NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 53, 30 August 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Well Below the Estimate. For the four months ended July 31, the Wellington Hospital Board's expenditure has been well below the estimate. A report to the board last night gave the expenditure for the period as £114,763 and the estimate was £129,876. Lewis Gun Champions. The McKinney Challenge Cup Lewis gun competition for the training year 1939-40 has been won by the 3rd Composite Company, New Zealand Army Service Corps, with a score of 105, states a notification in Army Orders. The company is a Christchurch Territorial unit. Automobile Associations. A further increase in the membership of North Island automobile associations is recorded "with pride" in the annual report of the North Island Motor Union. The 1940 total is 73,862, compared with 69,055 last year. The figures for the preceding four years are as follows:—l93s, 31.590; 1936, 36,355; 1937, 46,008; 1938, 56.253. Hospital Statistics. The following statistics relating to the Wellington Hospital during July were reported to the Hospital Board last night (the figures for July, 1939. being shown in parentheses):—Admissions, 1216 (927); dischi ges, 1138 (898); deaths, 71 (73); operations, 652 (533); patients in hospital three months or over, 83 (78): daily average number of occupied beds, 1008.3 (865.7). Unruly Pedestrians. Disappointment that more concerted action is not being taken by traffic and police authorities to enforce observation of pedestrian crossings and to have the road conduct of pedestrians improved, is expressed in the annual report of the North Island Motor Union. "The Government has been repeatedly requested to make a film for exhibition in theatres to illustrate the correct use of crossings," the report states. "In view of the continued disregard of traffic rules by pedestrians this inaction is greatly regretted. . . '." The report also advocates the continued extension of the provision of footpaths along highways in the vicinity of towns. Registration of Cycles. "It was a disappointment to motorists when the requirement to have bicycles registered was deleted from the Transport Law Amendment Bill, 1939," states the annual report of the North Island Motor Union. "Cycle traffic is still one of the greatest bugbears of the highway, and until these vehicles are registered it appears impossible to bring their riders under proper control. In recent years there has been improvement in the marking of rear mudguards, but there is still much to support the view that red rear lights are necessary for night use of cycles." Froit Board Carries On. Although the State is now the sole exporter of fruit from the Dominion, the present constitution of the Fruit Export Control Board is to be retained for the duration of the war and the present producers' representatives will continue in office without re-election or reappointment. Normally two producers' representatives would retire in rotation this month. The decision to retain the status quo of the board has been made in co-operation with the industry and the necessary provision is contained in Fruit Export Control Board emergency regulations issued with last night's Gazette. "Facing Loaded Gun." The contention that the farmer was facing the loaded gun at every turn was made by Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (National, Waitomo) in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. The farmer, said Mr. Broadfoot, was one of those perfectly prepared to increase production and to do his share of war effort, but wherever he turned today he found costs put up against him. He thought the farmer today was entitled to be disgruntled, and that the Farmers' Union was quite right in sending a deputation to the Government.pointing out the inequalities that were happening and the granting of privileges to several sections of the community at the expense of the farming industry. Transport and the War. Authority for the Minister of Transport to waive any portions of transport legislation where they may impede the war effort is given in the Transport Legislation Emergency Regulations, 1940, contained in last night's Gazette. The regulations state that if it appears to the Minister to be necessary or expedient to do so, for securing the public safety, the defence of New Zealand or the efficient prosecution of ihe war effort, or for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community, he may, by Gazette notice, suspend so far as they relate' to the use of motor vehicles, or fees for the operation," of motor vehicles, the provisions of existing legislation. Apprentices and War Service. An amendment to the Suspension of Apprenticeship Emergency Regulations, 1939, which was notified in last night's Gazette, safeguards the interests of men covered by apprenticeship industrial agreements who join his Majesty's Forces or the home defence forces. The regulations, in brief, provide first, that where men, during service with his Majesty's Forces, perform trade or work of the same class as that to which they are apprenticed they can be credited under their contracts of apprenticeship with the periods during which they are engaged on such work, and second, where apprentices are embodied in defence forces which have been called out for military training for the purposes of defence in New Zealand, every period of training actually undergone by them and involving absence from their regular employment shall, up to a maximum of six months in any year of apprenticeship, be regarded as time served under contracts of apprenticeship. Homer Tunnel Progress. The mildest winter conditions since work began on the Homer tunnel have been experienced this season, and it would have been possible to continue almost throughout the winter the full scale of operations on the construction of the Milford Sound highway, states the "Southland Times." Only light falls of snow have occurred, and the spring appears to be well advanced in the valleys through which the route runs. The drilling of the tunnel preparatory to shotrfiring for the enlargement of the tunnel to the full width of 24 feet has been proceeding steadily throughout the winter and several months more will- be spent on this work. A power shovel, which has been at the eastern end of the tunnel for some time, will be brought into use when the shot firing begins. Special trucks have been ordered for conveying the spoil out of the tunnel. It is expected that when all the equipment is assembled at the tunnel the enlargement will proceed at a rapid pace. It is probable that shots covering a distance of about 30 feet will be fired daily and the spoil will be loaded on to the trucks and removed through the lower end of the tunnel. About 50 men have been employed during the winter on bridge building and road construction on the Milford Sound section of the road. The largest of the many bridges on this stretch of ton miles have been completed, and only some small bridges in the tipper roaches of the Cleddau Valley remain-to be constructed

Debtor Soldiers. Members of New Zealand's armed forces cannot be arrested on civil warrant for debt without the prior consent of the naval, military, or air force authorities, as the case may be, according to regulations gazetted last night. The general effect of these Arrest (Armed Forces) Emergency Regulations is much the same as those operative in the last war, being framed with a view to preventing creditors depriving the Crown of the services of men in the armed forces. Lake to be Formed. A notable addition to New Zealand's scenic gems—a lake 17 miles long and varying from 100 yards to a quarter of a mile wide, winding among green hills and picturesque farmlands, with a background of mountain and bushcan be visualised from a map recently prepared by Mr. M. E. Fitzgerald, of Tirau, to show the lake as it will be when the Karapiro power scheme is completed, states a Cambridge correspondent. The lake will follow the present bed of the Waikato River upstream from the new dam, which is to be built five miles above Cambridge, right to Arapuni, where yet another lake begins. Tec Much Sunlight. On the ground that too much sunlight was not desirable, plans for the erection of the new tuberculosis block by the Cook Hospital Board have been held up by the Health Department, thei architect having provided a roof and front elevation structure incorporating a lavish use of glass. At a meeting of the Hospital Board at Gisborne this week Dr. Hugh Short, visiting tuberculosis officer, expressed the view very definitely that, with the exception of the north-east front, all glass should ] be eliminated. He contended that: cubicles for tuberculosis cases should j be open, to allow the maximum of j fresh air and ventilation, and.-to deal with weather conditions blinds should be employed. Dr. Short considered that the glass to allow sunlight on to patients was not desirable and recommended that the roof construction should not allow for this. The architect is, as a result, resubmitting plans providing for the variations agreed upon.