NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 118, 14 February 1944, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF

Salvation Army Congress. The territorial congress Of the Salvation Army, which was to have been held in Wellington from March 23 to March 28, has been postponed because of the rail restrictions. The new dates announced are from Thursday, May 28, to Tuesday, May 30. inclusive. The public meet■fige will be held in the Town Hall. Lamb and Wether Prices. The New Zealand Meat Producers Board advises that the lamb and wether schedules in the North Island will be increased by one-eighth of a penny per lb. commencing today. In the South Island the wether schedule will be increased by one-eighth of a penny per lb. commencing today. Woman Who Fell From Building. The woman who fell to her death from the parapet of John Court’s building in Auckland on Friday has been identified as Mrs. Helen'* Agnes Harvey Finlayson, aged 36; married, of Mount Roskill.' At the opening of an inquest this morning her husband said she had been suffering from nervous trouble for the last six months .and had been undergoing treatment from various doctors. —P.A.

Wintry Conditions. Though many people in Wellington thought it exceptionally cold weather yesterday, the lowest temperature recorded at Kelburn meteorological station was 53 degrees. This was only a little lower than the mean average for February of 54.7 degrees. A sharp wind blew all day. and at 4.30 p.m. reached a velocity of 53 miles an hour, and after that gusts of 40 m.p.h. were frequent. House Purchase Prevented. The Nelson Land Sales Committee refused an application for consent to sell residential property to intending purchasers who already owned, nine houses and properties in the city, on the grounds that the purchasers already held sufficient property .for their own use and that acquisition of additional land by, them would constitute undue aggrega-' tion in the terms of the Servicemen s Settlement and Land Sales Act. —P.A. Death from Bullet Wound. Admitted to the Auckland Hospital m a critical condition early on Saturday morning suffering from a bullet Wound i nthe head, a resident of Devonport died in the evening. He was Alfred Edward Harding, a widower, aged 47. of Devonport. A fellow boarder heard a shot m Harding’s room shortly before 8 o’clock, and discovered him on the floor unconscious. A .22 calibre rifle lay near him. —P.A.

More Motor Repairs. Inability to secure new cars for old is causing motorists to kefty the garage staffs busy on repairs. Giving evidence before- the Armed Forces Appeal Court at Greymouth the representative of a large establishment said that the staff: was unable to cope with the repair work, which was piling, .up. Of a pre-war staff of 69, 53 had joined the armed services or had gone to essential industries. The firm had only five mechanics left out of 15 atffi three apprentices out of nine.

Drilling Plant at Kamaka. Portion of the drilling plant which is to be employed in the No Town district by New Zealand Petroleum Ltd. has arrived at the Kamaka railway station. Aggregating 250 tons altogether, of which about 60 tons have already arrived, the equipment was shipped from New Plymouth to Westport, where it was loaded on to 10 railway wagons. It will be conveyed by road from Kanfaka to the site of the initial test bore.

Change to Cattle-. Because of heavy losses in the past three winters, the trustees of the estate of Mr. James Stevenson, who are operating the St. James Station. Htjntner Springs, have decided to sell off their sheep and run cattle on the station. St. James Station is one of tlie oldest in North Canterbury, and coinprises over 200,000 acres of land. At the present time the station carries nearlv 2000 head of cattle, and this herd will be built up. It is reported that upward of 5000 sheep will be sold by auction. War Sacrifice on Home Front. “Had it not been for conditions due to the war he would not have been driving a tractor and would not have been killed,” said the coroner at Hamilton at an inquest into the death of an elderly man who was killed when the tractor he was driving capsized at Huntly on January 4. In recording the verdict, the coroner commented that the man was a war casualty just as much as if he had been killed on the battlefield. There had been numerous cases of a similar nature where elderly men and men over middle age had received severe injuries during their efforts to maintain production when they normally would have retired. It should not pass unnoticed that not all of the sacrifices of war were made on the battlefield. Commercial Entries for the chamber of commerce commercial education examinations, held in November. 1943. were a record. 2556 candidates being exaniined in 2S centres. This was reported to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce council by Mr. P. E. Pattrick, convener of the commercial education committee. The standard of the papers became higher year by year, particulars in subjects such as office practice, English composition and business letter writing and handwriting, which were not covered by any other examining body. It was intended to increase the number and value of Scholarships. Included would be one in memory of a former secretary of the chamber, the late Mr. H. S. Fairchild, which had been endowed by Sir Charles Norwood, Mr. Andrew Fletcher and Mr. M. G. O. McCau’