NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 57, 8 March 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Traffic Control. ~ ' . At the meeting of the Wellington Automobile Club last night,. the chairman. (Mr. E. A. Batt) said that as the result of consultations of the executive with the City authorities, the council would shortly bring about a decided improvement in. traffic control at the Willis street-Manners street and Taranaki street-Manners street corners,. Discredited Silver. Within a few years' time it will be difficult to obtain specimens of the silver coinage minted between 1920 and 1927, for an official decision has been reached to withdraw from circulation the entire silver issue of. that period. There is one section of the community which is applauding the decision with a sense of profound satisfaction (saya the Glasgow "Herald"). By enthusiastic numismatists the post-war silver coinage has generally been regarded aa one of the most unsatisfactory efforts ever produced by the British Mint, and some of them, like Sir Charles Oman, who has more than once raised the matter in the House of Commons, have never.ceased to deplore the debased character of the currency now to be withdrawn. Its liability to change colour to yellow and russet, due to a bad alloy, was its most disturbing feature. Improvement has marked the issues of the past four years, and in due course .the coins of the new standard will gradually replace • about 500,000,000 discredited pieces recalled by the Mint. Service to Motorists. Whether its service officers should render assistance to motorists who were not members or members of affiliated clubs was discussed at some length by the Wellington Automobile Club last night. It was not the . intention of members that anyone, member or not, who was in serious trouble through accident, should be passed by, but it was stated that not everyone assisted in this way was duly appreciative. It was decided to ascertain what was being done by other clubs in this matter, with a view to uniform action.

The "Godless" Florin. In the course of his address to the1 Numismatic Society on early English coinage, Sir John Hanham, Bart., mentioned that on the florin of • 1840 (coined in silver for the first time in Queen Victoria's reign) the letters "D.G." (Dei Gratia) were omitted, and the coin was accordingly known as the "graceless" or "Godless florin. 3' It was in 1840 that a great potato famine occurred in Ireland, and for want of a better cause the famine was put down to the omission. No Outward Sign. To a casual visitor to Sydney there is very little sign of depression and no noticeable poverty in the streets, according to Mr. A. Paul, Collector of Customs at Wellington, who returned to New Zealand to-day after a holiday visit to Australia. Mr. Paul told a "Post" representative that people seemed to be well dressed, but he was told by residents of Sydney that want was real. "I was told that there had been a slight improvement in business the last two months, but it is hard to say how people will get on in the winter," he said. "In the main streets of Sydney there are numerous barrowmen selling fruifrr-In some places the stands are no more than thirty feet apart—while on many corners one comes, across street musicians." . ' Voluntary Hospital System. . The,opinion that until other means or! increasing the revenue for voluntary hospitals in England is found it will be very difficult for the system to carry on, was expressed by Dr. A. CampbellSmith, of Nelson, who with his wife and two daughters returned to New Zealand to-day by the Maunganui via Sydney, after an eighteen months' tour of England, Scotland, and the Continent. "The voluntary hospital system has failed, and until they' organise sweepstakes or some such thing they will get no money to keep them going," said Dr. Campbell-Smith to a "Post" representative. "People will not put their hands in their pockets for nothing." Some of the hospitals, he said, were in debt to the extent of £72,000. More Propaganda. ■ . EalSs on the motorists' funds, were alluded to "by the chairman of the Wellington Automobile Club at the meeting last night. He said he understood there was a very drastic move on the way to increase the motorist's flat rate by £2 on every vehicle on the road. This had not come from the Highways Board, or from the Government, though it had been glaced'before the Government, but • from the Civil Engineers' Conference in Wellington. Perhaps it was to make more work for engineers. A cumulative series of raids and taxation had compelled the North Island Motor' Union to undertake propaganda to make the position known to motorists and the public. Bevenue, statistics, expenditure, and taxation were subjects of which many motorists knew little o,r nothing^ Seisanic Activity. The earthquake" shocks reported ss having been; felt in Auckland, Tauranga, Opotiki, and elsewhere on Saturday last probably had their origin some 50. miles or so to the north-east of East Cape, judging from the records made on the seismographs at the Dominion Observatory, Kelburn. To be felt in Auckland, therefore,: the shocks must have been of some magnitude. Two fairly heavy shakes were reported from Murchison on Friday last, but neither of these was felt in Wellington. Apparently just now, judging by these shakes and the recent series at Rotorua, there is relatively more seismic activity going pri in the Dominion than has been the case recently, but there has been nothing to cause apprehension or alarm. Better Corner Lighting. • Improvements had been effected to the lighting at the junction of Featherston street with Bunny street, as the result of consultations with the city lighting department, it was stated at the meeting of the Wellington Automobile Club last night* If the present lighting did not prove satisfactory, a light would be placed on either side of the tram track. The way in which the city authorities had met suggestions was appreciated.