NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25394, 27 November 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

AMERICANS, in New Zealand celebrated on Thursday the second Thanksgiving Day which has fallen since the first of their forces arrived in the Dominion towards the middle of last year. In their messes they sat down at mid-day to their traditional feast, for which some of the foodstuffs, including' turkeys and cranberry sauce, had been brought specially from the United States. Various establishments observed a service custom by breaking “ Old Glory ” from the head of their flagstaff's, while personnel stood at attention and “The Starspangled Banner” was played by bands or relayed over loud-speaking systems. Many American servicemen also attended church services arranged by civilian clergymen. The various activities which were arranged represented the traditional American manner of observing Thanksgiving Day. It originated with the Pilgrim Fathers in celebration of their first harvest from American soil, and it has been maintained annually as a means of expressing thanksgiving for the mercies of the past year. A Substantial Estate The estate of Mr Alfred Fels. merchant, Dunedin, has been sworn for probate purposes at a value of under £50,000.

Generous Bequests Under the will of Mr Charles Johnston Wood, a retired baker, of Balclutha, whose estate has been sworn for probate purposes at a value of under £9OOO, the following bequests are provided for:—St. John Ambulance Association, Balclutha, £SO; Balclutha Methodist Church (for the general purposes of the church), £500; Balclutha Primary School, £SOO (to be invested to provide a scholarship or bursary); South Otago High School, £SOO (to provide a scholarship or bursary) . Public Works Men for Harvest

Employees of the Works Department will be released for the harvest this year on the same conditions as have obtained in previous years. The Minister of Works (Mr R. Semple), in a statement at Christchurch, said that farmers needing the services of men engaged on public works should make application to the engineer concerned. He. said that harvest work would affect the department much more seriously this year than it had in the past, because ‘of the general shortage of man-power. The men would be particularly missed from hydro-electric works. Three Mistakes

’ “ Very little things sometimes are the beginnings of domestic misunderstandings,” said Mr Justice Blair, speaking to the Society for the Protection of Women and Children at Wellington. “Husbands make three mistakes. They get out of the habit of saying ‘ thank you ’ to their wives. As a matter of fact wives should always say it to their husbands. They do it more frequently than their husbands do it to them. Another thing husbands must never do is to forget the date of their wives’ birthdays. They should also never forget the anniversary of their wedding day.”

Army Chiropody Depots “Most progressive and comprehensive,” said the Minister of Supply, Mr D. G. Sullivan, when commenting on the footwear and chiropody scheme for women employed in the army, navy, and air force and the National Service Department. “After operating for five months, reports received from all over New Zealand are most satisfactory, and indicate that the scheme will prove beneficial to all concerned. The plan was introduced with the co-operation of the orthopaedic surgeons and the footwear manufacturers throughout the country.” Four fitting and chiropody depots, one in each of the main centres, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, were set up. From each of these depots a mobile unit operates, covering all the country camps and stations.

Municipal Organ Recital An attracive programme of organ music has been arranged by the city organist, Dr V. E. Galway, for presentation at his after-church recital in the Town Hall to-morrow night. The following compositions will be performed: —“Largo in E” (Handel), Choral Preludes—“ Sleepers, Wake, a Voice is Calling,” “Adorn Thyself, O My Soul” ((Bach), “Fantasia in E minor” (Silas), “Tune for the Flutes” (John Stanley), Entr’acte from “Rosamunde” (Schubert), “Grand Choeur” (Hollins), “Reve Angelique” (Rubinstein), and “March in D” (Rebikov). Dr Galway will be assisted by Miss Clare Neale, who will play two piano solos, “ Gardens in the Rain ” (Debussy) and “Study in D flat” (Liszt). There will be no charge for admission. “ Pay as You Go ”

Sir Robert Gillespie, president of the Bank of New South Wales, expressed a hope, at the annual meeting of that institution yesterday, that the Commonwealth Government would accept the pay-as-you-go system of income tax, which had. been introduced in Canada and the United States, -and was to be introduced in Great Britain. Payment of income tax on current income would, he said, be beneficial both to the individual and to the Treasury when earnings declined as war production tapered off. For the individual, taxation would be directly related to his lower income as overtime and war-time bonuses were eliminated, and there would be less probability of a large volume of default. The theory that the Government would lose a year’s taxation by the change was entirely insupportable: the change would be a change in assessment only. Practical Maori School One of the most interesting visits he had paid in New Zealand, said Mr Samuel Storey, M.P., a member of the British press delegation, was to the model Maori School at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua. “Apart from the carvings and other cultural interests,” he said, “ is the completely furnished house in which the girls are taught domestic science. Not, only are they taught to cook, but how to make a bed. I thought this one of the most practical schools I had seen in any part of the world, and feel that it must have an influence on the students in later life.” The visitor, who left Christchurch on Thursday for the Franz Josef Glacier, said that he had also been impressed by the fact that Maori and European children were taught together at Whakarewarewa. Members of the delegation visited the school through the courtesy of Mr H.. Tai Mitchell, who has been identified with it since its foundation.

Conversion of Cars In the opinion of the Minister of Justice, Mr H. G. R. Mason, considerable legal difficulties would result from classifying conversion of a motor car as theft. He made this reply to representations by the South Island Motor Union that the offence of unlawful conversion be classified as theft to secure a higher penalty. In his letter, which was received by the Executive Committee at a meeting in Christchurch, Mr Mason said that the maximum penalty prescribed by law for the theft of a car was similar to that for unlawful conversion. In many cases the maximum penalty of two years’ detention had been imposed. The Undersecretary of Justice (Mr B. L. Dallard). in a letter on the same subject, said that to constitute the crime of theft it had to be proved that the accused intended to deprive the owner permanently of the thing taken, which was more difficult than the proof required for the charge of converting a motor car to his own use. Mr Dallard added that further consideration would be given to the question of amending the law to provide that the breaking and entering of garages and certain other buildings designated in the English Larceny Act be included in the legal definition of larceny wherever these buildings might be situated.