DOMINION NEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 4 May 1928, Page 3

DOMINION NEWS.

(By Telegraph—Per Press Association.)

NEGLIGENT DRIVING.” AUCKLAND, May 3

The question of whether a prosecution can he made under a by-law forbidding negligent driving, on the ground that such driving caused damage to a road, was decided by .Mr Justice MacGregor in an appeal ease at the Supreme Court to-day. The appeal was against the decision ol All F. W. Platts. S.AL. at Paeroa last Do comber, when he fined George Ernest Davis. Public Works Overseer. Araptini, Co Is, for negligent driving. ft was admitted that defendant had been driving at 31 miles an hour over what was clearly a new road, which had a notice oil it requesting motorists to proceed slowly. The legal question was wnether this constituted tiogligeiice within the meaning of the bylaw.

For the appellant, it was contended that damage only to personal rights was contemplated by the law, and the Paeroa Borough Council sought ft) show that damage to a roatj surface was also included.

His Honour held that, having regard to the context of the by-law, it was sufficiently wide to cover the ease before liiiii. Although the ear was under perfect control, it. was being driven iicjsliJfinly. 1,,-, ,11-.- it t.-0.1.-.l i.. ,IDt urh the Miriaee of the road. The appeal was dismissed.

STUDY TIAIE. .1)1 NED IN. May 3

The Otago Cricket Association passed vhe following re-olutioii to-night. Thai in view of the experience ot this

A -social inn during the past season, and tile beneficial elicit id the Act in general. I hr- Association is strongly in favour of a continuation ol the Stimmer Time- Rill.

A T EACHER’S SUGGESTION. CHRISTCHURCH, May 4

A suggestion that school touchers should he given a certain amount of medical training to enable them to assist in cheeking disease, was made to the .Minister of Education by Air A. ('. Maxwell, headmaster of Phillipstown School, yesterday. The .Minister said the matter was well worth considering by the education authorities. Ho considered tiiat by teaching the people how to take care of their health, a great many of the ailments and diseases

from which they suffered could he avoided. Prevention was always bettor .than cure and possibly Hospital Hoards could do something along those lines. Propaganda work regarding the care of the body and value of sunshine and fresh air was very valuable.

LITIGATION OYER OWNERSHIP AUCKLAND. May 3.

The question of the legal ownership of the pacing gelding The Abbey, which disappeared from its stables at New Plymouth on Monday of lasi week, and was subsequently found on the farm of A. Cameron, at Mnngere, was argued before Ah' Justice Blair ill chambers in the Supreme Court to-day. The horse has been in the possession of A. E. Adams, of New Plymouth, ami it: is understood it is now claimed by U. Whitehead. of Piikekohe, from whom Adams obtained if. Apparent Iv the parties'.:desired to have the question of ownership determined before the Cambridge meeting next Saturday. Counsel later announced that the litigative was not yet completed. ANOTHER APPOINTMENT. WELLINGTON, May 4. N. L. Wright (Technical Chemist to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) has been appointed technical liason officer for the department in Britain and will be stationed in London. lie will investigate matters concerning such industries abroad as have counterparts in the Dominion and >..i;l transmit the inforimttion gained to Now Zealand. He will begin inquiries in rln United Slates which he will vi-it en route to Britain. TEST FOR COLLISIONS. WELLINGTON. AI ay 3. Interesting evidence was given in a motor collision action to-day. by Vernon Alfred Alexander Yornor, retired engineer, captain ol the Royal Navy. lie gave his credentials, saving that: he had been Technical Advisor to the Uoiirth Sea Lord when he was Commodore. and had been engaged in high ela.-s engineering since July. 1891. Given the weight ol two vehicles going into collision, and speed of one vehicle, he could definitely ascertain the speed of the other object, and bv practical tests could ascertain whether his theories were correct. lie had been supplied with the weights o! the vehicles involved in the ease, and had made a. careful examination of the motor cycle concerned. He had been told that at the moment of the accident the sliced of the taxi-cab was 25 miles an hour. Applying the priiicinlo he was familiar with, he had worked out the speed of the cycle to he thirtylive miles. He had carried out a practical test to verify the theories. He had had a similar taxi sent against n fixed object at 8.3 miles an hour, the speed required, the o’ iect being a conciete wall, the throttle, being fixed to give the speed required and to obviate the human element, there being no driver. The cab used in the test was not so much damaged as that in the actual r-’lisioii-, leading to Hie conclusion that the speed of one or other vehicles was not high enough. Tt would have taken more than the relative speed of sixty miles to have produced the damage that took place in flic collision.

DAIRY RETURNS. NEW PLYMOUTH. May 1. Returns show that dairy companies whose offices are in New Plymouth distributed this season up to March 31st, £593.111 compared with C 473.282. for 11 io corresponding period last season. The loss in quantity caused by the drought Inis been more than compensated by better prices.

POSTM ASTER DEAD. THAMES, May 1

Obituary:—Robert Peebles. Chief Postmaster at Thames, aged 51. Tie joined the service in 18S8 at Dunedin and became Postmaster at Dunedin North in 1907. Nasehy 1911. Wyndliam 1910. Fairlie 1920. After a period as inspector lie became Postmaster at Stratford in 1921 and Thames in 1925. I>R ISONER.S SENTENCED. TIM AR U. May I. At the Supremo Court Judge Adams imposed the following sentences: William Howard Rumble, common assault. probation for two years. The prisoner to abstain from liquor and cigarettes.

•Tnlin Morgans, common assault, two months' imprisonment. ELDERLY MAN’S DEATH. CHRISTCHURCH. May 1. John Joseph Roche, an elderly man. died at the hospital to-day as the result of being run over by a motor car on Marshland's Road, on April 19th. FELT. OFF A TRAIN. TE Kl’lTl, A fay 1. A miraculous escape from death was experienced of a young married woman travelling from Palmer-ton North to q> Kuiti in the early hours this marnj„g. When within five miles of To Tvuiti the woman left her husband in a carriage, thinking as the train slowed down, they were reaching their destm-

ation. The husband followed and found she was not on the platfoim and raised an alarm. The train by tills time had reached Te Tvuiti where a search was made through the train, with no results. .Search parties left im mediately, railway jiggers l.Uing sent out as a goods train was followin'' the express, hut, found no trace. ]g, was afterwards shown that the woman had fallen off the train and sustained minor bruises only. She made her way to a farm-house where -he telephoned to IT lends ill Te Kuili, who went in a motor ear to the place and brought her to I lie town.

For continuation of news see fourth page.) DEATH. KING—At Auckland Hospital on April 30th. 1928. Hugh King, son of the late AYillinni and Mary King, formerly of Hokitika. Born at (dasjrow, Scotland. 1851.