speaker at a deputation of North Shore vendors that waited on the last meeting of the council, said to-day that a front door delivery would be of some assistance to the large vendor, who would be able to effect some economy, but it would not assist the small man except in the saving of time, the reason being that each vendor had a limited number of customers, the council having zoned the district. First Aid Examinations. Approximately SO men who underwent the first aid course recently conducted by the St. John Ambulance Association at the ambulance station in Kutland Street have been successful in the examinations, while KM) women students of home nursing have al«so passed. The men are now eligible to join the brigade, and the women the nursing divisions. It was pointed out this morning that both the brigade and the nursing- division will have to he considerably augmented in the near future, and it. was hoped that many of the successful students would enrol. There was no cost on joining, and uniforms were provided free. Further advanced training was also given free. Veteran First Line. The view that the only way that Xew Zealand could face an early emergency would be by creating a veteran force, distinct from the Territorial Force and usinj; it as firstline troops during a period necessary to build an efficient fighting machine, is held by a group of ex-servicemen whose concern it is to awaken the country to a realisation of issues of the moment. While applauding the efforts of the Prime Minister in his attempts to build up the Territorial Forces, these exservicemen consider that the majority of units are not yet fit for active service. It is for that and other rea-ous ihat they re-empha-i-e their contention that a veteran force should be enli-ted Tor a year, so that an emergency situation could he' met and (lie Territorial Force have time to find itself. Harvesting of Lemons. A marked improvement in the supply of lemons in Auckland in lhe near future is expected to result from the harvesting of the new season"-, crop, winch i- ; now reaching the packing sheds at. Kerikeri. Tauran-a and Auckland. The .Auckland branch manairer of the Internal Marketing Department, Mr. A. IF. Honeyfield. states that the lemon crop is somewhat, later than usual, owing to the effects of the late summer and autumn, but Tauranga growers are delivering about 200 cases a day to the Department's shed, a figure which should incrca-e steadily until at the [leak of the harvesting ceason between 500 and 000 cases are expected to be available and a similar increase is anticipated in other districts. Probably a fortnight will pass before the lemons no v arriving at the sheds will be ready for the market. Little Snow on Mount Egmont. Mount Egmont still has no appreciable amount of snow on its slopes. The unusual lateness in the first substantial fall is emphasised by the fact that at this time last year snow fell heavily at Stratford and Midhirst, and there was even a sprinkling at Kaimiro and Egmont Village, only a few miles from Xew Plymouth. There have been one or two falls on the higher slopes of the mountain during the past week, but they were only light. An unusual position has resulted from the meagre falls of rain ill February and March, which amounted to less than 2in, compared with an average of 30in. The sources of the Kapuni River, from which supplies for the power-house at Dawson Falls Hostel are drawn, have so dried up that conservation of water is still necessary. Heavy rain on one occasion in the past month effected only temporary relief. Florence Nightingale Parades. Nurse's from all parts of Aurkland city and suburbs attended the annual Florence Nightingale birthday parade held at St. Mary's Cathedral last evening. The total number of nurses was about :!">O. oE whom 2~A) were from the Auckland Hospital. Among the others were representatives of the Registered Xurses' Association, returned Army sisters, ex-servieenicn and nurses from St. Helens Hospital. St. Mary's Homes, the Karitane Hospital, the Mater Miserieordiae Hospital, the Health Department, the Wil-on Home for Crippled Children and the Auckland Infirmary. The chairman and members of the Hospital Hoard, the medical superintendent of the Public Hospital, and several lady superintendents were ::1-.o present. Archbishop Avcrill. Primate of New Zealand, delivered a special address. At Hamilton nurses from the Waikato Hospital attended Divine service at St. Paul's Methodist Clun , 'i in the morning. They marched jo the church accompanied by the Hamilton Caledonian Society's pipe band. T! 'i> 11-v. '■'. 15. Tinsley conducted the service. Nurses al-o at fended a service in St. Peter's i ■.ihclr.il la-t evening, the preacher Iciii" th- H •■•••. of Hamilton, the \Vr< Rev. T. IV Weatherhog.