NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25499, 31 March 1944, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

r FHE money handled throughout the Dominion by the paying-out officers directly attached to the Social Security Department aggregated £6,500,000 annually, said the Minister of Social Security, Mr W. E. Parry, in a statement in the Labour paper the Stand.ard. The cashiers at the office of the registrar of social security in Auckland, the Minister said, paid benefits and pensions totalling more than £1,000,000 each year. That involved over 142,000 transactions, and represented callers estimated to exceed 230,000. The Christchurch centre, where the cash paid out approximated £900,000, was second to Auckland in the volume of business handled. The Smiths Lead The Smiths lead easily in numerical representation on the Christchurch municipal electors’ roll. There are some 65,000 names on the roll, and among the names occurring most frequently are the following:—Smith, 867, Brown, 452; Taylor, 434; Jones, 344; Robinson, 246; Gray, 144; Robertson. 128; Andrews, 114; Green, 98.

Plans for Dairy Industry Replying to an urgent question by Mr A. S. Sutherland (Oppn., Hauraki) in the House of Representatives yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr B. Roberts, said that the discussions in regard to a programme for increasing the production of dairy produce and pig meats were still proceeding between the Economic Stabilisation Commission and the representatives of the industry. An announcement would be made at the earliest possible date. Liquor Trust as Wholesalers One provision in the Invercargill Licensing Trust Bill which is not generally known (states the Southland Times) is that the trust may establish and maintain bonded warehouses and stores from which it may deliver liquor sold by, or on behalf of, the trust. It may also “carry on any business which, in the opinion of the trust, may suitably and conveniently be carried on in conjunction with any business which the trust is specifically authorised to carry on.” Sparing of Rome An appeal similar to the Australian Catholic archbishops’ and bishops’ request that Rome should be spared as much as possible would probably be issued by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy of New. Zealand, stated Archbishop O’Shea. He had just returned to Wellington after an absence of three weeks, lie said, and had not yet had an opportunity of getting in touch with the other Catholic bishops of the Dominion. He was in sympathy with the appeal made by Archbishop Mannix on behalf of the Australian bishops, and he thought it probable that New Zealand would associate itself with Australia in the matter.

Open Season for Game Numerous inquiries from sportsmen have been received by the Otago Acclimatisation Society regarding the possibility of an open season for game. The secretary (Mr L. Millar) said yesterday that the society had been in communication with the Department of Internal Affairs suggesting an open seasomfor a period of two months for water fowl and three months for quail and chukor. No confirmation had yet been received that the proposal had been approved, but it was expected that a season commencing on May 6 would be permitted and that some allocation of ammunition would be made to licence holders.

Fifteen Judges Sitting What was probably a record was created in Wellington on Monday, when 15 judges; were sitting simultaneously. Nine of these, all the judges of the Supreme Court Bench, formed the two divisions of the Court of Appeal, both divisions sitting together, not a very common procedure, to hear legal argument. At the same time there were sitting in the Court of Arbitration all six judges of the Native Appellate Court, engaged in important litigation concerning the Maori ownership of the Wanganui River and Lake Waikaremoana. The only other judge who might possibly have been sitting in Wellington was the judge of the Arbitration Court, but that court is at present in Auckland. New Coal Seam

The discovery of a new seam of coal which is' likely to mean the opening up of a new' colliery at Rewanui was announced by the Minister of Mines, Mr P. C. Webb, yesterday. This new seam was discovered under the present Liverpool mine at Rewanui, off the West Coast, as the result of drilling operations following a geological survey. A bore was put down in the Liverpool mine area, and the first drill penetrated an entirely hew seam at 800 feet below the existing bed. To test the scam, drilling operations were also carried out 10 chains lower down to ascertain whether a continuation seam had been discovered. At 1070 feet the seam was again tapped, showing a thickness of 17 feet of coal. Annual Holidays for Workers

When the question of annual holidays for workers, as provided for by the Holidays Bill recently passed by the House of Representatives, was discussed at the monthly meeting of the Dunedin Manufacturers’ Association, members expressed the opinion it would be highly detrimental to industry generally to lose 240,000 productive weeks annually by the granting of two weeks’ holiday to 120,000 men and women employed in industry. If this were done it would be difficult to maintain production and fulfil the requirements of the Government’s stabilisation plan. It was decided to ask the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation to approach the Government with a suggestion that the application of the Bill should be deferred for the duration of the war.

“ One Man—One House ” The question of aggregation under the Servicemen’s Settlement and Land Sales Act was explained by the Crown representative (Mr Rowe) at the request of the South Auckland Land Sales Committee at a sitting in Hamilton. The clause under this heading in the Act provided for a policy of “ one man—one house,” he said. Aggregation meant, for example, that if a man lived in his own dwelling in Hamilton he could not buy another dwelling in Auckland unless his business took him there permanently. He could, however, buy a house there if by so doing he improved the housing problem, that was by dividing the house purchased into flats. Similarly, a man with a dwelling of his own could not buy a section elsewhere unless he intended lo build on it and by so doing improve the housing situation. The committee, however, would first of all want to know if the applicant was financially in a position to build before it would give its consent to the sale of the land. Arbitration Act

“As things stand to-day, a number of important amendments are needed in the Arbitration Act,” said Mr Justice O’Regan, judge of the Compensation Court, in an address at Auckland on the history and effects of the Act. There had been few changes in the Act since it was passed, he said. Unfortunately, in the heat of conciliation council proceedings, parties were often hazy as to just what they agreed upon, with the result that the award formally made by the court was frequently referred back within a few months for the interpretation of many of its clauses. Judgments were recorded and printed, but they were of no use at all in assisting with future decisions, because the awards were amended to patch up the faulty clauses from time to time, thus destroying the basis on which the judgments had been reached. From the proceedings of the court, a great pile of printed iudgments was accumulating that would never be of any practical use. Further amendments w°re thus necessarv in the Act. •said his Honor. It. was his nei’sonal belief that it had been a Preat mistake to abandon the boards of conciliation presided over by permanent and able men.