LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22172, 27 July 1935, Page 12

LOCAL AND GENERAL

- Accident Victim's Condition 3 The condition of Mr. A. Knox, aged 2 65, of 22 Fourth Avenue, Kingsland, 3 who suffered concussion and head in--1 juries when lie fell from the Western . Wharf while hoarding the Auckland j Harbour Board's dredge Hapai, on 3 Wednesday morning, was reported last . mght to be still serious. Mr, Knox is x a patient at the Auckland Hospital. 3 The Herald's Nature Notes 3 To-day, for the first time in many " years, the Herald's Nature Notes, pub- • lished weekly on the front page of the 5 Supplement, are not written by Mr. 1 James Drummond. Owing to illness Mr. Drummond will lie unable to supply , contributions for several weeks and in ' the meantime arrangements have been 5 made for this interesting feature to be 5 maintained by Mr. R. A. Falla. [ Dunedic's Vice-Regal Residence Among the documents forwarded by the city solicitors for execution at the last meeting of the Dunedin City Council was the deed of trust of Littlehouriie ! House, which formally conveys possession of this well-known residence to ' the citizens of Dunedin. Littlebourne I House, the gift of the trustees of the ■ estate of the late Sir John Roberts, is at present in the process of conversion into a vice-regal residence. Old Boys and the School Schools are not made by the few exceptional personalities, but by the rank , and file, said Mr. L. F. de Barry, head- ' master of the West Christehtirch District High School, in an address to old i boys. It was upon the old boys themselves, he added, that much responsi- ! bility rested. The example of tho British tradition of citizenship could be instilled at school as it could lie nowhere else, and in these days there was need for much more than merely a material training. Maori's Odd Request A Maori who was charged with drunkenness and a breach of his prohibition order before a justice of the peace in the Magistrate's Court at Wanganui lately, was remanded to appoar at 9.30 a.m. next day. After the conclusion of the sitting the Maori asked the senior-sergeant of police if his case could be heard by the magistrate at 7 a.m. His reason for this request. he said, was that he might bo able to secure employment on a manure ship that would be unloading at Castlecliff that morning. Tongans' Tarewell to Queen Native songs by a number of Tongans, who assembled on Central Wharf yesterday afternoon, provided an interesting item of entertainment to the large number of spectators who watched the steamer Marama leave for Sydney. The singers were Tongan residents of Auckland farewelling Queen Salote, who was a passenger on the vessel. The songs were sung in a soft sweet tone and many people near the Tongans ceased calling messages to friends on board and listened intently until each item ended. Cheque for £1,500,000 Speaking to the Christcliureh Businessmen's Club, Mr. A. A. M. Grundy j mentioned that he was secretary to ] Lady Houston at the time she made a ! goodwill gift of £1,500,000 to the ; British Government. "She was not sure of the number of figures in that amount aud it was my job to count the noughts," he added. Mr. Grundy detailed other large donations Lady Hous- 1 ton had made to various causes. Apart from these specific sums, she gave about | £20,000 to charity each year. Most i people seemed under the impression : that she was quite a young woman. Actually she was an octogenarian. " Useless Information " To expedite payment of subsidies on general rates to local bodies, the Valuation Department has issued new schedules, to be filled in by the responsible officers "of the authorities concerned, with a view to securing greater detail, aud in the case of counties computations have now to lie made separately for each riding. Annoyance at the extra labour involved has been expressed by various local body clerks, and a telegram has been sent to the Valuer-General, Mr. W. Stewart, by Mr. A. E. Jull, chairman of the Counties' Association, protesting against the demands on the time of county officials for " such useless information." I Schoolboy's Amusing Letter j 'The hand of a future Cabinet Minisj ter is surely discernible in the followj ing communication written to the Marlborough Rugby Union by the head boy ■ of one of the country schools to which the union has presented a football: — ' 'For our belated acknowlegment of ; your generous donation of a Rugby foot- • ball for use by the children of this j school —such being due to an avalanche | of exceedingly important work requiring j immediate attention —we apologise, but* we would like to avail ourselves of this , opportunity to express to your union j our thanks for same, and we shall en- j deavour to use same for the purpose j for which it was manufactured and ! donated." Government House Grounds The grounds of Government House have been undergoing a thorough overhaul during the past few weeks, and the result promises to be a permanent improvement to their general appearance. A number of large trees liavo been thinned out, including several of the oaks whose unhealthy condition and poor development used to be commented on by the previous GovernorGeneral, Viscount Bledisloe, and the timber is now gathered in large heaps of convenient-sized firewood ready for removal. Fresh young trees are being planted in their place, and along the Princes Street frontage a broad belt of shrubbery has been established. A similar belt along Waterloo Quadrant has been planted chielly with alternate bamboo and flax. Difficult Traffic Point Traffic control at the junction of ( Queen Street and Grey's Avenue has { again been taken over by members of ( the City traffic staff and a. pointsman < is now on duty each day between tho 1 hours of 8 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. This is j one of the most difficult traffic points in the city for motorists owing to the i number of busy streets which converge there and the varying angles at which 1 traffic approaches the traffic dome in the centre of the main thoroughfare. The City Council decided some months ago to have this point, controlled, but it was not found possible to have an officer stationed there throughout the r day owing to the depletion of tho 1 staff. However, with the recent addi- f j tion of four men to the traffic depart- j 1 menb's staff, this difficulty has been j j overcome, 11