LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22726, 12 May 1937, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL

False Fire Alarm An engine from the Central fire station answered a call to the premises of Gordon and Gotch, Limited, in Gore Street, City, shortly after five o'clock yesterday afternoon. There was no fire, however, the false call being the result of a mechanical fault in the firm's private line. Outsize Dog Collars The necessity of purchasing dog collars of an outsize was reported Inst night at the Ellerslie Town Board meeting. The clerk, Mr. J. W. Carr, said it had been found there was a number of unusually large dogs in the district and the ordinary sized collars were too small. He had ordered a number of collars 24in. long to meet the position. Many Train Travellers The limited express for Wellington last night left Auckland heavily laden with passengers. There were 11 carriages in all, three of them sleepers, and three extra second-class carriages, the reservations at Auckland and Hamilton having made it necessary for the Railways Department to provide seating accommodation in excess of the customary eight carriages. The New Plymouth train also was well patronised. Awatea Delayed Some surprise was caused among those on the wharf when the intercolonial express steamer Awatea, which is noted for her punctual sailings, was delayed 15 minutes when leaving for Sydney last evening. A member of the crew had suddenly become ill and at the last minute it was necessary to sign on another man in his place. The ship was scheduled to sail at five o'clock but, in spite of the delay, she turned quickly in the stream and cleared North Head at 5.35. America's Gesture Three large American flags displayed from the balcony of the United States Consulate in the Dilworth Building yesterday indicated the goodwill of a great sister-nation in the Coronation festivities. Just above hung a flag which very few people who saw it could have identified. Across a blue disc on a red ground it bore the letters "8.P.C.", denoting the British Phosphate Commission. The New Zealand member of the commission, Mr. A. F. Ellis, has his office on .the seventh floor of the building. Diamond Studded Tooth Because of a diamond glistening in one of the front teeth, a dental plate left with a Wanganui dentist recently was thought to be unique in New Zealand. It is owned by a Dunedin resident, and the diamond is mounted in a gold setting, which is securely wedged right through the tooth. The value of the stone is not known. Diamond-studded dentures are reported to be worn by some of the famous film actors in Hollywood, but the one seen in Wanganui is the first novelty of the kind encountered by the dentist, who has been in practice for a number of years. A Legal Coincidence By a curious coincidence, a knotty legal point argued before the Court of Appeal in 1924 by Mr. Justice Fair and Mr. Justice Callan as counsel was revived before the latter in his role of] Judge during the hearing of a forgery case in the Supreme Court yesterday. Mr. Justice Callan recalled the 1924 hearing, when he appeared for the appellants, and, Mr. Justice Fair, who was yesterday presiding in the downstair®, courtroom, represented the Crown. In the case yesterday, His Honor heard to some extent similar arguments to those which originally had been settled by the Court of Appeal. Religion at Health Camps It was mentioned at the meeting of the Auckland Presbytery last night that at the children's health camp at Motuihi no provision has been made in any way for the conduct of religious or devotional exercises with the children. The convener of the presbytery's youth committee, the Rev. G. A. D. Spence, said the committee felt this was a very important matter, especially in view of the response that was being made for permanent national camps. It was a matter in which all denominations were concerned and so he was approaching the Council of Christian Congregations asking it to take it up. Timetable Broken The urgent need for transport across the harbour from Devonport to Auckland for a man who was being conveyed to the Auckland Hospital in a St. John ambulance resulted in the vehicular ferry schedule being deliberately broken yesterday morning. The patient was suffering from a severe haemorrhage, and the importance of immediate treatment at the hospital was explained to the master of the ferry by the ambulance driver. After obtaining permission from the Auckland office of the company, the ferry captain left Devonport about 15 minutes earlier than usual, that time being thus saved in getting the patient into hospital. "Busy Toll Circuits Telephone toll traffic was exceptionally heavy last night in consequence of the holiday to-day, although a busier period was experienced on Monday night. Eighteen operators were engaged putting through hundreds of calls, which gradually increased from the afternoon onward, becoming most numerous in the early evening with the opening of concession rates. Calls were well distributed over the whole of the North Island, the main circuits to Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North and Wellington being particularly congested, although not so badly as at Christmas and Easter. The Coronation concession this month on calls to England has proved an incentive to an increase in the amount of traffic overseas. Accident Victims' Condition The condition of Mr. F. Lindblom. one of the four persons who were seriously injured when the motor-car in which they were travelling was involved in a collision with a tramcar on the Great South Road about midnight on Saturday, was reported by the Auckland Hospital authorities last night to be not serious. Improvement has also been made by Miss E. Salisbury, but her condition is still fairly serious. The two other occupants of the car, Mr. C. F. Green and Mrs. I. Cavenett, were reported last night to bo both unconscious and still in a serious condition. Mr. Walter J. Mathew, of Waiwera, who was admitted to tho Auckland Hospital on Monday night suffering from injuries he received when tho truck he was cranking ran over him, was considered last night not-to be in a very serious condition.