LOCAL & GENERAL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 166, 31 July 1937, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

Clergy and Lafty. "When tlie vicar l'alls (lown on. bis job We hear about it," said Bisliop Hilliard of Nelson at the Nelson Synod. "The sins and deficiemcies of ^ clergy have been set to popular music, but we do not hear so often of the obstacles that are sometimes set in the way of elfective work by tlie failure of some of our laity to do their duty by the minister and by their church." Awatoto Grass Fire. The burning-off of drjed undergrowth on the Hastings side of Awatoto over a fairly extensive area presented a rather unusual sight to travellers over the Napier-Hastings road shortly after dark last night. The flames and smoke could be seen from some distance, and gave the impresion of a house fire at Awatoto. Such grass fires are unusual at this time of the year. Fog on Napier-Hastings Road. Heavy fog on the Napier-Hastings road caused motorists considerable driv ing difficulty last night. The fog extended from Awatoto to the vicinity of the showgrounds, the towns of Hastings and Napier themselves being almost entirely free from it. Between Awatoto and the showgrounds the fog was of unusual density, and drivers oi carg had to proceed at A slow rate and with the utmost caution to keep to tht> roadway. "Cricket" Score at Rugby. A record was established for the Hastings High School yesterday afternoon when the school fifteen was defeated by the huge score of 78 points to eiglit by the Dannevirke District High Scliool team in the annual inter-school Rugby football match. The visitors have mouided together an exceptionally good side, the forwards possessing plenty of weight and dash, while the backs have developed a remarkably fine combination and inelude several most promising ycrang players. Popular Week-end Excursion. The first of the Wellington-to-Napier rail way week-end excursion trains oi the season passed through Hastings this morning, and the long train was packed. About 50 passengers made Hastings their terminating point in the journey. The train will be leaving again to-morrow niglit. Only on one previous occasion has there been a similar excursion arranged; that was last Labour Day week-end, when the train . arrived on a Saturday mornnig and departed on the Monday late afternoon. Large Fffght of Bitterns. In spite of the attention of Hy-hslier-men and others who find its feathers particularly suitable for making trout flies, the native bittern, or matuku, ia apparently not decreasing in numbers in the Rotorua district. A resident recently i*6ported that in a large patch of raupo he put up no fewer than 44 bitterns, the largest number he remembered having seen together in an extensive experience of wild life. In other parts of the district also reports indicate that the numbers of these birds are increasing, Opossum Trapping. The opossum-trapping season in the Rotorua acclimatisation district is at present in progress, but reports indicate that trappers are not enjoying particularly good conditions. Not a great many licences have been issued, the majority of them being for the Waikaremoana district, where the animals are not being taken as freely as in previous years. During the past two seasons the price of opossum skins has been lower than usual and this has affected the number of licences taken out. The season opens at the beginning of July and ends on August 31. Nature's Streamlines. The tuna, found extensively ln (JaliI'ornian and to a lesser degree in New Zealand waters, was a perfect example of streamlining in nature, said Mr A. W. B. Powell, as^istant-director of the War Memorial Museum, at tlie Auckland Institute, when discussing the possibilities of tuna fishing on a commercial scale in New 'Zealand. . The body was almost completely rounded, and the fins fitted so tightly into slots that they had to be prised out with a knife. The mouth and eyes were also specially designed so as to offer no resistance to the "water. At the base of the tail were two narrow ridges, wliich divided the fiow of water before it passed to the propeller-like tail. Traffic Rights of Horse-Drivers. An interesting and seemingly littleknOwn section of the new Motor Vehicles Aot was given a prominent place in submission in a civil claim in the Magistrate's Court at Christchurch, when the owner of a horse-drawn delivery van claimed damages from the owner of a motor-car, the van. and the car having collided. • A special section of the new traffic regulations had been designed for horse-driven traffic at intersections, it was stated in evidence, the effect of which was to make the driver of a horse-drawn vebiclw liable to give way on an intersectlon to a vehicle coming from any other * direction-— not necessarily on the right — if there seemed to be a possibility of a. coHision. An impi'ession existed in the minds of many horse-drivers, it was stated, that they had a Bpeeial right-of-way privilege on intersectiohs.

No Bankruptoies During July, The Official .Assignce for the Hawke's Bay district recedved 110 bankruptcy petitions during July oi; this year. In July, 1936, two petitions were filed. SGven-Degrees Frost. Although this morning's frost appears to have been fairly heavy in unsheltered locaiities, the official recordmg at Cornwall Park gives it as only seven degrees. The frost left quite a thick deposit, and many rooftops were coated with white this morning. Lawns and gardens had their usual touch oi whiteness inquiry into Maternity Servlces. Formal advice that the committee of inquiry into maternity services of New Zealand will be sitting in Hastings on August 10 ' has been received by Mr E. L. Cullen, M.P., from the Department of Health. Anyone desiring to give evidence before the committee should make arrangements to do so through Mr Cullen. Prolonged Earthquake. An eartk tremor lasting about one minute and a-half sliook Hastings apd tlie surrounding district at 6.20 o'clock last night. The shake, because qf its duration, caused mild alarm. It lasted long; enough for objects at rest to acquire momentum and bottles and tins on shelves, particularly in stores, rattied to an unusual degree, but the shock appears to have been generally insufficient to displace auything. Seismopraph recordings made in Hastings indicate that the movement was of purely local origin. Lighting of Art Gallery. Many complimentary remarks have been made by visitors on the splendid lighting of the large exhibition room at the Hawke's Bay Art 'Gallery and Museum at Napier. The soft, diffused lighting enables the pictures to be studied from any angle, while the height at which the pictures are hung and the size of the room alford sufficient space to focus the pictures to obtain the correct perspective, so that the views can be seen from practically the same point as that from which the artist painted them. Big Crowd Travelling. The southbound mail train from Hastings this morning earried a big complement of passengers. Apart from the fact that there was an unusually big number of adult passengers, several carriages were reserved exclusively for the pupils of the Wanganui Intermediate School, who had been paying a "fraternal" visit to the Napier Intermediate School, and also for the Dannevirke Higli School Rugby fifteen,. who had been playing 'the annual game with the Hastings High School team.