General News

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25896, 31 August 1949, Page 4

General News

N.Z. at 97 Overseas Conferences “There is a tendency of many people to cavil at the number of international conferences attended by New Zealand,” said Mr F. Shanahan, DeputySecretary of the External Affairs Department. in an address to a meeting of accountants yesterday. It was perhaps understandable, but he would assure his hearers that they were more than “tripe” and were in fact “pretty hard work and very satisfying in the interests of the Dominion.” Last year, he said, New Zealand was represented at 62 conferences held under affiliations of the United Nations, which involved sending 41 persons from the country. There were also nine Commonwealth conferences, three conferences on peace, end 23 miscellaneous conferehces.—(P.a.)

Testing Ground As soon as he had received letters ' from his home town, Bradford, in | which mention was made of the New; Zealand cricket team's first match,; against Yorkshire, he had realised that I the tour was going to be something | entirely new for a New Zealand side, I said Mr A. Woolier, a British Trade ‘ Commissioner, who is in Christchurch | at present. Playing against Yorkshire ■ at Bradford was a tough assignment' for the New Zealanders. Mr Woolier; said, for they were playing before a . dour and critical crowd. They had,; however, made a very good impres-1 sion. Mr Woolier is a distant relative j of Wilfred Woolier, captain of the Glamorgan county team and a former I Welsh international Rugby footballer. l Dog Poisoning Suspected - Some residents of Stoke street, Sumner, believe tha.t poison is being laid for dogs in their street. One resident’s dog died yesterday afternoon, apparently having eaten something poisoned, another dog. returned home and had a fit of vomiting, and a third has been missing for 10 days. What Mr Nash Said Opposition members had made play’ with the alleged statement of the Min- . ister of Finance (Mr Nash) in 1945 that the Government could spend the money better than the people who earned it, said Dr. A. M. Finlay (Government, North Shore) in the House of Representatives yesterday. Actually this was a distortion by the National Party’s propaganda factory, which submitted everything to the “pervertoscope.’’ said Dr. Finlay. Mr Nash had merely said that the Government would take power to invest temporary surpluses in State departments and would do so Petter than the departments themselves could do.— (P.A.) Britain and the U.S.A. Reports in the last few weeks of “slanging matches” between Britain and the United States had been, he thought, enormously exaggerated, said Mr A. Woolier, a British Trade Commissioner, in Christchurch yesterday. For that reason, he was very pleased indeed to see that Mr Truman, in his statement on American aid to Britain, had said that the democratic nations were not to interfere with each other’s internal policies. He was glad to see, too, that Mr Truman had stated strongly, by implication, that the solution of the present problems was as important -to America as to the sterling areas. Director of Education The Director of Education (Dr. C. E. Beeby) had been out of New Zealand longer than he had been director, said Mr G. F. Sim (Opposition, Waikato) in the House of Representatives yesterday. He could not see how that was in the interests of education. The Minister of Education (Mr T. H. McCombs): “He’s not costing the country a penny.’’—(P.A.) New Collier Due To-day The Union Steam Ship Company’s new motor-vessel Kaiapoi is due at Lyttelton to-day from the United Kingdom, via Panama. The Kaiapoi will be the fourth vessel of her class to arrive in New Zealand, and the twenty-third addition to the company's fleet since the war. The Kaiapoi was built by Henry Robb, Ltd., Leith. Scotland. She has twin screws and her principal dimensions are: length 290 ft, beam 43ft, depth 19ft Gin, gross tonnage 2485 tons. The Kaiapoi is a sister ship to the Konui, and will be used in the West Coast coal trade. Test Footballers to Make Film

Reuter’s Durban correspondent says that the All Blacks and Springboks will co-operate in making an instructional Rugby Union film just before and after the third test at Durban on Saturday. A duplicate negative film will be sent to New Zealand.—London, August 30.

Specific Gravity of Glass Evidence based on the specific gravity of glass was given ifi the Auckland Magistrate's Court by a Government analyst, when two men were charged with wilfully damaging a car window. Witness said he had compared pieces of glass allegedly taken from accused's clothing with glass from the car window. The specific gravity of the glass was identical and in his opinion this evidence was consistent with the conclusion that all the glass came from the same window. “Each batch of glass has its own specific gravity. The variations are slight,” he said. Auckland State Houses Land on which to build another 6000 to 7000 State houses, about six or seven years’ work, is held by the Housing Construction Department in the Auckland metropolitan area. The department has bought blocks in many suburbs, including the North Shore, but the major development will be in the Tamaki and Mount Roskill areas, and also on the western side of Mount Roskill toward Blockhouse Bay road.

Centennial Film

“Jt is intended to produce a colour film suitable to the occasion of Canterbury’s centennial in 1950.” says the annual report of the information section of the Prime Minister’s Department. Other projects mentioned are a 6000 ft film of the Empire Games, and a colour film of New Zealand life.