NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 55, 6 March 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Stolen Car Found.

A light motor-car which was stolen from Broadway, Miramar, on Thursdaynight, was found abandoned.yesterday in a Pahautanui gully in a damaged condition. On the same night the car was stolen, a Paekakariki grocery store was burgled and provisions removed. Some of these were found in the back seat of the car. Apparently it had got out of control and was dived through a railing and down a ten-foot bank. It ,is believed that the occupants obtained a lift on their way from a passing motorist. Car owners are warned to take every precaution when parking their cars. Muddled Marriage Dates. Many errors of one kind and another were discovered by the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, in the legal papers that came before him in the Auckland Supreme Court on Thursday during the hearing of a large number of divorce cases (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The climax was reached; however, in a case in which the petitioner was found to have sworn on diffent occasions that he had been married in December, 1934, December, 1935, and December, 1933. The error, which had been corrected by direction of a previous Judge who had handled the case, had reappeared again in the papers. : It was eventually shown l.iat the earliest of the three dates mentioned was the correct one. Delay in Printing of Awards. The difficulty in which, iii a number of cases, both employers and employees found themselves through the delay in the printing of awards, and the consequent position that they were bound by new conditions of which they had no knowledge, was recently referred to the Minister of Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong) by the Wellington Manufacturers' Association. Mr. Armstrong has now replied to the secretary of the association explaining that immediately prior to the Christmas holiday period a large volume of this work was placed with the Government Printer and delay was unavoidable. Mr. Armstrong said that the work had now been brought almost up to date and he hoped that there would be no further cause for complaint as regards delay in the printing of awards. Earthquake Insurance. Immediately after the Hawke's Bay earthquake, proposals were put forward from several sources and were given wide support that 'a national scheme of earthquake insurance should be introduced without delay, but nothing came; of it. The Masterton Borough Council has not given up the idea, and is bringing the proposal before the annual conference of the Municipal Association in a remit urging the Government to bring down legislation upon the lines of the Bill introduced by Mr. W. E. Barnard in 1934 or in some similar form which will provide adequate protection on a national basis for earthquake insurance at a moderate- cost. Mr. Barnard's Bill provided for an insurance tax to be payable by insurance companies and by persons insuring buildings or contents with companies not carrying on business in New Zealand. It was proposed that a tax of one shilling per cent, on the amount of all insurable contracts in the Dominion should be levied by quarterly instalments. Inscription on New Coin^ In the belief that King George VI may have entirely different views on the question from the ex-King, the Duke of Windsor, the annual conference of the (Federation of New Zealand Justices of the Peace Association decided yesterday to make another attempt to have the words "Dei Gratia" included on the new coinage (states the Christchurch "Star-Sun"). ' The conference had before it the following remit, proposed by the registrar (Mr. A. J. Stratford):—"That, if it still be the wish and desire of the members here assembled to advocate the inclusion of the words 'Dei Gratia'—or at least the initials —upon the new mintage, it would appear now to be a most opportune time for so doing; and further, that his Most Gracious Majesty King George VI be approached through the Governor-General of New Zealand, and that this remit, if carried, be placed before his Majesty for his august approval." The president (Mr. A. H. Hobbs) said that, as the remit had been before the federation so frequently, he did not think a discussion would assist the matter. However, as there had been a change in the Mon- | archy, it was possible that the new King might have entirely different vjews from the ex-King, and it was considered advisable that the remit should again be sent forward. This course was agreed to, and the remit i was adopted without discussion.

Keas Increase. Keas, which are generally regarded as a' menace to back-country sheep, have been on the increase in the Rangitata, Ashburton, and Rakaia gorges during the last few years, and a recent campaign begun in these areas for their destruction has resulted in 166 being killed since December 18 (states the "Press"). The Ashburton . County Council has paid 3s 6d a beak j and is subsidised to the extent of 2s 6d j a beak by the Department of Agricul- ; ture. ' i i Witnesses' Fees. , An increase in the fees of witnesses j in Court proceedings was urged at the ; annual conference of the Federation of : New Zealand Justices of the Peace* Association yesterday morning (states ■ the Christchurch- "Star-Sun"). The : question was introduced by Mr. J. J. Hurley (Canterbury), who moved that ; the Department of Justice be recommended to consider the. advisability and justice of raising witnesses' expenses. Mr. Hurley said that an in- ; crease would be in keeping with the : times. It seemed unfair, he added, that an artisan, whose wages were 2s 6d an hour, should receive only 8s a day when called upon to attend Court as a witness. He considered that it was an anomaly and should be removed. The motion was carried. Movement of Sheep. Already this season 300,000 sheep have left Gisborne and coast districts for other parts, and by the time the great movement of sheep has concluded the total should reach 350,000 (states a Gisborne correspondent). These figures are based on information secured from the Department of Agriculture, the officers of which have been very busy during the past two months inspecting sheep on the roads and in the saleyards. In two months they inspected, over 300,000 sheep and found only 1586 infested. This provides a remarkable record for cleanliness and is a distinct improvement on the position in former years. The Department's estimate of the number of sheep which left the district last year was 327,000. Tuberculin Tests For Cows. • ' A remit which is likely to cause a , good deal of discussion at the Muni- . cipal Conference next week is one ' proposed by the Gore Borough Council that the Government should be re- ( quested to pass legislation making it compulsory for all dairy herds to be tested each year before allowing milk to be sold in any city or borough within the Dominion and providing that no licence should be issued until the certificate is produced. ' Steps to this end have already been taken by some local authorities by way of bylaw, and recently a test case was brought in Hawke's Bay to ascertain the validity of such bylaws. Judgment has not ] yet been given. The Gore Council desires to see general provision made. Minister Goes Mushrooming. The sight of a large patch of mushrooms in a paddock between Lawrence < and Roxburgh, Otago, provided the Minister.of Railways (the Hon. D. G. ' Sullivan) with an opportunity of forgetting for a moment the arduous Ministerial duties involved in a tour of the railways (states an exchange). No sooner had the special train carrying : the party drawn opposite the field in : which these delicacies grew than' it came to an abrupt stop, and the Minister, followed by Mr. N. A. Campbell, M.P. for Chalmers, the general manager of railways, Mr. G, H. Mackley, and several other prominent railway ; officials, sallied forth with boxes to : spend a busy ten minutes in the wet grass. When the rich harvest had been gathered, the mushrooms were carefully covered with grass, cut by the guard of the train, to keep them afresh. Opposition to Women Police. !■ i ' Unexpected opposition to the ap- : pointment of women police was shown !by a number of the delegates at the annual conference of the Federation of New Zealand Justices of the Peace '. Association in Christchurch. yesterday . morning (states the "Star-Sun"). At a number of previous conference? remits advocating the appointment -of women police have been carried, and yesterday morning the registrar (Mr. A. J. Stratford) submitted a remitM-e----affirming the previous decision. As there was no discussion, the president (Mr. A. H. Hobbs) put the remit to the vote and declared it carried on the voices. Mr. A. Williams'(Canterbury) called for a division, and when this was taken eleven delegates voted for ; the remit and eight against. Informa--1 tion regarding the number of women ' police and their duties in Victoria and ' South Australia was received from the Police Commissioners in Melbourne and Adelaide. " New Aeroplane Type. '• At present there is being assembled ' at the Hawke's Bay and East Coast ', Aeijo Club's aerodrome at Hastings a new type of machine for New Zealand, \ a twin-engined Monospar. It will introduce new flying features in aircraft \ as far as this country is concerned (states a Hastings correspondent). The ', machine, which is the property of the ', New Zealand Aerial Mapping Company, arrived in parts some weeks ago, and the work of assembling it is being carried out under the direction of Mr. , G. Tillson, the company's own ground engineer. Such good progress has been , made that he is very hopeful that the [ machine will be ready for flights [ today. If s the preliminary ' flights . and tests are successful it is the inten- [ tion of Mr. H. P. ,D. van Asch, the re- , presentative of the company, to pilot the machine to Wanganui today ', for the North Island air pageant. ', The machine has several distinctive '. features, including twin tail planes. It has seating accommodation for five, and. is to be used by the company inj connection with its aerial survey of L the Dominion and other activities. The , headquarters of the machine are to be '. Hastings. | "May Day" Holiday? A. request that May Day, the interr national Labour Day, should be in- | eluded in the holidays during the year 1 was made by Mr. A. McLagen, agent , for the employees, in the conciliation , council at Christchurch yesterday morning, when the Canterbury ooalminers' dispute was heard (states the "Star-Sun"). "What do you want May Day for? You have already got Labour Day." asked Mr. D. I. Macdonald, employers' agent. "It is true .that we have Labour Day, but as a holiday it is being observed less and less every year," replied Mr. McLagen. Mr. Macdonald suggested that the holidays clause should be worded to provide for a further day's holiday, the day to be agreed upon between the men and the owners. Mr. McLagen objected to this proposal, saying that a different day would be decided on by every mine. May Day, he continued, was an international holiday, and had been observed in New Zealand for many years. Miners in the Whilecliffs district had observed a May. Day holiday for many years. "Is a May Day holiday embodied in any New Zealand award that you know i of?" asked Mr. C. E. Purchase, an em- : ployers' assessor. "No, it isn't, but it is observed as a holiday for all that," replied Mr. McLagen. Later, he said, that as the King's Birthday was the employers' holiday, so was May Day the workers' holiday. "I don't agree with that," said Mr. Macdonald. Dis- , cussion on holidays was held over. i