NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 9, 11 July 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Commendable Conciseness. There are some persons outside the legal profession, whose duties compel them to be present at the heavy legal battles fought out in the' Court of Appeal at Wellington. These people appreciate conciseness. They seldom, get it. To them the law and some of the worthy representatives of the profession have a nasty habit of,going the longest way about saying a thing, and, after the recital, not conveying very much. It follows, therefore, that, on those rare occasions when the admirable quality of terseness is displayed it is appreciated. But appreciation of brevity extends further. The Bench welcomes it. In one of his reserved judgments delivered yesterday, ' the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) made a point of mentioning the concise way in which the question in tho case was1 put. This was how his Honour began his judgment: "It is unnecessary in this case to look at any of the material before us except the actua.l neat question which the Court is asked to determine, and which is stated with commendable conciseness as being 'whether the Mortgagors' Belief Act; 1931, applies to mortgages of shares in companies.' " Property Responsibilities'. Property owners in. Lower Hutt have during the past month received in various ways reminders that ownership carries with it certain responsibilities. Ninety-eight have received notices requiring them to eradicate gorse; thirty two are lequired to provide proper motor-ear crossings over the watertable; five have been requested to stop polluting ■ water-courses; two to stop discharging storm-water into foul sewers; seven to remedy drain defects; one to remove rubbish; and one to provide a fowlhouse. ( -

During the past week or two Timan fishermen have been considerably ham pored in their operations by the pros ence of large numbers of jellyfish 01 the fishing states the "Christ church Times." On several occasion; the nets have been pulled in filled with these unwelcome visitors, and to avoic these happenings shorter tows have been necessary, with consequent irieon venience. , lt ; is stated, that jellyfisi usually'-visit; Timaru waters about this time of the' year an 4 stay for about six weeks. ' Lower Hutt Rates. The Lower Hutt Borough Council last evening confirmed, the striking of the rates, which will be -Jd in the £ higher than last year. The rate notices will be issued about July 18, and a rebate of 5 per cent, will be made on. all rates paid before August 16. Councillors F. Campbell and A. Anderson protesteel against-the raising of the rates, but regretted that only by very dras; tic reduction in expenditure could they have been kept at the same level as last year. The Mayor (Mr. J. W. Andrews) quoted figures showing that the credit balance of the council in 1926 had been £1100, which was changed during the years to a debit of £37,000 last year. Other figures were quoted to show the necessity for "the increase. Mortgagor Relief. The Pull Court, as reported in yesterday's "Post," decided unanimously that the benefits under the Mortgagors Eelief Act, 1931, do "not apply to shares in companies. Mr. Justice Herdraan in his judgment, said tjiat if a mortgagor of shares could apply for relief then it would follow that a person whe had mortgaged debentures could apply for relief, and it might be, but on this point he expressed no final opinion, that a local authority which had hypothecated its rates could appeal to the Court for protection. If Parliament had intended to carry legislation which was confiscatory in its character to a distance which would include securities over '"chattels," interproting that term in its widest sense, it should have said so in plain terms, but it had not done that. Lower Hutt Building. Councillors at Lower Hutt hurried very quickly over the report of the Borough Engineer -_ on the buildings erected in the borough during last month with the hope that the current month will show much improved figures. Last month only five permits were issued for buildings, the value being £355, which is probably the lowest return in the history- of the borough. In the corresponding .month last year the return showed sixteen permits to the value of £3687. The advent of the building subsidy will make a very considerable difference, as. tenders are being called for a number of dwellings, among which arc two for tho Hutt Valley Power Board to house employees, and at least one substantial building in the business area is planned, the- section owned by Mr. H. F. Lowe in front of his foundry in High .Street having .been sold to a prominent business man of Petone, whose architect is preparing plans for a two-storeyed building to cover the frontage. ■ New Plymouth's. Milk. ; . ' "Wo are almost in the Stone Age as regards distribution," said a New Plymouth milk vender to a "Taranaki Herald" reporter. "The only possible alteration would bo absolute municipal control." In New Plymouth, ho said, the producers themselves were the distributors. One or two small companies had endeavoured to commence business, but had been unsuccessful and had taken up small farms themselves. Thus there is no1 middleman's profit and all proceeds go direct to the producer. The price varies from fourpencc to fivepence among the various, distributors, and largo'lots are sold at as low as Is a gallon. The costs of distribution are low, the plant of the average vender consisting of a delivery vehicle, and tho necessary measures and cans. In advocating absolute municipal control the vender said that the system In force in AVellington would be unsuitable, as under that system, any farmer was permitted to sell up to 30 gallons in small lots. If the farmers within a twomile radius of New Plymouth each sold 30 gallons tho town would be flooded.^ Looking at the matter from, the'other point of view, he said that it was necessary for each and every delivery vehicle to sell at least "80 gallons daily in order to cover expenses and . leave a bare living. Memorial to Pilgrims. At the1 request of Mr. H. G. Ell, designs for a memorial in stone to the Canterbury' Pilgrims to be erected on the summit of the Bridle Path are being prepared by Mr. J. G. Collins, of Messrs.' Collins' and West (states the Christchurch "Press"). Mr. Ell told a reporter on Saturday that ho'had been struck by the fact that .no such memorial existed. Mrs. Godley's cross was some distance below the- summit. Until he caused a signpost, pointing to Lyttelton and to Christchurch, to bo erected there existed nothing to indicate that the ; path was the historic Bridle Path; He had suggested that the proposed memorial should bear the! inscription: "The pilgrims (or the pioneers) passed this way, 1850." A Perfect Gun Dog. A keen nose, a sharp eye, and a tender mouth are generally regarded as the most important points in a gun dog, and Mr. Fred. Truscott's brown, curly-coated retriever Don, which won the Canterbury Working Gun Dog Club's field trial at Cashmere on Saturday, certainly had these three attributes developed to a remarkable degree, states tho "Christchurch Times." In the trial the dogs were required to find birds which had previously been concealed in heavy cover of fern,' and when Don was sent out he speedily nosed out his game, but then went one better, for when tho bird was released he caught it before it could take to its wings and retrieved it, not only still alive but without a single .featherJ ruffled. He was given a second run, I and as he repeated his previous, per-1 formance; was sent out a' third time, when, to, the astonishment of tho spectators, he once again caught tho bird before it could fly. At a fourth attempt Don was not allowed to go out until the bird had been shot and, for a fourth time, he brought back an absolutely unmarked bird. This is tho second trial won by Mr. Truscott's Don, the previous one being a test over land and water near Springston last year. Overdraft Reduced. - • The magnitude of the substantial economies effected by the Hawcra County Council is strikingly reflected in its overdraft, which is substantially lower than is usual at' the end of tho first quarter of tho financial year and only 25 per cent, of the amount in 1930.' This is a direct reflex of expenditure (says tho "Hawera'Star"). , Itcporting to the council on -Saturday, the clerk, Mr. J. W. Harding, said tho avcrdraft was £3325. This was £1100 less than at tho same date in 1932, £7000 less than in 1931, and £10,000 less than in 1930. This reduction is almost entirely accounted for by reiuctions in expenditure. The rates are not struck until after the June quarter, jo that receipts from this source have not entered into the comparison made by Mr. Harding; In any case receipts from all sources are much reduced. The ;ounty operations for the first quarter ■>f the year are always financed by overdraft. As the rates come in the overlraft is lessened till with the end of the financial year the accounts are squared. '•■■.-

Damage by Wandering Stock. ; Attention to the damage that was done to property by wandering stock was drawn by Councillor W. AVilson at the meeting of the- Lower Hutt Borough Council last evening. Councillor Wilson .said that when stock was slowly driven down a street there was always the danger that it would wander. Some doubt was expressed by councillors as to what legal right the council had to prosecute when damage was done to property by stock, but the Mayor (Mr. J. W. Andrews) said he thought the council's bylaw made it essential for animals to be kept to the carriage way, and if this was the case, he would instruct the ranger to take action when necessary. Damage by Deer. To make ■an investigation into the allegation that deer are doing considerable damage to the watershed of the Waimakariri by destroying the vegetation and thua starting shingle slides which descend into the river, Captain G. F. Yerex, an inspecting officer of the Department of Internal Affairs, left Christchureh on Saturday (states the' "ChristchuTeh Times"). The inspection is being made at the request of the Waimakariri Biver Trust.and will cover the Mount White station and adjoining 'areas. Captain Ycrex has' already made- a similar investigation into the effects, of deer on the watershed' of the Hurunui. On his return next Friday a conference of all interested parties will be held in Christchurch/ ' A Remarkable Escape.' A remarkable- escape from serious injury occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning when the driver of a motor-cai; which ran over a; bank on the New Plymouth-Opunake main road and came to rest upside down was thrown completely clear and escaped without a scratch (reports the "Taru,naki Daily News"). ■ Mr. Eric Brown, a young man who' resides at Kirihau, was driving a touring car from. New Plymouth, where he had spent the evening, to Kirihau at about 1.30 a.m. A mile or two on the New Plymouth sido of Oakura the car went off the road, crashed through a wire fence, and somersaulted and rolled down into a paddock about twelve foot lower than, the- level of the road. The car came to rest with-the wheels in the air and the bonnet facing the direction the motorist had just_ been coming from. The driver, who, when he was met by a party of passing motorists about five minutes later, was not quite clear about the manner or cause of the accident, must have been thrown out of the car as it fell. ' The car was rather badly damaged. Tho framework supporting the hood, which had been up, was completely crushed down by the weight of tho car. Parts of the steering-gear were snapped, and the-wheels and front axle were twisted and bent. General damage was done to the front of tho bar in its collision with the posts of the fence, but, strangely enough, the lights were still functioning. Cold* Bath for Forty Years. "I have not missed having my morning cold bath for forty years," Mr. H. E. Longworth told members of the W.E.A. at Christchitteh on Saturday evening, when he gave a lecture entitled "How to Maintain Good Health" (states the "Christchureh Times"). "A few weeks ago I -was in Reef ton and there was a frost of 26 degrees," continued tho speaker. "I wondered for a minute if I would brave it when I saw the ice in tho bottom of tho bath. ■ I put one tentative foot in the bath and then the other. Immediately, I slipped and fell flat. I came out glowing and feeling warm , all through. /But the water that had splashed over when I fell was ice- on the floor when I left the bathroom." Mr. Longworth did not advise those who were unused to such Spartan activity to begin their morning cold baths at this time of the year. Subsidising Relief Pay Rates. The payment of the subsidy of 2s a day on the wages of relief workers employed by the Christchureh City Council is likely to bo continued for an indefinite period in consequence of the Labour members of the'council not having been able to devise any alternative scheme that might bo considered more satisfactory, states the "Christchurch Star.'' Tho cost of tho subsidy is approximately £7000- a year, and the scheme has been- strongly criticised on-account of tho fact that about £2000 of this amount is paid out in- wages tax. Before the last City Council- election, the Labour Partyasked for a free hand to deal with tho subsidy question as it thought best. A promise was given that alternative methods of assisting the relief workers in the" council's employ would be given consideration, and when tho Labour Party was returned with a majority on the council tho question was brought forward and referred to' tho finance committee. , It is understood that the finance committee has not yet dealt with the question finally, but that the Labour members .have expressed themselves in favour of maintaining tho subsidy in tho meantime until some better scheme can bo devisrd. Probably the matter will come before the council at its meeting on Monday next.