LATE LOCALS.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 November 1929, Page 5

LATE LOCALS.

A final reminder is given by Messrs W. Jeffries and Co., of their auction.;; sale on behalf of, Mr J. Downs on'the premises, Sale -Street, jto-mbrrow iafterU.’ noon at 2 o’clock, of the whole of liis. i first-class furniture and. effects., <' V\ ■ 1 ; fl ). ‘ .'v j There,was a sudden end to gunnery',! practice from Fort ,Cautl@s j day morning (states the' ’“New’Zealand ' ; Herald!’) Twelve rounds were fired- ) by the two guns in action, but the r sighting was a little too accurate, and the .last of these shots struck the target, a 4ft oil drum moored in Rangitoto Channel and left the gunners wren no mark at which to fire. A group of five rounds was fired from one gun, and.,, adjustments'made oil it while tiiev’J. second gun was firing.; Two more shots;-! from the first'gun'saw the practice. ) brought to an early dose. It is the*.; object of the gunners to get as close ns : . possible to a small target, but a direct ! ' hit is'most unusual., . 1 .

An Auckland-born Scot who has been hame to pick up the language has returned with an American story. When he was at the - Stirling Castle there also was an American tourist keenly interested. The guide concentrated his attention on the American, pointing out proudly the Field of Bannockburn, Cambuskenneth Abbey, the Borestone, and Gillies Hill, where the Scots lassies charged the invaders, with broomsticks and blankets and put the wind up them, too, “ And here,” said the guide, turning to the great memorial, “is Wallace’s Monument.” “Say, friend,” remarked ‘ the interested American, “ I didn’t know good old Edgar came from this part.” ; TA.

On the subject of the safety of rail transport, the General Manager of Railways writes in the November issue of the “ Railways Magazine ■’: ... “In New Zealand, during the last three years, we have put up rather a remarkable record in,,the safe conveyance of passengers. In examining the Department’s annual statements for these years I find that during the period referred, to some 77,000,000 passengers were carried by rail. The same statements contain tables indicating that no passengers were killed in. train accidents for the three years ended March 31, 1929. Through the current year to date, also, the same record hojds of no train accident fatalities amongst railway passengers. A comparison with the incidence of accident on roadways is here appropriate. During the last three years, deaths from motor vehicle accidents in New Zealand have totalled 463, the overturning and collision of cars and suchlike accidents' accounting for the ominous total of 176 deaths during 1928, i.e., for one year alone.”