General News

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27427, 13 August 1954, Page 10

General News

No Power'Cuts Today ? No power cut is to be imposed in the M.E.D. area today. The whole area, except New Brighton, will have a cut between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. tomorrow, New Brighton having instead a cut between 1 A).m. and 2. p.m. There will be another cut throughout the area between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Effect of Teacher Shortage So grave is the shortage of permanent teachers in the schools serving the principal State housing areas of Lower Hutt that the Education Department has made a major departure frqm its system of teacher service. The system whereby every teacher must serve three years in country areas is being relaxed to allow permanent service in the five primary schools of Naenae and Taita to count as country service. This will apply only to teachers taking up positions between September 1 of this year and December 31, 1955. "The fact that already this year more than 100 relieving teachers have served in the five schools concerned had a big bearing on the decision.” says the Education Department.—(P.A.) Quarts and Quarts Quart bottles that are not quarts came under fire in the Court of Arbitration in Wellington this week. A witness had told the Court that it took two men one day to bottle a 40-gallon cask in a Wellington liquor merchant’s store. “Are you sure they are qiiarts?” asked Mr Justice Tyndall. ‘'Yes, reputed quarts,” said the witness. “This is one of the funny things about this business—quarts that are not quarts,” said his Honour. A cask * held 300 bottles, said the witness. “That would work out at about a pint in each bottle,” said his Honour. “Quart bottles that hold a pint!” The number of bottles depended on the size of the cask, said the witness. Six reputed quart bottles made a gallon. A 40gallon cask held about 240 bottles. £94,000 for Building The Government’s offer of £94,000 for,the Dunedin Stock Exchange building and site has been accepted by shareholders of the Dunedin Stock Exchange Proprietary. The offer was made some months ago and ratification of shareholders was all that was required to complete the transaction. It is understood the Government intends to demolish the building and rebuild, but this will not be for some years. Bridge to Matrimony A young Texan flew tinder two Thames bridges yesterday to win himself a bride. Gene Thompson, of Lubbock, Texas, was challenged by his girl friend, Helen Brown, also of Texas, to fly under two bridges after she had been told of the feat of Major Christopher Draper, who flew under seven of them last year. Thompson yesterday hired a plane from the Denham Flying Club, scattered lunchhour crowds in swooping under Tower Bridge and London Bridge, returned the plane and quietly walked off. He gave instructions to a friend to release i the story last night—while he and his fiancee were aboard a ship returning to America beyond the three-mile limit and legal action.—London, August 12. Post Office for St. Martins The Post Office has taken the tenancy of a shop in the new St. Martins shopping area, and will soon open a full accounting office. Miss 'M. B. Howard, M.P., has been advised of this by the Chief Postmaster at Christchurch (Mr H. R. Pool). The only delay will be in laying floor coverings and fitting up the office. Miss Howard’s representations that a vacant section should be acquired for building a post office have been referred to head office, says Mr P001.—(F.0.P.R.) Cost of Distribution of Toys “The final retail price of plastic toys in this country is almost two times and a half the factory price, because of the methods of distribution which have grown up,” said Mr V. A. Hetherington, representing plastic toy manufacturers, to the Board of Trade inquiry into import duties on toys and fireworks yesterday. “Manufacturers should not be held responsible for the retatil prices of plastic toys,” he added.—(P.A.) Modernisation of Minesweepers Sufficient equipment is on order for the Royal New Zealand Navy to modernise one of the Bathurst class ocean minesweepers which were given by Australia to the Dominion in 1952, says the annual report of the New Zealand Naval Board tabled in the House of Representatives this week. All four Bathursts—the Echuca, Inverell, Kiama, and Stawell—were given extensive refits after their arrival from Australia. When modernisation has been completed they will be capable of carrying all types of ocean minesweeping equipment. It is planned to modernise the first of the vessels —next year.—(F.O.P.R.) New Rail-car Services

Rail-car services between Auckland and Wellington and Auckland and Whangarei and beyond are likely to be begun early in the New Year. * The District Traffic Manager of Railways at Auckland (Mr J. G. Whetton) said last night that he hacß every hope that this would be possible. No decision had been made as to which would be the first North Island service with the new cars, but it appeared likely it would be these. Tentative timetables were being examined, and it was hoped to run three return services a day between Auckland and Whangarei and one return service a day between Auckland and Wellington as soon as sufficient cars were available. It might not be possible to institute these full services for a start.—(P.A.), Parents’ Six-Day Vigil A six-day vigil at the Middlemore Hospital in Auckland ended at 9.15 p.m. on Wednesday, when the mother of Julie Rae win Simpson, aged six, of George street, Waiuku, left her daughter’s bedside. Julie was taken to hospital on August 5 in a critical condition, after running under a moving truck near her home. Until Wednesday night, when she was taken off the seriously ill list, there was always one of Julie’s parents with her. Sign of Spring?

About 3 p.m. yesterday, during what was apparently the afternoon tea break in the office of a stock firm at Christchurch, three young men engaged energetically in a cricket match on the roof of a tall building. They used only a tennis ball, a wise decision when a big hit might have sent the ball among the city traffic, and the inaccuracy of the bowling as well as the somewhat eccentric batting pointed to the fact that considerable practice will be needed before these young cricketers are in form. Their eagerness, however, allied with the mild weather, suggested that summer was much closer than the calendar would allow. Is Murder Obscene?

A Magistrate at Clerkenwell Court challenged a claim made by the public prosecutor that a novel was obscene if its general effect was an incitement to murder. The Magistrate commented: “Edgar Wallace might be held to be obscene according to this definition. If any murder story is to be held obscene, I don’t know where we are getting.” After reading a passage from the novel which, he said, described the attempted murder of a prostitute, Mr E. G. Macdermott, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “This might incite a young person to do something.” He submitted that the test was whether passages in the novel where such as to be likely to deprave or corrupt, people into whose hands they might fall. The case was one in which 12 defendants, including three limited companies, were sent for trial on summonses conspiracy to publish obscene books. The Magistrate, committing the defendants -for trial, said he had come to the conclusion that anyone who summed up the case might turn a jury either way.— London, August 12. Coal Bins Full Two coalmines on the West Coast, Blackball and Roa, are idle because their coal bins are full. The collier Puriri was expected to berth last night to discharge cement, take on coal, and release the trucks to clear the bins. However, it is doubtful if this will be done in time to allow the miners to work today.—(F.O.O.R.) Film for Parents The Rotorua Borough. Council has decided to screen a full-length film on child delinquency for audiences of parents.