General News.

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24985, 20 September 1946, Page 6

General News.

Bequest to Crippled Children

The New Zealand Crippled Children Society, under the will of Dorothy E. Timson, of Dunedin, has benefited by approximately £6OOO. This was announced by the president of the society, Sir Charles Norwood, at a meeting of the executive council of the society. A donation of £lOO has been received from Mr H. Bolton, of Web lington, and Sir Charles Norwood ex - pressed the gratitude of the society for the public recognition of the work being carried out throughout New Zealand on behalf of . crippled children.—(P.A.) Proposed Vice-Regal Residence An inspection was made yesterday by Mr R. A. Patterson (Chief Government Architect) of the home that has been offered by a Christchurch businessman as a residence in this city for the Governor-General. Mr Patterson was accompanied by Mr P. C. Cornish, district architect Of the Public Works Department, and the Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews), the Town Clerk (Mr H. S. Feast), and the City Engineer (Mr E. Somers). Mr Andrews said last evening that a full estimate would be prepared, for submission to the Government, of the renovations re-, quired and any alterations that might be necessary. Asked whether Mr Patterson had expressed an opinion on the suitability of the place as a ViceRegal residence, Mr Andrews replied: “It would not be proper for him to express an opinion to anyone but the Government, but I shall be surprised if he was not impressed.” A Cleaner on Tenter-hooks There is a cleaner in a Wellington theatre to whom, for the last week, every minute has seemed like an hour, and every day like a year. He lives with £lO,OOO almost' within his grasp. Everything points to his having won first prize in a sweep, drawn in Australia bn September 6, and he awaits his ticket by surface mail to verify the number. So far, all he has to go on is the nom-de-plume, “Soldier’s Luck,” and the fact that the winning ticket belongs in Wellington. The prize list was sent to him by air, but the ticket is expected by sea.-r-(P.A.) School Science Bulletins Six science bulletins a year will be issued to post-primary schools, according to advice received by the Canterbury Science Teachers’ Association from the Education Department. Each bulletiii will contain 16 pages of material on separate or related subjects, as supplementary reading to class Work covered under the new wider science syllabus. Contributions from science teachers have been invited. It is expected that publication will begin next year. No Electricity for Squatters No squatter in any house in the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board’s area, which includes many State houses, will be supplied with electricity, it was decided at a meeting of the board yesterday. The. decision was unanimous, and arose from a discussion on whether -a squatter should be asked to pay in advance for his electricity because of the uncertainty of his tenure, and the possible abruptness of his departure. The discussion showed that no member of the board, felt that a squatter should be supplied with power anyway.—(P.A.) Bequest to University Under the will of the late Dr. William McKay (Greymouth), a valuable collection of rare books relating to the West Coast of New Zealand, or containing substantial references to it and books dealing with the natural history of New Zealand, has been bequeathecT to the Canterbury University College for the general purposes of the library. The bequest is to "be known as the “Dr. William McKay Collection.” Dr. McKay, who died at Greymouth last .month, was an authority on New Zealand plant life. During his 20 years in retirement he took an active interest in West Coast wild life and- the province’s natural history. The probate of his will has been granted to the District Public Trustee (Mr W. R. Millier), who yesterday announced Dr./ McKay’s bequests. Air Link With Australia The contention that hundreds of Australians would spend their holidays in the South Island if a direct air service were established between Christchurch and Australia was expressed by the retiring chairman (Mr A. J. Scott) at the annual meeting of the Christchurch Citizens’ Association last evening. He said that a friend in Melbourne had askdfl him to send over a bag of oysters each week when the air service was established.

Hoardings at Chaneys Corner The hoardings at Chaneys corner, on the Main North road, were discussed by the Waimairi County l Council last evening. Cr. E. Stackhouse chairman of the works cominittee, said members did not consider that the hoardings constituted a dangerous obstruction to the view of the road. Cr. J. Halligan said the police had approached him about the danger, after an accident there. He pointed out that the Main North road. Marshland road, and Spencerville road came together at the corner, and that there was also a railway crossing. For a short stretch of road, the hoardings obscured the view of car drivers, and might easily result ip trouble. “If there is any element of danger, the hoardings should be removed,” Cr. H. Kitson said. A committee was appointed to inspect the corner and given power to set.

Standard Cheque Forms New Zealand banks have decided to redesign their cheque forms i and adopt standard features, so that cheques can be handled by bank officers and others as expeditiously as possible. This advice has been received by the Bank Officers’ Guild from the Associated Banks. The maximum size of cheque forms provided by the banks will be Sin by 3jin, and the minimum 6Jin by 2sin. The main feature of the change in design is that the amount in figures will be on the right hand side, so that the four main essentials—the date, “or bearer,” the amount in figures, and the customer’s signature—will be grouped together. This will assist in listing, checking, and posting cheques. It is expected that it will be some mpnths before the new cheques are available, but in the meantime every effort will be made to bring special cheques within the standard requirements.—(P.A.) A Tradition to Maintain The enterprise of Sir Julius von Haast, the first director of the Canterbury Museum, was recalled by the present director, Dr. R. A. Falla, during a talk to the Canterbury Chapter of the Institute of Secretaries last evening. He described how, in 1882, at the opening of a new wing of the museum, a social gathering had been held by the citizens of Christchurch. A large string orchestra was in attendance, in which the first violin was no less a person than the director himself. As the guests arrived they were greeted by ..the first display of electric light any of them had seen. It was arranged by von Haast and William Bickerton, who at the time was experimenting with electricity at Canterbury College. “How we will keep up with that tradition I do not know, but perhaps at the opening of the new museum in 1950 we will be able to hand out the first atomic energy tablets or something of that sort,” said Dr. Falla with a smile. Drift to North Stopped “We have now stopped the drift to the North Island and the tii> has turned back to the South Island—that can be seen by the big industries being established here,” said Mr E. H. Andrews. speaking at the annual meeting of the Christchurch Citizens’ Association test evening. Oae reason, he said, was the better supply of electricity in the south; and though the position was all right at the moment, he added, it might change and become as bad as in the North Island. “We must agitate that the electrical supply be kept up here,” Mr Andrews said. . Building in Waimairi In August, 57 permits for buildings worth £46,500 were issued by the Waimairi County Council, compared with 27 permits worth £18,765 in the saffie month last year. In a table of increased valuations of ridings, it was explained that many dwellings, the building of which was commenced last year, were not ytt occupied, but the county would benefit in rates next year-