GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 16 February 1942, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

j A Slit Waved Him Good-bye | From her home on the waterfront 1 (relates the Auckland “Star”) a mother' ! waved a while cloth in the hope that her affectionate signal would be ob-‘ > i served by her departing son. Much i to her surprise, a high-powered car 1 : j chew, up at the gate and four officials, I ahglilecl. She wr ; under the painful _ ; necessity of convincing them that she ! | hacl not been signalling to shipping on J j the harbour. i A Buried Forest p Workers who were excavating recently for the building of the new post I : • office in Bora street. Te Kuiti. dis1i covered perfectly preserved timber j from a.: old forest. After digging j I through, successive layers of silt and j . j J. umice, the contractors have now j ' icached the floor of the original val- ' Icy. which has been covered over for | centuries. Geologists will doubtless be 1 , 1 interested in the type of timber and ■ the formation of the valley floor. j Shags and Eels 1 : Reporting to the monthly meeting of j - the council of the Waitaki Acelimatisa- j jj lion Society, the ranger (Mr M. Sin-1 j clair) stated that for the 12 months, j er cled on 31st December, he had killed j -1 312 shags and more than 2000 eels. The, i j largest eel was 201 b. Mr Sinclair also | a remarked that his work at present was) j handicapped because of the petrol re- ’ j strictions, which interfered with the 1 regular patrol of the rivers. Sixty Bushmen Wanted "The position is getting definitely!' worse.” said Mr J. S. Robertson, re--1: ferring to the shortage of bushmen at!' . | a sitting of the Armed Forces Appeal! . ; Board at Grey mouth. He added that 1 J soon it would be a matter of closing up I, 3 the mills altogether. Mr F. L. Turley, i, • 1 supporting Mr Robertson’s statement. 1 , :! said that the Sawmillers’ Association!] 1 i could place 60 bushmen in work in at, r ; v. cclc on the West Coast. • i »j < t j Amalgamation of Farms . I “The need of men for the Army is j! , i very great,” remarked Lieutenant- i ■ ■ Colonel W. T. Churchward, sub-area j. 1 ; commander, during the hearing of a 1 t 1 < ;,.se before the South Canterbury Man- 11 2! power Committee at Timaru last week ’j deports “The Press”). The position < j was such, he said, that if necessary 11 ]; nny farmers would have to go out of U t : j production. be amalgamated with!' ij others, or be converted into grazing.” j ' L Tribute io Police i; “J think it is apparent to anyone jj who reflects on the matter, said Mr L Justice Fair when addressing a jury | i f ,-r Auckland, “that here we have in i c F New Zealand a police force with a ret- i H potation for integrity, efficiency and|l ■j courage that is equal to nny in then a ! world; and we do not realise, perhaps. j < sufficiently how fortunate we are to j < have men of such high character form- j* *| mg our police force.” His Honour was; • 1! commending the police for their tact j 1 2 ancl restrain in effecting the arrest of|j gu old man who continued to defy 1 1 them with a loaded rifle. ~ [- Commerce With Enemy Countries . I Formal notice appeared in the ! 'i "Gazette” last week restricting com-, ‘! merce with Finland, Hungary. Rum;;--. 1 2 ilia, and Bulgaria. An Order-in-Coun-; tjcil states that the measures to be up- ;' s ! plied to these countries will be similar] j t. ; those taken against Germany ancl| “ j Italy. Another notice extends the i 5 contraband regulations to Bulgaria. i ! Rangilikei Wheal Crops '! There have be n heavy losses in early - : sown wheat in the Rangitikei as a re- . [ suit of wind and rain. Much of it went down and large areas cut during fine weather was caught by rain before be-; j tore put into stack. A good deal of the | a 1 flattened crops hap been stocked, but, “j the grain quality is expected to be af-j G fee ted, although the yield average pro- j - j mines to be good. Most, late-sown crops , ! have grown well, and with tint' weaa! ther should be a success. , Art Gallery’s Windows J At the annual meeting of the trustee.-j r 1 o' he Bishop Suter Art Gallery it | Siva: resolved to ask the City Council) 1.,i remove the old German cannon from -j the ground at the back of the Gallery; as its presence stimulated children to! ~ | infpjj.se in mimic warfare with dire j 1 consequences to the windows of the 2 Gallery. About thirty had been brok-: 1 cn in the last two years. 1 “I reckon.” said the reporter t<* the: s tobacconist, “that the roll your own i ,J game has played old gooseberry with' | the sales of packet cigarettes?” “No : ~! denying that.” replied the whiff mer-J 3 j chant, lighting his pipe, ’’but what wc j - ; lose on the swings we make up on the j ji roundabouts, in other words while the • demand for ready-mades is fading out, ’ I the demand for cigarette taboccos—- ** j more especially Riverhead Gold and j a I Desert Gold, the two brands most: e | wanted has increased tremendously. J -jjar.d the quantity of these we sell is. | simply astonishing. They’re always j ” j fresh and moist, d y’u see. never stale; '• and dry like the ready-mades often are. e You can te 1 ’ a c arette made of either J b.» its bouquet. Pure. too. like all the toasted brands. Toasting works lire, ~ nicotine out of them. And you can roll j y [ ton full sized smokes for less than 4d | c There are also three genuine toasted j blends for the pipe—Cut Plug No. 10, 0 (Bullshead). Navy Cut No. 3 (Bull-j dog), and Cavendish, and if there’s any- j * thing to beat them. T haven’t heard old j - u ”* Frock Special! Smart model Frocks) I m Black and Navy and colours. Also) , ! Florals. S.W. to O.S. Were 79/6 to! ‘•5/5/- For 59/6. McKay’s. e ■ Coat Special! Laches’ Summei Coats ”. (eight weight woollens and silks. y| Filling and box styles, also hip length pj Coatees. Were 99/6 to £7/7 -. For) ; 59/6. McKay’s.* j: Millinery Special' A lovely range ol'i J Straw Hats i: Navy Black and new j i Pastel shades. All headlittings amlj "I.styles, matrons included. Were 15/11 tjtu 39/6. Now 7/11 to 19/9. McKay’s.* 1

Garden Fin* The Nelson Fire Brigade was call' d out at 1.45 p in. on Saturday to a lire which had got out of hand in the gar <ien of Mr K. Gay, St. Vincent street. The tire was soon extinguish,ed with a bucket pump. Rainfall at Pa I*u, Takaka The rainfall recorded at the power station at Pu Pu during January totalled 4.59in, with a maximum fall ol'! 'tin. on 18th January, states tin* ." onthly report of the engineer-mana-,n to’the Golden Bay Electric Power Beard. Mr J. P. Cottier. The figure is below the average for the month of January. From general observations.; January was a dry month throughout the Takaka district, despite frequent showers, which, with humid conditions, tended towards the incidence of blight; ■ a tomato and potato crops. Gate Letter Boxes Approximately 5000 Wellington] householders who have not yet com-I plied with the request of the postal authorities to erect letter-boxes at their gales have been advised bv the chief postmaster that if the boxes are l ot erected within 1.4 days they will 1 have to eull for their mail at the post schools in the Nelson Education Board's : district last year—B9.o44 per cent.— I was the lowest on record. The figure j for the previous year was. 92.393 per cent. The secretary, Mr H. J. Thornton, •said that it was the first occasion' hr could recollect on which the figure had fallen below 90 per cent. It had been a bml yi Hardships and Pleasures ' The ferocity of the sandflies and the mugged nature of the country at the | south-west corner of New Zealand were ; enduring impressions gained by the ■ policy party which' visited Puysegur Point last week after the destruction! by lire of the lighthouse (reports the, “Southland Times" >. One constable, was particularly bitter about the sand--I'l u-s and said they appeared to be 1 which non-mechaniscd human beings • were powerless. However, the party l>.Uiid compensations for its discomforts 1 by a pleasant afternoon's sport on the j homeward trip, securing a catch of blue i cod and groper which graced the table | in practically every police house in In- ! vcrcargill and Bluff next day. ■ Novel Scarecrows ) Pedestrians in Manukau road, Auck- | land, were recently amazed to sec ' what looked like dozen.-; of dancing ! black kittens in the front garden of i a house. On closer investigation they ) proved to be the ingenious invention i iif an enthusiastic gardener. The i “kittens” were composed of round ! balls of black fur attached to strings ! and equipped with long dangling tails. 'Apparently the idea worked, because j tv,ere was not a bird to be seen. Sev- ) oral excited dogs vainly trying to .jump i the fence testified to their realism. A Soldier’s Thanks | In addition to its various projects for (sending seeds and beans to Britain, tlw* j Christchurch Women’s Voluntary Land ! Army has given much valued help to | dependants of men in the fighting services. Proof that its gifts of vegetables to wives and mothers were much ap- ; predated by the men was given in a | letter received last week from a j member of the 4th Field Regiment in Idle East. IK v. s'-fiy 'A our assistance is much appreciated and it is a great help to know that while we [are doing the job of work over here, i the people at home are looking after things lor us.” Must Work More “If the Army wants men and the civil work they have been doing cannot be done on a five-day week, the remaining men will have to work on Saturdays.” said the chairman Mr I. J Coldstine. at a sitting of the No. 1 (Auckland) District Manpower Committee (reports the “Herald"). The remark (followed the statement by an employer[appellant that the entry of a reservist ! into the Army would retard his work I considerably. His employees observed a 40-hour week. “Having regard to j the exigencies of the situation to-day, I it is evident that the requirements for j defence will result, in a greater drain [on the country’s manpower.” said Mr Goldstine. “While this wiJl create cor ! siderable difficulty in a majority of [ industries, one way of meeting the ! position, although not to the fullest ev- ! tent, is for the remaining manpower to I face up to the changed circumstances 1 and give longer hours to industry. If the available manpower is not prepared to give extra hours, the necessary ; work simply cannot he done, and the authorities will have no option but to ! take stops to civ ;u the completion of such work as is required.” ; No Retirements on Superannuation | “I am directed to inform you that ) the Government has decided that on ! account of the manpower situation, no j letirements of teachers on super annua tion will be permitted unless • they have been approved by Cabinet." said a letter from the Director for Education 'Dr. C. E. Beebv). received i at a meeting of the Ashburton Technical High School Board of Managers j last week. Consideration was being ! given to method.- of ensuring that the | decisions would interfere as little as | possible with promotion resulting from ; the teachers’ service, and the Director j would communicate with Education ; Boards as soon as a method of pro- | cedure has been decided on. said the i letter. “In the meantime will you j please forward to the Education Dej ;'art ment the names of all employees ! who would normally be retiring had ' r.ot the decision been made, and in ; whose cases you can warrant special consideration. In such cases it will be ! necessary for you to give special rea- ! sons why retirements on superannua- ; lien should bo allowed.” the letter con ! timed. Cost of the Service ; Local and public utility bodies in th-.: I Auckland Emergency Precautions Ser--1 vice area will be called upon to pro j vide £20,000 toward the cost of the service for the 12 months ending 31sl | March. 1943, (states the “N.Z. Herald"). ! From its establishment in October. 1939, |to the end of 1941 the total expenditure was approximately £14,000. including £6OOO for fire-fighting equipI ment. Expenses recently have increasj od very much, but against this the GovI eminent has undertaken to find 75 I per cent, of the cost of public raid she! j ters. and to subsidise general E.P.S. expenditure at the rate ol £2 foi £l. Contributing bodies will be asse.-snd on I the same basis as heretofore, namely, the City Council, two-fifths of the totV amount: 21 local bodies, two-fifths, apportioned according to population and valuation; public utility bodies, one fifth, apportioned according to revenue.