NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 103, 3 May 1945, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

WEATHER FORECAST

Forecast to 5 p.m. Friday: Fresh, to I strong north-westerly winds, changing! to southeiiies early tomorrow. Weather cloudy, with some further heavy rain, but improving temporarily I tonight. Occasional showers and colder temperatures tomorrow. Further outlook, becoming fair. Situation report: A trough of low pressure is moving eastwards over new Zealand. Temperature at 9.30 a.m., 54 degrees. Rainfall for dhe 24 hours to 9.30 a.m., 0.14 in. New Moon, May 12. High water today, 9.47 p.m.; tomorrow, 10,10 a.m., 10.34 p.m. . Sun sets today 5.27 p.m.;. rises tomorrow 7.10 a.m., sets 5.25 p.m. Willis Street Tram Tracks. The completion of track renewal-in Willis Street has enabled normal routing of tram traffic through the city to be resumed. Shipping1 Position No Easier. "The war situation has not eased' the tightness of shipping, and it, is likely that for the next two months the New Zealand Supply Mission in Washington will experience some difficulty in arranging shipping to meet our entire requirements," said the Minister of Supply and Munitions (Mr. Sullivan) last night. "It will not be possible to lift all lend-lease and other requirements which originate in North America, and which are to be shipped from the east coast." The Minister emphasised that even with the cessation of hostilities in Europe there would still be a tremendous demand upon shipping for war transport and relief purposes—circumstances which were sufficiently well known to require no recapitulation. It was anticipated, however, that the beginning of the second half of 1945 would show an improvement in the position. A Retrograde Step. The view that the educational standard of primary school children who were taught by correspondence had slipped more than a year as a result of the issue of the new arithmetic book was expressed by Mr. J. C. Speight at the meeting of the Southland provincial executive of the Farmers' Union. The school leaving age had been raised to 15, but children of that age now leaving school had a poorer education than a child of 14 used to have. "I do think that the powers-that-be, whoever they are, have made a retrograde step," said Mr. Speight. "We send children to school to make use of their brains. Matters should not be made easier for them." Auckland Harbour Works. A programme of priority post-war harbour development works involving an estimated expenditure of -£1,566,000 was approved in general at a meeting of the Auckland Harbour Board. The projects include the more urgent in a plan estimated by the engineersuperintendent, Mr. D. Holderness, to cost more than £2,000,000. The recommendations v/ere approved only in general because of changing circumstances that might require alterations to the programme. In order of priority the approved works are as follows: —The completion of the export wharf at a further ,cost of £150,000; the building of a bulk import wharf and reclamation east of the export wharf, £600,000; a repair wharf from the Western Viaduct near Western Wharf, £150,000; an extension of the oil tanker berthage at the Western Reclamation, £86,000; reclamation, breastwork, and roading of the area between Nelson and Halsey Streets, £90,000; a new administrative building, on the site of the existing Harbour Board premises, but including three other allotments reserved for the purpose in Albert Street, £150,000; reconstruction of King's Wharf, £250,000; and the regrading of King's Drive, to form an overhead trafficbridge to carry motor vehicles over a proposed railway line running from the railway goods yards to serve the new bulk import wharf, £90,000.