NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 75, 29 March 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

"Mister" and "Sister." When a doctor changes to a "mister" complications sometimes follow, states the "Press." During a recent operation, so it is reported, a nursing sister addressed as "doctor" a recent convert to "mister." "Mister to you, nurse," reminded the surgeon. "Sister to you, I mister," retorted the nurse. Tusks 28 Inches Long. Tusks 28 inches long were found on a j wild boar killed in the Whangamornona district at Easter by Messrs. S. Pijkington and W. Ducey, Stratford. It is believed the previous record, tusk measurement. of any pig killed in the district was 24 inches. One of Mr. Pilkington's dogs which bailed up the boar was killed by it. Misdirected White Feathers. White feathers have been received through the post recently by dozens of Paeroa youths, states the "New Zealand Herald." Apparently the person responsible obtained a list of names from a report in the local newspaper of the Paeroa Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club's meeting, for practically every male competitor in the weekly sports received a feather. Almost all of the recipients of the feathers are many years too young to enlist. In some cases brief notes were also enclosed in the envelopes. | Four Men Burned. One man was seriously burned and I three others less seriously as the result of a premature explosion at Tokoroa on Wednesday morning, states a Rotorua correspondent. Those injured j were Mr. Frederick Bubb, aged ,42, who received extensive burns to the face, arms, body, and right knee, whose condition was reported to be serious, Mr. William Haumn, aged 20, Mr. Jack Rota, aged 22, and Charles Edwards, aged 17. The four men were admitted to the Rotorua Public Hos- j pital. The accident occurred when the men were engaged in blasting rock on the property of New Zealand Forest Products/Limited. They were using blasting powder, and as far as is known were following the normal procedure in its use. Blame the Exhibition. When you cannot reasonably blame the weather, blame the Exhibition, seems to be a popular principle to adopt. The Exhibition was blamed,, for instance, at yesterday's meeting of the Wellington Colleges .Board of Governors for the difficulties experienced in getting domestic workers. The wife of the headmaster of one college had to do all the cooking herself when j the regular cook took a day off, so it was stated, and anothei cook had been dismissed because she had come back "very tight," an occurrence which, it was suggested, was by no means unusual. One member said that a re-! staurant proprietor had told him; that it was very difficult to get any domestic staff while the Exhibition was on. The opinion was expressed that the position would improve when . the Exhibition was over. Not a Charitablte Institution. j "We are not a charitable institution. We have a certain amount of money to spend on education and it should be spent on that. There is a lot of essential work waiting to be done, and yet we have to say we have no money for) it although employing toese men, said Mr. W. H. P. Barber at yesterday's j meeting of the Wellington Colleges Board of Governors in reference to the employment of relief workers. It was suggested by another member that the colleges were becoming a dumping ground for men with physical disabilities, and that value was not being got for the money expended, which was] about £300 a year. Another member suggested that it might perhaps cost more to employ regular workers. A committee was appointed to investigate the value of the work done and !to interview the authorities on the matter. ' ' Native Land Development. Operations have started on the development of 734 acres of scrub and fern land at Pukemoremore, near Cam- j bridge, for Native settlement, states the j "New Zealand Herald." Once Crown land, in 1928 it was granted to various landless Waikato Maoris, most of whom were of the Ngatihaua tribe, but practically ho development followed, most of the land remaining idle, although the block is in a settled, and closely-farmed district. With very few exceptions the owners did not live on the property. A small part of the area is swampy, but the bulk is open, rolling country. The Native Affairs Department, which has assumed control under the development scheme, is employing Maori labour, which will be increased as work progresses. The idea is to put the property into a number of small dairy farms when scrub has been cleared and new pasture properly established. Selected Maoris will be placed in these farms. It will be some years, of course, before this will be attained.