NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 63, 11 September 1937, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Xot Only the Weather.

Grocers' shops usually have queue 3 from 11.30 onwards on Saturdays, but today the crowd anxious to purchase the weekend supplies was not so large as usual, "The weather, I suppose, remarked a reporter, "Partly," was fhe reply, "but there are •vaces on today, too. They've all been saving up for it!" Whales in Port Pegasus. As the motor-vessel Ranui was leaving Port Pegasus, Stewart Island, recently, two sperm whales were seen disporting themselves in the harbour. A pair usually come into Port Pegasus each year and may be seen scraping themselves along the rocks, doubtless for the purpose of ridding themselves of parasites. Possibly it is .the same pair that make the annual visit. Advertising: a Tax. If the executive of the South Island Motor Union has its way, every petrol pump in the South Island will soon carry a placard bearing words something like these: "Every time you buy a gallon of petrol you are paying the Government 10Jd in tax" (states the "Press"). The executive heard the suggestion made on Thursday by Mr. J. S. Hawkes, whose main contention was that only such prominent placards would impress upon the public the amount it paid in petrol tax. The suggestion, will be considered by the annual meeting of the union later in the month. Lighting Station Frontages. The grounds of the new railway station, and its environs, were lit by the ordinary street lamps only until last night, when the more powerful special lamps, ordered to arrive some tune ago, but only now available, were tried out. They brightened up the entrance to the station wonderfully. There are 12 single lamps on steel arms, and four double lamps at a height of 25ft from the ground. It has been remarked that the standards and fittings might have been more decorative, but the lights serve their purpose well. Large lamps still remain to be placed at the intersection of Featherston Street and Stout Street. < Cruelty to Poultry, A complaint regarding the handling of poultry at the auction marts was received at the last meeting of the committee of the Wellington Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The condition of crating by farmers left much to be desired, it was stated, the poultry being cramped considerably, apparently in order to save freight charges. Even considering the unnecessary amount of handling by purchasers, so rough as to be absolutely cruel, the worst feature of the complaint revealed that fowls were in many instances.carried away from the mart in sugar bags or sacks in which the birds were packed one on top of the other in the same manner as crayfish. It was also pointed out that birds purchased for killing at hotels were conveyed to their destination in boxes which were unsuitable. The committee decided that the inspector should exercise more vigilance in connection with the markets, and take steps to prosecute in any case where cruelty was involved. Refused £7 4s a Week. The disinclination of some men drawing sustenance to accept employment was the subject of comment by members of the Rangiora County Council at yesterday's meeting, (states the "Christchurch Star-Sun").. The chairman (Mr. H. Tallott) referred to the fact that a traffic tally was being taken in the county, and said that two men who were on sustenance had refused to. accept seven days' employment for which the remuneration was £7 4s. Mr. R. Macdonald alleged that he knew of a case where an ablebodied young man had refused employment on the grounds that he was receiving 17s 6d a week for doing nothing. Considering that it was time something was done in the matter, the council decided that after making full inquiries the clerk should refer the cases of the two men offered employment by the council to the certifying officer.