NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 284, 26 August 1940, Page 9

NEWS IN BRIEF

Watermain Bursts On Hutt Road

Some disruption of traffic lias been caused on the Hutt Road since Friday evening, through a burst iu the old 24in. watermain from Wainui to the city. It occurred near the Tawa Flat overhead railway bridge, and such was the pressure of water that it washed away a considerable quantity of earth. The break occurred where the main passes through a ramp built as a temporary approach during the construction of the Tawa Flat tunnels, and caused a spread of some hundreds of yards of this spoil. Barricades were erected as soon as .possible, and traffic officers were on duty to direct traffic past the affected road. A good deal of spoil had to be removed before the broken main was exposed, but repair work was completed yesterday. Worse Than War.

According to the London “Christian World,” Dr. Maude Hoyden, the noted woman leader and founder, with Dr. “Dick” Sheppard, of the Peace Pledge Union, has renounced the pacifist views she lias held since 1914. She says that she has come to realize that there is one thing worse than war, and that is Nazism.

Thanksgiving Appeal. Contributions to the New Zealand Centennial Methodist Thanksgiving Appeal now total more than £20,000. The “Methodist Times” states that the official total is £19,252. but with amounts promised the £20,000 mark will be passed, representing an average donation of nearly £7OO a day. Iu the past fortnight £9OOO has been given in donations.

Cobden Quarry Extension. All the easily accessible stone in the Greymouth Harbour Board’s quarry at Cobden has now been used and to extend the quarry northward an exploratory drive, 40 feet in length, will shortly be put into the north face to ascertain the nature of the heads. Unless the drive encounters too much clay, instead of solid rock, the north face will be benched down, from the top, to provide a new supply of suitable stone. To Commemorate Tree-planting. In his opening remarks at the planting of half a dozen English beeches in Queen’s Park on Saturday morning, the president of the Wellington branch of the Royal Society of St. George, Mr. J. E. Hunt, said it was the intention of the society to ask permission of the city council to erect a tablet in the park, commemorating the planting of these trees, So that in future years people would know something of their genesis. Gift to Coastal Battery. An artillery director of the periscope type has been presented to Captain J. F. Cracroft Wilson, of the Canterbury coastal defence ■ force, by Mr. C. S. Teschemaker, Idris Road, Fendaltou. Mr. Teschemaker, who served as a captain in a machine-gun corps in the last war, obtained the instrument from a captured German position. It will be of great use to the coastal battery, being very powerful, and suited to modern artillery work.

Home-made Drain-digger. Au ingenious mechanical ditcher has been devised by a West Coast farmer from odds and ends lying about his property. The machine, drawn by a tractor, is simply constructed, having four revolving blades mounted on a carriage, and driven at about 500 revolutions a minute from the tractor power take-off. Cutting a channel ISin. wide and 9in. deep, the machine throws all spoil well clear, aud is most valuable for draining flat paddocks which hold water. It is possible to cut up to six miles of drain a day-

The Beauty of Beeches. “The changing tints of the beech woods in Buckinghamshire are a sight one can never forget,” said the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in New Zealand, Sir Harry Batterbee, at the ceremony of planting English beeches in Queen’s Park, Wellington, on - Saturday morning. The’ director of parks, Mr. J. G. MaeKenzie, said the tvpe of beech tree sent to Wellington from High Wykeham was common to almost the whole of Europe. It was a highly decorative tree with attractive foliage whose changing tones in the autumn were a lovely feature. In favourable places it grew to a height of 100 feet.

Community Use of Cars, One of the difficulties arising from a community use of cars for the conservation of petrol was instanced byMr. A. Orbell (Waikouaiti), at a meeting of the Otago branch of the Farmers’ Union. He said farmers were asked to co-operate in the use of cars, several travelling together to save petrol. The idea was good, but the question of the liability of the driver for an accident where negligence could be shown had to be considered. He suggested that the liability should be suspended during the currency of petrol restrictions. Members considered that such a request might have very undesirable effects. Blood Transfusion.

“In recent years blood transfusion has come to be recognized as a surgical practice of great importance, ’ states the annual report of the Wellington branch of the National Blood Transfusion Service. "It has been discovered that in certain cases of haemorrhage and pernicious anaemia, the simple operation of blood transfusion is often effective in saving life, and. further, that a patient too weak to stand a necessary operation may be sufficiently strengthened by an infusion of new blood to undergo it with safety. 'The service represents an attempt t" organize a permanent number of blood donors from which every case of real urgency can be met.”

Socialization of Transport? The statement that petrol restriction in relation to carrying and forwarding businesses was directed mainly at the socialization of the transport industry was made at a meeting of the Otagc branch of the Farmers’ Union by Mr. A. J. Cameron (Outram). In substantiation of his assertion, Mr. Cameron said that three furniture-removing firms in Dunedin had had their running restricted to 30-mile trips. They had immediately asked the Government it they would be permitted to carry on as before if they converted their vehicles into producer-gas consumers. The answer had been in the negative. Petrol conservation obviously had nothing io do with the Government’s attitude.

Permanent Street Crossings. Satisfaction is being expressed with the new permanent coloured concrete street crossings, which have been put down in Willis Street and Mercer Street, The next crossing to be treated in this manner will be that over Lambton Quay, opposite Kelburn Avenue. It will be noticed in the case of tlie new crossings in Willis Street that the colour has brightened during the recent spell of dry weather. There was some bad weather during the construction of these crossings, which caused some discoloration of the surface. As this is being worn out by traffic the real orange colour of the concrete is showing up. This contrast to tlie dark shade of the road pavement detines the crossings