General News

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26353, 22 February 1951, Page 6

General News

Invitation to Mrs Churchill When he was in England he had invited Mrs Churchill to tour New Zealand, and he intended to send an official . invitation to her, said the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) at a civic reception in his honour last evening. He thought there would not be a hall in the country big enough to hold everyone who would want to see and hear her.

Air Search for Argo No signs of the missing yacht Argo were found when a Dominie aircraft made a sweep over an area some 100 miles to sea oft ths Otago coast yesterday afternoon. Visibility was poor. The aircraft was a National Airways Corporation aeroplane under charter to the organisers of a privately-con-ducted search for the Argo.—(P.A.) S.P.C.A. Street Appeal A total of £260 was collected in the first street appeal to be conducted by the Society lor the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in Christchurch yesterday. This total will be considerably increased as 14 boxes had not been counted last evening. Pax, the society’s official dog collector, returned £32. and the youngest collector, Beryl King, aged two, £6 4s 6d. Tests for Journalists The Prime Minister (Mr Holland) held a press conference in Cairo at which 60 journalists wera present. Mr Holland said at a civic reception :n Christchurch last evening that the journalists had asked him many questions he found awkward to answer. He had therefore told them there were two tests for journalists—the first was his opinion of what they published after the Interview, and the second was their ability to make a poor interview read well. “After that.” he added, "I must say they did their best for me. State House Sales Fifty-two State houses were sold last week, and 88 new applications to purchase were received. This was reported yesterday by the Minister in charge of the State Advances Corporation (Mr J. R. Marshall).—(P.A.) Trees for Gardens Trees were shipped from England to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens in the 1860’s. They included sycamores, oaks, and elms, and were packed m big wooden cases. The trip took about six months and when the trees arrived they were in what was described as a rather sick state. They were put in the Avon to revive. A few survived, were planted and grew, but many died. How these trees were packed is not known, but many early trees arrived in Canterbury as potted seedlings. In 1859 the Aclands of Mount Peel imported a Douglas fir, and in 1862 a Wellingtonia, which were still growing 20 years ago. This information was given by Mr C. E. Foweraker, senior lecturer in botany at Canterbury University College, in the Banks lecture last evening to the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. The address was entitled “A Century of Horticulture.” Special reference was made to Canterbury.

Training of Teachers The “urgent need” for the establishment of another teachers’ training college in Auckland city is to be brought to the attention of the Education Department by the Auckland Education Board. The board decided this yesterday after receiving a report for 1950 from Mr R. A. Dickie, principal of the Auckland Training College. Mr Dickie said that the need for another training college in the city of Auckland was apparent The Auckland, Ardmore, and Wellington colleges could not be expected to cope With the demands for teacheis for the whole of the North Island. The Auckland Training College had a roll Of more than 700, Mr Dickie said, whereas the optimum si2e for sue’., an institution was generally considered to be between 350 and 400 students.—(P.A.) Soldiers’ Graves During a visit to the north of France, -where there were 4000 military burial grounds, he had seen row upon row ol soldiers’ tombstones, said the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) at a civic reception to him last evening. At one cemetery, he had been met by a boy of about 10 carrying flowers, who had delivered an official welcome to him The bov had added: “Will you use your influence so that these tombstones will not be needed for little boys like me?” It was a touching moment. Mr Holland said, and he felt that if he could do anything at all to avoid that, his visit would have been well worth Materials for Paint

Master painters are concerned about the cost, scarcity, and quality ot raw materials used in their paints. A remit asking the Government to m.»ke the importation of white lead easier has been carried at the conference of the New Zealand Federation of Master Painters now being held in Auckland. Some speakers said that it seemed that painting costs would soon rise still further. They emphasised, however, that the Increases were not going into the painters’ pockets—they were being made necessary by rising prices. White lead price*, for example, had increased from £BO a ton in 1939 to nearly £2OO to-day.—(P.A.)