NEWS OF THE DAY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20958, 4 December 1942, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

Protest From Wanganui The Wanganui provincial district executive committee of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union has decided to protest most emphatically at the action of the New Zealand Government in withholding the 15 tier cent paid by the British Government on this season’s wool clip.

Defective Car Numbers Advice has been received by the North Island Motor Union from the Commissioner of Transport that the Transport Department will not take action if car number plates that have deteriorated are repainted, provided the original colours are used and the design is not altered.

Drain on Mart-Power “I think the time has come when a halt should be called to the drain of men for the armed forces,” said Mr. R. H. Nimmo at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce meeting. “New Zealand’s figures compare highly with those of any other country, but the position is becoming so serious that the war effort of the Dominion is being affected.”

Protest Against Fire-watching The Canterbury General Labourers’ Union has passed a resolution strongly protesting against the imposition of continuous fire-watching, whereby, -because of shortage of personnel, men of advanced years and men in illhealth are expected to sleep in vermin infested buildings, and stating that the regulation is unjustified and undesirable. Fishermen’s Safe Return After drifting 15 miles in heavy seas during Sunday's westerly storm a nartv of three fishermen who were reported missing when they failed to' return to Arkle’s Bay landed thei*10ft. dinghy safely on Rakino Island just before midnight and returned to Auckland on Monday. Most of the trip was made under a jury rig consisting of a sugar bag erected on boards and with one oar.' the other being lost when a rowlock broke. Army Damage to Roads Remarking that there had been a great deal of complaint of army vehicles damaging roads that had not been designed for the traffic the army was placing on them, Mr. M. H. Wynyard, motorists’ representative on the Main Highways Board, told the council of the North Island Motor Union in Wellington that a considerable sum of money had -been placed at the board’s disposal for the purpose and a scheme had been devised for its being spent to repair any special damage done by army vehicles. American Potatoes Further supplies of potatoes from California have -been released on the Wellington market. These are what would pass as new potatoes here, but are twice to three times as large and are smoother skinned than the varieties favoured in this country. Some people have been so intrigued with the size and good shape—they have no wrinkles, malformations, or deepset eyes, like some of the New Zealand potatoes—that they are using them as seed. These potatoes arc still being sold retail for 4d per lb. Late Shopping Hours “We might as well have been closed,” said a New Plymouth retail shopkeeper, in commenting on the use made by the public of the additional hour for Friday night shopping, from 8 o’clock to 9 o’clock, which commenced last Friday and will continue until Christmas. From general inquiries it appeared that experiences varied, and it may be that the use made of the first night of the extended shopping period is not an indication of the value that will -be placed upon the additional time for shopping by the public generally. In some instances trade was so slack after 8 o'clock that proprietors did not wait for 9 o’clock, but closed soon after the usual time. Both Won Fame “Forty-two years ago at Wellington College swimming sports competitors gradually dropped out of a long race until there were only two left — they were ‘Tiny’ Freyberg and another boy,” said Mr. F. G. Barltrop lit a farewell to Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Armour, retiring headmaster of Wellington College. “Freyberg won by half a length. Later he performed the great feat of swimming ashore to plant landing flares at Gallipoli. The boy who came- second was later awarded the Royal Humane Society’s certificate for saving life in a strong tide off the English coast. There is too great a tendency to say that too much time is given to sport. It is a great thing for the boys to come out physically fit.” Money Symbols A question that has been asked by American travellers on Auckland trams is; “What does this 3d mean on the ticket?” Being accustomed to the cent, they find it difficult to understand why our penny should be signified by a “d.” The “d” is the first letter of the Latin word “denarius,” the name given to a coin struck in Europe about the year 735, which was taken as'a model when the penny, one of the oldest of English coins, was introduced. Although the name penny has been retained, the "d” has still managed to survive. Similarly, Ihe £ sign is derived from the old Roman word “libra,” nieaning a money pound, and the “s” for shilling is derived from the Roman word “sojidus,” which signified onetwentieth of a pound weight in old English times.

A Demand in Triplicate If a mistake by a Government Department which has come under the notice of a Dunedin business man has been repeated in other instances, it must represent a considerable wastage, not only of paper, but also of stamps, says the Otago Daily Times. In one mail, in separate envelopes, he received three identical copies of a notice requiring him to compile a return showing in considerable detail his firm’s dealings over a period of three years in a commodity which it handles. As the notice requires him to supply within a week information which, under present staff conditions, cannot possibly be prepared in that time, and as the onus is placed upon him for having the return certified by a member of the New Zealand Society of Accountants, the Dunedin man is wondering whether he is entitled to feel annoyed or whether he should treat the whole matter as a joke.

D.C.M. Holder For Training Staff

Second Lieutenant A. C. Wood, D.C.M., 2nd N.Z.E.F., former adjutant of the Maori Battalion, who has recently returned from the Middle East, has been appointed t,o the G branch (training) at Army Headquarters. His job will be concerned with weapon training, which embraces all small arms, including the bayonet. Mr. Wood was about lo dress the wound from which the late commanding officer of the Maori Battalion, the late Lieutenant-Colonel E. T. W. Love, subsequently died, when he was himself hit. 1-Ie received his D.C.M. for service on Crete, where he led a series of bayonet charges in the Malemi aerodrome fighting, cleaning up a number of machine-gun posts. He lias been 5i years in the Army, being on the permanent staff before posted to the expeditionary force, and went overseas with the second echelon. He comes from Nelson, and is 26 years old. i