General News

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24610, 5 July 1945, Page 4

General News

Aliens' Land Purchases Details of land transfers to aliens to which consent has been given by the Minister of Justice (the Hon. H. G. R. Mason) are given in a return which the Minister tabled in the House of Representatives yesterday. The return was ordered by the House last session on the motion of Mr W. A. Sheat (Opposition, Patea). The number of applications lodged under’ the Aliens Land Purchase Regulations, 1942,' was 514, of which 404 were granted and 79 were declined. Applications granted consisted of the following:—(1) 65 farm properties comprising 3657 acres, valued at £152,517; (2) 276 house properties comprising 182 acres, valued at £312,556; (3) 63 business properties comprising 180 acres, valued at £114,773.—(F.0.P.R.) * Medical Aid by Aeroplane Dr. R. L. Withers recently received an urgent call for medical aid at “The Bluff” property, at the back of the Clarence, t,wo days’ horse journey by pack track. Dr, Thompson, of Burwood, was visiting Dr. Withers, and on their arrival at the Clarence river it was decided that the journey should be done by aeroplane. A Moth machine was flown from Wellington to make the trip. The patient (Mr Roberts), who was treated \yith penicillin, responded to the treatment, and it was expected that he would be well enough to be removed to Kaikoura before the end of this week. This was the first time that an aeroplane had been requisitioned in the district to enable medical treatment to be given in the back country, although it is reported that a plane had previously landed in the same area. A Severe Frost The most severe frost of the year, 12.3 degrees, was registered yesterday morning, the previous heaviest being 12.1 degrees on June 21 and 11.8 degrees on June 20. The most severe frost in July was 15.2 degrees, recorded in 1918. Apprentices’ Rates of Pay As a result of the recent Auckland test case, in which the Arbitration Court in the Northern. District Carpenters’ and Joiners’ Apprenticeship Order fixed apprentices’ wages in terms of a percentage of journeymen’s rates, efforts are being made by several unions to have applications for adjustments of apprentices’ rates before the Court at the sitting starting in Christchurch on Monday. It was stated at the Labour Department’s office yesterday that unions representing metal trades, leadlight and glass bevellers, furniture trades, and male hairdressers were taking steps to have their applications filed. Servicemen’s Gratuities The rate of pay and of gratuities for New Zealand overseas servicemen who returned in furlough drafts was the subject of a question in the House of Representatives yesterday. Mr C. G. Barker (Opposition, Waipawa) asked the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones) if the shilling a day deferred pay had been deducted from the pay of these men during the time they were in New Zealand. If so, was ‘the same deduction to be made from the pay of troops who took their furlough in Britain or South Africa. Would the amount of gratuity payable to these men be affected by. the period of their furlough? In a note Mr Harker added that furlough pien said they had been informed that while on furlough they would be treated as being on active service.—(F.O.P.R.) ■ Proposed Buildings at Lyttelton “Apart altogether from the question of preserving sufficient space for the future industrial development of the port,” a special committee recommended to the Lyttelton Harbour Board yesterday that the application from the Canterbury Yacht Club for a building site be declined. The committee was of the opinion that the proposed site was most unsuitable. An application from J. Miller, Ltd., for repairs to the slipway and the extension to the company’s present site was also discussed on the site, but the committee felt that it would be unwise to make any reccommendation until the views of the Yacht Club were obtained. The chairman (Mr W. S. Mac Gibbon) said a conference between representatives of the company and. ttye club would be held on Friday morning. War-time Controls 'There was a general desire for the lifting of some of the controls which had been necessary under war-time exigencies, and already some steps had been taken in this direction, said Mr E. P. Meachen (Government, Marlborough), moving the address-in-reply in the House of Representatives last evening. Tills relaxation of controls would continue progressively as circumstances allowed, but it had to be remembered that any hardships experienced by civilians in New Zealand had %een less stringent than in any other part of the British Commonwealth, and alsa less arduous than the sacrifices of the man who had put on uniform. —(P.A.) Preference for Servicemen In giving authority to the resident engineer to engage four men as replacements for members of the staff who had been called up for service or had left for other reasons, the Lyttelton Harbour Board yesterday directed that preference should be given to former servicemen. Illegal Occupation of House The first eviction of a family for illegally occupying a State house in Auckland was carried out yesterday by bailiffs acting under a court order. The evicted man, his wife, and three young children moved into a house in Premier avenue, Point Chevalier, without authority a day or so after the former tenant left about six months ago. Proceedings were taken by the State Advances Corporation, and the court order resulted in _ the family’s furniture and effects being deposited on the footpath. Some was still there last night. The family moved to Auckland from another town some time before the illegal occupation.—(P.A.) Port Revenue A decrease of £7691 in revenue for the nine months of the financiaL-year was reported to the Lyttelton Harbour Board yesterday by the treasurer. The receipts totalled £74,270, compared with £81.962 for the corresponding period in 1944. The revenue for June was £11,553. an increase of £BB6 on the revenue for June, 1944. The treasurer reported that the Harbour Fund was on June 30 in credit to the amount of £4831, after taking into account scheduled accounts for payment of £1595. Railway Waggon on Fire A railway waggon containing furniture and other effects of an estimated value of £3OO was completely destroyed by fire in the Gore railway yards yesterday morning. _ The waggon arrived in a goods train from the north, and apparently the contents were burning before it arrived at Gore. Flames were bursting through the roof when it stopped at the station. The contents were consigned from Islington to Mataura in the name of Murphy.—(P.A.) Addrcss-in-Reply Debate The Address-in-Reply debate was begun in both Houses of Parliament yesterday. The House of Representatives had a short afternoon sitting, taking only routine business, and in the evening the first two speeches in the debate were made.—(F.O.P.R.)