NEWS OF THE DAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20827, 4 July 1942, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

Meningitis Cases The increase in the number of cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis in the Auckland central health district is still marked, and there are now 24 patients in the Auckland Hospital. Two more deaths have occurred within the last few days, making a total of four for June. Owners Warned ‘'’lf an owner sells his house property and thus creates his own housing difficulty, he cannot look to the Stale to assist him to find other accommodation,” said the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, Minister of Housing, commenting in Auckland on the fact that a number of applications for State rental houses are being received from persons who nave disposed of their own properties. ‘Best Place to Be” Praise for slit trenches comes from a soldier in Syria; who has been through Greece and Libya, and therefore snould know. In a letter received in Auckland he says; "If the Japanese do go the whole hog and start bombing round your way (which I don’t think they will), take my tip and make good friends with your ‘slit-ties.’ It’s the best place to be when the eggs start falling.' 1 Coastguard Service The valuable work being done by che service in the defence of New Zealand was stressed at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Coastguard Service. The commanding officer, Captain J. P. Eastmure, statea .hat the coastguard was an integral iart of the defence forces, and the imount of work* done by members in .he past year had proved how valuable i unit the service was, and always vvould be, to the Dominion. Sob by Calf Collections Arrangements have been made by .he Gisborne-East Coast Bobby Calf Pool to commence collections on July 13, and an endeavour is being' made ,o secure as many calves ? as : possible n order to assist the cheese industry n the provision of rennet. Last r season (317 calves were dealt with' in the Jisborne and Tolaga Bay districts, this aeing a reduction of 300 on the previous year. Already numbers of cows .ire calving, and it is hoped that by July 13 a satisfactory number will be ivailable. soldiers’ Civilian Clothes “Men should be strongly advised -hat when they go into damp they ihould put away in a place where noths will not destroy them,- enough dothes with which to begin civilian ife again,” said Mr. W. S. Mac Gibbon, n Christchurch, reporting on appeals (hat had been made recently by demobilised soldiers for' allowances for jivilian 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. vVe 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.” SOS by Pressing Button Every ship in the British merchant service must now carry an ingeniouh addition to its lifeboat equipment, in che form of a portable wireless transl hiitter by which anyone can send out a radio distress' signal just-by pressmg a button. An SOS call is then radiated for two minutes over a dist lance of more than 200 miles, and the portable transmitter can repeat it 60 and 70 times at intervals of an hour. Long sustained' signals are also given automatically so that rescuers can ake their bearings l to pick up the ifeboat. The transmitter is fitted with a Morse key for a wireless jpferator. Although ’ it weighs less han 501bs, the transmitter is-' excepionally strong; and if a ship is si'nkng can be thrown into the sea where t will float without damage until ticked up by the lifeboat. Out of 14 entries, the device has been awardid a prize of £SO by the Council of he Royal Society of Arts, London. 1 War Work by Policemen’s Wives Policemen’s wives, who normally are not permitted to engage in business without the officer* taking the 'risk of being called' upon ' to 'resign 'tr«jih the force, may now in appropriate instances and with'the approval of the -commissioner take employment ‘to assist in the war effort. • The latest issue of the Netv Zealand Police Totimal quotes the following reply made by the commissioner ' to- ari inquiry on this subject:—“l have to inform you that during the past- 18 months where my 'permission was sought to relax regulation -489 so that the services of the wife of a member of the force could be made available for a key position in "a Government Department due to- shortage of staff, I granted permission. A salary, of :ourse, was paid. I have no-objec-tion to the extension of this' concession in appropriate instances. Every application must be submitted to me for approval, and I will decide it bn its merits. Everything will depend oh the nature of the bosition sought and where.” It is pointed out by the Tournal that Scotland Yard considers applications from policemen themselves who wish to undertake work of national importance In’their share time.