NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 127, 2 June 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Railway Paßsenger Traffic. The railway return* show a fallingoff of the passenger traffic, particularly in the short-distance runs, during last year as compared with the previous twelve months. The ordinary passenger tickets issued this year numbered 10,182,796, as compared with 11,813,480 for 1926. For several years past the season tickets issued have had a tendency to increase, but not to such an extent as to make up for the drop in ordinary tickets. The decrease is mainly attributablo to the growing popularity of motor traffic, especially over short distances. British Motor Delegation. An alteration has been made in the itiuorary of the delegation of British Motor Manufacturers that is to visit the Dominion shortly. The visitors will arrive at Auckland next Monday, and will spend less than three weeks in New Zealand, leaving from Wellington on 24th June. All four of tho principal towns will be visited. Much of the time of the delegation will be occupied in discussions with representatives of English cars and in inspecting premises and sale and distribution facilities. Arrangements are also being made for interviews by members of chambers of commerco, • users of English cars, and others To enable the members of the delegation to gather as much information as possible about the highways 'of the Dominion they will travel from place to placo principally by motor-ear. A Confident Witness. A witness in a recent motor collision case in Blenheim gave evidence that tho defendant's car was travelling at 31 miles per hour, and he said he had reached tins conclusion by timing its speed between two telograph polos, pacing off the distance, and allowing for the angle at which he had been standing. Working out his distances and angles were "in his line." 'And where were-his actual figures?" asked plaintiff's counsel. "Oh, in his lodger," roplied witness largely. Was his watch a stop-watch? No. "And you worked out the rate at which the car was travelling for yourself?" "Certainly," replied the witness, "it's in my line." Finally, counsel obtained the Magistrate's permission to put a simplo sum to the witness: If a ear took five seconds to travel 75 yards, at what rate per hour was it travelling? Witness returned to a corner of the Court with pencil and paper and laboured away for a quarter of an hour, eventually announcing confidently that tho answer was 395 seconds. Given another chance, he said he could easily get the answer if he multiplied 1760 by fivo, but later announced 55 minutes as the correct speed. "Puts Seagrave in the shade," said the counsel, as the witness left the box and Court amid much laughter. '' Queensway' •—Unofficial Only. Though the nameplate "Quoensway" has no official standing as far as tho City Council is concerned, it has evidently been taken seriously by one of the Government Departments, for a business man in "Queonsway" to-day received the following inquiry: "Will you please reply at foot hereof whether you Jive in Kent or Cambridge terrace .1 Though the two streets have been renamed Queensway, the numbers aro unaltered; thereforo thore are two 46's in Queensway." Steel for Northland Tunnel. The steel for tho reinforcing of tho Northland tunnel has now arrived, and is being bout to the arch of the walls and rodf, stated the Mayor, Mr. G. A. Troup, to-day. Mr. Troup expressed surprise that a statement should have been mado that tho council had not yet made up its mind whether trains would ever Tun to Northland; that point had beon decided months ago, he said. Trams would run to Northland.