NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26216, 29 July 1946, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Hosiery Coupons .The Minister of Supply, Mr D. G. Sullivan, announces an extension of the currency of hoisery coupon X2Ol until the end of August. Mr Sullivan said that this coupon was due to expire on May 31, but through shortage of supply its availability had been extended for two months. To enable the coupon to be fully redeemed, it was now being made available for another month. Coupons X2Ol and X 202 are therefore both valid for the purchase of fully-fashioned stockings of silk, art silk, or mixtures thereof, coupon X2Ol expiring on August 31 and coupon X 202 remaining valid until the end of November.

Tattersall’s Prizes Four of the major prizes have come to New Zealand as a result of the drawing of the latest Tattersalls “ consultation.” These are as follows:—First prize of £IO,OOO, to “Two Tykes,” Christchurch; second prize of £2OOO to “W. K.,” Hamilton; third prize of £ 1250 to “ Four Musketeers No. 3.” Auckland; sixth prize of £SOO to “Always Hoping,” Auckland.

Post Office Staff “The inability to recruit boys for permanent appointment to junior positions is creating a problem which will -affect the department’s normal staffing procedure for some time,” states the annual report of the Post and Telegraph Department to Parliament. “In order to maintain a steady flow of junior officers for more advanced positions, an annual intake of approximately 400 lads is necessary. The number of lads offering to-day is extremely limited 1 and, in consequence, the department’s foundation is seriously affected.”

Unsubstantiated Report A report in the Labour newspaper, the Southern Cross, that there is a move to persuade the Government to take over the gas industry in Auckland was referred to the secretary of the Auckland Trades Council, Mr W Ashton, on Saturday morning. He said he knew nothing at all about it. He had just returned from Wellington, where he had conferred with the national secretary of the Federation of Labour, and no mention of such a proposal had been made in their discussion. The manager of the Auckland Gas Company, Mr R. Worley, also said he had heard nothing of any move on the lines sugested. Business Man’s Troubles

Money was only the furniture of life, and only a certain amount of furniture was necesary, said Mr D. A. Ewen, in an address to members of the Wellington. Rotary Club. The difficulty of the business man was that if he ran after money he was considered to be money mad; if he did not make it he was a ne’er-do-well; if he did not try to make it he lacked ambition; if he saved it up he was a capitalist; if he spent it he was a playboy; if, he got it without working he was a parasite; if he accumulated it after a lifetime of hard work he was a fool who never got anything out of life. The real test, Mr Ewen said, was what a man did with his money. Driving Tests Criticism of the policy which permits county councils and small boroughs to issue motor drivers’ licences was expressed in a letter from Mr W. W. Reid, of Duvauchelle, received at a council meeting of the Automobile Association. Canterbury. Mr Reid stated that it would lead to safer roads if a standard driving test were fixed for the whole of New Zealand. In some countries at the present time, the clerk or the foreman issued the licence in some cases to persons definitely below par. He sugested that all tests be conducted by officers of the Transport Department. The council decided to thank Mr Reid for'his letter and to instruct the chief patrol officer to make inquiries in nearby counties as to the testing of drivers.

Highly Motorised Taranaki has the highest ratio of motor vehicles to population of any province in New Zealand, stated the Commissioner* of Transport, Mr. G. L. Laurenson, at New Plymouth. “In New Zealand to-day there are about 300,000 motor vehicles, and, with a population of about 1,700,000, this gives a ratio of about 5.6 persons to a car,” said Mr Laurenson. “Taranaki's average is higher, however, and there are about five persons to each vehicle or possibly fewer. The most densely motorised highway in New Zealand before the war was the Hawera-New Plymouth road, and now, with more cars using the roads than for years past, this highway will no doubt return to something like its previous state of activity.”

State Activities The need for the revision of the present Public Service Act and regulations was stressed in the annual report of the Public Service Commissioner tabled in the House of Representatives last week. “Present-day trends, both in New Zealand and overseas, indicate an extension of State activities,” adds the report. "This means that an increasing proportion of the community is employed in the Public Service, and the need for uniformity in conditions is obvious The report regards jt as inevitable that eventually one single tribunal will have to be set up to introduce and maintain uniformity of pay and conditions throughout the whole of the State services. An important factor in this matter is that with the setting up of the Railways Industrial Tribunal, the Uniformity Committee, which has been in existence for 25 years, has lost its usefulness as a reviewing body.

Relevant Evidence That relevant evidence was all he wished to hear, was emphasised several times by his Honor, Mr Justice Blair, during the sessions of the Supreme Court in Timaru last week. “It is not fair for people to have all their private affairs made public,” his Honor told one petitioner for divorce after interrupting her counsel. “I always prefer short cuts. There are only certain things I must know.” During the hearing of a civil claim his Honor had occasion to remind counsel: “This case is about a sordid thing called money, not the shattering of love’s young dream or anything else of the kind." A third counsel also received a reminder after he had filed an affidavit which his Honor did not find of any assistance. “You might just as well have filed a page from Webster’s dictionary,” counsel was informed.

Larger Wheat Acreage The particularly mild winter in South Canterbury has enabled farmers on the lighter land to continue with the sowing of wheat right through the winter and, provided the weather remains reasonably favourable, a larger acreage of wheat will be sown in the Temuka district than was anticipated earlier in the season. Autumn-sown wheat is looking well and farmers on the lighter land have been busy preparing the land for spring sown wheat. All stock has wintered remarkably well and, so far, there has been little demand on artificial food. Turnips have fed out much better than was anticipated and many farmers who feared they would not have enough to carry them through the winter now have a surplus. There has been a definite growth of grass throughout the winter months. This has been noticeable in too-dressed and young pastures.