General News

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27151, 22 September 1953, Page 8

General News

Mr Sandys Rides In Gir A man who had been coachman for - his grandfather drove the British Minister of Supply (Mr Duncan Sandys) in his gig yesterday from the Hotel Devon, where afternoon tea had been served, to a reception in the Ashburton County Council chambers, a distance of about half a mile. He was Mr C. Gieseler, who was coachman for Mr Duncan Cameron, at Springfield, in 1900 and 1901. Mr Sandys had a Government car and driver at his disposal, , but he said it gave him "a great tlfrill” ; when Mr Gieseler asked if he would ’ like a ride. Car insurance Premiums There was only one solution of the < problem of high premiums for ear in- < surance—safer driving, said Lord J Blackford on his arrival at Auckland - yesterday from Sydney. Lord Black- 1 ford, who is chairman of the Guardian Assurance Company, said that motor < insurance was by far the most difficult 1 form of insurance. All over the world ’ almost all companies felt it nearly impossible to make ends meet in this ; branch. Lord Blackford will stay in New Zealand until October 8. He and 1 Lady Blackford hope to see as much of the Dominion as they can, but Lord Blackford said his trip was predom- i inantly a business one.—(P.A.) Parcels for Britain Parcels traffic from New Zealand to , Britain was almost back to the pre- : war level because of the falling off in . the number of food parcels, said a Post ' Office spokesman yesterday at Welling- ' ton. As the food situation in Britain had improved the number of food : parcels had dropped, though more gift 1 parcels of the ordinary kind were being sent now. In 1948. the peak year, parcels to Britain totalled 1,250,000. of which it was estimated that more than 1.000.000 were food parcels. Last year the total was 350,000, of which possibly about 100,000 were food parcels.—(P.A.) . Ruins of Ancient City A marble bas relief estimated by archaeologists to be more than 2000 years old, and the ruins of ancient city walls, have been found at the bottom of the Black Sea near Sukhumi on the eastern shore, the official Russian News Agency, Tass, reported today. Archaeologists said the finds on the seabed suggest that the city of Dioskurias was built there.—London, September 21. Memorial to Kipling A plaque has been erected at the school where Kipling was educated —the United Services College at Westward Ho, near Devon. The school buildings are now private dwellings. The street in which they stand was renamed Kipling terrace at the request of the Imperial Service College earlier this year. The plaque was paid for by- subscription by old boys t their relatives, Bideford residents, and members of the Kipling Society. It bears the school crest and the inscription: “This terrace of 12 houses was occupied by the United Services College frdm September, 1874, to March, . 1904. Rudyard Kipling was educated here from January, 1878, to July, : 1882, under Cormell Price, Esq., M.A., 8.C.L., the first headmaster.”—London, ’ September 21. Return ef Black Prince H.M.N.Z.S. Black Prince, on her re- . turn from her Coronation cruise, is ’ due at Auckland on September 29. She will then complete a six months’ , voyage which included taking part in i the Spitbead review, exercises with the Mediterranean Fleet, a visit to j Gallipoli, and an emergency stop at the earthquake-stricken lonian Islands. Captain J. F. Whitfeld, D.S.C., R.N., r took over command while the Black ’ Prince was in England.—(P.A.) New Coins in Circulation" t At least one of the new Queen Elizabeth II coins is in circulation in Auck- ; land. A newspaper photographer yes- , terday received as change in a store , a new id dated 1953. with the Queen’s ; head on one side. The coins are not ? supposed to circulate until October 1, • and Auckland bankers said they did J not know how one had got into circu--1 lation so soon. It is not yet known in J Auckland what denominations there - will be. but one bank holds a reserve • of half-pennies, pennies, and threepenny pieces. A North Dunedin store- - keeper found on Synday that one of 1 the new coins, a threepenny piece, s had been given to him by a customer. > —(P.A.) Basic War Pension A deputation from the New Zealand » Returned Services’ Association, led by r the president of the association (Sir . Howard Kippenberger), will wait on . the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) and the Minister of War Pensions (Mr T. L. ’ Macdonald) tomorrow to present again the association’s claim for an increase of 10s in the basic war disability pension. Sir Howard Kippenberger will • be accompanied by Mr J. C. White and ' Mr R. H. Boys.—(P.A.) > Telephones and Royal Visit

Telephone engineers in Auckland are busy planning services for the New Zealand Broadcasting Service and the press during the "Royal visit. Two hundred special circuits are required to link up radio commentators at various vantage points round the city. Others may be needed for the transmission of newspaper photographs. Mr A. W. Holland, of the Post and Telegraph Department, who is co-ordinat-ing the Royal tour communications in Auckland, says it may be necessary to borrow some private subscribers’ lines to help broadcast descriptions. This would probably be restricted to shopkeepers and others whose premises were closed at the time. Snails Were Early Settlers The common snails which cause the damage in New Zealand gardens were brought into the country about 1865, when they were first observed in Nelson. Mr A. W. B. Powell gave this information in a lecture on snails and their connexion with geology at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. He said that native New Zealand snails could not adapt themselves to inhabited areas and did not exist at levels below 2000 feet above sea level. These snails originated in New Zealand and were also found in South Africa, Tasmania, Victoria, and a few Melanesian islands. In New Zealand, they were mostly found in Nelson, Marlborough, Manawatu and Northland.

Good Run of Whitebait . There was a good fun of whitebait m the Buller district on Sunday, and some excellent catches were made from the Buller and Orowaiti rivers. The banks were crowded and most of those fishing were handsomely rewarded. One person is reported to have caught nearly 90 pints, and there were numerous catches of about 30 pints. The price at Westport is still about 5s a pint, but if the present run continues it should drop soon. Much of the fish is going to the Christchurch and Wellington markets, a good part of it by air. The whitebait were still running freely yesterday.—(F.O.O.R.) Hygienic Fork Relieving the conventional type of table fork is more dangerous to health than either cracked plates or chipped cups, Mr J. M. Griffiths, a retired electrical engineer, of Hamilton, has designed and made forks in his own workshop. He claims the short prongs of hfc forks make thorough cleaning easy. There are no crevices to trap minute particles of food in which bacteria can multiply rapidly. Mr Griffiths asked the Health Department to report on his forks. A reply came to him from the Direc-tor-General of Health (Dr. J. Cairney) who also referred the matter to the Minister of Social Welfare (Mrs G. H. Ross). Dr. Cairney said the officers of the public hygiene division considered Mr Griffiths’ forks were “eminently hygienic, and would overcome some of the admitted disadvantages of the conventional type of table fork.”