General News

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23883, 27 February 1943, Page 4

General News

Parcels Dost The Postmaster-General (the Hon. p. C. Webb) announces the loss by enemy action of 85 bags of parcels sent from the Middle East Base Post Office during the first 10 days of December. Letter mails sent about the same time have been received in the Dominion and delivered.—(P.A.) Tyres for Red Cross Cars Retreaded tyres are to be made available for Red Cross personnel who use their cars for the transport of sick and wounded soldiers. An Army instruction provides either for the issuing of retreaded tyres or for the retreading of tyres on the cars. Scarcity of Domestic Help The difficulty in obtaining domestic help is illustrated by the number of replies received by an advertiser who advertised through the Geraldine office of "The Press” for a position as a housekeeper. Twenty-four letters, a telegram, and four telephone calls (including two toll calls) were received in reply to the advertisement. Sick and Wounded Soldiers

Free travelling facilities are to be provided for next-of-kin to visit sick and wounded soldiers, and a recent Army instruction explains the conditions under which they will be gt ven - They will be given to the next-of-km of an overseas soldier who will not be sent to a hospital near his home within seven days from iis return or to the next-of-kin of a soldier serving in New Zealand if he has been m hospital for more than 28 consecutive days. The concession, which provides lor rail ship, and road transport, will be available to each next-of-kin once every three months. The practice of giving free travel to next-of-km ol men on the dangerously or seriously ill list will be continued. Time of Report Extended

The time within which the Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the circumstances of the disastrous fire at SeaclifE Mental Hospital in December is to report, has been extended to March 15. The commission’s original warrant of appointment provided that it was to present its report to the Governor-General by Monday.—From Our Parliamentary Reporter. Occupational Therapy

The Territorial Association of Canterbury decided last evening to authorise the expenditure of £SO for the purchase of tools for occupational therapy work among soldiers at the depot at a military camp.in Canterbury.

Outstanding Onion Crop Brewer Scott, aged 14, of Coldstream, has won the Stuart-Wilson Cup and an inscribed gold medal for growing a crop of Brown Spanish onions equal to 54 tons to the acre, the best crop raised in New Zealand under the boys’ and girls’ agricultural clubs' ischeme. Food Parcels Appreciated Appreciation of the food parcels sent to prisoners of war through the International Red Cross by the National Patriotic Fund authorities was expressed in a letter received at Timaru from Private J. Ardern, who was interned in Germany. The letter, which was written on October 11, 1942, said that the life in the prisoner-of-war camp was terrible, and if it was not for the Red Cross parcels the internees would have very little to eat. Private Ardern, who was a member of the 3rd Echelon attached to the 6th Field Ambulance, was taken prisoner in Crete. Air-mail letters posted to him periodically in the nine months before he wrote in October had not reached their destination. No Criminal Cases at Greymouth

For the fifth time in the last 10 years no criminal cases will come before the session of the Supreme Court which will open at Greymouth on Monday, and for the first time on record in Greymouth (and only the second in the Dominion), grand jurors will not be required to attend. This decision is taken in terms of the Emergency Regulations. 1941. Common jurors, however, must attend as usual. It has been customary to present the presiding judge with a pair of white kid gloves when there have been no criminal cases, and during the last decade this has been done at Greymouth during the September sessions in 1933, 1034, 1936, and 1937. Maori King’s Sympathy

A telegram was received yesterday by Te'Ari Pitama and the members of his family from King Koroki and •Princess Te Puea Herangi, of Waikato, expressing sympathy with them in the death of their mother, Mana Te Ripa Te Hauraraka Pitama, who will be buried at Tuahiwi to-day. A wreath of greenery, tied with the Maori colours, black and red, will be placed on the grave in the name of King Koroki and the tribes of Waikato, Ngati-Maniapoto, Hauauru, and PareHauraki. Maoris have been assembling at Tuahiwi from all parts of the South Island for the tangi, which will be one of the largest seen near Christchurch for some years. Soldiers’ Milk Ration The milk ration for soldiers has been defined by an Army instruction. In camp each man is to get one pint of fresh milk a day, or 7oz of condensed (sweetened) milk, or Boz of evaporated (unsweetened) milk), or 3oz of dried full-cream milk. The ration in the field is the same, except that there is no provision in the scale for fresh milk. Accommodation Scarce Money could not buy a bed in Wellington on Thursday night, says the "Dominion,” for an elderly man who arrived from Nelson. Though he had £2O in his possession and said he would pay almost any price for a bed, he was glad to slfeep, fully clothed, and huddled in a blanket, on the floor of a shed. Three women from Taranaki were among others who called at the Taranaki street police station and asked if beds could possibly be found for them in the city. They were accommodated under makeshift conditions in a rooming-house, after they had walked the streets, carrying their luggage, for hours after arriving by the 6 p.m. express. The difficulty of obtaining accommodation in Wellington is said to be a result of Government authorities taking over a number of guest houses or private hotels formerly available in the city.