NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 309, 30 December 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

No "Star" on Wednesday. As in former years, there will be no publication of the "Star" on Wednesday, New Year's Day. The public office in Shortland Street will be open until 0 p.m. to-morrow for the receipt of advertisements for Thursday's paper. First Aid Service. During the holidays the Now Zealand Coastguard launch, which lias boon c<|ui|ii«.'d for ambulance and first aid work, has boon visiting Waiheke Island, and in several cases first aid has been given. There are at present a great many holiday-makers at the island. The Coastguard (irst aid service is oil a voluntary basis, and the work is much appreciated. Wellington's Noisy Parade. Oriental Hay residents in Wellington are complaining of disturbances of the peace in their district on line nights. One resident said that because of the frequency of noisy drinking parties on the waterfront people preferred to sleep in the hack rooms, in-tead of the front

oik s. At all hours of the night. and sometimes in the envlv morning, they were disturbed from their sleep l>v people, more or less intoxicated, sinking and shouting, and behaving generally in an unbecoming manner. Goodwill and 111 Will. Speaking of the traditional Christmas message, "IVaee on earth, goodwill towards men," the Yen. Archdeacon Bullock, preaching at St. Peter's Anglican Church, Wellington, said there was justification for believing in an alternative reading, "Peace on earth to men of goodwill." That implied that thero eoul 1 he no peace for men of ill will, and justified us in carrying on the present struggle for justice and right. While there was ill will there could ho no peace.

"Many Thanks Says the Digger.

Every mail from the overseas centres whero there are Xew Zealand soldiers brings appreciative reference 'to the

"Star's" Cheerio service and now* summary added to each Saturday's Sports Edition for the benefit of the boys of the lighting forces. A letter received Inst week from a member of a Xew Zealand brigade band in Egypt has si special word to say for the news summary. "Many thanks, dad, for sending the news tit-bits from the Eight o'clock," he writes. "The boys in the band read every line of them. They are certainly very liandy and full of interest." Want to go Back.

Many territorials —the younger fellows, with no commit mentis or home responsibilities—who have completed their three months' intensive training are now casting round to see if they can transfer to other units going into cam]) next year, so as to get a second three months of army life. Xot only arc many of them ftnaneialjy better off in the army—territorials draw the whole of their seven shilling* a day, and three-quarters or more of thorn dray full or at least half-pay from their employers as well—but tliey prefer army life t-o civilian.

Gallantry in the Air. | Some time ngo there appeared in a newspaper cablegram a message describing how a Hurricane pilot refrained from baling out of his blazing machine because he realised it would crash on a thickly populated London suburb. By skilful manoeuvring the pilot managed to keep tlio flames away from the fuselage of his aeroplane and landed it in open country. This heroic deed was performed l>y Pilot-Officer Hodgson, of Dunedin, and it is probable that it was for this act that ho was awarded tlio Distinguished Flying Cross, an award of which official confirmation has been received in this country. Since then ho has taken part in efisjagements in which his squadron of 12 lias been called upon to break up enemy formations of as many as 300 raidem. The Calendar. " The fact that the new year's calendar will come into use shortly is a reminder that the almanac is not a modern invention, hut dates back to tlio Romans. The Julian calender, introduced by C'aesar, fixed the average length of the year at 305.1 days. On this arrangement there was a loss of 11 minutes 10 second,> per annum. The calendar which we now use has developed from one established by Romulus, who is said to have used a year of 304 days, divided into 10 months beginning J with March, to which another Roman ruler added January and February, making the year lunar. In the Roman calendar the days of the month were counted backwards from three fixed points, the Kalends, the Nones and the Ides.

Money for Soldiers. "It is a political crime of the greatest magnitude that 'the best that the country can give the hoys who have gone to fight and die for it is 1/ a day if they want to go on leave," said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. S. O. Holland, in an address trr National party members in C'hristchurch North. That sum was all that was allowed to 'be sent to soldier* from New Zealand, yet Australian soldiers were allowed £('» a week from home. That was tiro result of five years of "scientific control" of the banking system. None of the present members of Cabinet know what it was like to go to a war and to have a week on leave. "We have to starve the soldiers to preserve the remaining London funds," Air. Holland said. "We are trying to build up London funds hy keeping the soldiers short of the things they are entitled to, to enjoy the fullness of life." Canada is Cold. The Canadian climate is trying on New Zealanders accustomed to reasonably mild winters, as is revealed in a letter received from an Ancklander, Mr. F. Colwyn Jones, who is one of the party of New Zealand airmen attending the observers' school near London, Ontario. "This place is as cold as the breath of a mother-in-law," he writes. "It started to snow to-day about 3 p.m., and it's still coming down. We had the coldest wind this morning that I have ever had to face—and in that same bitter draught we had to parade. It was cold! In a long journey through the prairies and forestlands of Canada I became accustomed to the sight of trees heavily laden with snow, of a' countryside silent, still and under a mantle of acres of white, of great rivers and lakes. frozen oveiv-but I never felt a wind colder than that which blew over the parade ground today. We don't wear overcoats to parade, either. Still, the sojourn on the ground lasted only some seven minutea —seven long minutea."