LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19779, 28 October 1927, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Armistice Day will be observed throughout the Dominion on November 11 by the customary two minutes' silence at 11 a.m. Local authorities have been asked by the Government to arrange for the suspension of all vehicular traffic for that period, but rail and water transport will not be suspended. Steady rain began to fall in the city latß last evening. A light breeze was blowing from the south-west and at an early hour this morning there was no sign of the weather clearing. Four additional grass tennis courts are to be prepared at Victoria Park at a cost of £IOO. The work was authorised by the City Council last evening, and it is expected the courts will be open to the public within three weeks, as no special turf has to be laid for them. A bus to carry people to church and home again free of charge is an interesting innovation arranged by the management of St. Paul's Church, Devonport. The bus, which will accommodate over 20 passengers, will run between Stanley Point and the church, and the service will be commenced next Sunday morning. The service will operate in the mornings only '.n the meantime, and the expenses will be borne by the church management. More accommodation for bathers at the Garnet Road beach is desired by the West Lynn Householders' Association. When the matter came before the City Council last evening it was referred to the Parks Committee.

All places of worship and halls with seating accommodation for over 200 persons must bo erected in brick, stono or concrete, according to the City Council's by-laws. This regulation was recalled by the city engineer, Mr. W. E. Bush, when the council had before it last evening an application on behalf of the trustees of the Unitarian Church to erect a church in wood to accommodate not more than 200 persons, but with rooms underneath, in the section in Glenside Crescent facing Symonds Street. In view of the latter circumstance Mr. Bush considered the building should be in concrete or brick. Glenside Crescent wa3 not within the brick area, but the engineer thought the time had arrived when it should be. The matter was referred to the Works Committee.

An unusual accident occurred in a vacant section in Federal Street yesterday afternoon, when the front wheel of a horse waggon crashed through the timbering and loose soil covering an old well, and the driver found himself perched precariously over an abyss, 25ft. deep. The vehicle, which is owned by the New Zealand Express Company, Limited, was conveying a motor-car to the rear of the Auckland Motor Company's premises Until a year or so ago a cottage occupied the site, but recently the section has been frequently ased for unloading purposes. The wheel fell into the well, and the vehicle tilted. The axle bore the shock of the drop, however, and the lorry did not overturn, nor was the driver injured. With the aid of planks and a timber jack the lorry was extricated.

A very fine record of productivity in sheep is claimed by Messrs. E. and A. Goodwin, of Hamilton, in connection with the lambing of their flock of ewes on their property at Brookshaw, Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula. Advice was received yesterday that the flock of 1800 Romney-Lincoln and Romney-Leicester ewes, which included 400 two-tooths, have given birth to 124 per cent, of lambs. The return of the lambs from 600 of the ewes was 146 per cent. Only 20 of the ewes died during lambing.

In the course of an address in Christchurch last Sunday, Archbishop Julius spoke of the advantages which the people of the present day had, and he mentioned electricity as one of them. "We take the credit for providing electricity," he said, " but it was given by God and held until we could use it. I have no doubt that He is holding back a lot of things yet until we can make use of them."

The interpretation of the law forbidding an intoxicated person to be "in charge " of a motor-car was referred to at a meeting of the Marlborough Automobile Association the other day, by the president, Mr. R. P. Furness. He said that at the annual meeting of the South Island Motor Union it had been pointed out that a man under the influence of liquor was liable to the full penalties of the law even though he was not attempting to drive the vehicle, and this had been illustrated in a recent case before the Wellington Court. In this instance, a motor driver, feeling that he was under the influence of liquor, stopped the car and sat down in it to recover himself, but. was charged with be.ing "in charge " of the car while under the influence of liquor and was fined £lO and had his licence cancelled for three months. Mr. Furness added that the incident should warn motorists, once again, of the unwisdom of attempting to mix petrol and liquor.

The most brilliant display of the Aurora Australis seen in Southland for many years was witnessed on Saturday evening between about 8.30 and 10 o'clock. The lights appeared like gigantic searchlights extending from east to west in the form of an arc. The effect of the streamers was emphasised by a long black cloud in the south which was silhouetted sharply against the light. At its extremity the aurora was tinged with a faint red colour. Toward 10 o'clock the streamers, which had been moving to and fro slowly during the display, faded out, but throughout the night there was a remarkable effect of brightness in the southern sky.

" A man's palate is the best guide to what is best for him to eat. We do not say brown bread is not a good food, but the majority of people do not want it," said Mr. H. R. Burton, retiring president of the Federated Master Bakers' Association of Australia and New Zealand, at the opening of the annual conference. The idea that the use of white bread encouraged the growth of cancer, Mr. Burton said, had been completely exploded by the findings of a British com % mission working under Sir Thomas Horder, the eminent physician.

•" An electrical storm broke over Blenheim last Sunday and there was a sharp fall of hail, the stones being of exceptional size. This was succeeded by a deluge of rain, which gave the ground a muchneeded soaking. In the evening, unfortunately there was a heavy fall of snow on the high country, with the result that the night was bitterly cold. Though only two degrees of frost was recorded in Blenheim, the change, after the hot weather experienced during the previous few weeks, was very marked, and it is feared that there will be a grave mortality among newly-born lambs.