General News

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22419, 4 June 1938, Page 14

General News

* News of the Derby Cable and Wireless, Ltd., announces that it made special arrangements for sending the result of the Derby to all parts of the world. The name of the winning horse was known m Montreal, Fiji, and New Zealand only three seconds after it had passed the post at Epsom. The message took five seconds to reach Bombay, Jamaica, Melbourne, and Singapore, and six seconds to reach Hong Kong.—Press Association. “Farmer Not so Badly Off” “Farmers would do a lot to help themselves by dropping this eternal mournful countenance, said Mr C. C. Stanley at a meeting of the Temuka branch of the New Zealand Farmers Union last evening. “The farmer is not so badly off as might be gathered from the newspapers. He decries his own industry and says that the other fellow is getting the long end of the stick; but he is not always right. No doubt we see a lot of mud, but we are inclined to forget pay day on the twentieth of the month.” Films Shown at Museum The educational work which is being carried on at the Canterbury Museum by Mr George Guy, educational officer, has recently taken a new turn with the introduction of films and lantern slides, which are shown to parties of children and teachers in the old colonists’ room. Already there have been 10 screenings. The films deal with subjects such as the life of the tuatara, the kiwi, and the beaver. Some _of them have been made in New Zealand, and include films taken by the Auckland Museum. The extent of the educational work done at the museum is indicated by the number making visits from the schools during the last term, 3458 children and 243 teachers. Catching the Mail Mr J. Roy Smith, secretary of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, told a reporter yesterday that he had heard that on the day following the announcement this week by the Prime Minister of the proposed new air mail service, whereby all mail will be carried by air and charged for at Ud an ounce, a letter was posted with a lid stamp and marked “air mail.” As the Prime Minister stated that the service would probably not begin till July, Mr Smith said that the Post Office was faced with the problem of deciding whether to send the letter by ordinary mail or to hold it till the inauguration of the service. There were two possibilities to consider; that the writer considered that as soon as anything was announced by the Prime Minister it came into effect, or that he wished to be the first to post a letter under the new system. Less Building Activity in City There has been less building activity in Christchurch in the last two months than was the case during April and May last year. Only 183 building permits have been issued by the Christchurch City Council during the first two months of its current financial year, compared with 215 in the same period last year. The total value of the permits last year was £110,476 and this year £63.085. Representation at Exhibition Plans for Canterbury’s representation at the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition in Wellington will be discussed at a meeting called by the Mayor (Mr R. M. Macfarlane) for Tuesday afternoon next. Proposals for Canterbury s part in the exhibition have already been considered, and a committee has been set up ; This committee, which is widely representative of provincial interests, will on Tuesday meet Mr J. R. Simpson, who is touring the South Island to advise on the establishing of provincial courts at the exhibition. Religion in the Schools Whereas the New Zealand Educational Institute is against the holding of devotional exercises in schools, the Otago branch, at its annual meeting yesterday, decided that the present opportunity afforded to to conduct devotional exercises before the daily opening of school work should not be interfered with. The following resolution was carried; “That this annual meeting of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute is of opinion that the opportunity afforded by the boards, with the concurrence of the school committees, to conduct devotional exercises in the schools for five minutes before the daily opening should not be interfered with.”—PressAssociation. Auckland Housing Position Some slight easing in the acuteness of the housing shortage in Auckland is noted by officers of the Labour Department responsible for the administration of the Fair Rents Act. The improving trend is attributed to the now rapid rate under which State houses are becoming available to tenants. It is added, however, that the leeway to be made up before the situation becomes normal is still very large. One significant aspect is that there has a distinct drop in the claims under the act for the possession of premises, and there have been recent cases where tenants threatened with dispossession have been able to secure State houses. Rents are still being adjusted by Magistrates, or by an agreement under the supervision and with the assent of an inspector of factories, but the number of such cases has also dropped very substantially, even in comparison with the figures of a few months ago.—“ The Press” Special Service.