LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22250, 26 October 1935, Page 12

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Boy's Leg Broken While playing at school yesterday, a boy, Brian Mulviliill, aged 11, son of Mr. J. .J. Mulviliill, of 4 Milton Road, Mount Eden, suffered a fracture of a leg. Ile was taken to the Auckland Hospital Collapse at Mock Court

Collapsing at the mock Court held at the Civic Square yesterday, a married man, Mr. George Alfred Hey, aged 51, of 136 Ponsouby Road, was conveyed to the Auckland Hospital in a St. John ambulance. It was stated last night that his condition was not serious.

An Ingenious Device An ingenious device on tlio newlyinstalled warning signal at the Portage Road railway crossing, New Lynn, automatically switches the signal over to a battery circuit in the event of an electric-power failure. The batteries are sufficiently powerful to operate the alarm for a week with a normal number of trains using the line.

A Law-abiding Child A child with a distinct eye to business, but at the same time anxious to comply with the law, inquired from the city police yesterday if it was necessary to have a licence to collect "pennies for the guy." On being told that there was no such requirement, he was apparently satisfied, and presumably commenced collecting in anticipation of November 5.

Fingerprint Evidence "I have never heard in all my experience of fingerprints of two diflerent persons or of different fingers of one person being the same," said SeniorSergeant E. W. Dinnie, fingerprint expert, of the Criminal Registration Branch, under cross-examination in the Supremo Court, Wellington. He added that during .'52 years' experience he had given evidenco in numerous cases.

Tree Killed By Gas That trees as well as men can bo killed by gas poisoning; is illustrated by tbo report of the reserves department presented to tho Christchurch City Council. As a fine old piano tree in Cranmer Square was dying, it was cut down by the department, and when the trunk was removed it was found that tho tree had been killed by gas poisoning, tho report stated. There was evidently a leak from 0110 of the near by gas mains. Roman Catholic Festival The festival of Christ the King will be celebrated to-morrow by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world. In Auckland there will be a parade of Roman Catholic scouts for high mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Troops from the city and nine different suburbs are to take part. In the afternoon a procession and ceremony of benediction will be held in tho grounds of the Sacred Heart Convent, Remuera, the scouts forming a guard of honour.

Limited Express Delayed As the result of the late arrival of a suburban train which had a passenger for the south 011 board, tho limited express was delayed for 12 minutes in its departure from Auckland last night. The express had a larger number of passengers than usual, many i>eople leaving on short holidays made possible through Labour Day being added to the week-end. Four additional secondclass carriages were added and all compartments, including two sleepers, were full. Concern of Residents Apprehension is felt by residents of Narrow Neck and Vauxhall, Devouport, at the possibility of tho Devouport Borough Council carrying into effect a suggested scheme to survey and cut up for building purposes all the frontago to the reserve in Vauxhall lioad facing the beach. The provision of a better and larger hall for social purposes also is desired in the district, and a meeting will be held shortly to discuss these matters.

A Waterfront Holiday Monday, Labour Day, will be a holiday on the waterfront, and no cargo work will be done on vessels in port. The Monowai from Vancouver and the Marania from Sydney are due in the morning with passengers and mail. Passengers' luggage and mail will be landed from the vessels after they berth, but cargo will not be unloaded until Tuesday. Owing to the holiday the usual Monday's time-table of local coastal vessels will be suspended for the day. Broken Hill Steel Works If British steel production were tied up by a war, there was only one outside British source that could supply munitions or other stool goods, and that was Broken Mill in Australia, said the Australian Trade Commissioner, Mr. I{. H. Nesbitt, in an address to the Hastings Chamber of - Commerce. The steel works at Broken Hill, he said, meant a tremendous thing for Australia, and at present were employing about 13,000 hands. Their consumption of coal amounted to approximately 1,000,000 tons a yea r. Duty on Surf-boat i

The Royal Life-saving Society's appeal for a remission of duty on the surf-boat lately imported from Australia for use at Piha has the support of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, which has written to the Minister of Customs, Mr. Coates. After setting out facts to show the need for a boat at Piha, the letter states: —"It appears that the Customs Department, in insisting upon the payment of duty on this surf-boat, is not assisting the worthy objects of the Royal Life-saving Society. It does appear that, as this society is without funds, the surf-boat should bo admitted free of duty under item 441 of the customs tariff: 'Lifesaving apparatus, n.e.i., as may be approved by the Minister.' " City Stormwater The improvements to the stormwater sewerage system of the Queen Street watershed and the central reclaimed area of the waterfront aro now nearing completion. Work is in progress on the now outlet running from the main sewer in Customs Street East to a point under tho Central Wharf. This sewer, which is being built in an open cut, is of concrete, semi-elliptical in section, and measures sft. 9in. high internally. It will supplement tho old outlots under tho Queen's and King's Wharves, which formerly were tillable to cope with the flow of water in heavy downpours. The other new outlet, at tho foot of Albert Street, takes all the stormwater from the valley south of Victoria Street. Even in its partly-completed state tho improvement scheme has relieved the worst troubles experienced in and around the lower part of Queen Street at times of heavy rain, and when the fourth outlet is in use all flooding of cellars and basements should bo at an end.