General News

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26123, 27 May 1950, Page 6

General News

Booksellers and Book Clubs American booksellers were very concerned at present about the loss of trade caused by competition from book clubs, said Mr Paul Feffer yesterday. Mr Feffer is representative in Australia and New Zealand of Henry Snider and Company, the New York firm of publishers’ representatives. The book clubs, with their lower overhead costs, could undersell the booksellers although they' might buy at the same price. Although book clubs only offered the “most highly promoted reading,” booksellers felt the competition and were fighting back by offering better service, stocking all types of literature. “and meanwhile complaining bitterly to the publishers.” Empire Service The Bishop of Goulburn (the Rt. Rev. E. H. Burgmann) has, with many other persons, been inconvenienced by the floods in Westland. The Bishop was to have spoken at the Empire commemoration service in the Christchurch Cathedral to-morrow, but he is at the Franz Josef glacier with no chance of being able to leave before Monday. His place will be taken by the Archdeacon of Manchester (the Ven. A. S. Bean). No Gambling After discovering a party of journalists playing poker in their commonroom on the roof of Parliament House while waiting for Parliament to reassemble. the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives (Mr A. G. Cameron) said in the House that he would not tolerate gambling. “On coming into this position I made it clear privately that I would not tolerate gambling in this place,” he said. “I do not care whether it is poker or betting on horses. In future, if I catch any man in this place playing poker I will take action. If a journalist, he will not be allowed here; if an employee, he will be dismissed; if a member, he will be reported to the House.”—Canberra, May 26. Ferrymead Wharf and Railway Permission was given to the Canterbury Pilgrims' and Early Settlers' Association to erect a tablet on the site of the Ferrymead wharf and railway station, at a meeting of the Heathcote County Council last evening. The council also agreed to supply a stone four feet by three feet on which the tablet would be placed. The tablet will depict the first railway engine and carriages and will be inscribed with the following words:—“New Zealand's first railway. This stone marks the site of the Ferrymead wharf and railway station. The provincial broadgauge railway started from here for Christchurch in the year 1863.”

Crayfish Season Opens The crayfish season opened in Akaroal yesterday, and 12 fishing boats brought in good catches. The season has opened about three weeks earlier than last .year, and it will extend to December. It is expected that in two or three! days’ time about 20 boats will be operating in Akaroa. About one-third of the catch is reserved for the local market and the balance is used in the crayfish'tail industry. These are frozen at the fish factory on the Akaroa wharf for the American and New Zealand markets. About 60 tons of crayfish were landed at the Akaroa wharf last season. Historic Sites in Canterbury Designs for a suitable plaque to mark historic sites in Canterbury are now being considered by the historical and literary committee of the Centennial Association, which recently asked ocal bodies in the province to submit lists of sites which might be worthy of marking. Several lists were considered by the committee at its meeting this week, and when a final list is approved, arrangements will be made for narking the sites, possibly by a gunmetal plaque recording the Canterbury centennial dates, and bearing a figure symbolic o r the province, and a legend giving the appropriate date in the history o' Canterbury. Another proposal that the committee is considering is the publication of a booklet listing and describing the sites to be marked, and others worthy of irenfon. Boy Scents’ Help Boy Scouts will heln the staff of the Canterbury Public Library in transferring mo"e than 10.000 books to-day. This big job is involved in moving the reference library from its well-known corner on the ground floor to the new denertment unstairs where the gallery had been floored in to give additional accommodation. The new reference department would probably not be open frw a few days, said the librarian (Mr E. J. Bell), but the welcome assistance of the scouts should enable the greatest nart of the job to be complete in one day. Driving Licences Christchurch motorists will be able to renew their driving licences as from next Thursday, June 1. Existing licences will expire after June 30. Extra staff has been arranged by the traffic department of the Christchurch City Council for the issuing of the new licences. A total of 29.500 licences, an increase of 1400. was issued during this year, and it was expected that this figure would be increased during the next year, said the Chief Traffic In-

spector <Mr G. P. Kellar) yesterday. Drivers should make their applications early in the month to avoid any congestion towards the end of the month. It should not take any longer than five minutes to get a licence, said Mr Kellar. Radio Telephone Transmitter A stand-by plant for the radio telephone transmitter on the Cashmere Hills has been installed by the Heathcote County Council. The engineer •Mr W. S. Blandford) reported last evening to a meeting of the council that the plant, which was Dieseldriven. had been connected with the main plant and automatically started up within one minute of the general power supply being cut off. The radio telephone sets at present used on six separate channels were kept in use continuously, and when the main power supply was resumed the standby plant shut down automatically. At present the police, fire brigade, St. John Ambulance, and three taxi firms were using channels transmitting from the station. It was expected that a public service channel would soon be operating, and that there would also be a channel for the use of the general public. Railway Freight Rates An Auckland citizen who bought a case of tree tomatoes for 7s 6d found at the railway station that, the consignee in the South Island would have ■o pav charges totalling 7s 9d. It is thought in Auckland that the new railway rate for the carriage of fresh New Zealand-grown fruit and vegetables between North Island and South Island stations will cause a falling off of such consignments.— (P.A.)