NEWS OF THE DAY

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 210, 4 September 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Turkeys in Demand A pair of turkeys which were auctioned at a clearing sale at Whiterig, near Gore, last week met with nu extraordinary keen demand and were knocked down at the extremely high price of £4 7s each. New State Building A start has been made with the ground work for the erection of a twostorey Government building at the rear of Parliament House, in .Sydney Street West, Wellington, on a site adjoining that of the proposed Broadcasting House. The building is intended to assist in meeting the need of extra office accommodation fur staffs of Government Departments. Supplementary Roll When the supplementary roll for the general election closed in Palmerston North, it contained the names of 2644 electors. This brings the total for the electorate to 17,334, compared with 15,902 on the rolls in 1938. When the main roll closed in 1941 and an election was not held, 13,846 names were on it. The election that year was cancelled prior to the closing of the supplementary roll. Railway Officers At the annual meeting of the Palmerston North branch of New Zealand Railway Officers'* Institute the election of officers resulted:—President, Mr. J. W. Davis; vice-president, Mr. A. Philpott; secretary, Mr. T. Mclvcy; committee, the above officers and Messrs. .F. Fearon, W. Creed, W. Dick and Iv. Walker. Arrangements were made for a visit by Mr. JM. J. Fordo, New Zealand president, and Air. V. J. {Stanley, general secretary, who will address a meeting of members of the branch. Patriotic Comforts Comforts distributed free to the New Zealand Forces in North Africa in March by the Y.M.C.A. on behalf of the National Patriotic Fund Board were valued at £3OOO. A brief note received by the secretary of the National Patriotic Fund Board from LieutenantColonel Waite, the board’s commissioner in North Africa, indicates that the welfare services organised for the New Zealand Forces have kept well up with the New Zealand Division in the fighting that has taken place recently. Death Penalty and Flogging ‘"ls the candidate in favour of the re-enactment of the death penalty for capital crimes and is he in favour of re-legalising the flogging of criminals for certain classes of offences?” were questions asked of Mr. M. 11. Oram, National Party candidate for Manawatu, at Feilding on Thursday night. Mr. Oram said he could not answer for the party, but he was in favour of such measures as deterrents to crime although he recognised there was room for honest differences of opinion on these issues. ‘‘Pat’s All Right” ‘‘l saw Pat, and lie’s all right.” This quite ordinary remark, which might occur in any letter, has taken on a comical sound for a Reiuuera family whose son is in the array iu New Caledonia. Writing home, he says, ‘‘ln the usual way, when I’m writing a letter I look up at some stage and say !o no one in particular, * What, else can L say?’ Pat, who is mv tent-mate, always comes forth with this: ‘Tell her you saw me and I’m O.K. ’ ” The soldier’s family were delighted to hear the good news, but the fact was they had never heard of Pat before! Now, the phrase has become a catch word among them to tag on to greetings. Modern Bible The British and Foreign Bible .Society is already making plans for the printing of the Bible for use on the Continent of Europe after the war, states ihe Church Gazette for the Diocese of Auckland. It is interesting to notice that the old sombre binding is to be discarded, and an attempt is to be made to produce the Bible in modern style, so that it will look like a book for everyday use. That seems sensible. As an example of the other point of view, in an Australian diocesan magazine of 50 years ago the editor (afterwards a bishop) objected to the first issue of the Australian Anglican Church Directory because it had been given a crimson cover! Perhaps it, is .as w T ell ideas change sometimes. Standardising Farm Implements Standardisation of farm implements, and particularly plough heads and shares) was discussed by the New Zealand Implement Makers’ Association with the secretary of the New Zealand Standards Institute, Mr. L. .T. MacDonald, at a conference in Christchurch. The association decided to set up a permanent committee to work with the dardisation were considered. When the standardisation of plough heads and shares was discussed the association agreed to endeavour to bring into line the specifications for the two basic types of head manufactured at present, as they varied slightly jit shape. It was stated that the two basic types could not bo departed from, and different designs of sharc3 were necessary to deal with varying land conditions. The typo of plough made in New Zealand by several manufacturers could not be made to any standard design. Unnecessary Words A good story illustrating the keenness of the peoi>le of Britain to save for the war effort was told by the. vice president of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation (Air.. lan Alatheson), relating some of his experiences during a recent trip abroad at a meeting of the Invercargill branch of the Dunedin Manufacturers’ Association. Mr. Mathesoji said that a fishmonger in the Old Country thought, he would have the sign, ‘‘Fresh Fish .Sold Here,” erected over his shop. However, before giving on order lo the sign writer he consulted some of his friends for economy suggestions. The first friend suggested that the word “here” was superfluous, and the second said it was not necessary to have the word “sold,” since everyone knew that the man’s business was selling of fish. A third friend said that the word “fresh” was not wanted either, as everyone knew that; the fishmonger’s fish was always fresh. Finally a fourth friend said: “I do not know what you want the word “fish” for, since I can smell your shop half a mile away, ’'