NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 152, 30 June 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Relief for Malt*. His Excellency the Governor general has received the following telegram from the Governor of Malta:— "Have received notice of further generous contribution of £2000 from New Zealand Patriotic Fund Board to Malta j Relief Fund, for which please convey my warmest thanks and those of the people of Malta. The board's wishes for the future are reciprocated." i A Sword Swallower? A surprising amount of digestive ability was recently displayed; by a girl of three, statesthe "Christchurch StarSun." ,While playing in a shed . she swallowed a' large ball-bearing, a nail over an inch long, and a large tack; Her anxious parents rushed her . to the hospital, fearing the w*>rst, but no serious complications resulted. She is now back at home, apparently none the worse for her enterpising swallowing feat. Silent Since the Quake. The Wellington Post Office clock has been silent since last Wednesday's earthquake. It has continued to tell the time silently, but as far as the chimes are; concerned these have ceased. The' reason lies in the fact that the shake dislodged two. of the smaller bells, without affecting the. clock's mechanism. If and when the clock-tower- is passed as structurally sound the two bells will be replaced, but there is more urgent work waiting to be done first. In the meantime the clock will remain silent. Price of Chewing Gum. In May last year the Price Tribunal issued an order fixing the price of chewing gum at a penny a packet . of not less than four tablets. The recently increased demand for, chewing gum has apparently tempted some retailers to charge more than the maximum price fixed by the order, or else they have forgotten the existence of the order. In either case an offence has been committed, as-the price order, No. 32, has not been revoked or altered. Tendered Note on Tram. A woman who to pay her fare on a tramcar in Christchurch offered a 10s note, which was refused by the conductor because he had no change, was charged before Mr. F. F. Reid, S.M., with failing to tender, the fare legally demandable for the journey. It was stated in evidence \that the defendant had been told she would have to pay the, fare at the office of the Christchurch Tramway Board, and this she had not done, in spite of several letters and an interview. The Magistrate asked how the woman could be charged with failing to tender the fare whereas she had, in fact, offered legal tender —a 10s note. "You cannot submit," the Magistrate said, "a Reserve Bank note is not legal tender in-'this country." An application by Mr. A. W. Brown, who was prosecuting, for ari adjournment for one week to enable -him to make inquiries and, if necessary, withdraw the charge, was granted. Soldiers' Civilian Clothes. , "Men should be strongly advised that when they go into camp they should put away in a place where moths will not destroy them, enough clothes with which to begin civilian life again," said Mr. W..S. Mac Gibbon, in Christchurch, reporting on appeals that had been made recently by demobilised soldiers for allowances for civilian clothes. "We. have had appeals from men who have been in the forces only a short time, and have been discharged perhaps for reasons of illness. We cannot make allowances to men who have served for only a few weeks. The story in most cases was that the men had sold their civilian clothes when they joined the forces. In future we want them to know that they should realise only on their surplus, keeping a few clothes in case the war ends soon or they serve for only a short period." Union to Go. The dissolution of the last of the private or company unions formed in various units of the freezing, industry during the period of acute industrial strife between 1929 and 1932 is indicated by an announcement gazetted by the Registrar of Industrial Unions giving notice that an application for deregistration has been made by the R. and W. Hellaby, Limited, Westfield, Meat-preserving Workers, Slaughterhouse Assistants and Freezing-chamber Hands' Industrial Union of Workers. The registration will be cancelled six weeks from the gazetting of the notice. This was the inevitable outcome f an agreement made between the Minister of Labour and the Federation of Labour in ,the formulation of terms for the settlement of the strike in March this year, stated a member of the management of Messrs. Hellaby, Limited, yesterday. The management had been informed some time ago that the works union would not renew the local industrial agreement for a further term. The members had evidently decided to facilitate its dissolution by applying for deregistration. The membership, it was commented, had changed greatly of late through the increased activities of the cannery section involving the employment of many new hands, including women.