City Police Court

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23883, 10 August 1939, Page 10

City Police Court

There were no cases set down for hearing at the City Police Court yesterday morning. Vigilant Overseer "While travelling around the country I make notes of improvements on any holdings, and this information is given to the office staff for forwarding to the Government valuer for his assessment," said Mr G. G. Winter, overseer for the Waikato County Council, at a recent meeting. "In this way, over £70,000 worth of improvements have been added to the valuation rolls in the past 12 months. These return an additional £SOO a year in rates But for the prompt detection of these improvements, considerable revenue would be lost to the council."

Granite Slab for Cathedral The Government (says a Press Association telegram) is sending a slab of Coromandel granite 6in by 12in by 24in for inclusion in the new cathedral being erected in Portsmouth, England. The Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E. Parry) stated yesterday that a request for a specimen of New Zealand stone came from the Bishop of Portsmouth, who emphasised the close connections the City of Portsmouth had with the British Empire and the desire of the church authorities to have in the cathedral stone from various parts of the Empire. Rotary Movement The first Rotary District Governor's Assembly since the return of the District Governor. Mr D. A. Ewen, from the recent world convention in America, will be held in Wellington on Tuesday next. This assembly implies a gathering of the presidents and secretaries of every Rotary Club in New Zealand, and members of the Wellington Club, hosts for the time being, may attend at their pleasure. The chief business of the assembly will be to hear an address from Mr Ewen on matters concerning the Rotary movement, business that was dealt with at the recent world convention, and the conduct of Rotary in New j Zealand,

A Runaway Truck

It is not often that three motor vehicles are involved in a collision in which all are damaged and in which all three are driverless, but that is precisely what happened in Stuart street at about 10 a.m. yesterday. The explanation is simply that a motor truck which had been left standing outside the Regent Theatre while the driver was attending to some business in the neighbourhood moved away of its own accord, and, running down into Stuart street, collided with a parked car, which it bumped into another parked car, and then carried on to mount the pavement below Bath street. There it came to rest, just short of crashing into a building. The car which was first struck was considerably damaged, but the other two vehicles escaped more lightly.

Presentations to Art Gallery Thanks to the efforts of Mrs Murray Fuller, the Dunedin Art Gallery has been presented with examples of the work of two prominent British artists. One, a reproduction of which appears in this issue, is by the late Harry Watson, R.W.S., and has been presented by his widow, who is distributing a number of her husband's pictures to galleries in various parts of the Empire. An example of his work, " Breakfast Time at Riva," already hangs in the Dunedin gallery, and the latest acquisition, "Northern Seals," demonstrates the artist's versatility as regards his subject matter. Mrs Fuller has also been successful in obtaining a picture by Ambrose McEvoy for presentation to the gallery. The Taste of " Hokonui "

" For my information would you tell me what ' Hokonui' is?" asked his Honor Mr Justice Smith when evidence was being given in the Supreme Court at Invercargill by Detective J. Hill in a case brought under the Distillation Act. " ' Hokonui' is the name given to illicit whisky distilled in this district," explained Detective Hill. "It has a special taste of its own, and once tasted can never be mistaken .again." Mock Trials

Yesterday was "Court Day" at the South Dunedin community sing at the Mayfair Theatre, the leader, Mr R. ("Whang") McKenzie, appearing as magistrate in wig and gown. The large audience was entertained, by a number of mock trials, one of the more prominent " offenders " being the secretary (Mr W. T. Beveridge), who, for sundry misdemeanours, was formally arrested, tried and "sentenced" to life imprisonment. The Botting brothers, a vocal quartet, provided some special items, while Master J. Tall played selections on the pianoaccordeon. The singing was led by Dr Noel North, Mrs E. Cameron playing the piano accompaniments. A large number of articles were sent in to be auctioned, and the takings for the day amounted to £23 10s.

New Territorial Company A new company of territorial infantry is at present being recruited by the Auckland Squadron of the Legion of Frontiersmen. Not only are the members of the legion acting as recruiting officers (says a Press Association telegram), but the squadron has undertaken to keep the company up to strength after recruitment and generally to sponsor it. To form the company, 120 recruits are wanted, and enrolment is proceeding satisfactorily. Lord Bledisloe's Hem Lord Bledisloe has on his poultry farm a hen that has laid an egg weighing more than 7oz. This beats the record •of the' hen belonging to Mr S. W, Barns, of Mount Farm, Otford, Kent, which is reported to have laid an egg of 6oz. Lord Bledisloe writes: "Mr Barns's 6oz egg is not a record. Only a fortnight ago one of the hens on my poultry farm at Lydney, Gloucestershire, laid an egg weighing over 7oz. The hen is a cross between a White Leghorn cock and a Rhode Island Red hen." Mistake in Stamp Design?

The suggestion by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce that an error had been made in the design of the penny stamp in the new centennial series has resulted in' a Rotorua resident forwarding details of the design and rig of the vessel'. Endeavour to a North Island paper. The Wellington chamber claimed that the vessel was not a "bark," that the sails did not appear to be' drawing correctly, that the design of the bow was incorrect, and that " bark" should be spelled "barque." The writer quoted from "Sailing Ships," the catalogue of the sailing ship department of the Science Museum, South Kensington, London, stating that the Endeavour is described as a cat-built bark. "A bark at this period was denned as an English collier built without a figurehead, while before the end of the century the term had so changed its meaning as to refer to the typical, rig of these vessels—three masts, with no square sail on the mizzen mast—rather than to their hull shape," the writer said. For the purposes of Cook's voyage, the poop deck was slightly raised and also lengthened to improve the cabin accommodation, and the vessel was rigged as a ship, with a square mizzen topsail. The Waimea The Waimea, which was towed from Wellington on Tuesday and sunk in Cook Strait, was formerly owned by the Anchor Shipping and Foundry Company, Ltd. The vessel, which served in the New Zealand coastal trade for nearly 30 years, was built in Glasgow in 1909 by Mackie and Thompson, Ltd., for the Anchor Company. She was a steel twin-screw steamer of 454 tons gross, and was well known round the New Zealand coast. Early this year she was laid up in Wellington, and in April was towed to Nelson, where she was expected to remain till she met her end. In May she was towed back to Wellington so that one of her boilers could be taken out for use in the steamer Wingatui. When the work of transferring the boiler was completed, the Wingatui's old boiler was placed in the Waimea. Everything of value was stripped from her before she was towed to sea from the berth at Clyde Quay, where she has been laid up waiting to make her last voyage. Blasting gelatine was packed round the old steamer's boilers, and when the ships' graveyard off Taurakirae was reached an insulated detonating wire was taken from the Waimea to the Terawhiti. When the shot was fired smoke issued from the hatches and ports and the steamer went down rapidly. Debris came rushing to the surface and marked the spot where the steamer sank in 100 fathoms of water.

Admission of Refugee* That the Government should adopt a more liberal policy for the admission of European refugees into the Dominion will be a recommendation to be made by the Timaru Rotary Club to its delegates when they attend the forthcoming Rotary assembly in Wellington. The Rev. M. Wilson moved at a meeting of the club that the club should instruct its president and secretary to recommend to the district assembly that the Rotary movement should urge the Government to adopt a more liberal policy for the admission to New Zealand of European refugees. The motion was carried unanimously, the chairman for the day, Mr A. L. Willis, explaining that it was not meant to be an expression of opinion from the Timaru branch to the Government, but was merely' a recommendation to the Rotary assembly.

Municipal Organ Recital The city organist, Dr V. E. Galway, has arranged a very interesting programme for the next after-church recital, to be given in the Town Hall on Sunday evening. Two pieces, " The Morning Star " and " Clear as the Sun;" (Dallier), are being played for the first time at these recitals. Special mention might be made of Bach's beautiful choral prelude, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," which is a request item, and the " Ride of the Valkyrie " (Wagner). Other items of interest are Chorus from "Samson" (Handel), Introduction and Fugue (Rheinberger) and "The Holy Boy" (John Ireland). Dr Galway will be assisted by Miss Mavis Macdonald, who will play Concerto in E minor—Romance and Rondo (Chopin). The orchestral accompaniment will be played on the organ. This item is being played for the first time at these recitals. There will be no charge for admission. Importance of Dressing Well " Clothes maketh the man," runs the' old line, to which might be added another, "make money." Observations by one whose duty it is to attend the Police Court (states the Auckland Star) go to show that to those who indulge in the practice of obtaining other people's money good clothes are a sine qua non. It was Dickens, in quoting a fictional case, observed penetratingly that a shabby and dirty prisoner who was transported for seven years could easily have stayed at home if he had appeared before the court in a new ' suit and clean collar. The practice of passing valueless cheques by smartly-dressed people is a frequent offence, and invariably those who obtain money by such means are found to be sartorially perfect. If certain distinguished business men were to appear in a New Zealand shop clothed in rags, or even just shabbily dressed, and tried to cash a cheque, tha shopkeeper would probably telephone the police. Certainly he would not negotiate it. Many people who possess good banking accounts are. reluctant to pay by cheque to strange shopkeepers for fear of rebuffs. It is obvious from the number of useless cheques negotiated that some tradesmen simply rush to attend the well-dressed "crook."

Association Football,at School A strong protest against the . stand said to have been taken by the headmaster of the Christchurch Boys' High School (Mr G. J. Lancaster) in refusing to allow his pupils to play Association football in the school cclourg or ras a school team was made by Mr J. E. Jones, president of the Canterbury Football Association, at its meeting on Tuesday night. The protest arose from correspondence received from the master in charge of Association football at the Otago Boys' High School dwlining to ask Mr:Lancaster fnr his permission to play a match against his school, as the Canterbury Association requested. The. letter stated that Mr Lancaster did not object to his pupils' playing for. clubs under the jurisdiction of the-Canter-bury Football Association or against the Otago boys as " Canterbury "flayers, but not as a team bearing' the school's name and colours. Mr Jones asked what objection there could be to the boys playing Association football in the school when the same cods was played by the Otago Boys' High School. He said that co-operation between the provinces and the. high schools was wished for. It was decided to appoint a deputation to wait on Mr Lancaster.