General News

Royal New Zealand Aero Club Advice has been received in Wellington that the King has granted the New Zealand Aero Club the right to use the title Royal New Zealand Aero Club. It will now be known by that name.—Press Association. Interesting Botanical Exhibit The exhibit on the native plant table at the Canterbury Museum this week is a rotting stump of a tree, in which at least a dozen native plants of various species have found a suitable nursery. It is an interesting example of natural perpetuation of forests, the remains of the old trees providing the most suitable place of reception for the seeds. The specimen was obtained from the Riccarton bush. More Authorised Crossings Five more authorised pedestrian crossings were approved last night by the City Council on the recommendation of the traffic committee as follows; Gloucester street and Rolleston avenue; Worcester street and Rolleston avenue; Armagh street and Rolleston avenue; Manchester street and Moorhouse avenue to the railway station. New Street Names Approved Names for streets in Government housing subdivisions in Christchurch were approved last night by the City Council. The names approved, which were submitted by the Director of Housing Construction (Mr A. Tyndall) were—Stourbridge street-Wychbury street subdivision, Winsor crescent and Beanland avenue; Barrington street subdivision (Hancock's block), Hammond place; Dallington subdivision (Armstrong’s block), Torlesse street and Holland street; Selwyn street subdivision (Boon’s block), McCombs street and Cooke street. Facility for Tram Passengers An alighting and waiting place for tram passengers at Mount Pleasant is being constructed by the Heathcote County Council at the stop about half-way between the’Ferrymead bridge and the McCormack’s Bay causeway. The line at this point runs close in to the edge of the estuary embankment, and a stone emplacement is being built out and filled with rubble to provide a platform on which tram passengers will have more room to alight than on the present narrow margin of road. The council is also filling in the corner by Ferrymead bridge so that a better turn can be provided for traffic going to Heathcote. The Month in the Air Though there were several days on which flying was not possible last month, the machines of the Canterbury Aero Club spent 265 hours 10 minutes in the air. All of this was done without the help of the Miles Magister, which was crashed right at the end of February. Dual and solo instruction accounted for 82£ hours, passenger flights for nearly 51 hours, and flying by Civil Reserve and Air Force candidates for 75£ hours. Solo hire and commercial flights between them made up another 50 hours, and tests and miscfellaneous flights made up the rest. Those to fly solo for the first time last month were Messrs O. Muirson, D. C. Climie, L. Allison, and E. Y. M. Hutchinson. New Zealand Footwear Praised “New Zealand-made shoes are comparable with footwear in any part of the world,” said Mr J. R. Nowack, managing director of a large shoe machinery company in Australia,, who arrived at Auckland in the Monterey from Sydney yesterday. He predicted that New Zealand factories would have plenty of work in the future. —Press Association. Transfer of Power Supply ' 1 Electrical supply in the Avon and Bromley ridings of the Heathcote County has been taken over by the City Council from April 1. This will make the city supply continuous eastward to New Brighton, and, according to a report presented to the council last night by the electricity committee,.will ajilow a rearrangement and extension of distribution that will materially improve electrical supply in the whole area, including New Brighton. City electricity rates and range sales concessions will now be available in these two ridings. The report said that the bringing of city supply to this area had been somewhat protracted, subject at times to delays and disappointments, and the committee had much satisfaction in reporting th extension of the council’s service to the mutua advantage of both-the eity and the ridings concerned. “Safety Week” for Traffic The possibility of a “safety week” being organised by the City Council, during which special attention will be given to traffic control, is indicated in a report presented to the council last night by the traffic committee. The report said that the committee was considering proposals submitted by the Chief Traffic Inspector (Mr J. Bruorfon) for the holding of a “safety week.” The committee proposed to invite representatives of various organisations to meet it and assist it in its desire to make the public more “traffic-minded.” Payment of City Rates Up to April 1, £110,693 7s lid was paid of the general rate of £117,555 10s levied by the Christchurch City Council, this being a percentage of 94.16. This information was given to the council last night by the chairman of the council’s finance, committee (Cr. E'. H. Andrews). Cr. Andrews added that the amount paid in the previous year was 93.02 per cent, of general levy. Homes for Pensioners About 100 replies have been received by the City Council to its circular proposing housing provisions for old age pensioners. Of the 100 pensioners who replied, about 80 desire to take advantage of a housing scheme with low rentals if the council decides to undertake it. These facts were put before the City Council last evening by Cr. E. H. Andrews, who said that since the circular was distributed there had been an indication that the Government would undertake housing for pensiohers. The Mayor,Mr J. W. Beanland, said he /intended to visit Invercargill shortly and would there inspect a scheme involving the erection of flats for pensioners. Hurricane Season in Fiji The effect of Fiji’s escape from ’a hurricane this season on the prosperity of the colony was referred to by the Rt. Rev. Dr. L. S. Kempthorne, Bishop in Polynesia, who arrived at Auckland by the Niagara yesterday. Bishop Kempthorne has come to the Dominion to attend a meeting of the Board of Missions and will return to Fiji in about six weeks. At this time of the year, he said, the people of Fiji were anxious about hurricanes. The hurricane season was almost over, and the people were hoping that they would escape this year. Fiji was consequently more prosperous.—Press Association. Defence Organisation Urged The importance of the community being organised in the event of war, particularly if an attacking force landed in New Zealand, was emphasised by Dr. C. M. Greenslade, when speaking at a meeting of the recently-formed Territorial Association at Dunedin yesterday. “I think it is useless just ‘giving guns to boys to play at soldiers,’ ” Dr, Greenslade said, when referring to the present territorial system. “This association should set out to interest the whole of the community in the defence of the country, because it' is necessary that everyone should be organised for defence. The Government appears to be intent on providing social security, but we want national security, and until we get that everything else is of secondary importance. When the army of occupation entered Germany at the end of the war, we found the civilian population absolutely organised and there were few difficulties in the administration of the occupied areas. Any part of New Zealand that was attacked would have to submit peacefully, and how much better it would be to submit as an organised community than as a disorganised rabble.”—Press Association. "