City Police Court

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23952, 30 October 1939, Page 6

City Police Court

There were no cases to be heard at the City Police Court on Saturday.

Petrol for Sports Bodies Sports bodies may obtain licences for the purchase of motor spirit during the summer season so that the usual visits to other clubs may be carried out. The licences will be issued on the condition that no other suitable means of transport is available. Information to this effect has been received by Mr C. E. Brian, acting oil fuel controller in Invercargill, from the oil fuel controller in Wellington. Search for Missing Man Although a party under Constable Hall, of Middlemarch, has, for the past four days, carried out a vigorous search of the surrounding district and conducted dragging operations in the Taieri River, no trace has been found of William Bradley, the young man who has not been heard of since he left his employer's farm at Hyde on Wednesday morning to ride around the sheep. It is thought that in attempting to ford the Taieri River, Bradley was swept from his horse and drowned, in which case, there is a possibility that his body may have been caught in a crevice under the surface. Wet Canteens

“We have every reason to anticipate that wet canteens will be established in the camps,” said Mr J. W. Kendall, president of the Auckland Returned Soldiers’ Association, when the subject was raised at the quarterly meeting last week. “They will be staffed by returned soldiers, but will be controlled by the Government,” he added. A member asked if the association had been given any intimation as to where the profits from the canteens would go. Mr Kendall said it was definite that the profits from both the wet and dry canteens would be put into a pool for the benefit of the men. It was suggested that, instead of the money being put into a pool for future benefits, the men should be given goods from the canteens at cost price to compensate them for their lower wages. The president assured members that the men would be able to buy goods cheaper in the canteens than outside. Revival of Irish Language

An experiment inaugurated in 1922 to re-establish the Irish language, which had been out of common use for more than a century, now seemed assured of success, said the Rev. Dr F. H. Terry, of Auckland, who has returned after spending some years in Eire. Dr Terry said that every school child, was required to learn Irish and English, and to enter any profession or business it was necessary to be familiar with the Irish tongue. The movement was being watched ,with interest by European educationists.

Overdraft Arrangement New Zealand importers who had assumed that the credit arrangements made by the Minister of Finance (Mr W. Nash) during his recent visit to London would enable them to import £4,000,000 worth of goods, in addition to the amount allowed by the state of New Zealand’s sterling reserves now realise that the opposite is the case. Information obtained by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce shows clearly that the export credit of £4,000,000 sterling for commercial purposes arranged by Mr Nash is intended to dovetail into the Reserve Bank’s exchange authority system, and will not provide any sterling additional to amounts authorised by the Reserve Bank. Commenting on this information, the secretary of the chamber (Mr J. Roy Smith) said it would appear that the only benefit to be obtained from the arrangement was the guarantee of payment of goods between August, 1939, and June, 1940. In other words, a short-term guarantee of advances had been made, the guarantee to be redeemed by June, 1940. The “ credit ” was merely an overdraft arrangement, the benefit of which amounted to very little.

New Award Provision To overcome labour difficulties likely to arise through the enlistment of men in the military forces, a special clause was inserted in the Dominion award agreed upon in the Conciliation Council in Christchurch to cover the broom and brush industry. As in most awards the proportion of juniors to adults is specified, but, with the threat of the balance being disturbed through enlistments, it was agreed to insert a clause providing for consultation between the parties to the award to meet changed conditions. In the event of the parties failing to agree, the matter will be referred to the Arbitration Court.

Fijian Curios for Exhibition Fifty cases of exhibits for the Fiji Court at the Centennial Exhibition have been brought to the Dominion (says a Press Association telegram) by the supervisor of the display, Mr D. A. Donald, of the Fiji Department of Agriculture, who is at present in Auckland. The exhibits include curios, native mats and cloth, photographs and mining samples. To prepare a Samoan Court at the exhibition, which will be in the form of fale or house, four Samoans have arrived.

Youthful Angler’s Success

To have caught a total of 126 trout since the opening of the fishing season is the remarkable performance of a Tahakopa youth, Edward Gorton. This keen angler has clearly demonstrated his skill with the rod and line, and last week landed a trout weighing 13Jlb. It is believed locally that no larger fish has been taken from the Tahakopa River. It was in excellent condition and was 2ft sin in length.

Australian “ Diggers ” Sir Norman Nock, Lord Mayor of Sydney, in the course of an interview in Auckland, mentioned the disappointment of Australian returned soldiers in not being able to visit New Zealand as arranged to return the New Zealand “diggers’” visit when participating in the Anzac parade on the occasion of the sesquicentennial celebrations at Sydney. Sir Norman also said there was a psychology of confidence in Australia about the outcome of the war. “We do not want to have to set to again to rehabilitate industry,” lie said, “ and we are keeping it going at full strength.”

The Search for Oil Five of the seven oil prospecting companies in New Zealand are now operating in their fields, and the expectation of the Minister of Mines (Mr P. C. Webb) is that drills will be working soon in different parts of the country. A geologist and an assistant are working at Kotuku, on the West Coast, for Oil Concessions, Ltd.; but the Murchison Oil Company has not begun operations. An English company, Divine Oil Wells, Ltd., has also taken out a licence for the Dannevirke district, but is not working yet. Gratification at the way in which various oil companies were making the search for petroleum was' expressed by Mr Webb. “We are fortunate in having a large number of the world’s best oil experts engaged in different parts of the country on geophysical and geological work preparatory to drilling operations,” said the Minister. “If the work being done gives sufficiently encouraging results it should not be long before the drills are operating.” A New Warship!

One of the German short-wave wireless stations broadcasting propaganda a few nights ago, credited New Zealand with a warship that has never been on the naval strength of the Dominion. After explaining that New Zealand was a group of small islands in the Pacific, the announcer said that New Zealand had recently sunk one of its own warships while it was in harbour. The name of the ship, he said, was H.M.S. Dolphin.

Position of Rejected Volunteers Men who abandoned their jobs to enlist and who have either been rejected as unfit for service or who have, not yet been called upon to go to camp now find themselves in an unfortunate position, according to Mr E. L. Cullen, M.P., who said in Hastings last week that a number. of such men had approached him to obtain work. “ I have had some young men come to me looking for work who have come long distances into town and are now without money or jobs and are almost destitute," Mr Cullen said. While they were to be congratulated upon their zeal and patriotism, he warned other young men that on no account mus. they throw up their jobs until they had been given final instructions by the military authorities to enter camp. Mr Cullen mentioned that some young men who were now stranded had failed to pass the medical examination and consequently there was no prospect at all of their going into camn for the present forces. “ The great pity of it is that several of them had really good jobs,” he added.

Gifts Banned Most popular of all gifts made by New Zealanders to friends in fhe United Kingdom—a carton of butter or a choice cut of lamb —will be missed by hundreds of families at Home during the approaching Christmas season. Under the commandeer of Dominion produce by the Imperial Government gifts of this kind have been completely banned, and the distribution of butter, meat and other essential foodstuffs is now strictly rationed. Numbers of inquiries have been received recently by the External Division of the Primary Products Marketing Department from people who wish to arrange gifts of produce, as in past years, but the reply in all cases has been that the Ministry of Supply in England, which is now controlling the position, is declining all such requests. After Fourteen Year#

Among the visitors to the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition will be a 14-year-old Nelson schoolgirl, Edna May McNabb, who will be a welcome caller on the manager of the exhibition (Mr C. P. Hainsworth). November 17, 1926, was the birthday of the schoolgirl, and the Dunedin and South Seas Exhibition held its official opening ceremony on the same date. Mr Hainsworth, who was manager of that exhibition, received a letter last week from Edna McNabb reminding him that he had given her a silver spoon to mark the occasion of her birthday 14 years ago. She expressed her intention of seeing Mr Hainsworth some time during the currency of the Wellington exhibition.

Poaching of Pigeon* Reference to numerous reports of the shooting of native pigeons is made in a statement from the New Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society “Unfortunately,” it is stated, “it is not easy to catch the culprits, who are usually very cunning; but the department is making efforts in several districts of the North and South Islands to bring the lawbreakers to court. Magistrates are being urged to impose adequate penalties for the checking of poaching of protected native birds, especially as the cost of ranging is very heavy.”

Eels After Trout What to do about the eel menace in fishing rivers was briefly discussed by members of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society council last week. Professor E. Percival said he recalled the Southland Society clearing a river two years ago when they had removed 13,000 eels. It would be a costly business, he said, as it would be necessary to have a man at each river all the time. It was not generally realised that eels did not breed in fresh water. A determined effort should be made to set rid of the pest because of the damage caused, said Mr A. G. Familton. The eels which did the harm were the very big ones, said Mr C. H. Lawence and it would be difficult to get traps large enough. It was decided to write to the Marine Department and ask for information regarding the efforts made by the Southland Society two years ago.