In Germany he had very little time to himself, for at the termination of the Swaboda trial Mr Clark had to appear before a German magistrate to give evidence concerning Christian Roth — Roth is the man who is alleged to have shouted, "Franz, schiesse doch!" (Franz, shoot!) on the evening when Lance-corporal Cyril Cromar met his death. It seems that both Swaboda and Roth were in Cologne at the same time when the former was arrested early this year. The former was captured, but the latter was missed by about 10 minutes, and got away into unoccupied territory. He was arrested by the German police, but they refused to hand him over. He is to be tried by a German court, and it was in connection with this that Mr Clark’s evidence was taken. On the evening of Saturday the New Zealander had the opportunity of seeing some of his old haunts, and on Sunday he went to the Sudfreidhof (South Cemetery) to see the grave of Cyril Cromar.
This morning Mr Clark spent some time with the High Commissioner, and this afternoon he has left for Scotland. Arrangements were made for his return journey to New Zealand by the Athenic on August 14.
People in Cologne who were present at the trial were greatly impressed by the way the New Zealander gave his evidence on the afternoon of his arrival. He was in the witness box for only 16 minutes, including his cross-examination. His manner was very composed, he gave his answers readily and quickly, and his evidence really clinched the case. His counsel, in the summing up, referred to him as a very reliable witness, and the Judge-Advocate remarked that he thought Clark had given his evidence very well. — by ODT London correspondent
Potential energy
At the Otago Museum yesterday evening Mr M.C. Henderson (city electrical engineer) delivered a lecture, with lantern illustrations, the subject being "Hydro-electric Schemes in New Zealand." He noted how favourable the conditions were for hydroelectric schemes. The rainfall for the most part was high, there were numerous lakes at a considerable altitude, and the snow and glaciers were extremely valuable in giving a very even run-off. It was estimated that there was about 750,000 horsepower in the North Island in water-power schemes of 1000hp or over, and over 4,000,000hp in the South Island. It was interesting to note that of the 4,000,000hp given for the South Island, nearly 3,000,000hp was in Otago and Southland.
The three largest schemes available in New Zealand were: From Lake Te Anau into George’s Sound, with a fall of 694 feet and 1,600,000hp; Lake Manapouri to Smith’s Sound, 600ft and 500,000hp; and Lake Tekapo to Fairlie, 900feet and 400,000hp. Lake Tekapo was easily accessible from Timaru but the scheme that would give 800,000hp involved a tunnel nine miles long, and the market for such a block of power was not likely to arise for many years, and until the population of New Zealand was many times its present dimensions.
Parliamentary debates
No fewer than 7000 copies of each issue of Hansard for the last session were printed at the Government Printing Office. The cost of this bulky contribution to New Zealand literature, says our parliamentary correspondent, is not stated, but it must have been very great. The interest taken by the public in Hansard may be gauged from the fact that the number of subscribers to it was only 132, and the amount received from them was only £208.
The abolition of Hansard would undoubtedly save the country hundreds of thousands of pounds. Not only is the cost of printing and reporting to be reckoned in this respect, but the great waste of time which takes place in Parliament through members talking to Hansard. — ODT, 9.9.1925
Compiled by Peter Dowden
