General News

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23805, 26 November 1942, Page 4

General News

♦ Clothing for Outdoor Workers The Minister of Supply (the Hon. D. G'. Sullivan) has assured the New Zealand Farmers' Union that consideration will be given to recommendations that special concessions under the clothes rationing scheme be given to outdoor workers, particularly in respect to working socks and raincoats. —(P.A.) Y.M.C.A. Street Appeal The street appeal for the Young Men’s Christian Association held in the city yesterday realised a sum of £4OO. Mr C. R. Russ, general secretary of the association, said that this sum represented about £IOO more than the total collected last year, and he expressed his gratitude to the public for their support, and to the collectors, some 200 women and high school boys. Exclusion of Press “Are you going to adhere to the censorship of the prers?” asked Mr J. W. Earl at a meeting of the North Canterbury district executive of the Farmers’ Union yesterday, when the president of the North Canterbury District Council of Primary Production (Mr R. T. McMillan) explained the constitution of the council. "It looks like it, doesn’t it?” replied Mr McMillan. “The Minister told us that we were a semi-State department, and we have to keep everything secret.” Industry’s Manpower Problems Reference to the industry’s manpower problems is made in the annual report of the president (Mr H. Lindsay) to be presented to-day at the annual meeting in Christchurch of the New Zealand Carton and Fibreboard Container Association. "Our industry along with others,” the report states, “has been very much affected during the year by the continual draw-off of manpower for the armed forces. A number of o„r factories have been gazetted as essential undertakings, and in other ways the factory controller has endeavoured to assist our members in retaining key men. The position, however, is becoming very acute and will have to be fully discussed at the conference.” Railway Fire Breaks The Railway Department is prepared to pay half the cost of fire-breaks on farm properties adjacent to the railway lines. This information was given by the president of the North Canterbury district executive of the Farmers’ Union (Mr R. G. Bishop) at a meeting of the executive yesterday. Fireblight in Nelson District An outbreak of fireblight has occurred in the Nelson district this, season, and as a result of a survey by officers of the department it is evident that the disease is fairly widespread, but varies in intensity. In the Stoke, Richmond, and Hope areas the infection is most severe. Infection, which evidently took place during the blossoming. nas resulted in the typical killing of fruit spurs on apples and pears, and further infection of growing snoots has followed. Fortunately, only a few instances have been revealed where crops have been appreciably reduced this season on account of fireblight, but some loss has occurred.—(P.A.) Heavy Race Bookings The steam train substituting for the rail-car from Greymouth to Christchurch to-morrow evening is already full, 330 seats being booked on nine cars. This is the extreme capacity of the train, and other intending travellers to the New Zealand Cup meeting will be accommodated on the perishable train. Otira Tunnel Freight During the week ended on Saturday 17,038 tons of merchandise were railed through the Otira tunnel from the West Coast to Canterbury. This compares with 17,601 tons in the same period of 1941 and 13,521 tons in the corresponding period of 1940. Timber for Mines At frequent intervals the_ Armed Forces Appeal Board, sitting in Greymouth, has heard evidence of the difficulty mines are experiencing in obtaining sufficient timber because of the shortage of skilled timber-getters. At yesterday’s sitting evidence was given, on behalf of the Stgte mines, that a man had been released from actual mine work to cut timber on. the mines’ own property. “It was a question of getting the timber or closing the pit,” said witness, who added that stocks were not being accumulated, all the timber obtained being needed at once. Later an appellant, on behalf of co-operative mine concerns, also emphasised the urgency of obtaining supplies. Home Guard and Schools Complaint was made to last evening’s meeting of the Canterbury School Committees’ Association that damage had been caused to the asphalt at the East Christchurch School by big Army lorries used by the Home Guard, and this led to a discussion as to . the possibility of claims by school committees on that organisation. Delegates stated that claims had already, in some instances, been made on the Guard, and they had been paid. 1 Improved Lighting at Christmas The Mayor of Timaru (Mr A. E. S. Hanan) has telegraphed the Minister of Civil Defence applying for permission to use improved lighting in the streets and on Caroline Bay during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Immigration Scheme Outlined An immigration scheme by which New Zealand would take 1,000.000 children from Britain and Europe at the rate of 100,000 a year was outlined by Mr A. Leigh Hunt, chairman of the Dorpinion Settlement Association when he was addressing a representative meeting of 20 Wellington citizens yesterday. He believed that children could be more easily absorbed into the community than adults, and that there would not be the same political opposition. nor would there be any clash with the settlement of returned soldiers. “The idea is to proclaim New Zealand as a haven for the orphans of Europe,” he said.—(P.A.) Protest Against Fire-Watching The Canterbury General Labourers’ Union has passed a resolution strongly protesting against the imposition of continuous fire-watching, whereby, because of shortage of personnel, men of advanced years and men in ill-health are expected to sleep in vermin-infest-ed buildings, and stating that, in the opinion of the meeting, the imposition ’of this regulation is unjustified and undesirable. Raffles in Schools The North Canterbury District branch of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union informed the Canterbury School Committees’ Association last evening that some schools were raising money for patriotic purposes by means of raffles, and "so fostering in the children’s minds the idea of getting something big for a small outlay." Certain schools, it was added, had collecting cards, and this in the opinion of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, would encourage direct giving. The association, when framing a reply, asked the Women’s Christian Temperance Union to name the schools in which raffles had been held, and expressed sympathy with the viewpoint. The majority of Canterbury schools, said members, were opposed to raffles. Back Saturday Work

In response to a request from the Mining Controller all Grey district coalmines will work the two remaining back Saturdays before Christmas. These Saturdays are November 28 and December 12. The men will work on the ordinary back Saturday conditions and the rate of pay will not be as the union requested in the first place, time and a half. The Wallsend miners decided last week to work at ordinary rates, and now the Grey Valley and State miners have reached a similar decision. Contents of Matchboxes As some smokers have complained that the number of matches in a box has decreased since the price was raised, the Price Tribunal has issued a statement that the authorised number of wooden matches in a box is approximately 50, the number of wax matches in a lid box about 45, and in a 2id slide about 90. The manager of a Wellington match factory said that the number of matches in a box had not been altered.