General News

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23949, 17 May 1943, Page 4

General News

Bequest to St. Andrew’* College The Board of Governors of St. Andrew’s College has been advised that by the will of the late Mr Ebenezer Hay a sum of £SOO has been bequeathed to the college for educational purposes. Demand For Bicycles High prices were received for bicycles at a sale of unclaimed goods conducted in Hamilton on behalf of the police. Eighteen bicycles were sold for £ll4, the amounts paid ranging from £1 10s to £ll. Most of the bicycles wore in poor condition, and the prices realised were far in excess of normal values. Back Saturday Work All Grey district coal mines worked on Saturday on the back shift in ac-| cordance with the recent agreement by the men. Work on these alternate Saturdays is of one hour less duration than the normal day.—(O.R.) General Election Campaign Many delegates attending the annual meeting of the Farmers’ Union (Manawatu provincial district) last week were in favour of a short General Election campaign. They expressed the opinion in a remit to come before the interprovincial conference at the end 1 of the month that the campaign should be limited to a policy statement by the leader of each party and a press statement by each candidate. Blinded Soldier’s Task A New Zealand soldier,-, blinded in the present war, has found at a meat works in the Wellington district, where he was formerly employed, useful work. For the packing of certain products of a carcase, cardboard cartons are now used. He is making 500 of these containers each day. his earnings being about £7 10s a week. Demand for Flints Flints for petrol, cigarette lighters have been in short supply for some time, and the demand ior them was emphasised by the response to an announcement by a large Auckland department store that it had 200 packets for sale. More than 60 people were standing in a queue at the store when it opened at 8.30 o'clock in ihe morning, and within 40 minutes 500 customers had received a packet each. Many who came later were disappointed. University Entrance The opinion that the number of subjects for the new university entrance examination was too limited was expressed by the New Zealand Technical School Teachers’ Association at its annual conference in Wellington. The conference resolved that “there should be a much wider choice, as there are many subjects which technical college students study as a preliminary for un versify degrees, for example*,agriculture. bookkeeping, economics, home science, drawing, music, and mechanics.” A Rapid Expansion An indication of the extent to which the armed forces of the Dominion have expanded during the war was given by the fortress commander (Colonel J. G. Jeffrey), in evidence in a case in the Supreme Court at Dunedin. When war broke out, he said, the total strength of the New Zeeland forces was only 400, of whom 50 per cent, had left the country in the first nine months of hostilities, leaving only 200 trained men of all ranks to carry on. Now, the military forces consisted of five divisions. exclusive of the Home Guard. Seaoliff Fire Early in the coming session of Parliament, the report of the Royal Commission which inquired into the disastrous fire at the Seaclifl Mental Hospital will be tabled in tha House of Representatives by the Minister of Health, Mr Nordmeyer. The fire occurred on the night of December 8 last year, and 37 women patients were burnt to death. Soya Bean Crop An excellent crop of Soya beans has been grown in his garden by a Herne Bay resident. After various experiments, he found that the bean requires considerable sun heat to enable it to mature, and the best results were obtained by sowing the seed in November. While seed sown in January germinated freely, the plants did not bear so well, and the beans did not ripen. Effects of Divorce On behalf of a prisoner who was before the Auckland Supreme Court recently his counsel pleaded that his parents had been divorced when he was three years of age, and his early life had been unfortunate. "I have often thought,” said Mr Justice Callan, "that the quantity of divorce that happens in this country does deprive a great number of children of proper conditions of home life and discipline. Really, the problem is so great that, if the Courts were to begin to relax punishment on the products of sqch a system—well, there would be no punishing.’’ Training for Maori Soldiers The experimental Carpentry Training Centre at Ohinemutu established for the training of Maori former servicemen as carpenters was opened just over a month ago in the Maori Arts and Crafts Building at Ohinemutu placed at the disposal of the Rehabilitation Board by the Arawa Trust. It provides for the training of 12 men at a time. When the present class passes out in approximately three months’ time for the second part of their training on the actual erection of houses, a further 12 men will be taken into the Training Centre. Pensions Board for South Island. Requesting support for its remit to the Dominion conference of the Returned Services’ Association asking the Government to set up additional war pensions boards and appeal boards, the Invercargill Returned Services’ Association, in a letter to the Oamaru branch, emphasised the need for a war pensions board and an appeal board in the South Island. Mr N. H. Colquhoun said there was a great deal for and against the proposal, although it could not be denied that there was a growing feeling in favour of it. The letter was received, and the question of support was left to the discretion of the branch’s delegates to the forthcoming conference. Vaccination Against Smallpox All New Zealand soldiers are compulsorily vaccinated against smallpox before they leave New Zealand, and, in rare cases, while on the transports. There can be no certainty of the period for which infection or, as it is more commonly called, immunity lasts, but it has been found that if vaccination is repeated within two or three years it seldom “takes,” thus showing that the original infection is still strong. It is not known in Auckland whether a repeat vaccination is given to men before they leave the Middle East in hospital ships, but it is considered that this course is probably taken when there is reason to require it, for instance, when the ship is due to call at some port where smallpox is a danger. In Auckland the assistantdirector of medical services has caused all soldiers, such as medical orderlies and stretcher-bearers, who have to meet incoming ships to be vaccinated against smallpox. However, it is considered a very unlikely contingency that the infection could be brought by an overseas ship. New Zealand is very free from the disease. Defaulter Seeks R.S.A. Support When commenting on what he termed the plethora of associations formed as a result of the two world wars at the annual meeting of the Oamaru Returned Services’ Association. Mr G. P. Cuttriss jocularly remarked that there might even be a defaulters’ association. Coincidentally, the Oamaru Returned Services' Association executive, at its monthly meeting. received a letter from a conscientious objector, at present in a defaulters’ camp, asking the association to support his request for improvements in conditions at detention camps, and also his contention that defaulters should be released for work in essential industries. The writer prefaced his requests with the information that "a glamorous write-up’’ published in “The Press" did not indicate the actual conditions, adding that buildings al-, legedly costing £25,000 did not neces- ■ sarily mean good conditions. “We are not concerned with conscientious objectors.” said Mr N. H. Colquhoun, and the letter was received. 1