NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 151, 27 June 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A German Division. . Prompted by in the cable } news to the number of German divisions operating-in a * certain sector, several readers.of the "Star" have inquired as to the number of men. constituting a Nazi division.' It is stated in Army circles that the ■ strength of a German division varies according to the arm of tho service, 'biit that 15,000 could be taken as an average. Further, a German division might not comprise the same number of men as a British or an Italian division. ■••■.■■■-. Town Clerk Called Up. Having been called up to serve five months-with a Territorial unit, Mr. A. D: Jack, town dork of the Mount Eden Borough Council, was last night granted leave of absence. Mr. Jack intimated that he would serve two months at Narrow Neck and the remainder of the time at Waiouru. During that period, however, lie would keep in touch with the.council office as much as possible. The council decided to make up the difference between Mr. Jack's military and civil pay. • ' ■ . Lighting of Crossings. The question of lighting certain pedestrian crossings ill the borough was discussed liy the Mount. Eden Borough Council last evening when, at the direction of the city coroner, "Mr. F. K. Hunt, a police communication drew attention to tho unsatisfactory location of the crossing at the intersection of Brixton Road and Dominion Road. The Mayor, Mr. R. Mills, said that some time ago the Government had been asked to define its requirements regarding pedestrian crossings generally, and as soon as an answer was received the council; would do what was required. Assisting Refugees. The question had been asked as to what refugees tho Lady Galway Patriotic Guild aimed at assisting, stated Sir Ernest Davis nt a meeting in tho city last evening. "My reply was that the movement aims at assisting any person who has been given refuge in Great . Britain," said Sir Ernest. "The Mother Country has the task of clothing these refugees, and our desire is to assist her in that task. Tho goods will oe dispatched to the High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, and you may rest assured that they will reach the right quarter."

. Stocks of Iron. ; There is still an acute shortage of corrugated and flat galvanised iron in New : Zealand, two small shipments that re- • cently arrived from England affording • little relief to the situation, while fur- \ ther impending supplies from the same .source will he not nearly enough for : requirements. The effects of the Ausi tralian coal strike' are such that no . shipments of galvanised iron or galvanised piping have arrived since the 1 mining trouble, dislocated industry in i Australia: Although galvanised" pip-' i ing has been coming to hand , ill sufficient quantities from flrcat Britain, importers are not hopeful about the future of iron supplies from the I Mother Country by virtue of the imt mouse armaments drive. 1 A Fat Bounty. .■■'■■■■■ . i Several of the British submarines I which have torpedoed enemy transports in the Skagger-Kak.and Kattegat must have earned a tidy sum in bounties, but • it is doubtful if any of them will land • such a windfall as did El 4 in the last ' war, writes a London correspondent. ' While cruising in the Sea of Marmora, • the El 4, which was commanded by ; Lieutenant-Commander Boyle, V.C., had tho luck to the "big Turkish transport Gul Djcmal with 0000 soldiers on board. At the usual rate of £5 sterling per enemy soldier, the El 4 was entitled to the colossal sum of £30,000, and a claim for this amount was promptly lodged with the Admiralty. . The Prize Court turned down the claim . on tho grounds that the Gul Djcmal was not defensively armed. But Commander Boyle later produced proof that the transport was armed with 'field howitzers, and on appeal to the Privy Council succeeded in securing the full award. His -victory was hailed with I great delight by Jsl4's ratings, many of whom had got into financial difficulties on the strength of the "expected'windfall. Niagara's Survivors Helped. Reference to the assistance given to passengers and crew of the Niagara j last week by tiie National Service I Movement was made by ,Mr. E. J. Dyson at a largely attended meeting of the organisation in the Town Hall last night. In addition to providing 48 , motor, cars to transport survivors'• to j hotels and to their homes, telegrams ' were dispatched to relatives, 130 seai:icn were fitted out with clothing in tho rooms of the' National Service Movement by 1 p.m. tlio day after their arrival, and 12 dozen toothbrushes were provided for survivors. "As well as clothing 'being provided, even a. pram was obtained for s, woman who came ashore with her baby," Mr. Dyson said. "The whole thing was carried out without any fuss being made, and all the credit must he given to Mr. F. Laurie, director of effort, for his. fine' work of organisation. The vessel bringing the survivors did not berth until 9 p.m., yet by midnight a comprehensive list of everything required hart been compiled, and early the following morning other organisations had been contacted." Mr. Dyson's remarks were greeted with prolonged . applause. • Crippled Children's Needs. Tho need for sufficient accommodation to treat cripples who required treatment, and suitable accommodation for the treatment of such-as , surgical tuberculosis cases, was stressed by Dr. Alexander Gillies, when speaking at the animal meeting of the Wellington ■branch of the Crippled Children Society. Dr. Gillies added that there were too many societies, too much talk, and too ninny people with hobbies who did not get down "to facts. He was faced with the position every day; seeing crippled children who had to wait months .to get into hospital becauso of overcrowding, and, when they did get in, it "was to an antiquated building. There was something wrong. He was amazed at how little had been done in the 11 years he liad been back in New Zealand; He went to the Great War, and after 13 years abroad ho came back filled with ideas for such a society as theirs. After II years, conditions were still antiquated and accommodation insufficient. Sunsjiino and other conditions that they could not get in Wellington were needed, and that was the task which tho society iii Wellington should set itself.