General News

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25422, 19 February 1948, Page 6

General News

First Oysters on Market Christchurch received its first supplies of the new season’s oysters yesterday. Mr F. V. Carter {president of the Christchurch Fish Retailers’ Association) said that there was every prospect of a good • season with the closing of the large canning factory at Bluff and with two extra boats in operation. A fish merchant said everyone had started with a good supply of oysters, and there was no reason to think the positioff" would change. Although the price for oysters in the shell remains the same at 7d a dozen, the price for opened oysters has risen from 9d to lOd to allow for increased railage costs. Earthquake Shock Tall buildings in Christchurch were seen to shake in a slight earthquake at 3.58 p.m. yesterday. There were several shakes which gave the feeling of a continuous movement for about 10 seconds. The Five Finest Views

The view from the Summit road was among the five finest in the world according to Dr. Macmillan Brown —“one of the most widely-travelled men in New Zealand,” said Mr F. W. Freeman, at the first meeting of the Summit Road Scenic Society last evening. Mr Freeman said that in Dr. Macmillan Brown’s opinion, the other four views were of the Bolivian Plateau, the. Oregon district in the United States, the Lombardy Plain from the Swiss Alps, and the Mexican Plateau. No Overtime on Waterfront

The departures of two overseas ships from Auckland have been postponed from Saturday until early next week as a result of the loss of working time since the imposition of a 40 hour week on the waterfront by the Auckland branch of the Waterside Workers’ Union. No developments in the dispute occurred yesterday, when, for the third day. the waterside workers- refused overtime.—(P.A.) Shortage of Preserving Jars

The manager of a Christchurch hardware firm said yesterday that the world-wide shortage of soda ash was responsible for the shortage of preserving jars. In the last 12- months New Zealand manufacturers had had to ration supplies to retailers, who were allowed only 50 per cent, of their previous year’s supply. The last preserving jars received had been brown, and they were rapidly sold out, he added. Because of the heavy fruit crop this year, more persons than usual were asking for jars, but as supplies were received only once a year, no relief was expected before next Christmas.

Stop-Work Meeting Disapproved A suggestion that a stop-work meeting of drivers of the Auckland Bus Company should be held yesterday morning to discuss the dismissal of a driver was declined by the men on the ground that the travelling public should not be inconvenienced. The meeting would have interrupted services to the northern districts. The organiser of the Auckland Drivers’ Union (Mr F. D. Muller) said subsequently that the union delegate at the company’s garage had been asked to call a meeting at the most convenient time. It was not intended that there should be a stop-work meeting.—

Broadcasts in Maori The Rev. G. S. Laurenson moved in the Methodist Conference ’ast evening that the church ask the Director of Broadcasting to give more time to broadcasts in Maori to the Maori people. Another resolution, that arrangements .be made for more broadcasts of religious services in Maori and that the advisory committee on religious broadcasting be asked to give the matter consideration, was carried. Radar Research Station Closes The few remaining members on the experimental staff of the radar research station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, at the Ashburton aerodrome, will leave the establishment at the end of this week. The station was established in the early months of 1946 to investigate the anomalous propagation of ultra-high frequency waves with the types of meteorological conditions found during a Fohn wind (nor’wester). While the investigations were being carried’ out the station ceased to operate, although 10 of the staff have been continuing with routine analysis work. There were 39 persons working on the project. Of these, all were New Zealanders except six experts from Great Britain. Those leaving at the end of this week include Mr R. S. Unwin (chief scientific officer), and Messrs B. Milnes. P. Bates, and H. Drysdale, of the United Kingdom. Mr Unwin and Mr C. L. Henderson (analysis officer), possibly assisted by the three remaining United Kingdom staff, will continue with statistical analysis in Wellington. It is likely that the three overseas members of the staff will reftarn home in May.

Radio-Activity and Cancer Because of the better understanding of radio-activity as a result of atomic bomb investigations, there was now a reasonable prospect that radio-activity in relatively minute doses would be increasingly beneficial in the relief of cancer, said the president of the New Zealand branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign (Six James Elliott) m Wellington yesterday. He said that now that various elements could be made radio-active, and could be absorbed into the human system, the radio-physics laboratory which the campaign maintained at Canterbury University College would prepare isotopes. and it was honed to regulate their dosage, in collaboration with workers abroad, for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.— (P.A.)