NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 90, 13 October 1932, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Pecuniary Value of Wives. In doaling in a reserved judgment yesterday with the question of whether a husband and his children'had suffered pecuniary loss by the death of his wife as a result of a motor accident, Mr. Justice Blair pointed out that a daughter working gratuitously would be irroplaceable, except, perhaps, if like services on liko terms by some other relative were obtainable. A deceased wife was replaceable, and.cases were not unknown where replacement had taken place within remarkably short periods. The element of anguish for loss of a loved one being absent, the jury would bo entitled to' adopt the view that tho husband could easily replace his wife with another, and tho jury were equally entitled to adopt the view that as far as the children were concerned whatever care and attention had been bestowed on, them, by their mother could bo provided by a stepmother. This latter view might be unusual, but his Honour said it appeared to him in the case with which he was dealing that tho jury was entitled on the' evidence to take it, and it was riot for him to usurp the functions of the jury, even if, had he been trying the caso-him-self, ho WQuld have adopted some other viow. It was a matter peculiarly for the jury to reduce • into . money the pecuniary loss which' the children had individually suffered by their mother's doath, and the jury, to his mind, was entitled- to say no pecuniary loss had been proved. Deafness of Trout. . . Discussing the ' effect of outboard motor-boats, on fish in the. Tongariro Eiver Professor Pertival.-' asked at the Acclimatisation Societies' Conference yesterday; whether it was the noise of the motor, or,the movement of tho boat that should be considered. It was known years ago that the noise of motors made no difference to fish, he said. It was known' that sound travelled four times as fast in water as in air, and that underwater vibrations were more 'marked, but it had been proved that neither motor boats nor even tho beating of water with shovels niado the slightest difference to fish, provided that they did not see the shovels in the process. The matter at issue was the annoyance caused bank anglers by .the passage of motor-boats, whether of pleasure parties or anglers. "It would be interesting to know what is the difference between a boat carrying anglers and one carrying a pleasure party," said Professor Percival. "There are a large number of anglers' parties," replied Mr. H. J. Duigan (Wanganui), "but very few pleasure parties." ■ Up With the Nets! Local cricket practice commenced officially yesterday afternoon, and a good muster on each of tho grounds indicated that players were keen to get a good sight of the ball for the start of competition matches next Saturday. On some of the grounds the cricketers were put to a new .experience in that they had to erect their -own practice nets. This, it appeared, was to apply throughout the season in view of a reduction in labour on the reserves. Some complaints were voiced, especially in those cases in which the job was new to players. Under ordinary circumstances the time for practice is limited, and a certain amount of time was lost in putting up the nets. This, too, was a subject of complaint, and a suggestion was offered in one quarter that the new order of things might lead to practices becoming, dangerous in that- some players might carry on with their practice without going to tho trouble of erecting the nets. From the controlliiiT bodies'of cricket there is no complaint tho attitude taken up being that matters so far as this now departure is concerned will gradually straighten themselves out.

Motor-cyclists' Predicament. According to! a statement made by Mr. J. Ainsworth, Main Highways Board inspector, in tho Magistrate's Court at Upper Hutt yesterday, a man is not allowed by the law to learn to ride a motor-cycle on tho open road; he must learn in some closed space. Tho case was one in which a man waa charged with riding a motor-cycle without having a licence. Tho man was learning to ride, and had a licensed driver on the pillion seat. Asked by the Magistrate (Mr. W. H. Woodward; S.M.J what opportunities a man'had of learning to ride a motor-cycle, Mr. Ainsworth replied that as far as he, could see tho Act provided that anyone learning to drive must have a licensed driver seated beside them in the front seat. That would seem to indicate that a motor-cyclist must learn to control his mount in a paddock or. other similar place. The defendant was convicted and discharged. ' '' "No Furtner Than Thinking." In giving an illustration of a question he had put previously, the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers), asked-counsel in the, Court of Appeal to-day to assume that he (the Chief Justice) and Mr. Justice MacGregor were thinking about taking a trip by aeroplane from.Wellington to Palmerston North. The idea did not' appeal to Mr. Justice MacGregor, whose comment was as quick as it was1 terse. " Speaking for myself, I would go no further than thinking," he said amidst laughter; Beautiful Tulips. Tho beautiful tulips in 'beds and 'borders are a feature, of the Botanical Gardens at present. Many of the tulips were specially imported from Holland, and are flowering'for their first season in New Zealand. Others have been bought in New Zealand, but were originally imported from Hollands . A bed of Darwin tulips, standing over two feet high and growing- amid violet-coloured Beauty of Nice stock, has \- attracted much; attention, from those wlfo pass through the Gardpns along the path, near Glenmpre street^ahd it is considered by many to be_ one of the "finest beds of flowers ever seen in tho Gardens. The State's Bad Bargains. What: Mr. if. _H. Salmon, S.M., commented tipon as being a failing of democracy caino to the notice of tho "Wanganui .Magistrate's; Court, reports the; "Chronicle." A; grandfather had said the father of two children now refused to support them anditheir mother could not'do* so. He had no means and even' then was called upon as a near relative to.aid them. Mr. Salmon said that the two were over the ago of sixteen, years, and it seemed that they would come on the care of the State in the long run. He did not think the father was worth the powder and shot ■to make him pay. Later, in another case concerning maintenance, Mr. Salmbn remarked to Senior-Sergeant Capp, "This looks like another of the State's bad bargains. 1? Cycling on the Hutt Boad. The complaint .of ' cyclists that the cycle track along the Hutt road has been so neglected and has been so many • times taken up and relaid in patchwork fashion that it is unsuitable for cycling, is nothing new. As there is a general prohibition of cycling on the bitninenj some cyclists have lately taken to the macadam-sides of the road and, states Mr. A. E. Milne, secretary of the Cyclists' Touring Club, some members have been ordered off the macadam md threatened with prosecution. He maintains that the traffic inspectors have no authority whatever to act in this way, and states that when that power was questioned a traflic inapeetor threatened to institute proceedings, not for riding upon the macadam, but for negligent driving. A "Post" reporter who made inquiries into the question was told that cyclists were warnedj against riding on the macadam for their own safety. A good many motor vehicles used , the macadam haunches,: and -cycling was definitely not as safe on the macadam as.on the cycle track. : The cycling bylaws applying particularly to the Hutt road appear to refer to the bitumen and not to the macadam haunches. Duty on : Racing Boats. . The imposition of Customs duty on imported racing boats is mentioned in the annual report of the New Zealand Rowing Association. Tho matter is stated to have'been prominently before the' Council during the year owing to the,fact that boat builders in ithe Dominion have-reported to the Customs Department- that their orders are insufficient to keep them fully employed. ? In view of this the Department has found it necessary to; call for the payment of duty, as provided for in the tariff, , on- imported: boats. Until recently this duty had not been collected, v The council feels that in:view of the present economic situation the attitude of the Department cannot be objected to, and- so long as the local builders will build .good ■ boats at. a fair and reasonable' prigo they should be 1 supported. Intone instance the council was instrumental. in having a' quotation: given to; one club by a local builder considerably \Teducod, but the business; •yfraß-lost to him in tho meantime, and tho order "was placed in Australia; ; As bost^and-best boats/ are not built an New Zealand at;present,the Department will continue to admit them on :payment ; of primage and witliout duty. ::.;.-■--;'.....■-....-;■-•:. :;,,..:. \ : ■