NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 100, 30 April 1945, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

WEATHER FORECAST

Forecast to 5 p.m., Tuesday:— Moderate north-westerly winds predominating. •

Occasional brief showers, especially in the afternoon and evening, but weather mainly fine. Temperatures rather cold.

Further outlook: Fair. An anticyclone centred over southeast Australia is advancing on to the North Tasman Sea.

Temperature at 9.30 a.m., 54deg. Rainfall for 48 hoursttv 9.30o v 9.30 a.m. today, a trace. New moon, May 12. High Water.—Today, 7.40 p.m.; tomorrow, 8.5 a.m., 8.25 p.m. Sun sets today 5.30 p.m.; rises tomorrow 7.7 a.m.; sets 5.29 p.m. Polish Children Puzzled. The party of Polish children who visited the Newtown.Zoo yesterday afternoon took great interest in the Siberian wolf. Apart from this animal and the monkeys, the children did not seem to be unusually impressed by the other animals on snow. This somewhat puzzling fact was explained by Mr. Frankel, who is one of the superintendents with the party. The children, he said, had all heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and were very much surprised to find that such a comparatively small animal could devour a whole grandmother. Under-age Litigants. •While hearing divorce petitions in the Auckland Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Callan told members of the legal profession that as a result of his experience he had formed the habit of i glancing at the ages on the' marriage certificate at the moment it was handed up to him. In the case before him he saw that when the parties were married the hust?.nd was at the mature age of 18 and the wife at the mature age of 17. She was not yet 21. Members of the profession would save themselves trouble if they would make I a practice of examining the marriage i certificate before launching proceedings. There had been quite a number of cases in which divorce proceedings had been launched against young men who were not 21, the solicitor being in complete ignorance of that fact. It was necessary for persons under age to act through a guardian ad litem. Gumboots and Raincoats. Supplies of children's gumboots and galoshes may be available this winter. Arrangements have been made to import a small quantity from Canada, but there is no definite information regarding the date of arrival or the number which will be released locally. Children's rubber footwear is no longer manufactured in New Zealand, and although some gumboots and galoshes for adults are produced* these are not for general use. They may be worn for industrial purposes only. From now on it is expected that there will be a plentiful supply of raincoats in New Zealand. Although imports of the finished garments are at present not permitted, gaberdine and oiled cotton sufficient to provide for local manufacture of raincoats are available. Oiled cotton is a substitute for oiled silk, which is now unobtainable for civilian use. Oiled cotton is being used in the manufacture of coloured raincoats for women and children. It is anticipated that stocks which are exported from both the (United States and Great Britain will jbe sufficiently large to offer ample variety in patterns-and colours. Increased Hospital Rates. I Increased rates, amounting to 46s 2d on each £1000 of capital value, are proposed to be struck by the North Canterbury Hospital Board for the current year, states the Christchurch "Press." The increase amounts to 13s 4d for each £1000 of capital value. The total levy proposed is £162,973 19s Id, the effect being to increase the rate from .392 d in the £ to .554 d in the £, lor by 42.5 per cent. ."At first sight this \ may seem high," said the chairman of the finance committee (Mr. C. Flavell). "However, I would point out that the North Canterbury board has been most fortunate in the past in having one of the lowest hospital rates in New Zealand. Last year, for example, the rates for the four metropolitan boards were:—Auckland, .490 d; Wellington, .754 d; Dunedin, .520 d; North Canterbury, .392 d. It is evident that all hospital boards will show an increase this year, but the only one which I can quote from a Press reference is Wellington, which has advanced by 39 per cent." The new levy fixed by the board represents a rate of 46s 2d on every £1000 of capital value. For the first year in which social security operated the rate was 32s 9d and for the year before 28s 2d. The lowest rate in the last 20 years was 18s in 1932. In 1925 the rate was 19s Bd. Control of Young Girls. The need of giving the police powers to question young girls loitering alone or with a male companion, was stressed by Mrs. J. I. Goldsmith, in speaking to a Wellington remit at the conference of the Federation of New Zealand Justices' Association at Auckland. The remit asked for urgent action in providing the necessary authority for questioning. Such action on the part of the police was already part of the duties of the City of London police, said Mrs. Goldsmith, and it had undoubtedly had a marked deterrent effect. The knowledge that the police here had such powers would it was considered, exercise a restraining influence on the young people. The taking of the names of the people accosted was also suggested as being desirable with a view to having discreet inquiries made as to the extent of parental control exercised over those concerned.