NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 70, 19 September 1941, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Medically Unfit Men. Declaring that some men who had : been classed as unfit had been accused of being shirkers, Mr. J. A- McL. Roy (National, Clutha) in the House of Representatives yesterday 'gave notice of his intention to ask the Minister of National Service (Mr. Semple) whether he would consider issuing to men who had been, called in a ballot and classed medically unfit a badge or certificate. That would be a protection for them, he added. $■.■■■ Non-Award Workers. In a notice of question addressed to the Minister of Labour (Mr. Webb), Mr. J. A. Lee (Democratic Labour, Grey Lynn), in the House of Representatives yesterday, asked whether the Government would take immediate steps to regulate, the hours of work ,of those whose labour did not come under awards or statutes. Mr. Lee instanced a type of ; worker On night duty who was occupied 60 hours a week, on seven nights a week, at a wage of £4 17s 6d gross.

"Fraser Avenue." It was suggested at the meeting of the Johnsonville Town . Board last night that subject to' the approval of the Makara County Council the name of the Old Porirua Road should be changed to "Fraser Avenue." The board has also decided to erect nameplates and number the houses in Johnsonville streets.

Island Stamps Demonetised. One of the notices in last night's Gazette is of interest to philatelists, in that< it announces the demonetisation of certain of the Island stamps. The Silver Jubilee sets are among those demonetised, as well as some of the higher value New Zealand stamps overprinted for use in the Islands. Samoa's set issued in 1921, which showed a native hut, is also demonetised. Dairy Production. Cheese production in New Zealand last year totalled 122,528 tons, as against 97,227 tons the . previous year, according to figures quoted by the chairman of the Dairy Board (Mr. W. E. Hale) at the annual conference yesterday. "Those responsible for this great achievement should take full credit for it," remarked Mr. Hale. He, stated that butter production totalled 168,289 tons, of which 139,444 tons had been exported. The amount of butter exported in the previous year was 133,303 tons. y, '.

Teachers and Service. There was a lively discussion at yesterday's meeting of the Otago Education Board when a motion was brought1" forward by Mr. W. M. Cooper to the effect <that no person refusing to take his part in the defence of the Empire should be employed as a teacher in any public school and that boards should be given power to dismiss any teacher refusing to comply with the defence regulations and who, on grounds of conscientious objection, claimed exemption from service, states a Press Association message. Board members generally .expressed themselves as being opposed to conscientious objectors continuing as teachers, but an amendment was carried by five votes to four that the matter should be deferred till the Government, policy for the Dominion was declared. A Rare Visitor. A bird rarely if ever before seen in Otago was identified in Dunedin On Wednesday, states the "Otago Daily Times." The bird, though obviously belonging to the cuckoo family, was much smaller than the long-tailed variety which arrives as a rule early in October on its annual migration. It was identified at the Otago Museum as an Australian cuckoo, and Professor Marples said it was the first occasion on which he had heard of the Australian species arriving in New Zealand. The bird was sent by a settler in the Beaumont district, who said it had been a regular visitor for the past three years. It had been in the habit of- eating the. black caterpillar that lives on ragwort. In fact, it had never been seen eating anything, else and had become quite tame, frequently accompanying the settler by flying, from post to post as he walked along the road. The bird was found lying dead at the foot of an apple tree on Monday morning. ■ ■■

Competition for Stockings. The battle is still to the strong on the not very frequent occasions when Auckland shops have women's stockings for sale. A middle-aged woman who had just emerged from a wellknown store without the hoped-for stockings called at a newspaper office on Wednesday to complain that her hat had been torn from her head and trampled on the floor in what she described as "the mad rush." When <an inquiry was made at the store, all was quiet on the stocking front. The sales staff admitted that there had been keen competition for the goods offered, but they did not believe it could have reached a pitch at which customers tore off one another's hats. There had been incidents on earlier occasions they said. Once an unwrapped flounder had been found on the next-door counter and two loaves of bread on. the floor when the excitement was over. Men were prominent in Wednesday's rush.

Price of Candles Fixed. A maximum price for New Zealandmade candles has been fixed by the Price Tribunal. In a statement on the subject the Tribunal said that it had been found that prices throughout New Zealand varied considerably, and, because of the higher landed cost of wax, they might tend to rise. The time was opportune, therefore, to fix Dominion-wide prices which would be fair to retailer and consumer alike. The prices fixed by the order were maximum prices only. These prices are Is 2d for' a one-pound packet of six candles, and 2£d a candle for less than packed lots. Having regard to the varying prices at present ruling, it was felt that on an overall basis the operation of the new maximum price. level fixed by the order, while fair to retailers generally, would be of benefit to the public.

Issue of Dog Collars. The shortage of metal fittings and buckles for dog collars has caused several local bodies, faced with the impossibility of securing supplies of collars this year, to ask the Government for an amendment to the law which will obviate the necessity of issuing a new collar on the registration of each dog, states the "Press." The Town Clerk of Christchurch, Mr. H. S. Feast, stated that this was one of the minor problems affecting the City Council and1 other local bodies at the present time. The regulations required the local authority to keep on hand a supply of dog collars and to issue them on the registration of each dog, for which there is a fee of 10s. The City Council had, until last year, always been able to get several tenders for the supply of dog collars. Last year, however, owing to the inability of suppliex*s to procure "D's" and buckles, only one firm tendered. That firm had advised the council that it also would be unable to tender this year. Alternatives were being considered by the council, including the issue of a small metal disc, to be attached to the old, collar, in lieu of a new collar. Representations had been made to the Department of Internal Affairs that the law should be amended to obviate the necessity of' issuing collars, and the Department had replied that it was going into the matter.