General News

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24640, 9 August 1945, Page 4

General News

-—— Excess Profits “Surely the time has arrived when what is termed excess profits should be dispensed with,” said Mr S. Ijwin I Crookes, the chairman, at the annual ! meeting of the New Zealand Farmers’ Fertiliser Company yesterday. “The term is really a misnomer, as the average individual interprets it as Indicating undue or unlair profits.” Mr Crookes .added that the term was looked upon as a signpost of exploitation, whereas in fact it meant in many cases that some additional profit had been made over and above the pegged average. This extra profit might be due to increased output. A further item of taxation due for consideration, added Mr Crookes, was 'a reduction in the national security tax, which would improve the financial position of all, while it would also help industry §nd act as a stimulus to great development.—(P.A.) Firewood Taken Illegally The illegal taking of firewood and : cones from plantations under the control of the .Waimakariri River Trust | and the Selwyn Plantation Board was mentioned by Mr W. P. Spencer at yesterday’s meeting of the Waimakariri River Trust. During the last week hundreds of cars well filled with cones and firewood illegally taken from planI tations had been seen in the Barfield, Norwood, Burnham district, said Mr Spencer. Wom§n Elders The dhristchurch Presbytery decided to support the proposals for the admittance of women to the eldership of the Presbyterian Church, at a meeting of the Presbytery yesterday. Previously a plebiscite of congregations and sessions had been taken, and ' the majority had approved of women elders. After some consideration the Presbytery decided to endorse the proposals. Special Sailing of Wahine The Wahine will make a special trip to Wellington next Monday, leaving Lyttelton on the arrival of the 7.10 p.m. train from Christchurch. Top-dressing in New Zealand If New Zealand was to play its part in relieving the world food problefrn, a plentiful supply of phosphates had to be assured, said Mr S. Irwin Crookes, chairman of the New Zealand Farmers' Fertiliser Company at the annual meeting yesterday. He drew attention to the fact that the Combined Food Board, which met in Washington at the end of May, made extra allocations of phosphates to the .Dominion to increase food production, but at that time could not guarantee the extra shipping required. There were now indications, he added, of the shipping shortage being overcome in the near future. Mr Crookes said that of 20,000,000 acres under cultivation in New Zealand in the year ended January 31, 1944, less than 17 per cent, was top-dressed. “It is very startling to realise that out of every six acres of land cultivated in New Zealand, only one acre is top-dressed,” said Mr Crookes. H'e added that there was an indication of some relief of the fertiliser industry’s main problems, namely shortages of manpower, railway trucks, and phosphate rock. The British phosphate commissioners were making all possible provision in advance to enable Nauru and Ocean Islands to be worked at the earliest moment after their recapture from the Japanese.—(P.A.) Circuitous Route Intending passengers from Blenheim to Christchurch who have been unable to proceed because of heavy rain and consequent slips cn' the roads travelled yesterday to Christchurch by a circuitous route which covered a good portion of the West Coast, Twenty-one people arrived from Blenheim by a special bus yesterday morning at Inangahua Junction, where they connected with the rail-car from Westport yesterday afternoon. They travelled to Stillwater and transferred there to the Greymoulh-Ghristchurch rail-car. To enable this to be done, a double-unit rail-car made the journey to Christchurch. It will return this morning. In addition to the 21 passengers in the special bus, the ordinary buses from Nelson and Blenheim carried another 38 passengers, many of whom made the trip to Christchurch. Assistance for Lepers About 2500 leper sufferers in the islands of Makogai, from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, and the British South Solomons, are looking to New Zealand for some token of remembrance at Christmas time, said Mr P. J. Twomey, secretary of the Lepers’ Trust Board. Mr Twomey said he had visited the lepers recently and saw a number who were permanently deformed and maimed. There was a responsibility towards those who were the nearest neighbours. he continued. Postage charges on dll parcels addressed to him for transmission to the lepers would be half rates, and all donations would be personally acknowledged. Linen Flax Exports The British Government is prepared to take linen flax fibre produced from 10.000 acres planted during the present season. This information was given yesterday in the House of Representatives by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan)>who said the allocation of acreages among the various factories was receiving consideration. A public announcement giving details of district quotas would be made almost immediately. The Minister’s statement was in reply to an urgent question asked by Mr G. R. Herron (Opposition, Awaru?), who said farmers of Otago and Southland wanted to know if linen flax were required.—(F.O.P.R.) . Rubber Supplies The opinion that there would be no natural rubber for manufacturing pur- ! poses in New Zealand next year was expressed by Mr D. L. Irwin, of Rub--1 ber Distributors, Ltd., Wellington. He I said that goods which required rub- ! ber in their manufacture would be made with synthetic material. The reason for this was that New Zealand was j considered outside the war zone, and rubber producers did not think it necessary to export any more raw rubber to New Zealand manufacturers. Asked about the supply of hot water bottles, Mr Irwin said there were 15.000 awaiting completion in a Wellington factory. The manufacturers could not get them finished because of manpower difficulties. The normal pre-war distribution in New Zealand was 500,000 bottles, but the total distributed last year was only 90,000. This number included a small supply imported from America, He did not think there would be any improvement in the supply for some time.—(P.A.) Route Blocked by Snow The Lewis Pass and (He Otira Gorge route from the West Coast to Canterbury are blocked, according to advice by the West Coast brsnch of the Automobile Association, Canterbury, yesterday. State Mines Resume The Liverpool and Strongman State mines, which were idle on Tuesday because of a power failure, resumed production yesterday morning. Supply Controls The Minister of Supply v (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) said last evening that in furtherance of the Government’s plans for the transition from wartime to normal peace-time administration. amending regulations would be gazetted to-day transferring administrative jurisdiction over five supply controls from the Ministry of Supply to the Ministers who were in charge of the respective controllers. Under peace-time conditions the building controller would come under the Ministry of Works, the electricity controller under the Public Works Department. the timber controller under the Commissioner of State Forests, the medical supplies controller under the Minister of Health, and the mining controller under the Minister of Mines. Mr Sullivan said he expected that 12 more factory control notices and five timber control notices would be revoked shortly.—(P.A.)