FINED £10,000

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24969, 11 August 1944, Page 6

FINED £IO,OOO

BELFAST COXTIiACTOH SECRET DISCOUNTS KEPT fEecd. 0.30 p.m.) LONDON. Auj?. 10 William John Stewart, member of the Northern, Ireland House of Commons for South Belfast, was fined £IO,OOO on charges of conspiring to cheat the War Office of discounts "on' contracts. He was charged in his capacity as governing director of Stewart and Partners, a firm of buhlic contractors. The Crown case was that _ the . tirin obtained secret"discountsVhich should hnive been given to the War Office, but tho rebates did not appear in the books of the firm, which has handled £7.000.000 worth of .contracts since the outbreak of the war. SPIRIT OF ENGLAND MR CURTIN'S TRIBUTE

SYDNEY, Aiip. 10 "The proud spirit of Englishmen," ,was praised by the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr J. Curtin, speaking to the Adelaide Commonwealth Club, of which Mr Don Bradman, captain of the last Australian Eleven, is president. During his recent visit to Britain, Mr Curtin said, and watching the English people under wartime strain, he had felt a sense not of dourness but of dignity. Here was a people whom nothing could deter from tho course they had set themselves. It was difficult for a contemporary visitor to arrive at an accurate assessment of their intense public virtue, ho added. Out of this pool of invincible human quality the whole British race drew inspiration and strength. In black night of civilisation it was in England that the lamp was kept lit and the deep intensity of that light had illumined whatever it had touched. "It is indeed a fine thing to see tho political leader of the Commonwealth

pay tribute to the people of Britain," «avs the Sydney Sun, in a loading article today.' "The time was when Mr Cnrtin, lacking first-hand knowledge of affairs outside the industrial politics of Australia, had not this_ warm and genuine feeling for Britain and its people. Knowledge, responsibility and travel have obviously changed his views, and his speech emphasises the wisdom of sending our public men abroad." GREEK RELIEF FUND (0.C.) HUNTLY, Thursday An acknowledgment has been received by the headmaster of the Huntly District High School, .Mr J). A. McPherson, from the secretary of the Greek Relief Fund, Auckland, in connection with the pupils' recent contribution to the fund. "The response from the schools generally has been splendid, and the total contributions from the schools have exceeded £750," said the secretary in his letter. "Your school takes pride of place with the highest contribution^ The total i of the fund has exceeded £3500, which ; is a substantial sum from the Auckland - Province." A letter has also been received from the chairman of the Auckland Education Board expressing appreciation of tho splendid contribution from the Huntly school. ' DESTRUCTION OF RATS More than 474,000 rat poisbn baits , were distributed by the sanitary depart- , ment of the City Council during 1943-44, t stated the annual report of tho chief sanitary inspector. Mr H. Paul!, to the ! council last night. This total was 5 213,000 more than in tho previous year. Applicants for baits last year numbered ' ollicer attached to the department had set ] 7,851 traps in 0012 premises and had delivered 0031 rats for examination at tho Auckland Hospital laboratory. Largo quantities of poison baits had been laid on rubbish tips and at tho Zoological Park with excellent results.