NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 144, 15 December 1933, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

T.B. Amongst Nurses. ' - The chairman of the Wellington Hospital Board (Mr. F. Castle) stated at a meeting of the board last evening that recently there had been some references in the Press to the prevalence of T.B. amongst the nursing staffs of hospitals. Ho had asked the medical superintendent1 if the report had any special application to the nursing staff of the Wellington Hospital. Dr. Ewen had assured him that the rumour had no special reference to the Wellington Hospital. A School Museum. A somewhat unusual request has been received by the Canterbury Education Board in a letter from the pupils of the Barker School, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America, asking for assistance in the establishment of a school museum, states "The Press." The request will probably. be jiasscd on to a district high school. The letter received stated that the pupils of the Barker School were anxious to place in their museum exhibits from schools in all parts of the world. Suitable exhibits would be pictures, samples of manufactured products, costumes, or any other article) depicting life in the country of origin. Charges for Hospital Patients. The present charges for patients at the Wellington Hospital are:—Under 12 years, Cs a day; over 12 years, 12s a day. The chairman of the foes committee (Mr. A. J. McCurdy) brought up a report at a meeting of the board last night recommending that the charges for in-patient treatment be revised as follows:—Under U years of age, 6s per day; over 14 and under 18 years', 9s; over 18 years, 12s. The chairman (Mr. F. Castle) pointed out that the recommendation of the committee raised a question of policy, and on his suggestion the change proposed by the fees committee was referred to the general purposes committee for consideration and report. The One-man Tram. Eeplying to a question from Councillor W. Duncan at last evening's meeting of the City Council whether, if the one-man tram is put1 on the Oriental Bay run it will not'be possible to operate it as a feeder to the Roseneath bus-service, .the Mayor (Mr. T, C.' A. Hislop) said that so far it had not been decided just where the tram would run. It was regarded as an experiment, but it was considered that _ it might be successful in giving a service during hours of little traffic, as on Sunday afternoons. ■'. / : : No More Private Swimming Lessons. In future, the reserves committee of the City Council recommended last night, bath attendants'employed by the council should not be granted any portion of the fees received for giving lessons in swimming and that they should not be permitted to give private swimming lessons at the baths. The chairman of the committee, Councillor J. Burns,' said that it was felt that the old arrangement, whereby bath attendants received half the fees charged, did not square with the rule that one man should do one job. There were probably a good many good swimmers who would at present be only too pleased to offer their services as tutors at the baths. Band Concert Collections. The Wellington bands have lately had a hard time of it financially, and at a recent meeting of the City Council' asked, through a deputation, for some relaxing of the rules restricting methods of collection, as well as expressing the hope that in the near future it would be possible for. the council to reinstitute the former subsidy. Last night the reserves committee of the council recommended that the previous decision regarding collections should be adhered to with the addition that collectors should be alllowed to stand- inside the gates at the Botanical Gardens, as well as being permitted to move amongst the people in the vicinity of the band rotunda. Thanks to Hospital Staff. At the' termination of the business at' the &»al meeting of the Wellington Hospitar Board for the year last evening, the chairman (Mr. F, Castle) thanked all members of the staff for their loyal co-operation. A spirit of co-operation within a hospital, he said, was very valuable.* He thought all would agree that the honorary medical staff was profession ally; strong and took the keenest interest in the clinical work of the institution. Mr. Castle also mentioned the valuable services rendered by the Medical Committee,' the Medical Council, the medical superintendent, and the nursing and clerical staffs. , Tire Brigade Calls. During November the City Fire Brigades were summoned ninety-one times, calls averaging three a day. Of these calls twenty-six were false alarms, sixteen of which were considered justifiable, the other ten being malicious. Of the 65 actual fires, 27 were property fires, and seven were chimney fires. The remainder, thirtyone, were gorse, grass, or rubbish fires which necessitated the brigades' attention. When the report giving these particulars was presented to today's meeting of the Wellington Fire Board, it was stated that the question of false alarms was one which was receiving the earnest consideration of the authorities. While anyone could dial the fire station it was almost impossible to detect the sender of a false klarm.

School Tradition. "The tradition of a school may appear a somewhat strange thing to an outsider, but it really means that successive generations have pooled their abilities and character to make the school a living thing, independent of the passage of time," said Mr. W. A. Armour, headmaster of Wellington College, in his annual report. "It is brought about because boys wish to function as social beings. School tradition and the team spirit make that possible, and the present generation of boys, especially those who are about to leave us, have done much to pass that tradition on." One Hash—Good-night. Just one flash of lightning, one peal of thunder, and Thomas Wilson, aged 18, lay dead at Billabong Creek, Parkes, N.S.W. There was no more lightning that day. Wilson's horse was dead, but sixty sheep recovered after lying motionless on their backs .for many minutes. Wilson was found lying dead on the ground beside the horse. Half his head was untouched; the lightning had burned the hair from the other side. Half his face was charred black otherwise he did not ajjpear to be injured. His clothes were burning; smoke rose.from the smouldering cloth. The horse was apparently unharmed. It had evidently been killed by the shock. Dry Varsity Dances. "Drinking at dances is an abominable habit," said the Chancellor of Melbourne University (Sir ■ John MacFarland) on December 4, "and it is only done by a few degenerates. Any, Australian boy or girl who cannot have a dance without a few stimulants is not worthy of the name.": The University Council has therefore banned drinking of liquor at University dances. The conditions approved provide that no intoxicating drink must be brought into the University grounds privately, in motor cars, or in. flasks, or left in motor cars outside the grounds to be taken by guests at the dance. If any guest-should violate this rule it should be the- duty of the committee managing the dance to refuse that guest further admission to the dance. Boys of Today. la the report he presented at last night's prize-giving ceremony, Mr. Wr A. Armour, headmaster of Wellington College, said he felt sure that those boys who were attending as pupils for the last time would carry into the larger world something precious which they had obtained from their old school. Success in examinations was a little matter as compared with success' in the development of character. It was the spirit of comradeship and co-opera-tion that the staff tried to develop which could do much for the betterment of the State, asa whole. "I think the boys of today are extraordinarily hopeful and courageous in their outlook on life," said Mr. Armour. "With all their obvious faults, such as lack of selfcontrol, sometimes even excessive selfconfidence, they show a frankness, a sincerity, and a straightforwardness which augur w.ell for the future of this country." A Considerate Principal. "No doubt this is the moment you have all dreaded" was the opening remark of the principal (Mr. W. H. Stevens, M.A.) in his address at the Wellesley College prize-giving ceremony last night. It was customary, ho said, for the principal to give an elaborate and detailed report followed by a learned discourse ou educational matters, but he had always thought that a prize-giving should be a pleasant ceremony. He did not propose to read any formal report because he thought that if the prize-giving were preceded by 50 minutes of pedagogic theory on his part the small'boys' vitality would be sapped. After speaking for another minute or two on school matters, Mr. Stevens resumed his seat amidst thunderous applause. Shield for Eastbourne Fire Brigade. A handsome shield donated to the Eastbourne Fire Brigade, by Mr. A. Samuels was accepted on behalf of the brigade by the Eastbourne Borough Council last evening. In a letter, Mr. Samuels said he was gratified to see the interest being taken iv the brigade, and suggested that the shiold.could.be for competition among teams of five men. The Mayor (Mr. E. W. Wise) expressed gratification at the gift of the shield, and it was-, decided to send Mr. Samuels a letter of thanks. Thefire brigade will decide the use to which the shield will be put. Foundation Professors. It was reported at last night's meeting of the Victoria University College Council that the third of the four portraits in oils of the foundation professors of the college, that-of Professor T. H. Easterfield, had been received, and was at the college along with those of Professors J. Bankine Brown and H. MaeKenzie. Mi: G. F. Dixon, who has taken a leading part in connection with the presentation of the pictures, said he was still unable to give any definite information as to the likely date of arrival of the portrait of the late Professor E. C. Maclaurin from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor W. H; Gould said he had conferred with Mr. Dixon on the question of a date for the unveiling of the portraits, and Easter Saturday, March 31, had fb'een suggested as a suitable date. Aftet discussion, it was decided that the matter should be deferred, and that in the meantime the registrar (Mr. G. G, S. Bobison) should co-operate with Mr. "Dixon in circularising contributors to the portrait fund on the question of a date for the ceremony. Eastbourne Traffic. Details of traffic to Eastbourne during November were given by the Towii Clerk (Mr. C. L. Bishop) to the Eastbourne Borough Council last evening. In the ferry department, the traffic receipts .were slightly below- those of the corresponding month, last year. The weather at weekends was poor, and the extra trips run in connection with the summer time-tables were poorly patronised. The total receipts for the eight months to the end of November were approximately £300 higher than for the corresponding period last year. Expenditure for the same period was slightly higher on account of th<j heavier annual overhaul expenditure. The traffic in the omnibus department for the month was, also below that of last year, the decrease being approximately £.25. The total for the eight months, however, was still approximately £75 higher than for the same period last year.- Trading expenditure was normal. No increase in traffic was apparent with the operation of the summer time-tables. Upper Hutt School Boundaries. The Trentham School Committee wrote some time ago to the Education Board asking for additional accommodation to be provided at the school. The Education Board replied to the effect that the situation could be met by a rearrangement of the boundaries between the Upper Hutt, Silverstream, and Trentham schools, the total accommodation at these schools being ample for the children available. The Minister of Education had approved of the rearrangSment of the boundaries, stated the Department, and had directed also that the payment of £65 per an-nuiri-for the rent of temporary accommodation was to cease at the end of the present school year. The Trentham School Committee did not approve of the Education Board's suggestion, so a deputation waited on the Minister, and asked him not to rearrange the boundaries. The deputation received a very favourable hearing, but the decision of the Minister has not yet been made available to the school committss.