General News

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26814, 20 August 1952, Page 8

General News

A Compliment One of the greatest compliments that had been paid to Sir Carl Berendsen was that he was high on the list of warmongers issued by Soviet Russia, said the president of the Tin Hat Club of the Christchurcn Returned Services’ Association (Mr D. W. Russell), when introducing Sir Carl Berendsen at a tattoo last evening. There were others, including Mr Churchill, and Dean Acheson, who were on the list, Mr Russell said. Magna parta for-Australia Australia has bought one of 14 known copies of the Magna Carta for £15,625. It is for the Commonwealth National Library x in Canberra. The Speaker (Mr A. Cameron), who announced the purchase in the House of Representatives to-day, said it was the first time a copy of the great charter had ever previously left England. It was dated 1297. and was one of Edward I’s confirmation copies. The Commonwealth Government had bought it from King’s School, England.—Canberra. Aug. 19. Power Savings Washing and ironing, whiclfc had accumulated in Christchurch . homes during the recent wet weajher is thought to be responsible rar the high consumption of electric power in the M,E.D. area on Monday. The power saving in the area was only 6.6 per cent., and it was described by the en-gineer-manager of the M.E.D. (Mr J. C. Forsyth) as “very disappointing.” Mr Forsyth said consumers should realise that every effort. had to be made to save power. The electricity committee of the City Council- will meet this week to decide what further cuts may be necessary after the savings this week have been reviewed. , Savings Banks Deposits For the first time a United States savings bank has deposits totalling 1,000,000,000 dollars. The Bowery Savings Bank in New York achieved this milestone yesterday afternoon shortly before closing time. The bank presented 100-dollar savings bonds to four people who made almost simultaneous deposits which carried the figure past the mark—New York, Aug. 19. Expectant Axolotls An event of scientific interest is expected to take place at the Auckland Zoo during the next two weeks when the axolotls will become the parents of about 300 baby axolotls. Sometimes described as being fish with legs, axolotls actually represent an uncompleted stage in the development of the salamander. For many years zoologists had difficulty in classifying the axolotls until it was found that by feeding -them thyroid they would develop into salamanders. Axolotls are about six or seven inches long, live under water, breathe through gills, and walk on four well-developed legs. They lay eggs. New Sewage Works

Arrangements were being made with a party of university students to conduct a 24-hour series of sampling of sewage flow at the sewage farm, over an eight-day period, as a start to collecting data on which to base the design of the new sewage works, said the works committee in its report to the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening. The report said an investigation was also being made into the possibility of establishing a small pilot plant to corfduct a series of experiments on different rates and conditions of treatment. Auckland Waterfront Slack More than 200 Auckland cargo workers were without jobs yesterday as the port continued to suffer its slackest period for years. The number of men working yesterday—about 1200 —was the lowest since the Cargo Workers’ Union reached full strength. About 100 men were sent home on Monday when jobs were not available or were finished during the day. but yesterday two hours’ attendance money had to be paid to 200 men who applied for work at 8 a.m. The end of the New Zealand export season is one of the main reasons for the slackness. Only one ship, the Taranaki, is loading for overseas.—(P.A.) Theft from Church Some time on Sunday afternoon an amplifier, valued at £4O, was stolen from Trinity Congregational Church at the corner of Manchester and Worcester streets. Entry was gained through an unlocked door in the bell tower and then down a ladder to the seats. It is a hearing aid amplifier and resembles a radio. The electrical wiring connexion at the side was cut. Food Handling A greater consciousness of the dangers of faulty methods of food handling had resulted from the course of lectures on the subject arranged by the Department of Health and the City Council, said the senior inspector of health (Mr W. de Roo) yesterday. He referred to a cake bakery business in Christchurch which had recently improved its wrapping and handling facilities, and said the innovations made were typical of those taking place in other establishments. So far more than 500 principals and employees of businesses handling food have attended the lectures.

Kept His Powder Dry Two hundred rounds of shotgun ammunition exploded when the Waterheating cupboard in a Massey home caught fire during the storm on August 8. According to the Waitemata Electric Power Board the explosion “accentuated damage to the cylinder.” “Keep your powder dry—but uo not put it in the hot*water cupboard,” said the chairman: (Mr E. Aldridge) when a report on the explosion was received this week,.

Belfast Sewerage The Waimairi County Council had advised that the value of the proposed sewerage area in the Belfast riding was £255,965, said a report before the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening. The estimated cost of the sewerage scheme in Belfast, as designed by the council’s consulting engineer, was £60,000. The annual charges for loan purposes only on a loan ol that amount would be about £l4 for every £lOOO of capital value, the report said. Land for New School About 17 acres of land has been acquired for a new post-primary school in Breezes road, between Breezes road and Shortland street, according to advice received from the Ministry of Works by the building and sites committee of the Christchurch Post-Primary Schools’ Board of Governors. The purchase of additional land for two other schools was also mentioned in the report of the committee which was presented to a meeting of the board last evening. About two and a half acres of land is being bought by the Education Department for the Papanui Technical College, and the department has bought about 11.5 perches of additional land for. the Christchurch Girls’ High School. Power Board Buys Trousers “The case of the damaged trousers” has been the cause of many letters between officials of the Waitemata Electric Power Board and a resident of Albany during the last month. At a meeting this week the board decided to bear the cost of troussr replacement (office cash sales docket 1102128 for £3 3s 4d). On July 10 a board inspector was ’’attacked by a dog which wounded him in the left leg and damaged his trousers” on an Albany property. A letter was sent to the owner of the property asking that the trousers be replaced and warning that “the board’s officers cannot be subjected to risks of this nature,” but the owner replied that the dog was not his. “This man lost his trousers in our service and we are duty-bound to replace them,” said the chairman (Mr E. Aldridge). “We might consider issuing really strong trousers for this work.”

New Zealand Land Snails The Dominion Museum now has probably the largest collection of New Zealand land snails in the world as the result of the acquisition of the collection of the late Mr A. C. O’Connor, of Wellington. Mr O’Connor collected privately for many years, and hi? collection is fully documented with notes of localities. The conchology section of the museum has also acquired a small collection of New Zealand shells, land and marine, from Lady Freyberg. Although small, it fills some gans in the existing collections and will not be exhibited as a separate entity.