NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 32, 6 August 1936, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Electrification of Railways,

The opinion that electricity provided! the best means of transport by rail was expressed by the General Manager of Railways, Mr. G. H. Mackley, when presenting the Cable Makers' Association gold medal to Mr. J. H. Harthett yesterday afternoon. He knew of no more satisfactory means of transport than by electricity, said Mr. Mackley, but steam had such a hold in the railway system of the country, and the conversion of the system to the newer method of -propulsion was a task of such magnitude that it could not be undertaken at the present time. However, the use of electricity was rapidly being appreciated, and more would be heard of it in the future. Useless Resolutions. ' "In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, such resolutions by creditors are useless," remarked the Official Assignee, Mr. S. Tansley, at the hearing of some 'bankruptcy proceedings today when one creditor suggested that bankrupt's discharge should be opposed until he paid twenty shillings in the pound. The Court, he' said, did not pay much attention to such resolutions, and when a bankrupt applied for his discharge what was taken into consideration was his ability to pay and not what his creditors thought he ought to pay. "I don't know how many such resolutions I have on my files which have been of no effect," Mr. Tansley added. Cast Broken at Gallery. Children playing in the National Gallery recently broke a plaster cast of a Maori head, the work of Miss Margaret Butlen .The bust: was'knocked from its plinth, .but fortunately the break was a clean one at the neck arid can be repaired. Unattended children have already made themselves somewhat of a nuisance at the National Gallery, and dirty fingers have been applied to some of the works of art, but fortunately without damage. In future, however, children xinder fifteen years of age will not be allowed to roam at large through the National Gallery unless accompanied by an adult. This will not discourage a love of art amongst youngsters, but it will help to protect the' exhibits from damage.