NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 103, 28 October 1933, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

J3ggs are fragile. Whilo it may be- of no avail to cry over spilt milk, it is certainly useless to wasto tears over broken eggs. This must have been tho thought in the mind of a truck-driver whose vehicle-, in turning from Kent Terrace to Cambridge Terraco yesterday afternoon, shed several crates of eggs into the roadway. The damage was all that could be expected. The Wairarapa Wreck. It will be thirty-nine years ago tomorrow since, the steamer Wairarapa, 1786 tons, was wrecked at Miner's Head, Great Barrier Island, on October 29, 1894, with tho loss of 126 lives. Bound from Sydney to Auckland with passengers and cargo, tho Wairarapa ran into a dense fog coming 'down the coast of tho North Auckland Peninsula. After the watch had been changed at midnight on the 28th the new lookout man had been at his post only a few minutes when he observed a dark mass ahead which he knew must be land.-Tlw> order for full speed astern was given, but had scarcely commenced to take effect before the vessel struck and slowly commenced to sink. A considerable sea was running, and many people were swept away as they attempted to reach tho shore. News of the disaster did not reach Auckland until four days later, when some of the survivors arrived by the Argyle from Port Fitzroy. Duties of Drivers. Observations on. the duties of drivers of motor-cars and riders of bicycles were made by Mr. Justice Blair at the Supreme Court yesterday during1 the hearing of a claim arising out of a collision between a motor-ear and a bicycle in Taranaki Street. His Honour said that it was the duty of tho.se in charge of vehicles to take reasonable care and observe, the bylaws when using the roads. There were times when drivers were entitled to bo on the wrong side of tho road, but normally they should drive as near as possible to the proper side of the road. The white lino on many corners was not put there for the purpose of assisting the inside driver to keep out to the centre line, but to keep the outside driver from cutting in. An important question involved in the case was whether a cyclist was negligent if he came round tho corner from Abel Smith Street into Taranaki Street seven feet fi'om the kerb. His Honour said that supposing the corner was marked with a white line the cyclist was not entitled to riclo as close to that line as ho wished. His duty was to take tho corner so- as to use up as little of the road as possible. "Last Opportunity." "I have never yet been able to evolve some- definite and distinct rule which could be given to a jury in such a simple form that would enable them to understand it—l cannot put something to a jury that I. do not understand myself," said Mr. Justice Blair at'the Supreme Court yesterday when referring to the doctrine of "last opportunity" which arises in many motor accident cases. A hypothetical case of "last opportunity", in avoiding an accident quoted by his Honour was one where a man tied his donkey in tho middle of tho road and left it. A bus came along and ran over the donkey. The owner of the donkey then returned and said to the driver: "I have been negligent in leaving the donkey in the middle of the road, but you could see the donkey, and you need uot have run over it. You had tho last opportunity of avoiding it, and you could have done so by using reasonable care." That sort of ease, said his Honour, had been varied in millions of ways, and it was always a.very difficult question to dc'^ cide. Although a driver might have the last opportunity of. avoiding an accident, the crisis usually developed so suddenly that there was no time for him to think what was tho best thing to do. He had to act. immediately, and if he did tho wrong thing ho was not held to have been negligent, but to have committed an error of judgment. Tramway Beginnings. It will be thirty years tomorrow, October 29, since the first work, was done in the establishment of the electric tramways system in Wellington, the formal "ceremony being carried out in Featherston Street, near the Lambton Railway Station. Of the officials who took part in the ceremony only, three an: now living. They are Mr. J. Kerwin (now of Now York, who was the superintendent; for tho contractors, Messrs. Macartney, McKlroy, and Co., Ltd. Mr. D. McLaren (afterwards Mayor), and Mr. A. G. Jorgensum Years earlier Wellington had had tramway transport, for steam trams were introduced in 187S, but after about fuur years steam haulage was given best, in the interests of economy, and the,cars were hauled by horses. Both tho steam and horse trams were run by private enterprise for. many years, but the City Council, realising tho advantages of municipal control of the city transport system, entered into negotiations with the owners and took over tho whole business. Shortly afterwards, iii 1901, tho council decided to change the system to electric haulage, and the first section of the new system was opened between Newtown Park and tho Basin Reserve on June 30, 1904. The period of most rapid development was pro.bably between 1905 and 1911, during which time Mio outer suburbs were given the very great benefit of fast and economical transport. Since that period there have been lesser but still important additions to the track system, and though there has been a halt during tin: past few years, there are still important, tramway developments ahead.

Upper Hutt's Dogs. The Town Clerk (Mr. H. C. Major) stated in his report to tho Upper Hutt Borough Council last evening that notices were issued asking that all outstanding fees for dogs should be paid within fourteen days. Tho response was remarkably good, £55 2s having been collected to date, as against £12 15s for last y.ear, and £3 2s 6d tho year before. Ho expected to collect approximately £90 by the end of the financial year. The position today was that from tho list obtained of the dogs in the borough, only fourteen people had failed to reply to his notice. Moa Bones Found. The discovery of a quantity of moa bones was made on Wednesday on ttie farm of Mr. P.' F. Higgins at Motoo, states a Hastings correspondent. The Cones are in a fairly good state of preservation, and consist of parts of two leg bones, a toe bone, part of the spine, and two pointed bones. Mr. Higgins's property is swamp land, and is situated about a mile and a half from the Omarunui property on which moa bones wore found last year. The discovery was made in a ditch at a depth of about 6ft, and Mr. Higgins is considering sending the bones to a museum. Similar discoveries have been made in this district from time ,to time, and add much to interesting geological evidence that this part of New Zealand has undergone many changes. Geologists are able to show that violent earthquakes raised and lowered this part of the country in prehistoric times, and discoveries such as that made by Mr. Higgins give added proof that a great deal of swamp laud in this district was formerly habitable, at least for animal life. Pink and White Trout. The occurrence of pink flesh in some trout, while others were white ileshed, was explained by Professor E. Pereival at Christchurch on Thursday, states "The Press." Professor Pereival said that tho colour of the flesh was' not a matter of the species of trout, but of the food they happened to have been taking, as the two sorts of .flesh occurred in both brown and rainbow trout. In such a stream as the Cam north branch, for example, the fish fed on a sort of prawn, which had the effect of giving them pink flesh. But a largo variety of decapods which formed trout food, aa well as crabs and fresh-water Crustacea, produced pink flesh in sabnonidae. Where fish of both sorts of flesh were taken from the same stream it would .be found that those with pink flesh had been feeding on Crustacea, whilo the others had taken other food. Auckland City Motor Camp. A municipal property at Western Springs has been chosen by the City Council as the site for a motorists' camping ground for- Auckland, statesthe "New Zealand Herald." The council resolved on Thursday that "the necessary buildings and other works, estimated to cost £600, should be put in hand without delay'in order that the ground might be available before Christmas. Under instructions given by the council some weeks ago, the city engineer (Mr. J. Tyler) presented a report, in which he recommended a site of fifteen acres between tho. Great North Koad and the, Zoological PaTk, northward of the Western Springs lake. The engineer stated that the proposed site had been selected by tlio touring manager of the Automobile Association, Mr. E. E. Champtaloup, as being most suitable for the purpose, being ideally situated. The greater portion consisted of gently sloping ground, while practically the whole of it was easily accessible. Being of rock foundation it had the advantage ,of efficient natural drainage, which fact&r made the site n. healthy one for camping purposes. The area was situated amid pleasant surroundings, and considering its proximity to the city, enjoyed a good measure of seclusion, being invisible from the residential neighbourhood and the adjacent road. It also had the advantage of proximity to one of the main arteries; the Great North Koad, and its nearness to the Zoological Park, tho Western Springs Stadium, and sports area would, no doubt, contribute to its popularity as a camping site for visiting motorists. In the plan submitted, provision was made on comprehensive lines for tho ultimato development of the area for camping purposes, but comparatively little work was necessary in the meantime to bring it into immediate use. If the project was, embarked upon now the si.tc could bo made available for tho forthcoming Christmas holidays.