NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 77, 27 September 1941, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Beautification of Camps.

Plans to assist in beautifying military camps and aerodromes are being considered by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. At a recent meeting of the executive council it was reported that circulars bearing on the subject had been sent to district councils and representatives, and that .the executive's committee had visited Trentham Camp and discussed the question of planting and beautification with the Camp Commandant. Offers of trees and seeds had been made, and gardeners and others were being asked for surplus plants, bulbs, tubers, etc.

New Right-of-Way,

By a clause in the Local Legislation Bill, which was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, the Wellington City Council is authorised to grant a right-of-way in perpetuity over certain land belonging to the council adjoining Chew's Lane, ofl Willis Street, to the Fletcher Trust and Investment Co., Ltd. The right-of-way will give access to the company's premises, but the council is to have the right to erect buildings on any portion of the land at least 12ft above the right-of-way. '

Land for a Drain.

Negotiations that have been under way for some time between the Minister of Health, the Hutt County Council, and the Wellington Harbour Board, as a result of which the Wellington Harbour Board has agreed to make available to the Hutt County Council an area of land at Point Howard for the construction of an outfall drain to a septic tank near the foreshore, have led to a clause being inserted in the Local Legislation Bill. This Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. The Harbour Board had not authority to agree to the land being used for this purpose and the clause validates the arrangement between the two local bodies.

No Alteration in Clocks,

In the normal course of events all clocks and timepieces in the Dominion would be advanced 30 minutes tomorrow morning in order to inaugurate Summer Time. But as the extra daylight which the adoption of Summer Time involves has been enjoyed all through the winter this year as a war measure, there will be no alteration in the time tomorrow. In other words, as the clocks were not put back as they normally would have been at the end of last April, they will not be put forward again tomorrow. There are, however, many people" who would doubtless welcome still another 30 minutes of daylight during the coming summer months, but Parliament in its wisdom has not seen fit to grant it.

"Dead" Man Walks Away.

A surprise awaited a St. John ambulance driver who was called by telephone to take a "body" to the Auckland mortuary. The informant, who was genuinely astonished at subsequent developments, was waiting on the footpath when the ambulance -arrived, and pointed out to the driver the "dead" man. The latter, who at that stage was some distance off, apparently recovered unaided from a sudden illness which resulted in him lapsing into unconsciousness in the street, and walked home.

A Question of Credulity,

"It is wonderful the stories you can get a man to swallow so long as you make it impossible enough," said Mr. Justice Blair, when discussing in the Auckland Supreme Court on Thursday whether a witness could possibly have believed a very "tall" story that had been told to him. "I have seen some remarkable stories swallowed,'* he said. There were hard-headed business men that, you could not deceive about prices, because that was their job, but if you told them you knew a man who could dig a hole in the ground and get gold out of it they would put all their money in it, said his Honour. That was because they knew nothing about it.

Blood Bank in Australia.

More than 46,000 donors in Australia are registered with the Red Cross Transfusion Service, which is building up a blood bank, and already holds 1900 gallons in liquid or powdered form. When all registered donors have been bled, storage will be not less than 3500 gallons. Most donors give a pint, some more, but half-pints are considered sufficient in many cases. Primarily designed to meet emergency conditions, the bank will be adapted for civilian needs. Considerable quantities of blood serum have been sent overseas to the fighting services. In New South Wales 17,040 donors have registered since March 10, when the first appeal was made. Of these, 15,000 are in the Sydney metropolitan area, 1450 in the Newcastle district, and 590 in Port Kembla and Wollongong. Searching blood tests are conducted before a donor is accepted. Although most of the blood is preserved in liquid form in cold storage, much of it is now dried and packed in powder form in airtight bottles.