GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 13 June 1942, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

People Queue up lor Eggs The sale of eggs at a store in Dixon street, Wellington, yesterday, attracted a queue of 290 to 300 men and women, extending nearly 100 yards to the Cuba street intersection. Prices were 3s 8d and 3s 4d a dozen. Shortly before noon the store displayed a sign, “No eggs left.” New Lee Valley Bridge “The only concrete bridge constructed during the year was the Lee Valley bridge over the Wairoa river,” stated Mr J. Cordcr, chairman of the Waimea County Council, in his annual report. “This bridge, which was only recently

completed, has an arch span of 80 feet, , two 18ft. girder spans and one 101't. girder span. The construction of a ret mforced concrete bridge of 40ft. span to replace Remnant’s bridge, an old 1 wooden truss bridge, on the Motueka 2 river west bank road has been de--2 ferred owing to the steel restrictions, J but it is hoped that it can be built during the coming year. A number of , small modern bridges have been built. -/The county has not suffered to any .serious extent from flood damage dur--3 mg the past year.” L 7 . Live Stock Market At the weekly stock sale held at Blenheim there was one of th? largest - yardings of fat stock seen here for l some time (records the “Express”). In l Q pile of this the demand for really good lines was very keen, best wethers sell--1 ing up to 30s Id and ewes up to 20s Id. ■ Lighter sorts were well up to recent - values. There were very few stores 5 yarded and these met with limited inquiry. A line of ewes running with [ Southdown rams realised 13s. l > Restriction oi Activities “New Zealand itself is now in the war 1 zone and the country's war preparai tions must necessarily restrict the j amenities of the people and the activi- ' ties of its civic authorities.” stated Mr 1 J - Carder, chairman of the Waimea t County Council, in his annual report. ‘However, efficient, economical administration by local authorities is of great s importance in assisting the whole popu--5 lation to devote its energies ahd pro- : duction to the war effort.” 3 “Marks o'! Disgrace” “Although we appreciate the action j of the Department of Health in removing the charge for nurses at dental clinics and granting the committees r .£25 a year for each nurse employed, it 1 is no matter of pleasure to me to view i the number of these clinics in the country, ’ said Mr A. C. Brassington, a delegate t the annual meeting of the - Canterbury School Committees’ Assoj ciatlon (rejrorts “The Press”). “The 7 clinics were no doubt necessary, but at the same time they are marks of disgrace to the district in which they are - situated. There is no reason that chil- ? dren under the age of 10 should require 1 aental attention.” Reduction in County Rates “The Council has been able to reduce ♦ the general rate from Id in the £ to £d and it is felt that this will be of some help to the producer at this time when t he is faced with increased costs of s material and labour to maintain production from the land,” stated the an- ' nua ' report of the Waimea County - Council chairman (Mr J. Corder) "The Council, of course, still has to meet 3 the percentage increase in award rates ; ’ of wages, but these have not been exf cessive in proportion to the high rates , ruling at the outbreak of the war. A suitable stock of materials necessary 2 for the maintenance of roads "and 2 bridges has been purchased in reasons able quantity as opportunitv has offered ' s t Australians in Canada J In spite of the fact that Australians had gained such high pjaces in their 1 examinations in Canada, there was no 1 jealousy shown by the trainees of othei g Dominions, an R.A.A.F. officer told the . Melbourne “Age.” Everyone in Cana. cia had treated the Australians well s Homes were thrown open to them, and 2 hospitality was never lacking for the ] j boys in the conspicuous dark blue uniform. The officer, who had just reJ turned lo Australia, said that this same 3 j enthusiasm was expressed for Austral--j -an trainees by the Canadian cotnmand- - in g officers of the schools, who could _ j never get too many of them to train ; When they first reached Canada from Australia the boys were naturally a bit ' homesick, and the change to Canadian 3 foods usually brought a few minci 7 complaints and a longing for some “home” cooking. They soon reconciled I themselves to the new standards. Al- , though the climate was a severe test in 3 j winter, with their youth and perfect ! physical fitness the lads quickly adapted ' themselves, and did not appear to no--3 lice the cold as much as the locals. Af--1 ter graduation the seven days’ leave . > granted was mostly spent in New York, A where “the freedom of the city” was ’ almost a recognised custom, and Aus--3! tralians in U.S.A. were overwhelmed II by the enthusiastic welcome given J them.

Won l l\iy Rotes till Work Done From lime to time local bodies receive letters from ratepayers refusing to pay the rates until certain work is done and usually the writers get little consideration. .The Waimea County Council had two letters of that class before it yesterday. One stated: "I will not pay the rates till the work on my road is done, fiend this at tiro next meeting of the Council.” ”1 don't like the tone oi that letter at all,” commented the chairman (Councillor J. Corder). It was decided to reply stating that the Council would consider the request when the rates were paid. The other letter had the saving grace of a little humour. It stated: “I am forwarding one-third of my rates. The other twothirds will be sent when 1 have a gravelled road to my property the same as other folks have.” The letter concluded : "Hoping soon to bo forwarding the other two thirds of the rates to you." The Engineer was asked to report on the road at the next meeting. Returned Services’ Association The annual Dominion council of the New Zealand Returned Services’ Association, representing 90 of the 94 associations, will commence in Wellington next Wednesday, when about 100 delegates will attend. The council will be opened by the GovernorGeneral. Invitations have been sent to the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, and to the American Minister in New Zealand. Brigadier-General P. Hurley, lo be present at the opening. Mr M. Moo. ban, chairman of the Rehabilitation Board, will address the delegates on the subject, of rehabilitation. Well-known Name iu Waimeas Waimea West is a stronghold of pioneer families who settled on its fertile soil a century ago and who have been there ever since. How one of them has increased is shown by the results of first aid examinations conducted there by the St. John Ambulance Association. Of the ten successful candidates among the women and girls six were Palmers; three of the 14 men bore the same name.

Unlicensed Cars and E.P.S. The South Island E.P.S. Regional Conference at Christchurch this week decided to suggest to the Government that for private cars not relicensed by Ist July but still liable to be impressed for E.P.S. duty, there should be some form of registration enabling them to have third party coverage in case of accident if used in an emergency, said the Nel-son-Marlborough District Controller, Mr E. R. Neale, to-day. This is with a view to protecting members of the public who may be injured by an unlicensed car. A Splendid Effort j At. a meeting of the Wakefield Na- : tional Savings Committee the chairman, Mr C. C. Hooper, read a telegram received from the National Organiser congratulating the committee on its effort in tha Liberty Loan Campaign. The chairman expressed his thanks to Mr C C. Watkins, the headmaster of the local school, and the school children who canvassed the district for the sale of liberty bonds, the result of their effort being the sale of £555 in £1 bonds. The committee decided to write each child congratulations on their fine effort, and to present each of them with a 5s National Savings coupon Pressure on Bank Staffs “We think we can say that the bank staffs are one of the few sections of the community who have suffered a virtual total cancellation of holiday leave (even in the Army regular leave L given to the troops),” stated the official organ of the New Zealand Bank Officers’ Guild. “However, it was obvious to all of us that we could not lose half of our pre-war numbers without our own working conditions being \erv adversely affected. The holiday position was accepted with (we think) good grace by the great majority of our members. However, the increased strain of office work, coupled with practically all leisure time being given to Home Guard and E.P.S. duties, is likely sooner or later to have a detrimental effect upon the health of our members.” The banks have agreed to do all that is possible to afford some leave to members during the next few months. Ground for Divorce “There seems to Ije an impression among some people that to have lived apart for three years is a sufficient ground for divorce, but the law requires that the parties should have agreed to bring to an end their married life, and to have kept that agreement. for the time mentioned.” staled Mr Justice Callan in the Auckland Supreme Court, when hearing a petition for divorce, in which the evidence showed some doubt about the agreement to separate being regarded as final by one of the parties, reports the “Auckland Star.” His Honour added that the evidence also disclosed the possibility of desertion by one of the parties, and commented that in such cases experienced counsel provided for such possibility by adding the ground <■ f desertion as an alternative. This seemed to him to be a wise precaution. Us- of Camouflage “One very interesting study in desert warfare is camouflage.” writes Major J. A. Bretherton from the Middle East to his father. Mr A. C. Bretherton, of mistchurch. “The Army has produced • i me first- class pamphlets on the subject. with really good photographs. Concealment has to be studied from wo viewpoints—the ground Observer and tha air observer. The first is comparatively easy, being mainly a question of keeping off skylines, taking advantage of folds in the ground, and, of course, camouflage painting. Bv'. to the airman, the thing that gives one away is the shadow. In air photographs, nadovvs are the blackest thing visible. m> we are trained to have camouflage nets to conceal shadow, to make use of broken ground or desert shrubs (if any), and digging in. Most aerial reconnaissance takes place in the early morning, or just before dusk, when shadows are long. Things like circular gunpits, trenches, etc., when photographed, just hit you in the eye if they are not camouflaged.” Saveloys for the Army “The production of saveloys for the Army may not seem important to the committee, but 1 assure you it is—saveloys can often be taken where other goods can’t,” Mr F. D. Sargent, counsel for an appellant firm, said in support of an appeal to the Christchurch Manpower Committee for the release from service of a boner employed by a factory v/ith large Army contracts for saveloys (reports “The Press”). A re-; presentative of the firm said goods for civilian sales had been severely ration-I eti because of Army contracts. Last lionlh about 60.000 saveloys, amounting to 10 tons, had been sent to the Army, aid this month even greater quantities had been asked for.- The staff had been reduced from 12 workers to nine, tnd production had been maintained only through much overtime and loyal co-operation. After Captain S. Bowon (the military representative) had stated the reservist was particularly valuable to the Army, the appeal was