General News

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27203, 21 November 1953, Page 6

General News

" Eggs Dearer on Monday = A seasonal increase, amounting to 6d , a dozen, in the wholesale and retail ’• prices of eggs, will come into effect on _ Monday. The new retail prices for Christchurch are as follows:—hen eggs, 4s 3d (large), 3s 9d (small), 4s (mixed); duck egg;, 4s 3d, 4s, 4s. West , Coast prices are:—hen eggs, 4s 7d, 4s a Id, 4s 6d; duck eggs. 4s 7d, 4s 4d, 4s 4d. L " Well Versed e A citizen of the town of Wonthaggi s was annoyed by his taxation, return, which said that he owed 3d. He hid a 11 3d stamp in a maze of paper and eon the outside he wrote: “Hi 5 » Diddle Diddle, the Stamps in the Middle.” Back came the stamp with e the reply: “Hip, Hip Hooray. You y Still Have to Pay. Stamps aren’t ac- ! cepted anyway.”—Melbourne, Novem- ’’ ber 20. t More Whisky -in the Sea :- Seven thousand and 44 bottles of x Scotch whisky were emptied into the sea today at Limassol, the port s of Cyprus, because they had been lying e unclaimed at the Customs for a year. t —London, November 19. s Airmen Practise in Baths For 40 minutes yesterday the deep s end of the Centennial pool was an f area of ocean in which an aircraft had , been forced down and sunk and its ’ crew left to rely on their lifejackets s and inflatable dinghies. The “make--1 believe” was a routine practice, the first this summer, being conducted by ® the Royal New Zealand Air Force flyr ing training school at Wigram. Twenty- _ three officers and n.c.o. instructors with six dinghies of the type carried by all f Air Force aircraft took part in the drill, i which was watched with interest by a about 20 early afternoon swimmers sit- - ting in the .warm sunshine beside the s pool. The drill was supervised by the x officer commanding the school (Squadron Leader J. D. Robins), who said ' afterwards that it was hoped more r practices would be held at the pool t in the near future. j Table Wines for Royal Tour “During the Queen’s visit to New Zealand we should see that only New I Zealand wines are put on the tables I when she and the Duke of Edinburgh are entertained at either State or civic receptions,” said Mr F. Hackett t (Labour, Grey Lynn) in the House ,of Representatives yesterday. Mr Hackett, speaking during the debate - on the Licensing Amendment Bill No. t 2, said that wines were made in New , Zealand comparable with any in the world. If New Zealand could establish • itself as a wine-making country there , was the possibility of a good export ' trade being built up.—(P.A.) 15-Day Drawing Test Most students now taking examina- > tions at Canterbury University College L can dispose of each paper in the prescribed three hours. Besides these, men seeking engineering degrees must ; undergo a practical exercise which takes 15 days. There are no rigid limits on the hours they may work, but the assignments are based on output expected in 15 working days under professional conditions. Some of the students may operate on an eight-hour day, but others are continuing into the . evenings. Among the designs set are: . civil, a bus station; electrical, a gener- J ator; mechanical, a choice from an air compressor to an aircraft lay-out; ] chemical, plant for the continuous pro- < duction of copper sulphate crvstals. I The drawings must be the students’ i own work, but they may consult references normally available in profes- < sional practice. ' Pakistan Library Student The first library student in New t Zealand to graduate under the c Colombo Plan, Mr Abdur Rahman Mir- I dah, of Pakistan, was presented with £ his diploma at yesterday’s ceremony « for the 1953 library school students. Mr Mirdah will return to Pakistan i early in the New Year. Seventeen < students received diplomas from the i chairman of the Public Service Com- r mission (Mr G. T. Bolt). The guest c speaker was the president of the € New Zealand Library Association (Mr v W. S. Wauchop).—(P.A.) t School Buses “Some people think the education ? boards are responsible for this, but t; they are wrong. Our recommendation I was that motorists should reduce their * speed to 30 miles an hour when overtaking or passing buses,” said Mr R. W. Sanson, at a meeting of the Can- 9 terbury Education Board yesterday. He 1: was referring to the new regulation a requiring all traffic to stop when school F buses were setting down or picking up F school children. Mr Sanson said the L Minister had gone further than the ° recommendation. Another member ? said children in the city who travelled u to school by* bus were not covered by c the regulation. Should there not be G

some protection for them also? He considered there was an anomaly there. No action was taken. Wallsend Mine Idle The Wallsend State coalmine was idle yesterday for the second successive day. Yesterday morning members of the union held a brief stopwork meeting at the mine and then returned home “as a protest against a recent decision of the Coal Council.” The decision of the Coal Council to which the union has objected related to trucking contracts in the mine. The mine was also idle on Thursday, when the workers held a stop-work meeting in defiance of a ban on unauthorised meetings, and the management closed the mine for the day.—(F.O.O.R.)

Woollen Frock as Flag A woman’s green woollen frock with a slogan “Equal Pay for Women” stitched on it in red braid was flying from the flagstaff of Victoria tower at the Houses of Parliament this morning. It was hauled down by a workman.—London, November 20. Preservation of Historic Sites Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday provides for the maintenance and general preservation of places and objects of national or local historic importance and the keeping of suitable records of such places and objects. It is based on the bill introduced last year and again this session by Mr D. M. Rae (Government, Parnell). The Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr Bodkin) said that Mr Rae’s bill had received much favourable comment and the Government had decided virtually to adopt it.—(P.A.)

Pupils at Primary Schools Since the end of 1952, more than 2100 pupils have swelled the rolls in the schools controlled by the Canterbury Education Board. In 1952 the total roll stood at 41,370 and in 1953 the roll is 43,493. This information was given to the board at its meeting yesterday The following information on the grading of schools based on rolls for 1954 was also received: number graded. 299; number down-graded, 7; number up-graded, 18; number kept back to 1953, 3; new positions, 32; appointments deferred under the special staffing schedule, 21. Cate May Cause Evictions Council flat tenants in Wandsworth, South London, may be evicted if they refuse to dispose of their cats, a council official said today. Other tenants have complained that cats kept them awake at night.—London, November 20.