General News

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27038, 13 May 1953, Page 8

General News

Practical Teat At least one member of the Christchurch Fire Board has the ability to cope with the practical side of firefighting. Mr W. P. Warner, who is also i member of the City Council told a board meeting last evening that after Monday’s council meeting he was giving Miss M. B. Howard, M.P., a lift home when his car caught on fire. He said he thought the board's superintendent (Mr A. Morrison) would be glad to know that the fire had been extinguished without the use of 40 gallons of water. Pressed for details, Mr Warner modestly admitted that he had blown the fire out. Tombstone by Air

Coffins have been carried on several occasions by National Airways Corporation freighter aircraft, but until yesterday air freight had not Included tombstones. The corporation carried its first tombstone—a 1301 b slab of granite without any inscription—from Christchurch to Wellington yesterday morning in one of its passenger aircraft, which have room for 10001 b of freight. The tombstone, measuring 3ft by 2ft, is believed to-be the first tombstone transported by air. It was consigned by a Christchurch monumental sculptor to a firm of funeral directors and monumental sculptors, and the cost was 4d a pound. Administration of Schools A post-primary school should, if it wants to, manage its own affairs, the Minister ot Education (Mr R. M. Algie) told the annual conference of the New Zealand Post-Primary Teachers’ Association in Wellington yesterday. He said the Government’s policy was to encourage post-primary schools to set up individual boards of legal standing, with minimum Government and maximum parent representation? Aside from individual management, it was still acceptable for groups of post-primary schools, of their own volition, to be combined under one ooard of management. The idea was to foster local enthusiasm, to allow schools to stand on their own feet,

and to develop along their own lines, said Mr Algie. The scheme should function to meet the needs of each locality.—(PA.) Value of Soil Testa There was quite a lot to be gained by testing the soil before applying lime and fertilisers, the director (Dr. M. M. Burns) reported to the board of governors of Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, yesterday. Before carrying on the liming programme this year, said Dr. Burns, tests had been made of soil samples from lucerne stands at the Ashley Dene property, which had been consistently and generously limed in the past. The tests had shown that further liming was not necessary and the college had consequently saved 140 tons of lune. Advice to Civil Servants The Pope told Italian civil servants that they should learn to hold their tongues, avoid gossip and sex talk, and get on with their Jobs. He received 4000 of them in a mass audience in St. Peter’s. “If you want to appear truly Christian, you must govern your tongues during the exercise of your duty,’’ he said. “You must know how to stay silent, and how to speak at the proper time—but, above all, how to stay silent.” The Pope, referring to talk on sex, advised civil servants not to touch on subjects they would not mention to thier wives, mothers, or daughters.—Rome, May 11.

Strongman Mine Idle The slip which blocked the main road in the No. 2 section of the Strongman State coal mine at the week-end was cleared on Monday, but no work was done in the section yesterday. The safety of the working places m the section was questioned when the miners reported for work yesterday morning, and after discussions the 12 pairs of miners employed in the section again went home for the day. It is expected that work will start again in the section today. Other sections of the mine are being worked as usual— (F.0.0.R.) Use of Defoliants

The use of chemical defoliants in lucerne has been tested at the Ashley Dene property of Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln. The director (Dr. M. M. Burns) told the board of governors yesterday that the creeping lucerne had set a fair crop of seed for the first time, and this ‘tvould be harvested when the leaf had been killed off by frosts. A small exploratory trial had been conducted by the field hus* bandry c'epartment at the college with chemical defoliants. Mr C. E. Iversen said that the test was quite a new development in New Zealand and it Looked as though it would be worth persevering with. He said that Mr A. W. Riddolls, senior lecturer in agricultural engineering who recently returned from refresher leave overseas, had seen defoliants used on clover leaves in the United States of America.

Slip on North Line Cleared The blockage caused by a slip on Monday at the south end of No. .13 tunnel about five and a half miles south of Kaikoura on the coast section of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, was cleared about 7 a.m. yesterday, after gangs had worked throughout the night. The main job yesterday for railway workers at Kaikoura was hauling accumulated goods from the yards at Oaro, Ferniehurst, and Parnassus. By evening these had been cleared, ana trains are now running to schedule. Public Service Recruiting “The quest for economic stability has imposed tasks upon the Public Service which call for a revision of its organisation and its method of recruitment and training,” said Mr L C. Webb, former Director 'of Stabilisation, addressing the annual convention of the Institute of Public Administration at Wellington yesterday. His address covered the effects of the search for stability on the Public Service, the danger of progressive inflation inherent in the attempt, and the difference in the means which different forms of government adopted in seeking the same ends. Mr Webb said the institute’s convention had three main aims—to stimulate critical and instructive thinking about the structure and methods of public administration, to throw light on the objective of economic stability, and to promote a working partnership between administrators and academic economists, which was long overdue in New Zealand.—(P.A.)