NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 142, 17 June 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Bishop's Admonition.

The dangers of alcoholic excess among the young people of New Zealand were emphasised by Bishop Liston yesterday afternoon, in an address in Sacred Heart Church, Ponsonby, when a large number of children were, presented for Confirmation. Bishop Liston asked the parents of the children confirmed to encourage them to abstain entirely from strong drink until reaching the age of 21. This admonition was in accordance with the decision of the Roman Catholic archbishops and bisnops, at a council held recently in Sydney. Karapiro Power Station. Three shifts of eight hours each are to be worked on the diversion tunnel for the new power station on the Waikato River at Karapiro, writes a Cambridge correspondent. Equipment for the tunnelling i«* expected shortly. Hundreds of applications from all over New Zealand have been received from men willing to work on the new project, and preparations for housing them are being pushed ahead rapidly. A small township is being erected on the banks of a small stream near the power station site. A Modern Discourtesy.

"It seems to me that it is a fault of the present generation that punctuality doesn't count at all. It does not realise that unpiinctuality is a discourtesy," declared Mr. A. C. Morton, at a meeting of the Manawatu district executive committee of the. Young Farmers' Club movement. Mr. Morton expressed the opinion that the executive would render a great service to the movement by instilling a greater sense of punctuality among the clubs. Other speakers stressed the fact that church services, theatre performances and trains started to time, and the same observance should be carried into other activities. War and Physical Welfare. "The fact that the nation is in a state of war leaves no room for uncertainty about the place of the Physical Welfare and Recreation Movement in the national scheme of things. It is abundantly obvious that so far from the movement being redundant at a time like the present it has in it potentialities for maintenance of national morale, the training of youths, entertainment of workers, and the wholesome and healthful relief of the conditions of morbid tension that might otherwise arise." This is the view expressed by the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, concerning the physical welfare movement. Runaway Car Smashed.

A large sedan car was extensively smashed in a spectacular runaway accident on Saturday afternoon,' when it careered over an 80ft bank "from Paritai Drive, Orakei, and landed wheels uppermost on the grass verge of the waterfront road. The driver, Mr. Stanley S. Scott, of Paritai Drive, had driven up the eloping entrance to his home and stepped out of the car to open the garage doors. When he wae a few yards away he noticed that the car had begun to run backwards, and although he chased it and even succeeded in opening the door in an effort to stop it, he was thrown clear, while the car, gathering momentum, ran down the drive, across the road, crashed through a wooden railing on the opposite side of the street ami toppled over the long sloping bank to the waterfront road below. Manufacture of Cut.

A notice published on Thursday brings the industry of the manufacture of gut within the licensing provisions of the Industrial Efficiency Act, and revokes the previous notice under the same Act published recently, requiring person.* contemplating commencing in the industry to give to the Bureau of Industry at least one month's notice of 'their intention so to do.. In a statement the Minister of ' Industries and Commerce, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, stated that last week he had brought the industry under section 23 of the Act pending investigations being made by the Bureau of Industry. These investigations had now been completed, and the licensing of tho industry made it necessary for these persons alrealy engaged in manufacture to apply to the bureau before September 30 next for licenses to continue 'manufacturing. Any person who contemplated commencing in the industry must first make application to the bureau for a license. Mr. Sullivan stated that the industry was a comparatively new one for the Dominion, and the action taken would ensure that its future development was on orderly and economic lines. "No Poultry on the Tram."

This all goes to show that education is not an unmixed blessing; that it can have unpleasant consequences. A young woman recently bought a budgerigar, one which the salesman assured her was definitely out of the. ordinary—it had been educated to talk, and to imitate other birds. The young person had the cage containing the budgie wrapped up in brown paper, left the shop, and boarded a tram for home. Perhaps the unusual motion annoyed it, or perhaps it regularly exercised its vocal chords at this time of the day—whatever the reason, the intelligent little budgie seemed to take upon itself tho job of entertaining the other passengers of the crowded tram from beneath its covering of brown paper. Without any warning it began to give forth throaty noises thnt the uninitiated would swear came from none other than the beak of a lusty young rooster. As her fellow passengers eyed her curiously, the young lady blushed a delicate rose-pink. Then came the crowning indignity. The conductor battled his way through the crowd. Quietly but firmly he spoke to the young •woman: "Excuse me, lady, but you're not allowed to carry poultry on the tram."