NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 22, 25 July 1940, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Signal Companies Compete. The 1939-40 .annual competition for the New Zealand Corps of Signals Western Electric Shield resulted in the shield being awarded to the Southern District Signal Company. Points were gained as follows:—Northern District Signal Company, 427; Central District Company, no team entered; Southern District Company, 429. First Green Peas. The first green peas of the season appeared on the Auckland City Markets on Tuesday, selling at up to 2s per lb, states the "New Zealand' Herald." The consignment was a small one of good quality from Oratia, which supplied the first new potatoes a few weeks ago. The Orafia district is a good one for early cultivation of peas, being practically frost-free and well sheltered. A Mother's Help. A Wellington mother who has two sons in the Army and another son in the Air Force is among citizens who have generously responded to the api peal made by the secretary of the National Patriotic Fund Board for gifts !of electric irons for the use of Air (Force trainees at Rongotai to enable them to keep their uniforms smart. She lives at Kilbirnie, and not only has she advised Mr. G. A. Hayden, the board's secretary, that she can make an iron available, but she has also offered the hospitality of her home to one of ' the trainees when he is off duty. Mr. Hayden has undertaken to advise the commanding officer at Rongotai of this kind offer. ' No Conviction Entered. In the case in which John Edward Chitty, dog registrar for the Waikato County Council, was charged in the Hamilton Magistrate's Court with committing mischief by wilfully killing a dog which had bitten him, the Magistrate, Mr. S. L. Paterson, found that defendant was mistaken in thinking that he had legal justification for killing the'dog, states the Hamilton correspondent of the "New Zealand Herald." The defendant was discharged under the First Offenders' Probation Act, and no conviction was entered. The original report that the defendant was convicted was an error. Foreigners in British Forces. "His Majesty the King has approved that foreign subjects accepted for service in the forces may be permitted to wear foreign decorations or their ribbons when in uniform, but such permission is confined to decorations of a fully official character—namely, honours conferred by the head of the State or by the Government of the country in which the foreigner concerned belongs, or of a country fighting in alliance with Great Britain," states a notification contained in New Zealand Army Orders. The permission applies also to Czecho-Slovakian decorations. New Maternity Hospital. Plans for the new St. Helens maternity hospital in Christchurch were well under way, said the Minister of Health (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong) in the House of Representatives last night. The Minister added that it was hoped to call tenders for the building of the hospital by October. .When the hospital was built, said the Minister, it would certainly be the most up to date of its kind in New Zealand and possibly in the Southern Hemisphere. Alterations to Dredge Otakou. The Otago Harbour Board's dredge Otakou, which is at present equipped with oil burners in, her furnaces, will shortly be converted to burn coal, states the "Otago Daily Times." The decision to make the extensive alterations necessary to bring about the conversion was reached on account of the considerable rise in the cost of oil, as well as a desire to assist in the conservation of oil fuel supplies, the dredge normally consuming about 800 tons of fuel oil a year. The Otakou is at present in dock at Port Chalmers for sighting after her operations at Oamaru, but it is not intended to proceed with the work of converting her furnaces and bunkers for coal fuel for about a fortnight. It is expected that the alterations will take approximately a month to complete. Disloyalty in Schools. "I would not hesjtate to use all my power to see that a disloyal teacher does not teach in our schools," declared the' Minister of Education (the Hon. H. G. R. Mason) in the House last night in reply to a question raised by Mr. J. A. Roy (National, Clutha). Mr. Roy said that a complaint had been made to him, though he did not know how true it was. that a child had come home with a statement about certain things that had been taught that were definitely disloyal. Would the Minister allow such, things to continue? In making his reply, Mr. Mason remarked that he did not think it was a fair thing to bring forward a suggestion of disloyalty upon representations about which the member himself confessed he was entirely uncertain. Hydatids In Dogs. Replying to a question from Mr. H. S. S. Kyle (National, Riccarton) in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) said that a sufficient supply was in view this year of the drug administered to dogs for the elimination of hydatids, j Mr. Kyle pointed out that last year j the Government was unable to obtain the drug and local bodies had to be notified accordingly. The result for the local bodies was that, instead of being able to collect dog registration { fees at the usual time in the year, this had to be deferred, causing a great deal of inconvenience to the local bodies. One-way Flights. An amusing illustration that the oppressed people of Central Europe have not lost their sense of humour was given by Mr. W. Downie Stewart in an address to the Otago branch of the League of Nations Union, states the "Otago Daily Times." Mr. Stewart said that in a newspaper published in London that was contributed to by the peoples of European countries under German domination a short discussion by two Czechs was given. "Did you know that the British planes use twice as much petrol as the German machines?" asked one. "No, how is that?" "Well,"* came the answer, "the British planes fly over to Germany and back, but the German bombers fly only the one way to Britain. They don't come back!" Port Figures for June. A review of shipping and cargo statistics for June, as compared with June of \last year, given by the chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board, Mr. W. L. Fitzherbert,, last night, showed decreases in both the tonnage of shipping arrivals and the cargo handled. The net tonnage of shipping arrivals was 283,790, as against 326,021, a decrease of 42,231 tons. The tonnage of cargo handled decreased from 204,546 to 185.457, or by 19,089 tons. The principal decreases were in general cargo imports from coastal and Australian ports, 2175 tons; general cargo exports to British and foreign ports, 5297 tons and coastal and Australian ports, 5908 tons; oils in bulk, 6536 tons; imports of timber. 792,915 super feet; wool shipments, 15,455 bales; shipments of frozen meat, 4096 tons, and cheese 1272 tons. An increase of 4077 tons was shown in imports of coal.

Exhibition Tower Coming Down. The Centennial Exhibition tower, which has been a landmark for more than a year now, will shortly disappear. The contractors have made a start on dismantling the structure and already a few feet of the upper portion has been removed. The tower block of the Exhibition buildings has been transformed into officers' quarters for the large number of Air Force personnel, who will henceforth live at the new air station established in the Exhibition property. Parcels for Soldiers. Quotas for parcels from both zones and the metropolitan executive had been filled, said Mr. J. W.. Andrews at the meeting of the Wellington Provincial Patriotic Council yesterday afternoon. He suggested that the sending in of parcels be suspended until further need arose. The procedure was, it was stated, that each echelon that went away took sufficient parcels for all the men then in the field. The secretary of the council, Mr. E. M. Bardsley, said that the zones had been advised of their quotas, and had supplied them. They would need to supply no more until further advice from the council. The urgent need of the moment was for mittens. Peas Too Hard and Tough. New Zealanders can be counted upon to enjoy green peas grown in the Dominion when they are fresh, but those same peas when dried, and canned are [apparently too hard and tough for [British tastes. "Great Britain," states ithe annual report of the Plant Research Bureau, "cans one hundred million cans of dried peas per annum, using for this purpose about 500,000 I bushels of dry peas, of which 70 per I cent, to 80 per cent, are imported from the Continent and Japan. This is exclusive of the large quantity sold as dry peas in packets. New Zealandgrown peas are not acceptable in Great Britain for canning on account of thenhardness and the toughness of their skins. A project was commenced some years ago to breed varieties suitable for New Zealand more acceptable to the British trade. While these efforts have resulted in improvement in yield and appearance it has not been possible to overcome hardness and toughness. These features appear to be associated with climatic conditions." More progress has been attained in the production of a high-yielding white pea for the split-pea trade. Unique Crime Detection. Recalling- a criminal case which created great interest throughout the Dominion, the following paragraph appears in the annual report of the Dominion Laboratory:—"The most interesting investigation for the police was carried out at Auckland, the problem being the identification of clay, in connection with a case of arson in which human remains were found after the fire. A heavy claim for insurance was involved,' and it was "suspected that the remains.were those of a body obtained by robbing a grave. For proof it was essential that the grave be located. Clay found on a shovel left by the accused was compared with clay from twenty-eight cemeteries in the district, and, as a result, one cemetery was selected for closer investigation. Examination of clays from different parts of this cemetery narrowed the search down to a certain area. Exhumation of the only grave in this area of a required date revealed an empty coffin. As far, as can be ascertained, an entirely novel method was used in the examination. The clay on the shovel contained four varieties of diatoms, and counts of these enabled the grave to be located. Confirmatory evidence was obtained from surface factor of the, clays, true specific gravity, sedimentation test with particle count, and malachite-green absorption."