General News

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24270, 30 May 1944, Page 4

General News

King’s Birthday Holiday The New Zealand Employers’ Federation has been advised by the Act-ing-Prime Minister (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) that the War Cabinet has approved of the recommendation cf the Supply Council that the King’s Birthday holiday should be observed next month subject to any special requirements of the Ministry of Supply controllers. Under the Sovereign’s Birthday Observance Act the first Monday in June is fixed to be observed as the King’s Birthday, and this year the holiday will be on June 5. Where work is performed on the holiday, any worker shall be paid the special holiday rates prescribed by any act or awards. In 1937 the King approved of the observance of his birthday on June 9 instead of December 14. and since the passing of the Sovereign's Birthday Observation Act in 1937 the holiday has been observed in New Zealand on the first Monday in June. Local Body Employees as Members Two full-time paid servants of local bodies on the West Coast availed themselves of the provision of the recent Local Elections and Polls Amendment Act, and were successful in winning seats on their employing authority. They were Mr W. McGilchrist, a Grey Electric Power Board inspector, and Mr A. T. Howe, the harbourmaster at Hokitika, who was elected as one of the borough representatives on the Hokitika Harbour Board. Lost Ration Books New instructions for the replacement of lost ration books have been issued by the Rationing Controller (Mr J. E.' Thomas). No replacement is allowed of lost or destroyed books in the first and second series, and for books of the current issue losers must apply on special forms which are submitted first to the Rationing Controller. While awaiting the controller’s decision, applicants may be issued with emergency ration cards for two weeks’ supplies of sugar, tea. meat, and butter. Provision is made also in the new regulations for lost X coupon cards for fully fashioned stockings, lost meat coupon sheets, supplementary butter permits, and priority egg rations, The Rationing Controller has announced also that all special issues of coupons in previous ration books, clothing coupons No. 1 to 20, wool coupons No. 1 to 3, and household linen coupons No. 1 to 3 in the current series will be valid until further notice. The same announcement applies to supplementary ration books. Official Election Count Although the necessary preliminary, the scrutiny of the rolls, is not expected to be completed until noon to-day, it is possible that the official count for the Christchurch Mayoral election may be concluded by this evening. The substitute returning officer (Mr Albert Freeman) said yesterday that no difficulties had been encountered so far, and good progress had been made by a verv efficient staff of 41. The official counts of the City Council, Hospital Board, and Harbour Board elections will be undertaken in that order after the mayoralty. A separate scrutiny of the rolls for the Catchment Board will be necessary because of the wider electoral district involved. The completion of the preliminary count for the Hospital Board yesterday morning —two returns failed to come to hand on the night of the poll-made no change in the composition of the board. Workers and City Life Well-planned vocational guidance work was even more important than a generation ago, as the youth of to-day had to engage in a more complex world than had faced his parents, said Mr G. M. Keys, Vocational Guidance Officer, in an address to the New Education Fellowship. What he termed “follow up work” had revealed many problems, he said, which indicated that the general adjustment of many young peonle to city life was far from complete. It was significant, commented Mr Keys, that at least 40 per cent, of young people took no part in, physical activities, and that 60 per cent, had no constructive hobbies and had joined no cultural groups. The subject of Mr Keys’s talk was "The Young Worker in the City.” Butter From Farms There is no objection to owners of a few cows supplying farm butter to neighbours, provided the latter register with the' producer, who will be required to cut out the relative coupons from the individual ration books. This is the ruling of the food rationing controller, Mr J. E. Thomas, in a letter to a Tolaga Bay resident, who wrote to the controller recently about the disposal of farm butter supplies. The controller, in his letter, added that every endeavour was being made to see that good butter was put to the best use, and merchants would take all farm butter offering, and special arrangements were being made in particular cases and particular districts to dispose of supplies on the spot. The formation of local rationing committees. which was on the way. would enable outstanding instances to be examined quickly. Housing in Christchurch "From my experience I would call them very thinly disguised slums,” said Sister Dorothy Rutherfurd, when commenting upon the way in which many young business women and factory workers were forced to live in rooming houses in Christchurch. The speaker, who was addressing the New Education Fellowship last evening, said she knew of one house in which IB' tenants all occupied single rooms, and she described it as "a wretched building in which the front door was always ajar.” There was no supervision, she declared, especially in the central city area. At another such house she found it impossible to obtain the name of the proprietress. Good boarding accommodation was exceedingly hard to obtain, and often beyond the means of the workers. Speaking of the dangers that faced a girl in the city, Sister Rutherfurd stated that drink was often taken into flats occupied by young girls when men friends went to visit them. Present day living conditions, coupled with what she alluded to as “wartime liberty,” made for unhappy results. Sister Rutherfurd pleaded for the establishment of more, hostels for business and working girls in Christchurch. The need, she said, was urgent. Praise for New Zealanders “The job you are doing in New Zealand is an excellent one. I have frequently come down here on behalf of the boys who are doing a great' job up north in the islands. Often I have wanted equipment almost the day before I arrived, and in spite of difficulties and pressure of work, the radio industry and the Post and Telegraph Department have not spared therm selves in meeting our requests.” said a representative of the United States Commander-in-Chief at a farewell to the New Zealand radio technical mission to the United Kingdom. “Believe me, I know the boys up north appreciate your help in their task of taking the war away from New Zealand. Your work is astounding and I say in deep sincerity that the job you are doing in New Zealand is as well deserving of the tribute earned by your lighting forces. Well done,"New Zealand,’You have done a remarkably good job in the production of signal equipment.’’ Raffling of Rationed Goods i The Wanganui Returned Services’ Association has received a circular from the Dominion headquarters in which the Rationing Controller. Mr J. E. Thomas, states that the practice of raffling rationed goods must be stopped immediately. "Several offences have been brought to the notice of the controller where organisations have purchased sugar from a trader and then raffled it to raise funds for what are sometimes laudable purposes,” the circular stated, “but this action renders those responsible to imprisonment for three months or to a fine of £100.” Towns and Cities “It would be far better for us here to have more Ashburtons and Hamiltons than more Wellingtons and Aucklands,” said Mr K, B, Cumberland, addressing the New Education Fellowshio last evening. Mr Cumberland, who was speaking of the function of the city, said New Zealand had been urbanised as far as was possible.

Chaplains Overseas “In the New Zealand division in the Middle East, every unit has a chaplain. In all, 90 chaplains have served with the division, nine are still prisoners of war, more than 30 have returned to New Zealand, seven have been wounded, one has been killed, and nine have been decorated,’’ cays the Presbyterian “Outlook,” “Many ‘near misses’ have been recorded and two padres have had their drivers killed beside them. In view of the fact that the chaplains serve the men right up to the front line and even to outposts, it is amazing that the casualties have been so light. High praise has been given to their, energetic and self-sacrificing work in every theatre in which they have been engaged.”