Local and General News

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21504, 17 November 1939, Page 6

Local and General News

Possible Woman Candidate At a meeting* in Dannevirke to form a women’s branch of the Labour Party, Mr G. A. Hanson, replying to offers of assistance at the next election, said it was not known who would be the candidate for the electorate; possibly it would be a woman. Use of Electricity The widespread use of electricity to-day compared with 17 years ago was commented upon by Mr S. Irwin Crookes at a meeting of the Auckland ElectricPower Board. Mr Crookes said in 1922, when the board took over from the Auckland City Council, the maximum load on feeders was not quite 5000 kilowatts, whereas in the six months ended September 30 it was 64,975 kilowatts. In the corresponding period last year it was 56,310 kilowatts. ' A Novel Excuse Novel excuses are frequently given by persons appearing in Court, but a reason different from the usual.was advanced in the Hastings Magistrate's Court. A Maori defendant, charged with negligent driving, when he had been involved in two accidents, on being asked by the Magistrate for an explanation for his conduct, said that he suffered from rheumatism. The excuse was not a convincing one, however, and the fine imposed on the defendant for four offences totalled £B, with costs, £4. A “Shattering” Experience Tuesday was a lucky day for at least one Napier resident. He walked into a plate-grass door, broke the glass to pieces, and yet suffered no injury beyond a few slight scratches. In fact, a few seconds afterwards he was smiling. The incident occurred in a cafe. A man had finished his meal and walked towards the door, looking over his shoulder at the same time, presumably at one of the diners. He did not see that the door was closed, and when, after the impact, he stood in the middle of a pile of shattered glass, no one, for a few moments, appeared more surprised than he. Dominion Pilot’s Success The Fighter Cup, on which are inscribed the names of many famous test pilots, was recently won by a young New Zealander, Pilot-Officer L. R. Jacobsen, of Wellington, at a Gloucester training camp. The contest, open to all pilots, -is held every six months, and includes tests in air shooting as well as flying ability. When he underwent the test Pilot-Officer Jacobsen had only been in England for a little over a year, and had 146 hours’ dual and solo flying to his credit. The judges’ assessment of his performance was “above average,” and he learned later that he narrowly missed the assessment “exceptional.” PilotOfficer Jacobsen is the grandson of Mr T. B. Jacobsen, of Auckland, and was educated at Rongotai College. Art of Picking Lemons In the opinion of experts it is not everyone who can be trusted to pick lemons off a tree. Giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Auckland a Tauranga orchardist said that lemon-picking was a skilled job. “The subsequent life of the lemon depends largely upon the care and attention of the lemonpicker in the harvesting of the fruit,” he said. “The picker must see that the lemons are cut short, he must wear gloves, and he must have a good eye for the size of fruit to save waste of grading. He must take care in handling the fruit in and out of the bag. In climbing trees he must be very careful not to damage limbs or branches or twigs. All this is reflected in the keeping property of the fruit.” Rock from Edinburgh A piece of the rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built will probably be incorporated in the observation look-out at Signal Hill as the foundation stone of this Dunedin Centennial memorial. A letter has been sent to tfle Lord Provost of Edinburgh by the Centennial Committee, notifying him of the proposal and enlisting his co-operation in having the stone transported to the Dominion. A Dunedin resident who left Edinburgh over fifty years ago was so enamoured of the idea that he succinctly remarked: “If the stone does become a part of the memorial I will take a taxi to Signal Hill to have a look at it!” Incidentally, the Otago branch of the Institute of Architects expects to have the plans of the look-out completed by the end of this month. Criticism of “Lawyers’ Union”

Addressing the annual conference of the New Zealand Labourers’ Federation at the Centennial Exhibition, the Mayor of Wellington (Mr T. C. A. Hislop) said he was glad the federation had decided to hold its conference in spite of the international situation. At present he was rather ashamed of the union to which he belonged—the lawyers. Mr Hislop said that the New Zealand Law Society Was to have held a conference next year, and it was to have taken place at the Exhibition. But to his astonishment, about a fortnight ago, in his capacity as a member of the “union,” he received a letter informing him that the New Zealand Law Society had decided, owing to the outbreak of war, to abandon the conference. Since then he had spoken to a number of lawyers, and he had not met one who approved of the decision. A woman delegate (the only one present): “You should have rank-and-flie control.”