In spite of all that has been written regarding the necessity of obtaining licenses to drive a motor vehicle a good deal of ignorance continues to be displayed in the matter. Both the police and city traffic inspectors have held up drivers and taken their names for not being in possession of such licenses, and in some instances convictions have been recorded. There seems to be an erroneous impression that by paying the sum of £2 and getting a license to use a vehicle a driver has complied with the law. Such, however, is not the case. It is also necessary to obtain a license to drive, in respect of which the sum of 5 shillings has to be paid.
Over here
There will be no hesitant reserve in the sentiment with which the people of Dunedin will receive the contingent of the American Fleet arriving to-day. An anticipative glow of enthusiasm has already been kindled, and the realisation is not likely to disappoint the promise. The omens of the Australian visit are strikingly auspicious, and New Zealand will not be behind in the sincerity and warmth of the reception which it will accord. The incident of the visit captures the historic imagination and stirs the sense of racial community. The United States are not a part of the British Empire; but, waiving matters of history, we may emphasise the point that Britain and America, with their different Constitutions and politics, are now associated in bonds of amity which, there is good reason for believing, will never be loosened. Politically, these visitors will be the representatives of a foreign country. Yet it is impossible to regard as foreigners the people in the United States who claim the same ancestry as ourselves, and with whom we enjoy a joint heritage in the possession of a common tongue and allegiance to the same code of law, the same ideals of individual liberty, of popular government, of popular self-restraint, and of ethical obligations. No one who knows the American fails to appreciate the existence of marked differences between the two countries. We prefer to think of the Americans as our cousins, with whom we of the British dominions in the southern seas share in a humble measure the responsibilities for the solution of the problems of the Pacific, and to them we extend the welcome that it befits us to accord to those who stand in a close relationship to ourselves. — editorial
Brief brush with decimal
Regarding the visit of the American Fleet to Dunedin, the Bank of New Zealand has arranged to exchange American coinage for British currency, should such coins be presented. The exchange will be made on the following basis: Cent, one halfpenny; silver dollar, 4s 1d; gold half-eagle (five dollars), £1 0s 6d; gold eagle (10 dollars), £2 0s 10d. — ODT, 10.8.1925
Compiled by Peter Dowden
