General News

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23771, 17 October 1942, Page 4

General News

Stimulating Coal Production

By agreement between the Coal Production Council and the Renown Colliery management the reintroduction of coal cutting machines in all sections of the Renown Colliery at Huntly and the introduction of a contract trucking system will commence on Monday. Announcing this yesterday, the Minister of Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb) said it was an important development in stimulating the production of coal.— (P.A.) Fire in Military Barracks Considerable damage was done by a fire which occurred in the boiler house at a military barracks in the fortress area yesterday afternoon. When the outbreak was discovered the alarm was given and soldiers at once put two stirrup-pumps into operation. Their efforts were successful and they had the fire in check when the brigade arrived to complete the work., Allowances for Soldiers’ Children The decision of the War Cabinet to pay children’s allowances for all dependent children, under 16 years of age, of soldiers as from November 1 was announced in the House of Representatives yesterday by the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones). Mr Jones replied to an urgent question by Mr A. S. Sutherland (Opposition, Hauraki), who pointed out that at present allowances were restricted to a maximum of five children. —(P.A.) ■ Boys’ Lucky Escape Two' boys escaped death or serious injury on Thursday when they were playing round an electric power pole between Paroa and Rutherglen. With the aid of a rope woven from flax they pulled off the earth wire running up the pole, leaving the bottom of it in the ground. The top of the earth wire came in contact with an 11,000 volt line, with the result that the current travelled down the rope, said Mr Sinclair Trotter (engineer to the Grey Electric Power Board). The boy who was holding the rope suffered slight burns on his hands and on the ball of a foot, when the power became earthed to the ground. The other boy, who endeavoured to free his companion, also suffered minor burns on the hands. They were attended by Dr. H. S. Ray and later taken home. Mr Trotter said that the boys were very lucky to escape, as people were generally killed by such a shock. He attributed their good fortune to the fact that the earth wire had remained in the ground at the base of the pole. , Derailment Near Balclutha There was slight disorganisation of rail traffic south of Balclutha after the derailment of five waggons of a goods train travelling from Invercargill to Dunedin yesterday morning. The. derailment occurred at a siding near Clinton. The express from Dunedin was not delayed. The track was damaged for a distance of a mile. —(P.A.) Shortage of Manpower An indication of the effect of Home Guard training on primary production was shown at the parade of a platoon in the Ashburton County recently, when 22 tractors were idle while the drivers were on parade. Ip an adjoining district a further 18 tractors were idle while their drivers were at a platoon parade in that area. Transport Essential Industry The Minister of Industrial Manpower (the Hon. A. McLagan) announced yesterday that every goods service and every passenger service (but excluding taxicab services) were to be declared essential industries. This was necessary, he said, to maintain the transport system, which was vital to the war effort. The retention of skilled drivers would also assist in the conservation of petrol and tyres.—(P.A.) 1 The Millbrook Azaleas The azaleas and bluebells for which the Millbrook Reserve is noted are now at their best; the azaleas in the grounds of the Provincial Buildings also provide a great splash of colour in the heart of the city. Musicians for Patriotic Socials Chairmen of the Geraldine InterZone Patriotic Committee, who met in Geraldine on Thursday, agreed to take up the matter of the Musicians’ Union stopping a player from assisting at patriotic functions unless she joined the union. The chairman said that from the report that had been placed before the meeting, the player concerned was not a professional player in the ordinary sense, and grants had been made toward her expenses. It was impossible for small patriotic functions to pay 7s 6d an hour for music, and these would have to be dropped entirely if the Musicians’ Union maintained its present attitude. Heavy Buying of Footwear Unfounded rumours in circulation in Auckland are causing rush buying of footwear. The notions behind this appear to be that any unused balance of M coupons in the present books will shortly cease to be redeehiable and that people are to be restricted to two pairs of footwear a year. There is no truth in either.' but these are the same species of rumours as were spread in Wellington some weeks ago, causing serious disorganisation in the retail footwear trade there. —(P.A.) The Fishing Rivers According to advice received at noon yesterday by the secretary of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, the condition of the fishing rivers is as follows:—Rakaia and Hurunui, discoloured but clearing very slowly; Waimakariri, fairly clear; Ashley and Selwyn. in good order for fishing; Release of Government Seeds The South Canterbury executive of the Farmers’ Union, at last month’s meeting, carried a resolution asking for the earlier release to growers of Government slock seed. At yesterday’s meeting of the executive, a reply was received from the Director of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture (Mr R. B. TCnnent) indicating that release of the seed this year had been held up because of pressure of other urgent work. “You may rest assured,” wrote Mr Tennent, “that the matter of allocations is being pushed forward as rapidly as possible, and that growers will be notified as soon as decisions have been reached, and the seed is available for release." The reply was received as satisfactory in the meantime. Petrol for Soldiers A decision to approach the local oil fuel controller (Mr F. J. Shearer) to ascertain why Geraldine men on leave were granted only four gallons of petrol and Temuka men were granted seven gallons was made at a meeting of chairmen of the Geraldine Interzone Patriotic Committee this week. It was also decided to inquire if petrol could be obtained to take men on furlough from the railway station to their homes and return. It was pointed out that most of these men arrived at night, when there was no bus to meet the train, and many lived considerable distances away. L.V.A. Golf Prize of £64 The special prize of £64 at the South Island Licensed Victuallers’ Golf Association tournament, held at Greymouth, was won by Mr D. R. Dowell, who presented it to his wife. Mrs Dowell said that she would invest the sum in the Liberty Loan. A dozen bottles of champagne, presented for the annual dinner, were, by popular vote, handed to the Mayor for disposal for the benefit of the Patriotic Fund. The association also voted £lO to the local Patriotic funds. Speed of Army Vehicles The speed at which Army motor vehicles are driven through the country was strongly criticised at the annual meeting of: the Automobile Association (Wellington). The chairman of the council of the association (Mr E. A. Batt) told of his experiences when on a journey between Wellington, Palmerston North, and the Wairarapa in connexion with rubber conservation recently. On the road, he said, he encountered between 60 and 70 Army vehicles. Many passed him at speeds which, he said, were between 60 and 70 miles an hour. “We are endeavouring to conserve tyres and petrol,” said Mr Batt. “and they are wasting it. I think the time has arrived when publicity should be given to the question. I emphasise to military headquarters that it is time they took hold of the question and acted.”