General News

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23352, 11 June 1941, Page 6

General News

Tidal yyater in Bath At the height of the tide at Redcliffs early last evening a man living in a house some distance from the sea was having a bath. When he finished he pulled out the plug to send the water away. He was astonished to see the level rising instead of falling. The tide had backed up in the drain, and when he pulled out the plug he admitted sea water. Heavy Sea on Coast As a result of the hard north-easterly wind which has blown for more than two days, there is at present a heavy sea running on the East Coast. The small motor-ship Taupata (268 tons), which left Lyttelton yesterday morning for Nelson, put back shortly before 4 p.m. The master, Captain L. T. Palmer, said that it was the biggest north-easterly sea he had seen near Lyttelton. The Taupata got only four miles off the heads and it took two hours to do that distance. Captain Palmer therefore decided to put about for Lyttelton until the sea moderated. The launch services to the bays of Banks Peninsula were suspended yesterday because of the heavy sea. Doctors for Country Practices The employment of qualified medical men from overseas was advocated by Mr J. O’Brien (Government, Westland), in a question to the Minister for Health (the Hon. A, H, Nordmeyer), of which he gave notice in the House of Representatives yesterday. Mr O’Brien will ask the Minister to consider such a move with a view to giving medical service to country districts, “The whole of Westland from Han Han to Jackson’s Bay has been without the services of a doctor for several months; and the important district of Kumara, the staple industry of which is the dangerous one of saw-milling, has been unable .to obtain a resident doctor for years,” Mr O’Brien said in the note to his question.—Parliamentary Reporter. Gliders in Canterbury? • With no aeroplanes, .buildings, or flying grounds, an acute shortage of petrol, and the great difficulty in obtaining ground engineers and flying instructors, the Canterbury Aero Club has had to suspend flying activities for some considerable time. The prospect of using gliders was discussed at a meeting of the club last evening, and the idea received the support of many of the members. Gliding is certainly a very important phase of aeronautics, especially for training purposes, Mr A. R. Galbraith said when he spoke in favour of the prospect of bringing gliders into use. Canterbury has some Very suitable country, he said. There is plenty of open country, the right weather, and hills not too far away. Also speaking in support of the idea, Mr B. Owen said that gliders could be constructed from materials obtainable in New Zealand, with little complicated work, at a cost of about £4O for a good machine. All that is required, he said, were fields, hangars, and “a really enthusiastic attitude.” Hospital Board’s Request Refused A request from the North Canterbury Hospital Board for the council to meet the payment of levies at an earlier date than usual was refused by the Sumner Borough Council at its meeting on Monday evening, on the motion of Cr. W. Machin. It was stated that when no benefit could be obtained for the ratepayers it was not in their interests to pay the sqm and have to meet the overdraft interest. Effective Signalling The effective signalling which could now be undertaken by members of the Women’s War Service Auxiliary in Christchurch was illustrated to a meeting of women at Ashburton yesterday by Mrs Cecil Wood. She said that a signalling corps was practising in a, motor garage when some Air Force men came in to watch. Their attention to the “No Smoking” rule was drawn by signalled instructions, with the desired result. Cablegrams from Soldiers The desirability of the date of dispatch being included in cablegrams to next-of-kin from soldier sons and husbands overseas was emphasised in an urgent question by Mr J. A. Lee (Democratic Labour, Grey Lynn), on behalf of the Hon. W. E. Barnard (Democratic Labour, Napier), to the Acting-Prime Minister (the Hon. W. Nash), in the House yesterday. Mr Lee said that the of the date would dispel much anxiety. said that re--presentations had already been made to the cable and army authorities overseas. In the last few days some cables had been received with the date of dispatch included, and apparently the Government’s requests had been given favourable consideration.—Parliamentary Reporter. Record Flight The Union Airways aeroplane Kahu, piloted by Commander J. N. Jackson, broke the record for the Christchurch-Dunedin trip yesterday, covering the distance in 56 minutes. The aeroplane left Christchurch at 1 p.m., and arrived at Dunedin at 1.56 p.m. The usual time is about an hour and a half. A strong following wind contributed to the excellent time.—Press Association. Quality of Petrol Adverse comment on the quality of petrol now being supplied was made in the Arbitration Court in Wellington yesterday. The general opinion in the taxi industry,' where petrol consumption is very closely watched, was given by Mr H. J. Knight, secretary of the New Zealand Taxi Proprietors’ Federation, as being that the petrol now supplied is considerably less effective than it used to be. He had heard estimates ranging from 5 to 10 per cent. “Whether that is true or not,” said Mr W, Cecil Prime, the employers’ representative on the Court, “every motorist I come across has that opinion.” Mr Justice Tyndall said: “I have heard that opinion expressed in much more vigorous and impolite terms.” —Press Association. Senior Rugby Team Fined The threat of the Canterbury Rugby Union to fine clubs sending their senior teams on to the field incorrectly numbered was put into effect last evening. University, last year’s champion team, was fined 10s for what a member of the management committee described as a “gross breach.” In the match against Air Force last Saturday, it was stated, neither of the five-eighths carried numbers, one forward and one back had the wrong numbers according to the programme, and an emergency who took the field carried the number of another man already playing. The University delegate (Mr H. C. Blazey) said the cause of the trouble was extensive last-minute changes in the team. When a motion proposing to fine the club was put forward Mr Blazey moved an amendment that Air Force also be fined because the wearer of one of the Air Force numbers was not the player named in the programme. “In fairness to Air Force I must say they are almost invariably 100 per cent, correct,” said the secretary (Mr E. G. Mitchell). Mr Blazey’s amendment was defeated. The union also decided to appoint an official to see that teams playing on the oval go out correctly numbered. Trimmed Mutton Carcases Arrangements have been made for an examination of mutton carcases trimmed under the Timbs process for export to take place in a few days, after which a decision will be made whether meat will be shipped to the United Kingdom for a report from the British Ministry of Food. This reply was given by the Minister for Marketing (the Hon. J. G. Barclay) to an urgent question by Mr E. B. Gordon (Opposition, Rangitikei) in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. The question asked by Mr Gordon invited .the Minister to inform the House of the progress made with the experiment conducted by Mr Timbs at Ngahauranga on January 30 in the trimming of mutton carcases for export. Mr Gordon asked whether carcases had been shipped, and he mentioned that a report on the result of this experiment was eagerly awaited by sheepfarmers throughout New Zealand. The Minister replied that experimental meat had been held in storage for a period of approximately four months, which was considered a 1 reasonable time to observe the effect of storage and refrigeration.— Parliamentary Reporter.