General News.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20829, 12 April 1933, Page 10

General News.

No Publication on Good Friday. "The Press" will not be published on Friday next (Good Friday). A Prison Enquiry. Recently Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., held a departmental enquiry at Paparua Prison into a charge of assault made by a prisoner against a warder. He took a great deal of evidence, and his verdict was that the allegations were not proven. The evidence was forwarded to the Controller of Prisoners for the information of the Minister. Inspection of Drains. Members of the Works Committee of the Christchurch Drainage Board yesterday inspected certain drains in the board's district, including Brittan's drain, Canal Reserve drain, and the outfall drain. Improvements to these drains were discussed, and will be reported on at the next meeting of the board. University Holidays. Lectures will be discontinued at Canterbury College as from to-night for the Easter holidays. The Students' Union Building will close to-morrow evening and reopen on April 19. The university tournament team, however, will not return till April 21, and until then college affairs will not properly resume their normal functioning. Calls to Fire Brigade. The total number of calls received by the Christchurch Fire Brigade last month was 35, of which one was a malicious false alarm, and three were false alarms from various causes. The remainder included 10 fires in property in the city, 13 rubbish, hedge, and grass fires within the board's area, two chimney fires, three grass fires in Cashmere, and a hedge fire each in Riccarton, Fendalton, and Burwood. The estimated fire loss during the period was £296, the insurance on buildings and contents was £3640, and the estimated value of the property actually affected was £5428. One-Man Trams. "Though it is too soon yet to congratulate the Tramway Board on its action in introducing oneman trams," said Mr A. T. Smith at the meeting of the Spreydon Burgesses' Association last night, "it is not too soon to say that they are a decided improvement, and the through service which they maintain, together with the upholstered seating accommodation, is a distinct benefit." Other members also expressed their approval. Competition in Clothing Trade. That the position in the clothing industry arising from the competition of the Mount Magdala Home was serious from the point of view of both the manufacturers and the workers was the conclusion reached by the meeting of Christchurch manufacturers last evening. Mr J. Roberts, secretary of the Clothing Trades Union, was present, and took part in the long discussion. It was decided to ask Mr H. T. Armstrong, M.P., who has interested himself in the question on behalf of the Mount Magdala Home, to arrange a round-table conference of the parties interested. Another Air Force Course. So that those officers of the New Zealand Air Force who were unable to attend the regular refresher courses of their squadrons this summer will not miss their annual training altogether, a special course is to be held for them, beginning on April 20. The course will be held at Wigram Aerodrome, and will last for 10 days. The eight or nine officers who will attend the course will be from all the squadrons, two of which do army co-operation work and two bombing, so that they will not all be able to do the same sort of training. Squadron Leader J. L. Findlay, Officer Commanding Wigram Aerodrome, will be in charge. Shortage of Bananas.

Bananas are expected to be in short supply in Auckland during Easter. Owing to stormy weather at Rarotonga the Makura loaded only 200 cases out of 4000 packed for shipment. Thus Wellington has been abliged to draw on supplies brought to Auckland by the Waipahi last week, with the result that bananas in Auckland, Wellington, and the South Island will be limited until supplemented almost immediately after Easter by shipments by the Niagara and the Maui Pomare. Prices may, therefore, be considerably higher during the holidays. However, apples are very plentiful. Goods Service Regulations. The goods service regulations come into operation on June 1, and those operators requiring to be licensed must apply for licenses by that date if they intend to operate goods service thereafter. In general, all truck owners operating over five miles, or more, of main or secondary highways require to be licensed, unless their services are wholly within the boundaries of a borough, or do not extend five miles beyond such boundaries. There are specially exempted areas around the main centres, the cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. The applications from operators desiring to take advantage of the provisions in the regulations entitling them to "automatic licenses" for the first year, should be in the hands of the Commissioner of Transport not later than May 1 this year. Loss of Minute-Book. 'The loss of a minute-book containing the records of four years' operation is causing the officials of the Christchurch High School Old Boys' Association some concern. On Tuesday of last week Mr A. A. Cooper, the secretary, left an attache case, containing the book and some music sheets, hanging on the handle-bars of his bicycle while he visited a place in Cashel street. The bicycle was inside the gate, but when Mr Cooper returned after about an hour, the case and its contents were missing. The matter was reported to the police, and the loss advertised in the Christchurch newspapers, but so far with no result. Mr Cooper is resigned to the loss of his own property, but is hopeful that the association's minute-book will be returned, as it can be of no possible value to the person responsible for its removal.

Farmers who attended the St. Andrew's College Fete were greatly interested in the new Sunbeam Plough designed and built by P. and D. Duncan, Limited, to meet the Depression. Equal in strength and facilities to the best that can be produced regardless of cost, the standard price has been reduced by £8 10s, notwithstanding the increased cost of raw material, and the price covers delivery to customers' railway station. P. and D. Duncan, Limited, P.O. Box 124, Christchurch. and at Ashburton. —3