MR ARTHUR SIMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25343, 26 October 1945, Page 9

MR ARTHUR SIMS

VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND

THE EMPIRE SCHOLARSHIPS The well-known New Zealander, Mr Arthur Sims, formerly of Christchurch, who recently made £IO,OOO available to establish Empire scholarships at Cambridge University, arrived at Auckland by flying-boat from Sydney yesterday, Mr Sims, who with his wife and daughter now lives in Sussex, England, intends to remain in New Zealand for about a month. He will leave Auckland for Christciiurch today. Leaving England on September 23, Mr Sims travelled by the Lancastrian air service to Sydney, where he arrived three days later. He remained in' Australia for a month. The Sims Empire scholarships at Cambridge will be available to one graduate each from Australia, New Zealand. Canada and South Africa for two years. The first awards will not be made until about 19-50 or shortly before. The reason for deferring the scholarships until then, said Mr Sims yesterday, was to ensure that anyone who had taken part in the war was not prevented from competing. He wanted the scholarships to be awarded under 'normal competitive conditions, so that the hest graduate from each Dominion could benefit.

Mr .Sims said he was engaged on a business trip. He _ had no further endowments or gifts in mind at present. Some years ago, Mr Sims presented New Zealand with its first supply of radium and provided funds for the first New Zealand surgical unit which served with the Eighth Army. Last March he offered Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, an annuity in recognition of his work for humanity. A leading Christchurch business man until he retired, and a graduate of Canterbury College, Mr Sims was formerly one of New Zealand's best-known cricketers. Re is an honorary life member of the New Zealand Cricket Council. During the war period Mr Sims, hi! wife and daughter were engaged in wai work. He was a member of the Ne« Zealand War Services' Association, Mr! Sims belonged to the East Sussei Women's Voluntary Service, while Hii daughter is still an officer in tin Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

CAR THEFT DENIED SEAMAN BEFORE COURT ALLEGATIONS BY CROWN Charged with having stolen a motorcar, valued at £350, the property of ihe United States Joint Purchasing Board, Leonard Frederick Perris, seaman, aged 36 (Mr G. Skelton), appeared before Mr Justice Cornish and a jury yesterday. There was an alternative charge of receiving the car. Accused pleaded not guilty. Mr Cleal, who represented the Crown, said that the car was taken during the night of June 28, 1945, from in front of Shortland Flats. On July 19 a car, which the Crown alleged was the stolen one, was found in accused's possession. It hpd different number-plates, had been repainted from green to grey, ths engine number had been changed and two tyres replaced. Witnesses would say that the chassis number of the stolen ear and that on the vehicle in accused's possession were the same. Accused told ibe police that he bought the latter vehicle from a man named Dsvereli in Ha milton. The Crown alleged that accused bought a car from Deverell, for which he obtained registration papers, and that he then obtained new papers on registering the car as a first owner, Mr Cleal continued. These new papers bor® the engine number and plate number of the car found in accused's possession. This, it was alleged, was due to th# fact that the gearbox in the U.S.J.PB, car, on which the engine number was placed, had been changed, but apparently through an oversight the chassis number had not been altered. Ths car bought from Deverell had then been sold and the new owner had been traced by. the police. A motor mechanic, Kenneth Edmiston Thompson, employed by the United States Joint Purchasing Board, identified the car found in accused's possession as one owned by the board. Another witness, Willie Malcolm, stated that the car shown to him at the police station was not the one registered in the name of Harry Deverell, sold bv him to accused.

The hearing was adjourned until this morning.

PARKING PROBLEMS COMMITTEE'S INVESTIGATION A conference is to take place between representatives of the Transport Department and of the Wellington and Auckland City Councils with a view to reaching a workable formula for incorporation into the traffic regulations to permit bakers' vans obtaining parking space while delivering bread in cities. 'l'llis was reported at yesterday's meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. Other tradesmen in a similar position will also be considered.. The Auckland chamber recently set up a committee to investigate plans for improving parking facilities. It was revported yesterday that this committee intends to circularise cities throughout the world similar in size to Auckland to obtain details of their methods of dealing with parking problems. A questionnaire is being forwarded to businessmen in Auckland to obtain their suggestions. PRISON TERM EXTENDED Two charge? of theft of property valued at £2l and one of obtaining lit .Nelson £2 by false pretences were admitted by Anthony Bradford, aged ;51, heating engineer, before Mr F. H. Levied. S.M., yesterday. Senior-Detec-tive Trethewev said accused was at j,resent serving a sentence of nine months' imprisonment for thelt. A further term of three months' imprisonment was imposed by the magistrate, to he served on the expiry of the current sentence.