NEWS AND NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 4 November 1925, Page 3

NEWS AND NOTES.

The volunteers on the AVainiana and other ships sailing from Auckland are a mixed lot (states the Auckland “Star”), and even include Auckland’s only baronet. He is a deck hand on the Athenie. There arc King’s College boys, farmers’ sons, young fellows who have been employed in shops or factories in the city, yachtsmen, and even some men who have had experience with engines. They have signed on for the trip Home only, hut on arrival in Kngland they will have their hoard and lodging paid until there is n ship leaving, for New Zealand, when they will be provided with a third-class passage hack. However, in many cases the parents of the young men are arranging to pay the difference and enable the volunteers to return second class. Again more than 0110 lad whose parents are comfortably situated and in business will most likely lie sent to positions in England. On the AVainiana the volunteer crew numbers about 50 and other boats affected have a fair number on board, though not so many as on the AVniniana.

Confliiting estimates of speed aie common in motor accident prosecutions, one side usually making the speed three or four times as great as the estimate of the other side (says the “New Zealand Herald"). A nov line of attack, in order to ascertain the value of an estimate, was adopted by counsel for the defence in an Onehnnga ease, when lie asked a witness, who had named 30 miles an hour as the sliced at which a has crossed an intersection, how many seconds it tool; to cross. The witness said lie did not know whether it took two seconds or

twenty seconds. He was formerly a taxi-driver for eight years, and was accustomed to calculate speeds at miles per hour, and not at seconds a chain. All lie knew was that the bus was doing 30 miles an hour. Counsel was

more successful with another witness and pinned him down to a guess at the time, which he estimated as four seconds. “Just as I expected,’’ dceltrcd counsel in triumph. “That works cut at about 10 miles an hour, and if le is wrong over his estimate of time, he is j nst- as likely to tie wrong over his estimate of speed.”