NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 110, 11 May 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Parliament Adjourns.

The first session of the twenty-fourth Parliament ended /shortly after eight o'clock last_ night. Very little-solid work was performed by the House of Representatives yesterdayj tut members were kept in close attendance in the buildings in order to put through the final business. When the House met in the afternoon, amendments to the National Expenditure Adjustment Bill were' introduced, and^ were adopted after some little discussion. The amendments were mostly of a . machinery; nature, although one gave effect to an important change in the provisions of the Bill dealing, with the pensions "cuts." i The Bill as originally passed by- the: House provided for a ten per cent., reduction ,in the Ttunrinvnin pen; sion payable, • and' tie% amendments niade' it clear that the reduction should apply only to .the actual amount received by the pensioner. .There was discussion also on a new claim relating, to ground rents. members raised- objection to the late appearance, of; the amendments, but Mr. Forbes assured the House that there were.no niggers in the woodpile. Before the sitting concluded in' the afternoon the Minister of ' Customs (the Hon. W. Downie Stewart) <mado a' statement to the effect that it\ was not intended to ask the House to ratify the Belgian-New Zealand Trade Treaty, as he • had been advised by- the; Belgian Government that it would be impossible to secure ratification by the Belgian Parliament. The: House met in the evening to receive a Message from the Governor-General: giving Boyal Assent to several Bills, deluding therKhance BilL ' '■■ Rumours were current during the afternoon that there was a-pos-sibility of the assent :to the Finance Bill being withheld,as a result of the inclusion of the clause extending the life of Parliament, but these proved to be unfounded. The" usual valedictory speeches were made, and in accordance with time-honoured custom, the formal motion to adjourn "until 24th May" was taken to a division. Amidst considerable laughter, the result of the division was announced as a tie—l 4 all—and the laughter increased-when Mr. Speaker solemnly declared that he would givo his casting vote with the "Ayes." The House adjourned after members had joined in singing tho National Anthem. Free Place Proposals. Proposals in regard to free places, and certificate examinations were discussed, at the conference of the Technical School Teachers' Association yesterday. A resolution was passed protesting against the introduction of the intermediate examination; and a committee was appointed to summarise objections to the new scheme and submit tho report to the department. Loss of Four Fingers. In an- accident while duck shooting-, Mr. Bertram Hullj a farmer, of Otaua; Waiuku, lost the four' fingers of 'his left hand through the discharge of a gun (states the- "New Zealand Herald"). Mr. Hull, who was shooting with -ia lad near tho : Waikato Heads, had placed his rifle against one of the uprights of his "hide." Noticing that tho gun was slipping, he put out his hand to stop it from falling. Just at the moment that he grasped the muzzle, both barrels wont off, severely lacerating all the fingers of the left hand. ■ Suffering agony, Mr. Hull had to walk two miles before being taken in a car to the Waiuku Hospital. Later he was admitted to the Auckland Hospital, where the fingers wore amputated. Returned Soldiers' Example. "That unemployed members of the association disapprove of any form of demonstration which is liable to lead to disorder, and therefore resolve to take no part in any such demonstration." A copy of this resolution, passed by tho South Canterbury Returned Soldiers' Association, and forwarded to the Dominion executive of the association, was road at Monday's meeting of the executive of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers'' (reports "the "Press"). ' It was received with applause, and members urged that it bo given publicity. One member said he would liko a copy of the resolution to'bo^sent to the sub-association, which ho represented. Flight Over Mount Cook. Circling 3000 ft above Mount Cook on Wednesday morning of last week, Mrs. Hooves, of Ashburton, had a. remarkable view of both-coasts of the South Island, as well as being able to look upon Mount Cook as perhaps only ono or two at most have ever been able to do (states the "Ashburton Guardian")'. Chartering an Aero Club aeroplane, Mrs. Reeves left- the Ashburton Airport at 9.30 a.m., the aeroplano being piloted by Mr. P. Curran. Tho air was very calm and there was not a cloud in the sky, bo that the whole of the Canterbury Plains were clearly visible as the Moth began to climb, and always in front there was the 12,349 feet peak, which was tho goal. Gaining altitude all the way, the aeroplane had reached about 15,000 feet by the time Mount Cook was reached. About half an hour was spent cruising around tho" mountain, arid the return journey was commenced. Petrol ran low on the way back to Ashburton and a landing was made in a paddock at 'Mayfield, where petrol was obtained. Ashburton wqp reached at 1.35 o'clock, a little over three' hours after the start. Notice to Jurors. Yesterday in the Supreme Court waiting jurors were notified that they wero relieved from further attendance until to-morrow morning. A notice in the advertising columns draws attention to the fact that their services will not bo required now until 10.30 a.m. on Friday. Carriage Derailed. When bound from New Plymouth to Wellington yesterday a tire on a carriage wheel of the New Plymouth express became. loose and derailed tho rear bogies, causing the carriage to como off the rails. The mishap occurred a mile on the southern side of Ohau at 4.15 p.m. The railway staff worked with dispatch to detach the derailed car, and passengers were transferred to the<front portion of the train re^e^ press rived'at Thorndon Station at 7.12 p.m.'instead of-at the scheduled time, 6.3 p.m. , " ' /