General News

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23537, 15 January 1942, Page 4

General News

Black-out Offences An assurance that prosecutions would follow breaches of the emergency lighting regulations during the test black-out on Sunday night was given to a meeting of E.P.S. district wardens in the City Council Chamber last evening by Mr M. E. Lyons, a member of the organising committee. “Fresh instructions have been issued, and this Sunday evening, if breaches are reported, prosecutions will follow,” said Mr Lyons. “Prosecutions will follow,” he repeated, with emphasis. Otira Gorge Road Closed The Otira Gorge road was closed to traffic yesterday, and may be closed for some days, as a result of about half a chain of the road at Candy’s Bend falling away into the river. This bend has caused considerable trouble for a number of years. Lupin Fire at North Brighton Half an acre of burning lupin gave firemen a busy quarter of an hour at Beach road, North Brighton, last evening, but the outbreak was subdued with beaters and the first-aid equipment on the fire engines. A telephone exchange alarm at 9.35 p.m. was answered by an engine from the Central Station and another from New Brighton. Postal Addresses “A return taken recently showed that less than 15 per cent, of letters addressed to post office private box holders included the box number in the address, and also that a large proportion of letters addressed to residents do not Include the street number of the house for which they are intended,” said the PostmasterGeneral (the Hon. P. C. Webb) yesterday in Wellington. These omissions, Mr Webb explained, not only meant extra work for the post office, but in some cases involved delay in delivery. Many post office workers were temporary women employees, with but little post office experience, and they could not be expected to know the private box numbers of business firms. Some assistants had no local knowledge of the towns in which they were employed, having come in many instances from places far afield. “It would help the port office considerably in carrying on its functions under present difficult conditions if senders would ensure that their let' ters were fully addressed.”—-P.A. Overnight Promotions "Promotions overnight!” commented the chairman. Mr G. A. Maddison, at a sitting of the No. 7 Manpower Committee in Hastings this week after Sergeant-Major R. D. McCully, on behalf of the National Military Reserve, had told the committee that three members of the reserve who had each been appealed for, had been promoted. The news of their promotion came as a surprise to the reservists, and the sergeant-major assured the committee that the promotions had gone through orders. “They won't be privates in the morning, will they?” asked Mr Maddison. Sergeant-Major McCully explained that the non-commisrjoned officers could not be degraded without court-martial. E.P.S. Vehicle Lights By a special order of the Lighting Controller certain selected E.P.S. vehicles may be exempted from the regulation requiring them to travel during an emergency period with masked parking lights. Mr W. Machin, chairman of the organising committee ot the E.P.S., said yesterday that local chairmen were now authorised to select for this exemption vehicles which would be travelling on essential and urgent services in an emergency. Such vehicles could be driven with two forward facing i nobscured parking lights, each of not more than seven watts, but must carry distinguishing E.P.S. marks. All the “flight 1” vehicles of the Christchurch E.P.S. had therefore been designated for exemption, said Mr Machin, as these would be the first to go into action in an emergency. The order would apply till a suitable headlight mask was approved. Lieutenant George Nepia Among the names of a number of Maoris who are gazetted as officers in Home Guard units is that of George Nepia, the celebrated New Zealand Rugby and Rugby League full-back, now a temporary lieutenant in the Tairawhiti Battalion. He is stated to have been an enthusiastic member of the Home Guard for some time, but, like all other officers, it is only since the Army took over control of the Guard that he has been officially appointed to officer’s rank. ' Doctors on Motor-cycles Two well-known Napier doctors will soon be seen doing the rounds of the town on motor-cycles. One has descended from a high-powered car to a two-stroke engine. Praise for Maoris "Senior officers have told the Government that the Maori Battalion is the finest that we have in the field,” said the Acting-Native Minister, the Hon. H. G, R. Mason, when replying to the welcome of the Arav/a Trust Board at Rotorua. “I do not say this for the sake of giving praise, but because we believe it to be the truth,” added the Minister. Rations Sent Home “Here we are at Tobruk,” wrote Lieutenant J'. A. Patrick (Taranaki) in a letter dated December 2. "On the way up we raided a German camp which had been hurriedly evacuated, and wo collected some very interesting souvenirs. I had a look at some mail that had been left in the camp ready for dispatch. Do you know, the German soldiers over here are sending part of their rations back to their people in Germany? In one parcel was a pair of leather shoe soles. The other side of the picture is the Gorman army, which is apparently supplied with every possible luxury.” £5 in Open Envelope A Stratford man has reason to be grateful for the reliability of the postal services. A settler gave him a £5 note with which to buy a postal note for a smaller amount, but he left the note in the unsealed envelope in which the postal note was to be dispatched. By mistake the envelope became mixed with some others and, still unsealed, it was stamped and posted. When the mistake was discovered urgent inquiries were made at the post office, where it was found that the letter had been forwarded to the addressee at Palmerston North. A telephone call to the addressee elicited the information that the letter and money had arrived safely and that the change had already been posted back in the form of a postal note. Unconscious on Railway Line A young territorial in training, who is a prominent amateur athlete, had a narrow escape from death recently. He was found lying unconscious with his head resting on one of the main railway lines not far from the camp, and the discovery was made only a short time before a special train was due to pass over the section where he was lywsfe He was taken to hospital, where hrvremained in a cqjnatose condition for nine days. It appears that he was hurrying back to camp alongside the railway line and tripped over the housing of a points mechanism. A heavily-built youth, he fell violently, striking his head a hard blow on one of the steel rails and receiving severe concussion.