NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 134, 8 June 1935, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Hats Off in Court. A sharp reminder that members of the public must observe the formalities of Court procedure was given by the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in the Supreme Court yesterday. "I would like members of the public who come into this court to be good enough to understand that their hats must be taken off before they enter the room and not after,", said his Honour. "I am not going to have members of the public coming into court with their hats on.l I have noticed it happen several times, and I won't allow it. I hope it won't happen again." Silverstream's Water Supply. Attention to a letter written to the Upper Hutt Borough Council on December 31,1934, about the water supply at Silverstream, was drawn by the medical officer of health (Dr. W. F. Findlay) in a further letter to the council received last evening. Dr. Findlay asked that the recently-elected council be assured that all citizens of Silverstream have an adequate water supply for all purposes by next, summer. The letter referred to stated that the problem seemed to be an engineering one, and could probably be met by the construction of storage reservoirs. The Mayor (Mr. A. J. McCurdy) said that the shortage was due to the phenomenally dry season last summer common to the whole of New Zealand, and attempts to deal with it by the council were frustrated. No one knew that better than the writer of the letter. It was finally decided to reply that the shortage of water was due to the dry season, and the council was considering several methods of dealing with the matter at an early date. Waitaki Fish Ladder. There are indications that the Waitaki hydro-electric dam has this year prevented the great bulk of the salmon run from reaching the cold, snowfed tributaries where they have been accustomed to spawn. Examination of such rivers as the Ahuriri and the Dobson has proved that practically no spawning has taken place there, while the spawning run in the Hakataramea River below the dam has been exceptionally large. Every year a few salmon spawn in the Waitaki River itself, below the dam, but here again a quite exceptional spawning has taken place. One of the reasons put forward for the failure of the bulk of the salmon to find their way up the fish ladder provided at the dam for them is that the bulk of the overflow is on the side of the river remote from the entrance to the ladder, which consists of a rising chain of pools which the fish surmount by leaping. This will be obviated, it is anticipated, later. Hockey at Maidstone Park. The condition of the hockey ground at Maidstone Park was the subject of a letter received at the meeting of the Upper Hutt Borough Council last evening from Mr. S. Brugh, • a hockey umpire. Mr. Brugh said that complaints had been received from time to time from various hockey teams about the unpleasant conditions of the hockey field at Maidstone Park. He went to the ground as umpire to obtain an idea of the conditions, he said. The ground itself compared more than favourably with the majority of town.grounds. He requested the council to have stock kept off the ground for a time.' The Mayor (Mr. A. J. McCurdy) and Councillor F. P. Keys said that no request from the local hockey players had ever been turned down, so it was not necessary to get someone out from town to make a complaint. The park superintendent (Mr. H. W. Dalton) was ill, and the Town Clerk was on hand to attend to complaints. The sheep were kept off the ground, for a few days before the match, and in wet weather were kept off altogether. Councillor A. Howell contended that the umpire was quite in order in making the complaint in writing to the council. It was decided to "receive" the letter and reply that the' matter'was receiving attention