General News

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28371, 2 September 1957, Page 10

General News

Schoolboy ’Flu Cases The 14 schoolboys and their master who have been isolated in the Ashburton Public Hospital with influenza, since the death of a schoolmate a week ago, would probably return to the North Island on tonight’s ferry, the Sur-geon-Superintendent of the hospital (Mr A. J. Mason) said yesterday. Tfiey had been allowed to take a walk in the Domain and the hospital grounds yesterday. The boys, who were rural course students at the Okato District High School in Taranaki were making a holiday study trip of farming in the Ashburton County when they became ill. ' Check on Efficiency A possible invasion of nuclear science into the domestic scene, mentioned by an American senator was quoted by the director of the division of nuclear science (Mr T. A. Rafter) in an address to the Hutt Rotary Club. “If you believe that your wife isn’t getting the breakfast dishes clean, test how efficiently she does her work. Feed radioactive phosphorus to chickens, who lay radioactive eggs. Your wife fries the eggs and you eat them, but leave a little egg on the plate. She washes -the platd and you check (with a counter) to see if radioactive material remains. A dishwasher manufacturer in America tested the efficiency of a new machine in this way.” Motor Vehicles at Chathams

The total number of motor vehicles registered on the Chatham Islands is • now 168, comprising cars, trucks, tractors, trailers, and motor-cycles, says the annual report of the Department of Island Territories. However, the roading system is still poor, and in only two short stretches can 30 miles an hour be exceeded. Twenty-nine new registrations of motor vehicles were made during the financial year on the islands, while one or two were registered in New Zealand. and taken to the islands. A.A. Services

Statistics of services provided by the -Automobile Association (Canterbury) in the year ended July 31, 1957, are given in the annual report: members assisted by service officers, 983; breakdown services given by appointed garages, 1335; members’ cars handled for shipping, 700; signs and coloured bands erected by officers, 998. Service officers travelled 116,338 miles during the year, the report adds. Baby Monkey at Zoo A Father’s Day surprise in a private zoo at Middleton was the birth of a wrinkled, pink and extremely ugly baby monkey. At 8.55 p.m. yesterday, a four-year-old rhesus monkey gave birth to its first baby and the first monkey to be born at the Hands road zoo run by Mr R. H. Long. There was great excitement in the monkey house and much barking. The mother, cuddling her baby fondly, showed it to her male companions, aged 18 and 20. At present it is all head and ears.

Detection of Smuggling The detection of smuggling and other attempts to evade customs duties, iinport and export prohibitions, and exchange control restrictions is an important part of of the Customs Department's work, according to its annual report. During 1956, 120 persons were apprehended for smuggling offences, and goods seized from them included beer and spirits, watches, apparel, fishing rods, toys, nylon stockings, tobacco, and a large quantity of cigarettes. Fines imposed on these persons amounted to £451, and the department paid rewards totalling £l26' 10s. , Mail Over-carried The liner Mariposa left Auckland for Sydney on Saturday with 711 bags of American mail which should have been off-loaded. Because it was raining, cargoworkers removed only 270 sacks of first-class mail from the ship. No general cargo was unloaded, but 100- tons of meat was taken on board. The ship will now be unloaded when she passes through Auckland on her way back to the United States.— (P.A.) Breaches of Import Control

The Customs Department is particularly concerned at the number of breaches of the Import Control Regulations. During 1956, proceedings were instituted against two importers for what, were considered wilful and ' serious breaches, convictions being entered in both cases. In other instances, offenders have been required to export the goods, according to the department’s annual report. False Pretences Police yesterday arrested a 45-year-old millionaire, Yadullah Doulat, and charged him with bezging in the streets. Doulat admitted having a< rich father and owning thousands of goats and sheep and property in Teheran, the American Associated Press reported. He' told police he just loved begging and there was no tax on the proceeds.—Teheran, August 31.