NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 106, 6 May 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Loser Laughs Last rousing laugh greeted the announcement made over a loudspeaker service at the Hawera Trotting Club's meeting that a folded £5 note had been lost on Easter Saturday. The last laugh, however, lay not with the crowd but with the loser, for within three minutes of the announcement the note was returned to the club secretary, Mr. H. E. Robinson. Unity of Denominations Increasing unity among denominations was foreseen by . several speakers at the 80th anniversarycelebrations of St..Andrew's Church, New Plymouth. "In my experience I can see- clearly that the churches are marching on converging lines, said the Rev. E. D. Patchett, New Plymouth, chairman of the Wanganui - Taranaki Methodist district. "The process has only to continue to bring us together and make organic union inevitable." Remains of Moas The remains of 20 large moas, discovered in a deep limestone cavern the Golden Bay district of the Nelson Province, have recently been added to the collection of the Dominion Museum, Wellington. The director of the Dominion Museum, Dr W. R. B. Oliver, said recently that it was presumed the moa wan- . dered in large mobs of one species, and he thought that in the present case the birds had entered the cave down a steep slope and been unable to get out. In course of tune, probably about 200 years, the entrance of the cave would gradually be closed up by falling earth. Blizzards and Deep Snow t "My advice to you in New Zealand is to make the most of your sunshine, because all our folk here talk: about something they call the sun,' but it is so long since we last saw' it that we just cannot remember' what it is like. These last few days the weather has been very poor, with blizzards, deep snow and temperatures like 40 and even 50 below, while advices from Edmonton ;state that there it was actually 62 degrees below zero," said PilotOfficer Peter G- Winter in a letter to his'parents in Hamilton from Manitoba", where he was stationed as a member of the Royal New Zealand Air; Force. Cost of Living in England In a letter from Great Britain are quoted some prices of commodities that are staggering. Turkeys for the Christmas dinner cost £5 each, wild rabbits 3/6 each, tame ones 7/6, and' grapes 17/6 per lb. The meat ration was down to 1/2 worth a week, that is about 7oz. Sausages are not rationed, but most contain only 40 per cent meat. Writing pads : > of 50 sheets are 3/11, while 50 envelopes cost 4/6 a packet. Pre-war postcards, which were 2d, are now lid, and 1/6 calendars sell at 5/. The letter goes on to mention the big money being earned by those in essential work, ranging from £5 to £50-a week. The income tax people are alive to this,, and the appropriate tax is deducted weekly. This ensures that the authorities have

plenty of money to carry on with, .-instead of having to wait a whole vear. t

Jurymen and Oil A captain of the United States Corps of Engineers sponsored a request for the exemption from service of three jurymen at a sitting of the Supreme Court in Palmerston North. He informed the Court that his country wanted certain work completed urgently. "Does that mean that you nave struck oil?" Mr. Justice Johnston asked. "No, your Honor." The jurymen were excused, as the calendar is a light one this session. Tooth Paste Tubes In his address to junior members of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday on waste reclamation, Mr. D. B. Higgins, organiser of the Metropolitan Waste Reclamation Committee, said that one of the most valuable sources of metals to be collected was tooth paste tubes. Although this had been emphasised frequently, the result of the collections was disappointing. Apparently people tossed the empty tubes away. He thought it should be made obligatory for users to produce the empty tube when purchasing another. Should be Penalised "I think that because of the acute shortage of water, gas and electricity .there should be rationing and a penalty imposed upon those who use an amount in excess of that allowed," said Mr. Allum, chairman, at the meeting of the council of the Chamber of Commerce to-day. "There are many citizens who respond to the appeals to use as little as possible, but their efforts are discounted by those people who just don't care and carry on in their own sweet way. If people used more than the rationing allowance then they should be made to pay for it." Ducks Seek Sanctuary A remarkable sight was seen in Hagley Park, Christchurch, on Saturday afternoon when hundreds of ducks circled over the river and Victoria Lake. The ducks make this an annual pilgrimage on the first day of the shooting season. Disturbed from their usual haunts, they take to the air and make for the sanctuaries of Victoria Lake and the Avon River. How the ducks know that they are safe in the heart of the city has never been explained, but the fact remains that at each opening of the shooting season they make a mass migration to the city. Adrift in Lifeboats An interesting paragraph in a pamphlet issued this year by the Committee on the Care of Shipwrecked Personnel, a body appointed by the British Medical Research Council, reads: "The officer who brings his whole ship's company to safety, in good physical condition, after a lifeboat voyage is worthy of much greater praise than he generally gets. The publicity accorded to occasional dramatic rescues after very long periods adrift may give the false impression that even if a lifeboat is got safely away conditions are such that few of its occupants can hope to survive. Recent statistics of the Ministry of War Transport show, however, that of boats adrift for more than 24 hours, nearly half have reached safety within five days, and that it is quite exceptional for any lifeboat not to be picked up within three weeks. Once a crew is safely away from the abandoned ship in a lifeboat it is three-quarters of the way to safety."