NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 99, 23 October 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Power for Upper Hutt

The engineer-general manager of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board, Mr. E. F. Hollands, reported to his board yesterday that the line to supply a feeder station at Akatarawa was in hand, and that when this was completed there would be an adequate supply of electricity to the Upper Hull district for many years. , Angling Prospects. "Rivers and streams in the Manawatu district are in excellent condition for fly fishing, as also are those in the Wairarapa district, except the Ruamahanga River, which is clearing," said the secretary of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, Mr. E. J. C. Wiffin, today. "In the Hutt River system and the west coast area waters are all that is desirable for fly fishing. The Wainui-o-mata is in need of a greater volume of water to make for j;ood angling." McEvvan Memorial. A resolution of sympathy with the relatives of the late Mr. J. W. McEwan was passed by the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board yesterday. Mr. McEwan was for thirteen years a member of the board and was its first chairman. Later in the meeting the chairman, Mr. J. J. Maher, was appointed the board's representative on a committee which has been set up in Petone to consider the provision of a suitable memorial to the late Mr. McEwan. A public subscription list for this purpose has been opened, and is in the hands of the Town Clerk, Mr. H. Firth. Boys on Farms. Schemes for the employment on farms during the summer holidays of secondary school boys aged from 14 years upwards are being arranged by the Government Youth Centre in Wellington. Already 165 boys from Wellington and Hutt Valley secondary and technical schools have indicated their willingness to undertake farm labour during the holidays, and it is anticipated that many more will make application. For the success of the scheme the co-operation of farmers is needed, and it is stated that this has been forthcoming to a marked degree. The boys will be paid not less than award rates, and special care will be taken to see that accommodation and other arrangements are suitable. Outstanding Boy Chess Player. An outstanding boy chess player has appeared in Christchurch competitions this season, states the "Press." He is Mervyn Stewart, aged 14 yeai'S. The annual report of the Canterbury Chess Club pays tribute to his ability, stating that "he made phenomenal progress by advancing from class 9 to class 3 since February this year." The report continues: "Stewart's play is still showing rapid improvement, and in spite of his youth (or perhaps because of it) he is likely to be one of the leading players in the coming season." Besides being awarded the trophy for the most improved player, Stewart won the Hart Memorial tournament played over the season, winning the monthly aggregate five times. Empty Houses. Surprise was expressed at the Hutt Valley Electric. Power Board meeting yesterday when it was reported that twenty-four State houses ready for occupation had remained empty for at least six weeks. Some time ago the j Power Board had been asked to work its staff overtime to get twenty-five homes ready for occupation. This was done, and the Housing Department met the cost of the overtime, some £20. At the meeting yesterday, in answer to a question, the engineer-general manager stated that the work had been completed six weeks ago, and that only one of the houses had been occupied. Mr. J. W. Andrews said that as Mayor of Lower Hutt he had many inquiries from persons who were in urgent need of houses, and he was sure Mr. Green, Deputy Mayor of Petone, .was in a similar position. End of a Discussion. After a long discussion the vexed question of who should pay for the shrouding of street lights—ordered by the Dominion Lighting Controller and carried out by the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board—was settled when the board yesterday decided to accept liability. The total cost of the shrouding over the whole of the board's area was approximately £580. Legal advice given to some of the local bodies was to the effect that they could not legally meet the charge. Generally speaking, members of,the board were of opinion that the charge could be met fairly by the board. Mr. R. Bothamley contended,, however, that on principle the charge should be met by the other local bodies. The question came up for discussion when a letter was received from the Dominion Lighting Controller specifying the E.P.S. charges that would bear a Government subsidy, the shrouding of street lights being' specifically excluded. No "New Order Proposed. "We are not proposing a new order," said the Primate (Archbishop WestWatson), referring to the Campaign for Christian Order in a sermon before members of the Christchurch Synod in the Cathedral, reports the "Star-Sun." "Christian order," said the Archbishop, "is the order which began with Pentecost, which was enshrined in the earliest Christian Church, which is mirrored in the New Testament, and which, in spite of the most cruel persecutions and misunderstandings, in some three hundred years received the submission of the Roman Empire." Various factors had contributed to breaking up the order. The discovery of the New World and the enlargement of man's horizon had something to do with it. Perhaps the most outstanding factor was the well-meaning desire of the Church for power to make men good. "And it experimented with power of the wrong sort," added the Archbishop, "power to compel." In the light of Christian principles, he said, the old order of national exclusiveness and irresponsibility, and of racial discrimination, must stand condemned. "Body and Soul." One of the few Empire chaplains to receive the Military Cross in this war, Captain F. O. Dawson, of Tauranga, has returned to Australia after two and a half years abroad on active service. During that time he went through campaigns in Greece, Crete, and Libya. The award of the M.C. to Captain Dawson followed his heroic work in the front line in the desert last November when he helped to administer anaesthetics, assisted medical officers at a critical times at casualty clearing stations, and carried wounded men to safety .under fire. His best friend in the desert was a well-known medical officer of imposing physique, and he and the chaplain, a diminutive j person in comparison, came to ,be known as "Body and Soul." On one occasion Captain Dawson was captured during the fighting in the desert. He and his companions forestalled the enemy by taking the distributor cap off the engine of the truck and pointing out that the vehicle would not go. At about nightfall a sandstorm blew up and Captain Dawson and his companions drove off in the truck loaded with wounded New Zealanders. The two Italian guards climbed on the truck and gladly drove off with. them. Lack of Home Discipline. "Juvenile delinquency presents a very grave problem," said the Primate (Archbishop West-Watson) in his presidential charge at the opening of the Christchurch Diocesan Synod. Its frequency he attributed to lack of home discipline and the absence of a religious background in our educational system, reports the "Press." "The incidence of abortion and the unrestricted sale of contraceptives are alarming evils," the Archbishop .continued. "The liquor licensing laws require to be much more definitely enforced. The Church should not only urge upon the Government the necessity of legislation—and the enforcement of it —to remedy these evils, but also arouse public opinion to realise that moral standards are not just matters of convention or legislation, but are the will of God for man, and essential to his happiness." The inter-Church council on public and social affairs which met frequently in Wellington, he said (and on which the Roman Catholic and other churches were represented), had proved its usefulness abundantly, and he suggested a local committee in Christchurch to . cooperate with it,