MOTORING.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17418, 31 March 1922, Page 4

MOTORING.

(By 3, BOADSTEE»")

HOME AND ABROAD.

FIST liitES. Apr£ I—Motor-cycle Reliability Trial. April 29 —Side-car Petrol Test. ANSWERS TO COBEESPONDENTS. i A/V?.S—The trade question you mention. is not a subject for this column. j NOTES. | i It has beer, suggested that sign urging drivers to exercise particular care at the corner of Armagh street and Oxford terrace should be erected by the Canterbury Automobile Association. Tho suggestion is a good one, for the river bridge at that corner is the site of many more accidents than are j known to the public or police but as • the spot is right in the city, it is t..0 duty of the City Council to erect the notice, rather than that ot the L.A-A. Motorists who use the Rakaia and other long river bridges on the main . South, road will appreciate the suggestion made to "Roadster" recently tuat four "bays" should be built at equal distance on such bridges. Under tho j existing conditions motor-cars have to j cross the bridge with tho right-hand side wheels inside the railway lines, but in places tho decking ot the bridge is built up to the level of the line to allow cars to pull over to side. If extensions or "bays" were built on to the side of the bridge at these places they would be a convenience when two large vehicles, or vehicles with over-. hauging loads, met. j It is well known that Mr H. Mac- ! intosh, the citv motor inspector, and his assistant. Mr" 11. Vincent, have more work than they can be reasonably expected to cone with, and no one with anv knowledge of their multifarious duties would' think of blaming them for the Inck of adequate inspection in , Christchurch. Complaints regarding the examining of drivers have been made recently by some motorists—and also by some who, not-being motorists, delight in having a grievance, even though it is not really their own. It has been alleged that some motor-car owners have not been able to make an appointment with the inspector for their dt'iv- . ing test, with the result that they cannot drive their own cars without tho risk of being fined. Another grievance of the dissatisfied is that, not being certificated, they could not claim their insurance in the event of an accident. The substance of these complaints was brought under the notice of Mr Macintosh, who said, in replv, that he could arrange for motor-cycle riding tests with one or two days' notice, and for motor-car driving tests he required a week's notice. He could not understand on what grounds it was alleged that appointments could not be fulfilled for several weeks, for though he was not always in the office, his assistants could make the appointments.

There is certainly an urgent need for tho appointment of an officer whose

Uole duty should be examining candiI date, for rider*' and drivers' certifiI cat's, as sufficient applications are reI ceived to krep a man Pe™ a^: y % [ rared at the worn. At present, _ - | Macintosh's duties include examining, I ircne-ticns, traffic control on SuOC«.market days., and other busy times, ! and nrosecuting for breaches ot b I laws, "which latter is a task requir. a j a Teat deal of enquiry work He cannot five ench separate duty the attenI riorilt deserves, but he endeavours to ' do' as much as possible of eacn, and with this end in view te arranges his dav's work by an hourly schedu e. which he adheres to as closel? ascncumstsnces will al'ow. It must also be remembered that Mr Macintosh is a Citv Council official, and he has to find time to draw up reports and attend to other office duties. ! The present is a time for. economy, and no reasonable person ce.ire.-, to st the Council involved in fresh cxp-n . - ! ture, if it is avoidable, but it » surely not economical to have one l of + t e -t departments e,o overworked that : officers have to do a litt e of eyerythinjr, without dong anything as t~oro.ifdily as they would wisn and the , public demand. ' Many modem manufacturing pro ; ccCsea are based on methods Ion 2 a 2 o. For instance, an , process in the making of high-grac« Kteel is the hentmg and quench.m. in oil. This practice in a crude fqim. has ev'»ted for centuries m J..pan m connexion with the old-time manufacture of sword-bl ides- and armour Thi ' fa.-t was pointed out by Baron Nawi shima, one of a of .L'.pane^ I V.nsiness men which recent y , England, the remark being suggested bv watching o-nations " the welts of Lev and Motors, Ltd., at land, Lancashire. The v sitors were greatly impressed when Btudvinrr f ;tecl-casting operations by tho very modern electric plant there. 1 Cabled advicci has been received of the death in Canada of Mr Gordon Mc-Gi-paor. who lu.s for many years controlled ' the Ford Motor Company o Canada, Ltd., and with it the business of Fords throughout the British Colonial Empire. The late Mr McGregor was a whole-hearted Canadian, ' a leader of those who have believed that Canada should take her place as the factory for the Empire of all goods otherwise boucht of the United States. His vision and energy have played no small part in the tremendous progress in recent years of Canadian manufactnre, more especially in his particulai snliere of motor-car manufacture from tho steel onwards.

With his abundant energy, Mr McGregor combined an evident sincerity and quiet good-fellowship, which made a host of friends for him. For New Zealanders to meet tho late Mr McGregor in his homo land has been to appreciate at its lasting value our blood relationship to our sister Dominion. He had many friends, too, in New Zealand, made during a trip out here some ten years ago.