General News

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24027, 16 August 1943, Page 4

General News

Prayers for Peace At the request of His Holin»ss the Pope special prayers were said in all Roman Catholic Churches throughout the world yesterday (the Feast of the Assumption) for the cause of a just and lasting peace. At all Masses in churches in the Christchurch Diocese big numbers received Holy Communion. All devotions during the day were for the Holy Father’s intentions and in the special hours of intercession set apart big crowds visited the churches. Canterbury Leads for Three Years ’ Canterbury province, with its contribution of £3200 (last year £3513), has maintained leadership in provincial returns throughout the three years of establishment of the work of waste reclamation, says a bulletin of the National Council for Reclamation of Waste Material. Auckland’s contribution of £2102 compares with £1686 last year, Wellington £1676 and £2875, and Otago £994 and £667 respectively. Boots for Crippled Children Strong protests were made at the annual meeting of the Timaru branch of the Crippled Children Society because of the decision of the controller that Army work continued to exclude the possibility of special boots being made for crippled children. “We should protest to the Minister of Supply,” said the president (Mr W. Thomas). It was decided to send a protest to the Minister and also to furnish the society’s headquarters with a copy of the report, Fromises to Buy Bonds A good result from promises made for the purchase of bonds on Family Savings Day during the Liberty Loan campaign was reported to the last meeting of the Christchurch National Savings Committee. Some promises had not been redeemed, but 90 per cent, had been made good. Similarly, a large proportion of promises to open National Savings accounts had been redeemed. In both cases, the opportunity to buy bonds or open accounts was still offered. Otira Gorge Highway Closed •Following severe snowstorms, the Arthur’s Pass section of the Otira Gorge highway has remained closed for a week, and there is still no indication when it will be open again. An inspection, made last week by the Public Works Department, showed that two feet of snow, frozen hard by repeated frosts, remained at the top of the pass. Taxi Service to Races .Although directions issued by the Auckland Taxi-Cab Control Committee prohibit drivers of public taxi-cabs from carrying passengers to or from racing or trotting meetings in’ the Auckland transport district, cars operated under passenger service licences issued by the Metropolitan Licensing Authority took people to and from the Auckland Trotting Club’s meeting at Alexandra Park, Epsom, on Saturday. Officials of the Licensing Authority stated that this position arose because vehicles operated under the authority’s special race licences were not used as public taxi-cabs, but as passenger service vehicles. It was pointed out that the directions of the control committee which were issued by direction of the Minister of Transport (the Hon. J. O’Brien) prohibited the use of publice taxi-cabs for race traffic, but did not refer to passenger service vehicles. Instructions to review its race licences were received by the Metropolitan Licensing Authority last week from the Minister. The authority adjourned the matter until to-day.—(P.A.) Small Consignment of Whitebait The first consignment of whitebait from Hokitika to Christchurch, a small one of 31b, was sent by the express on Saturday morning. The fish were caught in Fisherman’s Creek on the south side of the Hokitika river. Excursions to Timaru Two excursion trains carried 425 passengers to Timaru yesterday. The first train carried 225 and the second 200. The morning train from Timaru to Christchurch carried 143 excursionists. Fall from Tram Bridget Agnes Herron, a widow, of Napier, was awarded £2OOO general and £2OO 10s special damages by a jury in the Supreme Court. Wellington, on a claim for damages against the Wellington City Corporation for injuries received in a tali from a tram-car. The case was heard before Mr Justice Johnston. The plaintiff suffered a fracture of the left hip resulting in permanent partial incapacity when she fell from a tram at Manners street. She alleged that the accident had been caused by the motorman directing her when she boarded the tram at his end to alight and board at the other end. In the process of alighting the tram moved forward and she fell heavily. The corporation’s defence was that the plaintiff had brougnt about the accident by attempting to board the tram while it was in motion. Shoulder Patches for Pacific Area A suggestion favouring green distinguishing shoulder patches for members of the New Zealand forces serving in the Pacific has been made by the Invercargill R.S.A. with the support of the Southland Provincial Patriotic Council. Representations for the introduction of the patches have already been made to the Dominion headquarters of the R.S.A. A reply has been received from the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, stating that the proposal for the patches is under consideration. Rat Poisons The opinion that the rat poison at present being made available by the council was not killing the rats which were infesting the city, was expressed by Cr. E. -M. Gilmer at a recent meeting of the Wellington City Council, It was strange, remarked Cr. R. A. Wright, that last time a similar extermination campaign was entered upon, it was found that the rats actually were thriving and grov/ing fat on the poison. Part of Fine Refunded The Minister of Justice (the Hon. H. G. R. Mason) has advised Mr Clyde Carr, M.P., that the Governor-General (Sir Cyril Newall) has remitted £lO of the fine of £ls imposed by Mr H. Morgan, S.M., in the Timaru Magistrate’s Court on June 10, 1943, on William Thomas Kearney for a breach of the Defence Emergency Regulations in that he failed to attend Home Guard parades. Primary Produce Markets It was stated by Mr W. P. Endean, M.P., who has returned to Auckland after being one of New Zealand’s two delegates to the Empire Parliamentary Associations’ conference in Ottawa, that the Dominion’s. primary produce markets in Britain should not be affected after the war by the immense development which has taken place in the United Kingdom since the war started. Mr Endean said he had paid particular attention to this question while he was in Britain and he had been assured that so great would be the food needs of Europe after the war that New Zealand would continue to find a ready market for her produce and that normal readjustments would guarantee the future for her after the needs of the immediate post-war years had been met.