General News

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27910, 6 March 1956, Page 12

General News

Black Magic Defined The police in Brixton had a 999 call alleging black magic about to be practised at an address in the neighbourhood. They went round to investigate, and their action was the subject of! a question in the House of Commons by Colonel Lipton (Labour). The householder in question, he said, was a “highly respected Spiritualist” of 30 years’ standing who “justifiably resents the unwarranted intrusion of the police.” “What exactly is black magic?” asked a member. “Well, it is the opposite to white magic,” began the Home Secretary (Mr G. Lloyd George), and when the laughter subsided he said: “And I cannot go any further than say that black magic is performed with the aid of the Devi], I presume the other is performed without his aid.” —London, March 4. “Shaky”

Mr H. R. Lake, M.P.. said last night that he had a "somewhat shaky tenure of the Lyttelton seat.” There were greater responsibilities on him in his second term in Parliament than in his first. “I say this not in any critical vein,’’ he said. “But they tend to give you a few more jobs when you are not just a new boy.” Mr Lake was guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Canterbury-Westland Branch of the New Zealand Society of Accountants. Tuna Caught at Akaroa

A 471 b tuna. 3ft 6in long, was caught on groper gear by an Akaroa fisherman, Mr Ross Harraway, last week. Sent to market in Christchurch, the fish sold for Is per lb. though it is regarded by many as a delicacy. A A U » na we i£hing 601 b was caught ‘off Akaroa some months ago. and fishermen say that at certain times they appear to be fairly plentiful. Raising Church Funds

Representatives of the Wells Organisation. which runs a scheme for the more efficient raising of funds in parishes, will be invited to address a meeting to decide whether the organisation can be asked to operate m the diocese of Christchurch. The diocesan registrar (Mr L. H. Wilson) was authorised to invite the representatives by the Standing Committee at its last meeting. The Wells Organisation, which originated in the United States, has operated with success in Australia, and its representatives are now working in the diocese of Auckland. Nespelen Leaves for U.S.

With paint covering repairs to her ice-battered hull, the United States Navy tanker Nespelen left Dunedin yesterday on her 8000-mile voyage to Norfolk, Virginia. A small crowd of officials and friends gathered at the wharf to see the ship off. The emergency repairs carried out in the dry dock at Port Chalmers were praised by the ship’s commander (Lieutenant G. C. Sup) as tremendous, thorough, and of great quality.— (P.A.) Cows Sold for 7s 6d

Low-conditioned old cows were sold for 7s 6d. 12s 6d, 17s 6d and 35s at the Duvauchelle stock sale last week, their owners being compelled to sell because of shortage of feed. Farmers at the sale could not recall, even during the days of the depression, lower prices for cattle. Top price was £3O 10s, for steers.

Family Affair in University Building The signing of the contract last week for the. extensions tc me Registrar’s Office at Canterbury University College continued a 39-year-ol<i family association. The builders chosen were P. Graham and Sons and the architect was Mr J. G. Collins. They will give=*the office a new wing of 3000 square feet on the Montreal street frontage which will equal the floor space on the two storeys of the existing building. The foundation stone on the main block at the corner, laid in 1915. has the name of P. Graham as builder and J. J. Collins (father of the present one) as architect. The new wing, beside the old stone block, will be in concrete blocks. Work will start before the end of this month and clerical staff are expected to occupy the wing in the second half of the year. ' Rare Fish Caught The co-operation of a Waitara fisherman. Mr J. Poki, and the Collector of Customs at New Plymouth (Mr W. G. P. Ingley) has given the Dominion Museum. Wellington, its first example of the slender blowfish. The fish, described as similar to a trout, but with a parrot-like beak, was landed at Waitara last week. When it could not be identified in New Plymouth Mr Ingley sent the fish to the zoologist at the Dominion Museum (Mr J. Moreland). Yesterday Mr Moreland advised Mr Ingley that specimens had been taken previously, one at Tauranga and the other at Auckland, both many years ago.—(P.A.) Antarctic Helicopter Damaged A gale of up to 72 miles an hour recently damaged a helicopter on the ice at McMurdo Sound and drove the American icebreaker Eastwind (6500 tons) to sea, says a radio report received yesterday by the United States Embassy at Wellington. The helicopter's cockpit was damaged when the gale flipped the aircraft on its side. It is hoped to repair the helicopter in America. Heavy seas broke over the Eastwind, shrouding the ship in a heavy layer of ice. The ship was weighed down by about 300 tons of ice, and the bow was 6ft lower than it was before the storm.— (P.A.) Missing Art Union Ticket

The middle-aged widow at present in Invercargill who thinks she has the £5OOO winning ticket in the “Leap Year Luck” art union, drawn recently, cannot find it. She lives in a Southland country town and with her sister searched the house at the week-end. She is sure that the ticket, No. 193806, is in her house, but admits that her memory is not very good. “I’ve got to wait till I run over it, and it may take a long time,” she said yesterday. Both she and her sister will return to the house this week to make another search for the ticket.—(P.A.) Tourist Hotel Corporation The first meeting of the recentlyannounced five-man directorate of the Tourist Hotel Corporation will be held at Wellington on Friday. It will be opened by the Minister in charge of Tourist and Health Resorts <Mr E. H. Halstead>. Messrs Duncan Cox, A. M. Satterthwaite, J. D. Swan, and L. M. Wright will meet under the chairmanship of the general manager of the Tourist and Publicity Department (Mr R. W. Marshall). Business will include a discussion of general hotel policy.—(P.A.) Tokaanu’s Earthquake Apart from a few slight tremors, all was quiet at Tokaanu and the little village of Waihi last night, after a series of earthquakes in the district on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s series of sharp tremors was followed by another 20 of lesser severity on Sunday night. Mr D. R. Gregg, a geologist. said last night that the tremors had fallen off to a few shivers by yes-1 terday. Mr Gregg, who has been joined i at Tokaanu by Mr H. E. Fyfe, chief I geologist of the Geological Survey, said that investigations had shown that I all the tremors were of local origin ! and had been felt more severely in Tokaanu, built on comparatively swampy and therefore unstable ground, than in Waihi, which was built on rocky foundations.— (P.A.) Recorder on Telephone A man who admitted attaching a tape recorder to his telephone was fined £5 in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court by Mr J. B. Thomson. S.M. When police interviewed the man at his home on February 2 they found the tape recorder attached to his partyline telephone, said Senior-Detective W. H. Cromwell. When played back the tape showed nothing indecent, and recorded only a conversation between the man and a friend.