CAR AND LORRY COLLIDE

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1927, Page 8

CAR AND LORRY COLLIDE

ACCIDENT AT WII AREHL’IA. LORRY DRIVER CON VICTED. Pleasure and business did not combine at Whareliuia on the afternoon of July 21. On that day Edward Douglas Evans, furnisher, of Stratford, attracted by the line weather, invited his wife, his wife’s sister and three children to a pleasure spin in his ear. The route taken was via Midhirst aud down the Beaconsfield Road, the driver intending to return by the East Road, thus making a round trip. The party was rolling easily down the fine surface of Beaconsfield Road at a moderate speed, but at the junction of the Stanley Road at the Wharehuia School corner, pleasure came into active conflict with business, business being represented by a large lorry driven by Reginald Slaide Hosking, a young farmer of the district. In reviewing the causes aud effects of the collision between the two vehicles, the police were unable to lay the blame against business alone, neither were they prepared to say that pleasure was the one at fault. Informations were therefore laid against both parties, ami an interesting triangular argument occupied the attention of the Stratford Court yesterday. In the result, business was convicted and pleasure went free. SAME OLD STORY. Sergeant Rowell conducted the prosecution. Evidence showed that there was 57 feet of asphalt surface a_t the junction, and that the parties saw each other when about a chain apart. There was considerable evidence about turns to the right and pulls off to the left. There was mention of points of impact, width of tar and distances travelled after being struck. Lawyers argued about rules of the road, the presumptive attitude of the other party, and questioned .relative estimates of speed. In fact, all the familiar phrases and legal submissions common to such cases were brought forward, and witnesses were put through the usual recognised questions.

Except for the fact that the lorry was carrying a load of sheep intended for delivery at the abattoir, the case had no unusual features. Both drivers mentioned that they were travelling at slow speeds, and keeping a vigilant lookout. After all had been said that could be said, it was difficult to understand how’ an accident could possibly have occurred with such an amount of experience and care. “We have taken two hours to discuss what these people had one or two seconds to sum up,” said Mr. Tate. After the magistrate had referred to the decision on appeal of Mr. xJustice Ostler in the case of Thompson v. Fary, where an accident occurred south of Eltham under almost similar circumstances, a conviction was entered against Hosking on the grounds of negligence in approaching the junction on his wrong side, and he was lined £l, costs 12s. The ease against Evans was dismissed.

KEEPING UP STEAM. FUEL COSTS AT DAIRY FACTORY. An interesting discussion occurred at the annual meeting of the Cardiff Co-operative Dairy Company on ths question of fuel costs. The balance-sheet under discussion showed that fuel had cost £B6l, or £l6l more than last season. The chairman (Mr. J. B. Clemow), in reviewing the internal economy of the factory, mentioned that fuel costs apparently varied without any apparent- reason, for the cost of coal and firewood remained a constant factor. The cost of fuel for the past seven years had been £527, £591,’ £896, £750, £655. £BlB, £6<T3 and £B6l. Suppliers could therefore see that although all seasons were roughly of the same duration the cost varied considerably. Mr. E. W. Hancock dealt firmly with the matter. He said he considered the fuel bills to be far too high and thought it was the duty of the directors) the chairman and the manager to investigate the position thoroughly. He pointed out that during the past season the factory had consumed from 65 to 70 cords of firewood more than during the previous year and the cost had worked out at £1 12s 4d per ton of cheese manufactured. “This item does not compare at all favourably with the figures of other factories in Taranaki,” he said. One neighbouring factory’s fuel cost was only 18s per ton of cheese, another was £1 4s, still another (and he had had to go outside the district to find it) had reached as high as £1 10s lOd, but out of the balance-sheets of twelve similar dairy companies, that of the Cardiff factory had been the highest. This criticism was in turn criticised by Mr. C. Marchant, who stated that in comparing fuel costs, the kind of season experienced should also be taken into account. Their company supplied a great deal of hot water for the use of suppliers. Other speakers all had something to say about the cost of fuel, but the variatl-a from year to year remained the unexplained mystery that had so puzzled the chairman. It was idle for the facetious shareholder to remark that “anyway, it has all gone up in smoke,” and the impression grew that the sooner some of the promising coalfields east of Stratford were developed and cheaper steam coal delivered within the province the better it would be for the pockets of the dairy farmer. From the discussion it certainly appeared that if the cost of fuel could be cut in half, the directors at Cardiff would rest easier at night. SYSTEMS OF HERD-TESTING. THREE WORKING METHODS. Three schemes of testing herds were outlined by Mr. H. Marchant at Monday night's annual meeting of the Cardiff Dairy Company. The first, he said, was : here a farmer was already having purebred cows tested under the semi-official system. In that case, the Government tester was prepared to test the remainder of the herd at a price of 2s 6d per cow on the same lines as he tested the pureI breds. The second system was where farmers

formed an organisation and took their own weights and samples. The services of a ' Government tester were then available for I working out the tests and furnishing the returns at the cost of 2s per cow. This ‘ system was quite reliable, he said, where the farmer himself was honest, but while only a fool would attempt to juggle with I his weights or oamules in order to create I an apparently high record, it was known that weights were not always correct, and outsiders did not attach as great import- ; ance to results gained under this system I as they did to the third method. Under ; this scheme the farmers interested formed ■ a group for the employment of a full-time I testing officer and provided him with a conveyance. The cost was 5s per cow, and the officer acted as an extra helper in the shed, taking results of the milkings. He was the guest of the farmer for the night and was again present in the shed the following morning The samples were then taken to the factory, and the record worked out and returned to the farmer as soon as possible. The next day the tester moved on to another farm of the group a: d the same process was repeated. The system, however, went step further. Every cow that produced the requirement of butter-fat was branded, and a calf from a brand’ I dam, provided it was sired by a pure-bred bull, was eligible for a similar brand. A prospective purchaser of any branded cow could demand an inspection of the record card and thus assure himself that he was buying a proved producer. Mr. Marchant mentioned that recently a sale of branded calves had been held in the Waikato and the prices secured for the progeny of the tested cows realised far better prices than other calves.

PERSONAL ITEMS. At the recent meeting of the Taranaki Headmasters’ Association in Stratford a vote of sympathy was passed to Mr. A. Brown, of the Westown school, in his recent illness, hopes for his speedy and complete recovery being expressed. Prior to the business of the Stratford I Magistrate’s Court yesterd .y, Mr. A. Coleman, on behalf of members of the Bar, referred to the sad ami untimely death at Auckland of Mr. H. H, -Seott. who, as clerk of the court at Stratford, had earned the esteem and regard of all legal practitioners for his unfailing courtesy and over-ready willingness to help members of the Bar in the course of their work. Mr. Coleman paid a high tribute to the qualities and ability of tho late Mr. Scott, and said that what made his death the more to be regretted was that he was a comparatively young man and. with his wife, was very pope lar in Stratford. lie had displayed great interest in his work aud had been marked down for advancement by the department. Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M., added that he had formed a very high opinion of Mr. Scott’s personality and ability. GENERAL ITEMS. Holy Trinity Church had a narrow escape from destruction by fire on Saturday night. The Rev. Canon Kayll entered the building and found one of the radiators knocked against a wall, with the current on. The woodwork of the wall was well charred, and if the radiator had been left a little longer the woodwork would have burst into flames. In the report of the annual meeting of the Kaponga Dairy Company, which appeared yesterday, it would seem that the factory which turned out the finest grade and had the most superfine cheese of all tl'.e company’s branches was the Riverlea factory. This is not so. The factory to which Mr. Perry referred in making his comment was the branch at Rowan, of which Mr. A. McDougal is manager. “If the manager finds any supplier taking more than his fair share of whey, he be authorised to send that person home without any the following day.” This was a resolution moved at the annual meeting of the Cardiff Dairy Company, but it failed to find a seconder. “In view ci the fact that the Daylight Saving Bill se»ms likely to become law, I think the directors should give suppliers a trial gallop for a few day’s just to see how many could get to the factory by 8 o’clock each morning. Some of them can never get there before 9 a.m. at present, and I would very much like to see what these suppliers can do as an effort,” said a'share holder at Monday’s annual meeting of the Cardiff Dairy Company. Mr. M. McDonald has a 99 to 109 dairy cow farm for sale or exchange, which he can thoroughly recommend-