NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Petrol Allowance The Auckland Hospital Board has received advice that the Minister of Supply, Mr. Sullivan, has agreed to the isaue of reasonable allowances of petrol to members who can show that it Iβ Impossible for them to attend meetings without use of private cars. The Minister has asked hospital boards to co-operate by endeavouring to arrange meetings so as to allow country members to make the best possible use of existing public transport facilities. Training Sptaal P*li« Over 200 special police last evenIng marched from the Central police station to the Town Hall, where they attended a further lecture. The speaker was Sergeant C. Francis, his subject being "Identification—Mortuary and General." The speaker emphasised the importance of collecting any small objects found in the vicinity of a body, and gave several instances of the methods used in the Napier earthquake. Burnt fragments of bank books with the numbers still visible, buttons and personal helongings, he said, all played an Important part in identification. Horses Give Way The sudden Increase on the roads of horse-drawn vehicles has given traffic inspectors new work to do. In his report to the Waimalri County Council, Chrlstchurch, the traffic inspector (Mr. G. E. Stokes) said: "Confusion exists In the minds of drivers of , horse-drawn vehicles it bout their duties at intersections. Regulation 25, clause 5 of the traffic regulations directs that the driver of n hnrpo-drnwn vehicle shall give way to all other vehicles approaching from any direction, if there is a possibility of collision. Very few poi'pons are aware of this requirement." S»-'ing Waimat<e Harvest Praise for the response of Waimnt*, townspeople to the appeal to suv ihp harvest was expressed by j Mr- ,V J Fletcher, a vice-president, of the W'aimatP branch of the! 1 .. iiioitf , I'nion. "It is a wonderful spirit." he sairl. "His Majesty the hiiifl said Mint the strength of a nniiun lny In the spirit of its people. The men rif Waimate have exemplified Ujnt statement. Hundreds of men i with jobs of the it , own in town have : In'f-n r>tookinff nnd doing other har- ( ves' work In tin , evenings and on SiiiiiniH.vs and Sundays. They have t'tWcn on work to which they were not accustomed, and they have undertaken it cheerfully. The nation needed the wheat, the ranks of our hnrve 'Tg were d<?p|pfp'l by war, »■ ■•'■-:■ .■ •■ ~- wO ..i In*-... j Jj, VV L-ll UuliO.' "

Mew Plymouth's Blackout "The blackout in New Plymouth is perfect," said a Wanganui business man on returning from that centre. "In fact, it was so perfect that I could not find the front door of the S?rfL 1 ♦ W^ s .r SUyin ,? at - in Devon Street, at 10.45 p.m., ,7 he said. "Right irom Fitzroy to the breakwater tnere is not one glint of light to be seen. But I cannot say the sam e about Wellington, which I visited earlier during the week" he concluded. ' Chocolate* for the Jury The unusual experience of being served with chocolates during the hearing of a case was enjoyed by a Jury in the Supreme Court to-day. In dispute was the question of the flavour of chocolates produced by a formula used by the plaintiff in the case as compared with that which the defendant firm's formula produced, and to give point to evidence on the subject the jury was shown chocolates of both kinds. Counsel for the defendant, who had the experiment made, said that as the jury had to decide the question of which was the better flavour they should do so by eating a chocolate of each kind. Both kinds were wholesome, he assured them, and it was not a question of "trying it on the dog." The jury quickly availed themselves of the offer. Financing New Houses It was reported at the architects' conference in Wellington that building societies and other financing Institutions in New Zealand had begun to follow an example set in older countries in connection with applications for loans for housebuilding. Several of those institutions in Auckland and Wellington were making a condition that the plans must be either drawn up or approved by a registered architect and the work must be done under his supervision. This stipulation was not intended to be a philanthropic gesture to qualified architects, but was a precaution for the lender s own protection. Evacuation of Wellington Representations are to be made to I the Government to formulate with-! out delay the basis of a scheme for ! the evacuation of children, women! and old people from the city of Wellington. The matter was brought up by the Mayor Mr. Hislop. at a meet- j ing of the Wellington E.P.S. executive, when reference was made to! ttie policy of the Government to! arrange an evacuation scheme when ' It was considered that military con-; ditions iustified that action. It was! stated that the city authorities had their own arrangements complete for f> minor srale of evacuation, and they '■.•■•- -" '!'■« n" : --i'n thnt the Gov- '■" '■' ' '''.'.'? a ' tnp same advui.i.<.u okUije Wilii its arrangements. .