LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23748, 30 August 1940, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Attendances at Church The fact that only 3 per cent' of the people of New Zealand attended Divine service was referred to by the Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt. Rev. F. A- Bennett, in a sermon in Napier. "That is surely a disgrace. It is not until we are face to face with reality that many of us become aware of our utter foolishness in ignoring those things that matter most in life." Training ior Emergencies A fine response has been received by the Auckland centre of the New Zealand Red Cross Society in answer to its appeal for men to undergo training which will qualify • them "to man first-aid posts allotted the society under the Emergency Precautions Scheme. More classes than were planned originally have been opened in the city and suburbs. Germans in Czecho-Slovakia News which comes through from Czecho-Slovakia in spite of Nazi censorship is published in a regular series of bulletins by the Czecho-Slovak National Council of America. A recent number reports that the Masaryk Home for Old People, the finest institution of the kind in Central Europe, has been confiscated to be converted into a •German military hospital. Court of Arbitration The hour of the opening of the sitting of the Court of Arbitration at Auckland on Friday. September 0, has been altered from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Court will sit at Palmerston North on Monday afternoon and at New Plymouth on Wednesday. The accumulation of business since , the Court sat at Auckland six months ago is expected to occupy it for several weeks. Children lrom Britain Offers of homes for 75 children from Great Britain have been received from the Rotorua patriotic zone. One noticeablo feature of the returns is the preference for girls, particularly between the ages of five and seven. Forty of the offers made have boon for girls in this group. Another feature of the preferences is that few prospective foster-parents seem concerned about the religious denomination to which the children bolong. The Car Market In spite of the petrol restrictions, dealers are still able to dispose of new motor-vehicles. It is known that there have been a fair number of new registrations of vehicles in Auckland over the past few weeks. A good proportion of .these are said to be commercial vehicles. Registrations also show that there is some activity in tho secondhand car market, especially for light types. From the circumstances now ruling, it is apparent that there would be a good demand if petrol restrictions were eased. Membership Record Record membership has been attained by the eight automobile assoi ciations affiliated to the North Island Motor Union. The present number of members is 73,862, as against 69,055 last year, aiid 31,590 five years ago. Of the total, 35,205 members are attached to the Auckland association and 12,285 to that in Wellington. It is reported that the percentage of increase in membership is much higher than the number of private cars licensed in the period, suggesting that members appreciate tho associations' service. Damaged Tanker A crane from the Western Wharf was placed in position on the" Western Viaduct by the Auckland Harbour Board's floating crane Mahua yesterday to assist in the work of repairing the damaged tanker 010 Jacob, which was involved in a collision with the Armadale in Cook Strait on July 31. At the same time the Ole Jacob was moved nearer the viaduct end of the Hobson Wharf. Tho progress of the work was watched by an interested group of spectators throughout the afternoon, and their interest was not diminished by frequent showers of rain. Remarkable Bird Lost A bird which is believed to be the only one of its kind in New Zealand, a cross between a pheasant and a duck, lately escaped from its quarters in the grounds of the Colonial Ammunition Company, Limited, Mount Eden. About a fortnight ago, it flow into the fowlyard of Mrs. R. A. Allen, Ellerton Road, but escaped before she could catch it. A reward is being offered for the capture and return of the bird, which is web-footed and. has the distinctive markings of a pheasant on its back. The plumage on tho breast and under the wings resembles that of a duck. Roadside Beautiflcation A well-planned policy for the beautiflcation of the highways of New Zealand, supervised by a qualified person, is recommended in a report to be presented to tho annual conference of the North Island Motor Union in Auckland to-day. The value of much good work was lost in the past when new road alignment or other construction required the destruction of trees, the report states. "Tho possible objection to making such a suggestion in wartime is appreciated, but its adoption is justified when the comparatively small cost is considered in relation to benefits, which would bo of national importance," the report adds. Australia's War Effort "We are setting ourselves out to be a very strong country in the Pacific," said Mr. C. E. Critchley, Australian Trade Commissioner in New Zealand, in, giving a review of Australia's war effort at the luncheon of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association. "We have the men to do it," ho continued, "and the material. Our aim is to ; provide sufficient forces to achieve our objects in tho war, ;and at the same time to maintain essential services at a normal standard. In spite of, all wo have done an Australian statesman .recently declared: 'We, aro not doing enough. We never will bo able to do enough until the enemy has had. enough.' V • ■ < Army Premises Remodelled District Army Headquarters lias now taken over the whole of tho premises in the Maritime' Buildings of the Export Division of the Primary Products Marketing Department. The large staff at headquarters' has hitherto c been severely cramped and handicapped in its work, and: many of the partitioning walls are now being removed, and a complete reshuffle being effected with the officers' rooms. Tho work is being carried out entirely at night, and when it) is completed all the military staff will, bo conveniently, placed- npxt to one another .along the Quay- Street side of the premises. The change has also resulted in headquarters occupying the whole of the second floor of the biiikling.