NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 33, 9 February 1939, Page 12

NEWS OF THE DAY

A Complicated Collision. ■ An accident which might have reached more serious proportions occurred near Marton when eight motorcyclists, members of a Territorial convoy, were involved in a collision with a car, reports the Palmerston North correspondent of "The Post." They were riding in formation, and while the leader saw the approaching car, the others did not. The second motorcyclist was unable to steer clear and fell, the result being that those following had no time to avoid running into him and each other. In a matter of a few moments cycles anc riders were strewn all over the road. Only one rider neededi medical attention. Impaled on Branch. A severe injury was received by Mr. S. Barnett, of Taneatua, when he was impaled on the stump of a tree branch, states a Whakatane correspondent, He was picking fruit and was climbing among the branches of a tree when the limb on which he was standing broke. He grasped another and attempted to swing down to the ground, but was caught *by the broken ena of the first branch. He managed to free himself, and later was operated on at the Whakatane Hospital. His condition is not serious. Child Suffocated. "The practice of leaving young children alone is not uncommon in the north, but this tragic happening shows the' great danger attending it," said the Coroner, Mr. G. H. Morrish, at an inquest in Whangarei into the death of Dorothy Florence Reader, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Reader, of Poroti, on December 12, states a local correspondent. "Parents who are unable to avoid leaving young children should take every care to see that clothing and bedclothes are secureJy fastened to prevent their entangling the child." Evidence was given by the parents that the baby had been put to bed while they were at the milking shed. Later the child was found with some of the bedclothes lying across the face. Artificial respiration was I tried without result. Glasgow's Trams. "While in most cities in' England trams are being superseded by buses, there is one city that has no intention whatever of giving1 up its trams, and that is Glasgow," said Mr. G. H. Lightfoot, who had just returned to Christchurch from a tour of England and Scotland, states the "Press." "Any suggestion that buses should become | the form of transport meets with a violent storm of disapproval, and I have! never before encountered such an unanimous and firm determination on one point." Mr. Lightfoot stated that the service was a very fine one. Fares! ranged from id to 2£d, the latter being j charged on a route which covered seven miles. Destruction of Flora. j Regret at the widespread destruction! of native flora in New Zealand was expressed yesterday by Professor N. iv Sidgwick, of Oxford, who, m the course of a tour of the Dominion, is i |in Christchurch, states the "Star-Sun.") |"I trust you people will see there is j no more destruction," he said. "Soon you will have only the British weeds— ! gorse, broom, and blackberry—of which we are least proud. I can understand ( the destruction when good agricultural land is discovered, but it is annoying to see native bush destroyed and only bad agricultural land left. I hope the people will;realise the real value of their native bush." Dunedin Wool Sale. Growers had every reason to be satisfied with prices realised at the second Dunedin auction of thu 1938-39 wool-selling season. Crossbreds were dearer by U alb on Invercargill rates and halfbreds brought id more than at the Christchurch auction. Practically the whole of the offering of 27,303 bales was disposed of and bidding throughout the sale was brisk. The estimated average price was 10d a lb or £13 a bale, giving a gross return of over £350,000. A full report of the sale and the official range of prices appear in the trade and finance columns. Coming Art Exhibition. The next special exhibition in the National Art Gallery will be a collection of 180 prints in colour, most of them in the modern collotype process. These represent faithful reproductions of masterpieces of all schools of painting, ranging from the classical to the ultra-modern. They are the gift of the Carnegie Corporation of ! New York, and their display will en- | able art lovers to study the nearest \ approach possible to famous originals i 'which are not accessible to them. The ! prints are now being framed and will be on exhibition next month. i A Boy's Emotion. Boys generally are regarded as being hard young citizens not easily i moved to tears, least of all when they | are called as witnesses to give their version of an accident in Court before a Judge and jury. There are, however, exceptions, and a boy of about twelve or thirteen, a witness for the plaintiff in a claim for damages arising out of a motor accident which was heard in the Supreme Court yesterday, was in this class. Throughout the whole of the time he was in the witness-box, although counsel exercised a very kindly attitude towards him, making free use of his Christian name, tears rolled down his cheeks. The little fellow was much moved, but with great gameness, though he was unable to check the tears, he refused to dab his eyes with his handkerchief and continued to give his evidence without faltering. Shark Identified. A large shark weighing 3601b which was caught at the mouth of the Tamaki River at the. weekend has been identified as belonging to the sharpfinned whaler variety, states the "New Zealand Herald." The shark was identified by Mr. A. W. B. Powell, as-sistant-director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, who said yesterday that it belonged to the common species found in New ZeUand waters, and was considered a harmless variety. "A grey nurse shark has never been caught in New Zealand waters," Mr. Powell continued. "It is an Australian species found off the coasts of New South Wales and Queensland." Mr. Powell said that of the sharks found off the coast of New Zealand, the mako was probably dangerous, although there was no case on record of a mako shark having attacked a swimmer. This variety should be treated with suspicion, however, as its good record was possibly due to the fact that it was a deepwater fish and had not been tempted. People having a swim from a launch in waters where the mako was known were taking a risk. The reason for the shark danger in New South Wales was that the beaches shelved very sharply, he added. Oceanic conditions existed almost right up to the beach, and dangerous sharks, notably the great white, tiger, and grey nurse varieties, thus came close inshore, where they were liable to attack swimmers.