Court of Arbitration.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 234, 31 August 1940, Page 6

Court of Arbitration.

The Court of Arbitration will sit at Palmerston North on Monday afternoon and at New Plymouth on Wednesday. Delay To Clipper. Because of continued unfavourable weather on the last stag© of her flight from San Francisco, the Pan-American Airways American Clipper, with a party of prominent Americans aboard will not now reach Auckland before Sunday afternoon. White Butterflies. White butterflies have already been seen in Palmerston North this season and are also reported to have made their appearance at Dannevirke. Encouraged by the early mild spring weather, they are stated to be already laying their eggs on cabbage plants. Faster Funerals. Funeral directors on the West Coast have been requested by the Oil Fuel Advisory Committee to increase the travelling speed of funerals to 20 miles an hour. The letter from the committee stated that the consumption of petrol when travelling at a low speed was considerab'y greater than when travelling at a moderate speed. Military Tactics. Military tactics were carried out by the First Battalion of the Wellington Regiment during its trip to Wanganui to-day before the regiment entered camp on the Wanganui racecourse for a month’s special training The battalion was called from Wellington at a secret time, leaving in Army trucks. Near Plimmerton it acted as if the road had been made impasablo and the railway line mined. Thefts of Flowers. ’

A particularly mean form of petty thieving is reported from the Palmerston North Hospital where considerable numbers of daffodils and narcissi have been stolen from the gardens. Blooms have been missing over the past fortnight, but last night the depredations were much more extensive. The gardeners at the Hospital take a pride in their annual display of bulb plants, and, naturally, are most indignant.

Compensation Court Busy. Since his appointment in March last as judge of the Compensation Court, Mr Justice O’Regan lias completed a circuit of the .Dominion, and is now commencing another circuit with the present sitting of the Court in Auckland. The Court in the course of the circuit lias sat in Auckland (twice), Hamilton (twice), Rotorua, Napier, New Plymouth, Christchurch, Timaru, Invercargill, Dunedin, Greymouth, Blenheim, Palmerston North and Wellington. In all, 114 cases have been disposed of, involving no less than 30 written judgments. Extended Hours,

Notification that in future they will be required to work an extra half-hour each day was received yesterday by tiie stall of the State Advances Department in Wellington i Notices to this effect were inserted in the office attendance books. It is understood that civil servants employed by this department are not satisfied with the new arrangement, principally because they maintain that so far the 'State Advances is the only branch of the Government service called on to work longer hours. It is also contended that the step was taken without an order being issued by the Public Service Commissioner, and that the staff were in no way consulted.

Eggs For Britain. Countrywomen of tho Hastings district responded well in the first week of the appeal for eggs for Great Britain under- the scheme of the Women’s Institutes and tlie Northern Hawke’s Bay Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union. In all 79 dozen eggs wore supplied.

Bulk Materials. Indents have been placed with British firms in the United Kingdom for textiles in bulk used in making hosiptal comforts and not made in New Zealand. When the goods come to hand they will be divided among the 11 provincial districts in accordance with requirements. Remarkable Bird Lost. A bird which is believed to be "lie only one of its kind in New Zealand; a cross between a pheasant and a duck, lately escaped from its quarters at Mount Eden. The bird is web-footed and has the distinctive markings of a pheasant on its back. The plumage oil the breast and under the wings resembles that of a duck. Gifts For Forces. The sum of £1425 Is 9d was collected through a street appeal made yesterday by the Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee for Christmas gifts for New Zealand soldiers, sailors and airmen. Returns are still to come from Eastbourne, Petone, Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt. The collection is a record for the committee.

Footballer’s Injury. Mr W. Phillips, a young Wanganui Rugby player who broke his leg in a representative match against the Trentham Army team last Saturday, had it amputated last night. After his injury, which occurred in the first five minutes of the match, Mr Phillips was taken to the Wanganui Hospital. It is thought that the broken bono pierced an artery, and a blood transfusion was necessary on Sunday. For some time his condition was described as serious, but an improvement was reported ou Tuesday. Boys’ Long Journey. Among the passengers who reached Auckland yesterday by the flying-boat was a schoolboy of 15. John Jamieson, who had travelled unescorted by air to Auckland from Singapore on his way to enter the Waitaki Boys’ High School. The son of a prison official in the Federated State of Perak, about 300 miles north-west of Singapore on the west side of the Malay Peninsula, he flew from Singapore to Sydney by Qantas Empire Airways, being entertained at Sydney in tho absence of friends. At Auckland he was met by two Waitaki old boys. New Sodium Lamps. '

About half the number of the new gaseous discharge sodium lamps being erected in Itangitikei Street, part ot Broadway and the Square have now been placed in position and the fitting of the others is proceeding, all the material being on hand. The new lamps are being fitted on the outside and inside of the roadway running round the Square, but not within the gardens, the white lights being left there to assist-other white light from business premises in counteracting, to a certain extent, the colour effect of the light from the new lamps. Company Taxation.

"No one wants to see any company avoiding its responsibilities for taxation,” said Mr S. G. Holland in the House of Representatives, yesterday; “but at the same time no one wants to see an injustice done to any firm. One company I know of, which finances farmers, decided, within the framework of the law, to transfer its share capital into debenture capital, but the effect of this clause will be either that the shareholders will have to be satisfied with a dividend of about 2£ per cent, or that the costs to the farmer will increase and will thus have to be borne by tho producer.” Mr Holland asked whether it would not be possible to provide that companies affected by the clause would not suffer unreasonable hardship.