NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 255, 25 July 1944, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF

Quota Exceeded

An announcement that (he Dunedin St. Hilda sub-zone of the Otago Provincial Patriotic Council had exceeded its quota (£43,000) of the .1041 all purposes appeal and was the first city zone in the Dominion to do so, was made at. a meeting of 'the sub-zone committee. It was also stated that in comparison with similar campaigns in New Zealand since the beginning of the war, the time taken to reach the year's. patriotic objective was the shortest so far. —P.A. Artificial Silk Parachutes.

Nylon artificial silk parachute canopies are now being issued to the It.N.Z.A.F. in New Zealand for the first time. Though the texture is slightly different to the touch, the artificial silk canopies have proved themselves in tests to he equal in every respect to those made, as previously, with pure silk.

Parliamentary Delegation. Lieut.-Colonel E. T- R- Wiekham, leader of the United Kingdom, Parliamentary delegation now in New Zealand, with Mr. J. G. Ross, leader of the Canadian delegation, and other members of the partv. returned to Wellington yesterday afternoon by plane from the South Island. They had dinner with the. Government Cabinet last night, and leave for Napier ibis morning.

A Brighter Aspect. After the wettest, week of the whole year —the rainfall in Wellington recorded nt. Kelburn was 4.40 inches —yesterday’s record of sunshine almost reached the possible, and conditions generally were those of a brilliant day in early spring.

New Departure in Postage. Copies of American magazines, of the digest order are being delivered in New Zealand, without wrapper of any kind. The reason is believed to be paper shortage, and a slight reduction in weight. All people in the United States are doing is to type the address on a small piece of white paper, which is gummed to the back cover of the magazine, together with the usual postage stamp.

Blown Out by the Boots. What is probably the biggest bluegum in Otago, if not in New Zealand, blew down during rough weather recently. Situated on the property of Hamilton brothers, where the old Anglican vicarage was originally, the tree blew out by the roots. The gum is 19 feet, in circumference, and one branch measured 72 feet in length. The tree, which is considered to be over St) years old, had been a landmark in the locality.

Poppy Buds That Don't Open. There is always a demand lor the decorative . poppy. Some Wellington people of late have been disappointed with their purchases, as they have discovered that the poppy buds—they are usually purchased in the bud—refuse to open when placed in water, as they do later in (he year. A gardener who was consulted said he thought the reason of this refusal was that, they might have been subjected to a slight frost just before being picked.

Union Funds Stolen. In the Magistrates’ Court. Auckland, vesterday morning. Alexander Levy, aged 39. labourer, admitted stealing, between February 1 and May 31, sums of money totalling £377. the property of the Auckland Freezing Works and Abattoir Workers’ Union. It. was stated that Levy had been branch secretary of the union at Westfield since October, 1943. Accused, who admitted spending all the money involved in the charge, was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence—l-A. Unusual Fatalities. Quite an epidemic of unusual fatalities occurred over the weekend in Dunedin. While playing at home with other children on Saturday, Kathleen Copland, aged 9, suffered burns from which she died yesterday morning. Alfred Henry Reay, aged 76, died in hospital under an anaesthetic during an operation. JMrs. Grace Fletcher, aged 58. died following a seizure in a tramcar and a Mrs. Gray expired while having her teeth extracted yesterday.—P.A.

Illegible Signatures. A plea to commercial men mid others to make their signatures legible wits. made in a letter read at. last week’s meeting of the 'Wellington .Chamber of Commerce, and was unanimously endorsed by members. The letter stated: “It is surprising to find the number of business men who believe that certain hieroglyphics are sufficient for a signature." _ • Mr. K. HNitnmo said it was a good idea for business mon to have their names typed under their signature.

Department to Limit Departments, “It is wanted by a new Government department which is' being set up to limit other Government departments, said a member of (he Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee _ yesterday, when the committee was considering provision of alternative accommodation for servicemen in place of that at. present available nt the Avon, on the corner of Molesworlh Street and Lnmbton Chitty. It was stated that, the Government had notifieel that it would be requiring the use of the Avon from a date yet to be fixed.

Friendly Sparrow. A friendly sparrow was the principal actor in a little, drama enacted on „ a coping high above the level of one of Wellington's busy streets the other day. He was seen to alight on- a ledge and parade uncertainly up <>nd down, carrying a piece of bread nearly as big as himself. Finally he deposited it and hopped off to a few feet away. Out of a recess in the stonework appeared a weary and crippled pigeon. The injured bird, obviously unable to fly. accepted the titbit and went off.to his resting place again. The sparrow then left. Salvation Army War Work.

Figures relating to the special facilities afforded by the Salvation Army at its People’s Palace institutions and al the lint at Wellington, railway station were placed before the Mellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee in a letter from Commissioner Evan Smith yesterday. Nearly ~100,<X't» servicemen and service women have received accommodation at the three People's Palaces to date, and 1.443,419 persons have been served at the Railway War Services Institute at the railway station. In addition. at the latter, many fhousamls have made use of the baggage room.

Rehabilitation of Servicemen. At the annual meeting of the National Council of Churches, representing eight churches, held in Lower Hutt last week. Consideration was given to the part of the churches in the rcliabilitntiou of returning servicemen and women. Plans were made for working alongside the Government and the U.S.A, in seeking that the comradeship will) the Church in the Army might not be discontinued when the 'men Return to civilian life. It was felt that there was just as much need for that spiritual ministry to which the men had become accustomed in the forces in the trying conditions , of readjustment with the return to civilian life.

Packing Patriotic Parcels. After investigation of the possibilities of packing patriotic parcels for the men overseas in cartons, instead of brown paper as hitherto, and obtaining estimates of the additional cost involved, it was decided at. yesterday's meeting of the Wellington Patriotic Committee to continue brown paper packing, the packages to be strengthened, however, by a prewrapping with old newspaper. It was agreed by members tlnit the provision of suitable cartons would be complicated, if not made impossible; by the frequent variation in size of available goods. The newspapers, it. was mentioned, would malm interesting reading for recipients.

Commemorative Plate. The clock presented to the city for tlie adornment of the Town Hall tower byUm lute Mr. John Blundell, Wellington, is now doing duty in the tower of the Wellington lire brigade station in Oriental Parade. The city council-is desirous of doing honour to the donor by erecting a commemorative plate setting forth the occasion and date of the gift, and a letter from the town clerk received by the hoard last week proposed that such n plate should be placed on the exterior facade of the central station. The erection of the plate was approved, but. it was considered that the most appropriate place for it was on one of the main piers of the engine-house, near th? columnnieiitions bureau.