General News

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25444, 16 March 1948, Page 4

General News

Royal Visit The Lyttelton Borough Council decided last evening, on the suggestion of Cr. A. M. Millar, to approach the Government for assistance in decorating the to»n, which Cr. Millar described as Tne “gateway of the South Island,” for the visit of the King and Queen and Princess Margaret next year. Converted Introducing Dr. Hyman J. Appleman, an American evangelist to a Sydney audience, the. Rev. A. E. Walker, of Sydney (reports the “Sydney Morning Herald”, said: “Dr. Appleman started life in America as a barrister, then he was converted to Christianity.”

N.Z. Cargo Unloaded in Record Time The unloading in record time by dock workers at Avonmouth of refrigerated .cargo from New Zealand enabled the Port Line motorship s Port Phillip to sail on time for Cardiff to load motdr-cars for Australia. The Port Phillip, arrived on March 7 with 190,000 carcases of lamb, 40,000 boxes of butter, and 42,000 crates of cheesS. Discharging began on March 8. and 6758 tons had been unloaded by March 11 —a port record for this class of cargo.—London, March 15.

Mine Detector at College A man with a mine detector moving' about the quadrangle at Canterbury University College,, intently listening on earphones, aroused the curiosity of many students yesterday morning. Questioned, he variously described the object of his search as a mine, uranium, a lost radium needle, and a dead body. The last suggestion received some credence, when he added that a naetal object, such as a watch, would be detected by his apparatus. There were many watchers when a workman began to dig in several places. For a start he merely scratched the surface, raising curiosity »to new heights. Crowds quickly dispersed when; in each hole, a water pipe was laid bare: Pipe lines had been laid about a year ago; but the metal cylinders to give access to underground taps were not then available. A lawn was sown before the taps were marked. The detector was used yesterday to find the mains. * Gifts to Museum Several Chinese antiaues. which she

Several Chinese antiques, which she collected in China, have been presented to the Canterbury Museum by Miss A. E. Lorimer. They include a painted pottery bowl from the Gobi region which was made in the neolithic or polished-stone age. It is of perfect symmetry and much of the original painting is still bright and clear. A model fort made of clay and a polished metal mirror, ornamented on the reverse side and made of a copper alloy, are included in the collection. Both were made during the Han dynasty, between 206 B.C. and 87 A.B. From the Sung dynasty (960-1279) there are two bowls, both perfectly preserved, and from the Ching dynasty (1644-1912) there is an ornamented brass buckle. Two pendants, made from the teeth of a sperm whale, which were made either by Maoris or Morioris in the Chatham Islands, have been presented by the family of the late Mr A. E. Langdale-Hunt. Work Resumed at Mine The Strongman State coal mine, which was idle for four days last week because of a dispute which developed as a result of a disagreement between a deputy and a road worker, resumed yesterday. A mass meeting of the State Miners’ Union at Runanga was held on Sunday morning, when the Minister of Mines (Mr A. McLagan) addressed the men. The Liverpool State mine, which was idle for three days last week because of the death of a nine worker while on his way to the mine, also resumed to-day. Mr McLagan, who wag accompanied by Mr A. Prendeville, a member of the Coal Council, arrived by car on Sunday morning in Greymouth, and left yesterday on return to Christchurch. Britain’s Orchid Trade British orchids, some of them valued at £6O a plant, are now being sent by air to many parts of the world* including Australia and New Zealand. British firms specialising in orchid culture developed this trade many years before the war, but air transSort had led to a’ great increase itu emand. To-day the British orchid trade is an important dollar earner. One flrm whicn has been growing orchids since 1856 last year had a sixfigure income from its American trade alone. This firm is employing a young New Zealander, Mr George Fuller, who worked his way to Britain nine months ago with the intention of learning orchid culture and then returning to the Dominion to develop it there.— London, March 15. Facial Eczema in North Island A warning of danger of the spread of facial eczema as a result of soaking rain and mild temperatures in many North Island districts was given, by the Department of Agriculture yesterday. The department said the danger was particularly in the Waikato district where considerable liver damage and some clinical cases followed the early February rains. An examination of lamb livers at' the Horotiu works last week showed that some livers were affected in 73 per cent, of the lines killed and these I were from very widely distributed districts. An inspection of pastures in the Waikato showed that all easy country must be considered dangerous and cases were noticed ‘even on pastures dominant in paspalum or danthonia.—(P.A.) Tuberculosis Cases Seven new cases of- tuberculosis in Canterbury and one on the West Coast were reported to the Health Department last week. There were three cases of scarlet fever in Canterbury and one on the West Coast. In Canterbury there was one case each of influenzol pneumonia, hydatids, and tetanus. The week’s return recorded the district’s only death from poliomyelitis, and another death from tetanus. N.Z. Defence Policy “In New Zealand, notwithstanding the dangers that face us, we do not appear to have any defence policy.” said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) in an address at Wellington yesterday. “We have allowed our defence system to fade away and our training staffs are being reduced to very small numbers. These questions transcend all considerations of party politics. In my opinion we should immediately set about the task of determining an adequate defence policy so that we in New Zealand will have done everything that lies in our power to ensure the peace of the world by equipping ourselves to defend our country.”—(P.A.)

Coal from Westport The shoaling of ihe bar at Westport has made it necessary to transfer shipments of coal from that port to Greymouth for loading for North Island ports. A railway official at Christchurch said yesterday that the arrangement had imposed a severe strain on the department’s rolling stock, and every available locomotive on the West Coast had been put into service on the special trains which were carrying the coal. It was expected, he said, that the system would have to be used all this week.

New Meteorological Station A meteorological station will be established on the research block at the Winchmore irrigation station shortly, according to Mr N. Lamont (assistant irrigation officer). The instruments will be set up in the next two or three weeks and will measure rainfall, evaporation, temperature, • humidity and the wind, but it will not be possible to take observations until there is a resident staff at the research block. The meteorological records are for general correlation with irrigation experimental data, as for instance to show to what extent soil moisture variations are connected with meteorological data. Industrial Disputes

Last year 78,835 days’ work was lost through industrial disputes in New Zealand. There were 123 direct strikes, four sympathy strikes, and six partial strikes (excluding a refusal by seamen to work overtime), involving 22,070 workers and affecting 191 firms. Excluding the consideration that work not performed may have been carried out subsequently, £123,326 was lost in wages. In 1938, 35,456 working days were lost in 72 strikes involving 11,388 workers and affecting 103 flfms. About £42,104 was lost in wages in that year.