NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1942, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Wet Spells. Gisborne has just completed what it regards as a remarkable weather cycle. For the first time for sixteen days no rainfall was recorded on Tuesday. A Hawke's Bay town has also come to appreciate the reason for the saying "as long as a wet week." Teachers Wanted. The likelihood of a serious shortage of teachers in the Wanganui Education Board's district is reported. At present, states "The Post's" Manawatu correspondent, 100 of the board's teachers are in the armed forces and another 39 are awaiting mobilisation. There are fewer than a dozen young teachers to take the place of the latter group and it is hoped that retired teachers and married women teachers will offer their services. *. Large Meteorite. Described as resembling a huge ball, of fire, a meteorite wept over Porewa district.-'Marton, recently in the direction of the coast. It left a long trail which could be seen from Wanganui: for some seconds. Two people at Castlecliff said that a brilliant flash was followed by a long trailer of smoke right down to the sea. They b concluded that if it were not a plane crash, it must have been a meteorite of extraordinary size. The Morning's Milk.

The absence of full milk bottles in place of the empties (with coupon) which had been left in the usual place overnight aroused momentary concern amongst some Wellington householders yesterday. They did not go without their supply, however: The filled bottles, it was found, had been deposited on lawns or pathways near the frontage of the properties. This action followed quickly upon a notification from the Milk Department to the effect, that milk bottles were required to be placed more conveniently for the roundsmen. Sweets for the Jury. The judicial duty of sampling the flavour of chocolates was accepted with '■ apparent relish by members of a jury j .in the Auckland Supreme Court. The I jury was invited to compare the. quality of chocolates produced under1 the direction of plaintiff with that of others made by the defendant firm. The samples offered were liberal, and there was evidence that others in court besides the jury wished to be in a position to express an opinion. What the jury thought will never be officially known, for just after the test had been' made the plaintiff withdrew his claim. War Souvenirs. j A friend of a New Zealand gunner in the Middle East has received a collection of souvenirs composed mainly! of personal belongings of General Neumann, holder of an Iron Cross and commander of the 15th German Panzer Division. A prominent item is the general's dress' dagger, which is made of stainless steel and is beautifully] worked. General Neumann evidently left these belongings behind when he was forced to ilee from the British. Several badges and a tunic with an attachment from which to hang an Iron Cross are also included in the collection. In the general's identification papers and in a type of passbook corresponding to the New Zealand soldier's pay book some interest- f ing details are, recorded. His age is, 48, comparatively young for a general, j and he is not a member of any re- j ligion.

Administration of Justice.

"It is not necessary for me to emphasise the vital importance of the administration of justice in our democratic social system," said the Minister of Justice (Mr. Mason), opening the new courthouse at Invercargill. "It is essential that justice should continue to be administered under all conditions if chaos is to be avoided and the rule of law prevail. This applies equally, if not more so, in times of stress such as exist at present. The war has brought with it an inevitable and unavoidable amount of emergency legislation and regulations. Though many of these regulations are necessarily drastic in the public interest, it must not be forgotten that in their administration the same rules and principles of justice must be applied by the Courts as in times of peace." Overheld Eggs. Eggs are notoriously fragile articles. Even so, the Internal Marketing Division of late has received numerous complaints from poultry farmers in that returns received by them do not in all cases conform to the ruling wholesale price less charges. An official statement reads: "The local advisory committee has made investigations in respect to such complaints, and these have revealed that in the country districts especially, and among those with only a small number of birds, eggs are regarded as of little consequence and worthy of only the minimum of care. Through neglect the eggs are both stained and unsightly, and often stale because they have been allowed to accumulate over too long a period. The consequence is that upon their arrival at the markets the eggs are not suitable for sale to the consumer. Sometimes eggs have to be destroyed, and at the present time especially no product possessing such concentrated food value should be allowed to waste through careless handling."

Not a "Close Corporation."

"Nothing is further from the truth than the allegation that the New Zealand Society of Accountants is a close corporation," said Mr. E. D. Wilkinson at the annual meeting. The charge was made by persons who asserted that the society's standard of examinations-was intended to limit strictly the number of persons who could qualify for membership. The society had made large grants to the University for the es'ablishment of classes in accountancy subjects, and gave every possible- encouragement to earnest students who had the ability and energy to succeed in the profession. A proper standard had to be maintained, as members of the society had a definite obligation to the community for the efficient, faithful performance of very important duties. In that respect the tasks which faced the accountant now were more complex and difficult than they had ever been, and they necessitated a raising of the standard of qualification. The older practitioners, men of long and wide experience, found that they had to study and exercise their minds keenly to keep up with new developments.

Ripe Age—Few Birthdays. Ninety years old on Sunday, Mr. E. W. Alison will, nevertheless, have celebrated only 21 birthdays, for he is among the few persons in Auckland whose lives are marked by the oddity of having been born on February 29 in a leap year. As leap year occurs once in four, it might appear that Mr. Alison should have had 22 birthdays, but the full century makes an exception to the rule by dividing the numbers of a year by four, in that, to qualify as a leap, year, the full century must be divisible by 400. Therefore 1900 included no February 29. and Mr. Alison and his comrades in misfortune went without birthdays for eight years over the turn of the century. Among those comrades in misfortune are Messrs. Walter Pavitt, of Remuera. 74 this year, and L. T. Minogue. of North Shore. 46. These three celebrate their rare birthdays at a luncheon each leap year.