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Evening Star, Issue 22798, 5 November 1937, Page 8

Slight damage was caused to a detached fowlhouse in Baker sacet, Caversham, when fire broke out last night. The City Brigade was called at 10.29. The cause of the outbreak is unknown. This morning at 9.53 a chimney fire in Manor Place was attended to, while eight minutes after midday the brigade was required to deal with a hedge - fire at the corner of Howe and George streets.

The Electric Power and Lighting Committee of the City Council reports that authority has been granted to call tenders for the reconstruction or the department’s buildings on thei west side of Cumberland street in order to provide much-needed office accommodation and workshops. “ This man is lucky to be here,” said Senior-sergeant Packer in the Police Court to-day, when Colin Dickison pleaded guilty to crossing the railway line when it was not clear. The Senior Sergeant said that this was one of the luckiest railway crossing accidents they had had for a long time. The defendant was driving a milk, van in Green Island, and when he came to a crossing he accelerated to get over ahead of a shunt train, which caught the rear of the van and threw it aside. The defendant escaped injury altogether. “ The defendant seems to have suffered his own punishment,” said the magistrate (Mr H. W. Bundle) in convicting and fining him court costs (10s). The Works Committee of the City Council reports that an offer from Mr R. Hamilton to dedicate a portion of hi? land at Railway street for the purpose of street widening, free of monetary compensation, subject to the council agreeing to erect the necessary walling along the frontage and paying all costs in connection with the transfer, has been accepted. The area so acquired contains .92 poles approximately and will permit of the street being widened to conform with widening which has already taken place. Tho cost of the necessary availing is estimated at £24.

No agreement was reached on important points after an all-day hearing of the application of the New Zealand Federation of Clothing Trade Employees’ Industrial Association of Workers for a new Dominion award. Tho hearing took place in the Conciliation Council at Wellington yesterday. The dispute will be referred to the Arbitration Court.

The report of the consulting engineers on the progress of work m connection with the Waipori pressure tunnel for tlie period ended October 9 shows that the contractors have 21 men employed. Work is proceeding on the surge tank and the construction of anchor blocks. A further 65 cubic yards of concrete have been placed dur mg the period. For failing to cross a 7-oadway at right angles to the kerb, 21 “jaywalkers ” were convicted and ordered to pay costs in the Police Court at Wellington Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., said it had been his task to deal with a number of Wellington citizens previously for the offence, but, owing to the newness of tho regulations, no penalty was inflicted. Authority has been granted by the Water Committee of the City Council to renew 26 chains of 3-in main in Maitland street, from Manor Place to Serpentine Avenue, with 4-in class “ C ” pipes, at an estimated cost of £520, which amount is chargeable to the special renewal programme. A dramatic touch was introduced into the second reading debate of the Broadcasting Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives in the early hours of this morning, when Mr Coates took exception to his word being doubted over the jamming of the Friendly Road station at Auckland on the eve of the last General Election. Speaking with dignity and feeling, Mr Coates said it was not good enough to have one’s word contradicted right and left. “If any word I have used concerning the jamming of IZB has been used carelessly or in contradiction of what I believed to be the facts with tho information at my disposal at the time, I will not contest another election,” he declared. “I am prepared to walk out of Parliament right away, and let somebody else take my place.” Mr Coates said "it was most unfair, after a man had been in Parliament for 25 years, that his word should be questioned. His actions might be criticised, but when his word was doubted it was a different matter. It made one feel inclined to leave politics completely alone.— Parliamentary reporter.

Authority has been granted by the Gas' Committee of the City Council to invite a tender from Messrs West’s Gas Improvement Co. Ltd. for the dismantling and re-erection of the No 3 retort bed at the city gas works. The company concerned is the patentee and erector d the present plant. The cost of this work will be a charge against the new plant renewal fund. The Maunganui, which left Melbourne on Wednesday for Bluff, has 33 bags of Australian mail for Dunedin . This should reach the local office on Monday next. The Gas Committee of the City Council reports that authority has been granted to lay 20 chains of new mam to serve the Nithvale subdivision at North East Valley. The estimated cost of this work is £250. “ This is the first case of its kind brought before the court here,” said Senior-sergeant Packer in the Police Court to-day, when James Cuthbert Cottle was charged with failing to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in Princes street. The Senior Sergeant said the defendant was riding a motor cycle north in Princes street. As lie was passing over the Rattray street intersection at a fair speed two people wore starting to cross the street between the white lines. As he came to the first pedestrian the latter jumped, clear, but the second pedestrian hesitated and the motor cyclist went straight ahead. “ This is a regulation that must be observed by motorists,” said the Magistrate (Mr H. W. Bundle). “It is certainly difficult at times.” The defendant was fined 10s and costs.

Some 150 cubic yards of sand and fine gravel were removed from the St. Clair baths during the cleaning-out operations and the pool is now again iri excellent order for the opening of the season.

The General Committee of the City Council reports that authority has been granted to carry out repairs and renovations to the licensed carriers’ and taxi ’phone cabinets on the streets. It is proposed to paint the cabinets a dark cream with green facings so that pedestrians will see the cabinets more readily at night when they are not illuminated. The estimated cost of the work is £SO for which provision has been made in the current year’s allocations.

Since Monday eight men have been employed on removing the turf and felling trees in order to permit of the alterations to the levels of the St. r 'leir children’s playground, which is to he completely reconstructed. The nlr.v apparatus has also been dis--'"ntled.

Inquiries made this morning failed to confirm the rumour that any one of certain business firms already operating in Dunedin had purchased the Princes street property reeently sold by Messrs Coulls, Somerville, Wilkie Ltd. It was ascertained, however, that the purchaser, Mr J. B. Neale, of Christchurch, was acting as an agent for some person or firm at present unknown. The property is a two-story building on the left-hand side, facing north, of the block between Rattray and Dowling streets.

“ X ” sends us 2s 6d for the Far East Relief Fund.

The Tamaroa, which reached Wellington from London to-day, bas 44 parcel receptacles from London. The parcels should, be available on Monday.

With Cup carnival the attraction, many Dunedin residents travelled to .Jiristchurch to-day. The second express, which comprised 12 passenger cars, was a full train. Health returns for the week ended to-day show a satisfactory decrease in the number of notifiable diseases. The Department of Health has been advised of two cases of scarlet fever and five of tuberculosis in Otago, while the only notification in Southland was on© case of tuberculosis. This is the last day of the Country Women’s Recreational Week organised by the Otago Provincial Council or the Women’s Division, New Zealand Farmers’ Union, and this morning the visitors attended an assembly at Columba College. They inspected the school and had morning tea. this afternoon they visited the New’ Zealand Wax Vestas Match Company. The women will bo the guests of the Dunedin branch of the union at a social this evening, which will be the concluding function on the programme An Invercargill man w’ho was arranging to take tickets in a sweepstake for himself and a friend received a request from another man to purchase a ticket for him also. When the results were received he was slightly disconcerted to discover that his friend and himseit were not prize winners, but that the third party, for whom he had purchased the extra ticket, had won £SO. Now he expects the last comer to “do the honours.”

“ Japan is now the biggest exporter of textile piece goods in the world. In the last 20 years her textile industry has gone ahead tremendously, and by competition sh© has threatened and will continue to threaten other exporting nations in the world. What the outcome will he nobody knows.” This statement was made by an American, Mr G. C. Urquhart, of Providence, Rhode Island, when ho was interviewed in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Urquhart is connected with the sale of textile machinery, and he makes repeated visits to Japan. He was there shortly before the outbreak of the present conflict with China. When he was asked to speak of the conflict, however, ho explained that he had to go back, and declined to comment. The first strawberries of the season made their appeal once in a Princes street shop this morning. The berries, grown by Mr Iversen, of Alexandra, were of an unusually large and fine quality, move in keeping with the season at its, height. They were retailed at 3s lb. In the same shop was another surprise—mushrooms! These, too, were of exceptional quality, being large and sound. They came from the Taieri, but so early in the season, and a dry one .at that, can only be looked upon as a “ fluke ” crop, even though a very welcome one | At the Port Chalmers Court to-day Raymond J. Paul obtained judgment against Arthur C. Luing for £5 10s, goods supplied, with costs (11s). The magistrate, Mr J. R. Bartholomew, also presided at a sitting of the Juvenile Court.

Evo strain—for eye comfort, for bettor vision. consult Sburme: and Watson t.td., opticians, is Octagon, Dunedin.—[Advt.J