NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25940, 5 September 1945, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Seven Brothers in Uniform Included in one of the drafts which will arrive from the Middle East in the next few days is Sapper R. D. Cavanagh, who is the sixth and final member of a well-known Lawrence family to return home from overseas service. He is one of seven brothers, ail of whom have been in uniform during the war. Sappers J. A. and P. Cavanagh have served in England and Italy with the forestry unit; Sappers R., J. A., and R. D. Cavanagh with the Railway Construction Unit, Middle East forces; Private F. E. Cavanagh has served in the Pacific area; and Private W. J. Cavanagh in camp in New Zealand. They are all well known in sporting circles in the Tuapeka district. Visit of Sir Patrick Duff

During his first official visit to Dunedin this month, Sir Patrick Duff, the new High Commissioner in New Zealand for the United Kingdom, will address members of he Chamber of Commerce at an evening function on Thursday, September 20. Land Sales Delays The long delays by the Land Sales Committees and the court in arriving at decisions regarding purchases and sales of properties were referred to by Mr R. McKeen (Govt., Wellington South) in notice of a question to the Minister of Lands, Mr C. F. Skinner, in the House of Representatives yesterday. He asked the Minister whether in order to avoid these delays he would immediately give consideration to the appointment of more valuers and experienced men in the working of the Land Sales Act. Mr Webb’s Visit to Paris

A suggestion that the Minister of Mines. Mr P. C. Webb, may be appointed New Zealand Minister to France was made by Mr A. J. Murdoch (Oppn., Marsden), during the financial debate in the House of Representatives yesterday. He said that Mr Webb was to go to Paris as one of New Zealand’s delegates to the conference of the International Labour Organisation. It appeared that this mission was to be “ a sort of try-out,” and that, if Mr Webb succeeded in captivating Parisians he might be appointed ambassador to France. Gambling Losses When a witness who admitted losing £2 at a gambling school one night and £7 another night said he had a wife and three children, he drew some comment from Mr Justice Cornish in the Supreme Court at Auckland. “Do you think you are playing the game by your wife and children? ” his Honor asked. Counsel, who called the witness interposed to say that the man was happily married. “Don’t try to persuade me,” said his Honor, “ that any working man who in gambling loses £2 one night ana £7 another is happil ymarried. You are putting too great a strain on my credulity." Demand for Fur Coats “You must admit that fur coats are a luxury,” said Mr D. A. Bell, representing the National Service Department, to Mr David Langley, a manufacturing furrier, when the latter appeared before the Industrial Manpower Appeal Committee yesterday to support an appeal for an employee. Mr Langley said that his was certainly not a luxury trade. “You do not suggest that there are many women who would pay from £l9 10s for a fur coat?” asked Mr Bell. “There are thousands and thousands of them these days when wages are high,” replied the appellant, who added that cloth coats were, on the average, priced from between £l2 and £l6. He had noticed cloth coats priced as high as £24. Jam for Poisoning Rabbits Action to have the sales tax of 20 per cent, removed immediately from jam purchased for the poisoning of rabbits was urged by Mr D. C. Kidd (Oppn., Waitaki) in notice of a question to the Minister of Agriculture. Mr B. Roberts, in the House of Representatives yesterday. “ The rabbit menace is assuming serious proportions, despite the efforts of farmers and others to destroy the pest,” said Mr Kidd, in a note to his question. “The use of poisoned jam is an effective means of exterminating rabbits and is employed extensively by rabbiters where the pest is numerous. The removal of the sales tax from poisoned jam would encourage a more intensive campaign against rabbits.”

Invitation to Mr Churchill The Dominion executive of the Returned Services’ Association is to ask the Government to urge Mr Winston Churchill to accept the invitation to visit New Zealand. This was advised in a letter from the executive to a meeting of the committee of the Christchurch association. The Government will also be asked to notify the association of the reply, as it desires appropriately to express to Mr Churchill its appreciation of his leadership during the war years. “it has been stated that we are somewhat belated in our invitation,” said the president (Mr D. W. Russell). “The Prime Minister. Mr P. Fraser, did not. however, renew his invitation when he sent a message to Mr Churchill after his defeat at the elections in Great Britain.” Results of Gold Mining

“The permanent destructions of fertile soil in order to win gold, which is of small real value, stands condemned by all thinking people,” stated a report on land problems adopted by the Dominion conference on Christian order held in Christchurch. It was suggested by one speaker that this condemnation might have been proposed by some enthusiast with an obsession about social credit. A fundamental idea was involved, said £ the speaker, and perhaps the conference had not considered it carefully enough. The acting chairman (the Rev. M. A. Rugby Pratt) gave an assurance that the sentence in the report “ had nothing to do with the gold standard or the monetary system.” Anybody who had seen the destruction of the soil through goldmining in parts of New Zealand would agree that there was a need to say something about it in a report on the land.

Honesty in Business “A great amount of dishonesty can be seen in New Zealand, such as slack work, sharp practices in business, deceitful advertising, petty thieving. shoddy workmanship, and the use of inferior materials,” stated a report on industry and commerce adopted by the Dominion conference on Christian order held in Christchurch. “ Such dishonesty comes under the condemnation of God, and the Church and teachers have a special duty to call the people of New Zealand to a more scrupulous sense of honesty. . . . The power wielded by money should not be beyond democratic control. The first need is a new public opinion which will discountenance any form of financial transaction or arrangement that yields a profit without rendering commensurate service, or that endangers the rights of others. All speculation in currency or in industrial shares comes under this condemnation, and many accepted forms of share issue are fraudulent in effect if not in intention."