LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22429, 27 May 1936, Page 12

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wakakura's Gunnery Practice The Naval Department advises that the mine sweeper Wakakura will be carrying out full calibre firing in the Hauraki Gulf at ten o'clock this morning. The firing will be in the vicinity of Flat Rock, in the direction of 090 degrees* New Napier Buildings

Exceptional activity in the building trade is apparent in Napier at present, with several buildings in course of construction or about to be commenced. Many thousands of pounds aro involved in the programme of construction in progress, which includes soveral business premises and many new houses.

Seaplane on Sloop A seaplane carried on the deck of tho French war sloop Savorgnan de Brazza aroused great interest among the spectators who thronged Queen's Wharf yesterday. A recent model, the machine has a speed of about 140 miles an hour. If permission is granted, tho machine will make a number of llights while the sloop is at Auckland.

Dog Poisoner Sought Owners of dogs which have been poisoned in Kelburn, Wellington, recently, have guaranteed a sum of £3O offered for information leading to the conviction of tho guilty person or persons. This was explained by Inspector G. Nicol, of tho Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,who said ho wished to give credit to those who had* come forward and, by their guarantees, made it possible for a substantial reward to be offered.

Barrier of Languages The fluency with, which many of the officers and men of the French war sloop Savorgnan do Brazza speak English caused considerable surprise to visitors to the vessel yesterday. It was also noticeable that in attempting to make themselves understood by the 1* i'enchmen, visitors usually spoke in broken English. This practice makes it infinitely moro difficult for the educated Frenchman to undqrstand as hd lias, in most cases, accustomed himself to correct pronunciation and accent as given in text books. J The San Francisco Service Concern at the announcement of the withdrawal of the British shipping service connecting New-Zealand and Australia with San Francisco was expressed yesterday by a through passenger on the liner Niagara, Captain H. C. Hainand, a retired master mariner who was for many years with the Union Steam Ship Company. He held the view that it was the duty of Australia and New Zealand to act without delay to have the service continued. If the service were once lost, it would bo a very difficult matter to have it revived.

The Passing o 1 the Horse h urther evidence that the horse is rapidly disappearing from the city streets is given in the annual report of the City Parks Department. For years it has been the custom of the department to lease the grazing rights on Mount Hobson Domain, and teams of horses have been a familiar sight on the slopes of the reserve. For the financial year just ended the amount collected in grazing fees was only a littlo over £7O. This revenue has been falling steadily year by year. As recently as 1927-28 the total received was over £155.

" Gun " For Motorists A suggestion that) the cars of speeding motorists should be sprayed with some indelible paint from a special " gun " was made in an interview yesterday by Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., who takes a keen interest in motoring problems. On the previous evening he was driving along the Great South Road when two motorists traversed the Market Road intersection at 50 miles an hour, he said. With ears travelling at such high speeds it was almost impossible to recognise registration numbers, but if sprayed with white paint they could easily be stopped further along the road.

Advice to a Witness Some advice on the giving of evidence was addressed by Mr. Justice Callnn to an over-cautious witness in a divorce case in the Supremo Court yesterday. The man stated that the parties had not been living together for some years, * and added " to the best of my knowledge." Further questions elicited that he had been living all the time in the same home with the petitioner, who was his sister. " Then you know all about it," said His Honor. " Don't weaken it by adding 'to the best of your knowledge and belief.' That might mean that you havo no knowledgo and no belief."

Traffic Over Crossing An analysis of the traffic passing over the roadfi leading to the Mangere railway crossing, as revealed in a tally taken recently by the Otahuhu Borough and the Manukau County Councils, discloses impressive figures. The tally on the Otahuhu borough side shows that 7500 motor vehicles, ranging from passenger buses to motor-cycles, passed over the approach road in one week. The check being continuous, this moans that on an average over 44 petroldriven vehicles passed every hour of tho day. Bicycles totalled 5734, or an average of about 34 an hour. Cattle were checked and totalled 3328, giving approximately 20 head an hour. Woman Pilot's Flight The first woman pilot to land on tho aerodrome near The Hermitage, Mount Cook, made tho fight from Christchurch on Saturday morning. She was Miss O. Smith, of Christchurch, a Canterbury Aero Club pilot. With Mr. R. Voice as passenger in a club Gipsy Moth, Miss Smith took off from Wigrarn at 9.15 a.m. and mado a perfect landing at 11.30 a.m. After lunch at The Hermitage she loft at 3 p.m., landing at Wigram at 4.55 p.m. Miss Smith had been on the Hermitage landing ground previously, having been the passenger in tho machine fiown from Christchurch for the official opening by another club pilot, Mr. It. S. Taylor.

Prolific City Garden Relief workers-have benefited considerably during the past year from the area in the Auckland Domain known as the vegetable garden. This garden is worked by men employed under an arrangement with the Labour Department, and paid out of the Unemployment Fund, and the produce is distributed to the unemployed, mainly to those on sustenance. The annual report to the parks department of the City Council states that during the past year the garden produced 72 tons of vegetables, comprising 11 tons of cabbage, 10 tons of swedes, nine tons each of potatoes and looks, six tons of parsnips, five tons of carrots; four tons each of marrows and turnips, two tons each of beetroot, chives, pumpkins, onions and silver-beet, one and a-half tons of tomatoes, one ton each of beans and cucumbers, and 10 hundredweight of rhubarb.