NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26226, 9 August 1946, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Visit to Timaru Two officers and 31 cadets of the Otago Division of the New Zealand Navy League Sea Cadets will leave tonight for Timaru on a goodwill visit. They will parade through the streets of Timaru to-morrow, headed by the Timaru Municipal Band, the Air Training Corps, Sea Scouts, Boys’ Brigade, and the Cobbers’ Club. The secretary of the Cobbers’ Club (Mr D. Sherwood) has arranged a comprehensive programme for the visit which .will extend over the week-end. Prior to the parade the commanding officer of H.M.N.Z.S. Hautapu will carry out an inspection at the assembly point.

High Prices for Grapes The highest price ever paid in New Zealand for grapes was obtained at the'Auckland markets yesterday, when three 121 b cases of fruit grown in a suburban hothouse brought 16s per lb. The grapes (says a Press Association telegram) were the last of the season. They will be sold for about 18s per lb in city shops.

Naked-eye Sunspot Another sunspot of naked-eye dimensions has been brought into the sun s visible hemisphere by the solar rotation. The new spot has a length of 45,000 miles and a maximum width of 40,000 miles, a size which places it high on the list of the 20 greatest spots measured in the past 60 years. It is the third giant spot to be seen this year and the sixth naked-eye object in the past 20 days. It will cross the sun’s central meridian, well to the north of the centre, to-morrow.

Distribution of Tobacco The Industries and Commerce Committee, which inquired into the tobacco situation in New Zealand, had no recommendation to make when it reported to the House of Representatives on Wednesday. 4<lts report was on the petition of Mr F. W. G. Sibley and others, of Christchurch, praying for a more equitable distribution of tobacco and for a public inquiry into the amount manufactured in New Zealand, the amount made available in New Zealand, and the amount exported. The report was received without discussion. Film Censorship Of 1477 films examined by the Censorship Division of the Department of Internal Affairs during the year ended March 31. 101 were passed subject to excisions, 110 were passed with the recommendation that they were more suitable for adult audiences, and 21 were passed with the warning that they were unsuitable for children. Only one picture—a feature film—was rejected outright, and no appeal was lodged. Only 80 miniature films were examined, compared with 104 the previous year. The number of British films dropped from 49 to 36, and foreign quota films increased from 311 to 336.

Huge Building Project The biggest single commercial building programme ever undertaken by private enterprise in the Manawatu district, involving an estimated cost of £1,250,000, has been started at the Longburn freezing works, about four miles from Palmerston North. The new works, when completed, will be the most modern of their kind in the southern hemisphere. The owner of the works is the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Ltd., with head office in Manchester, England. It is thought' the project will take from four to five years to complete.

Record Travel Sales Total sales for internal travel made by the bureaux and booking agencies of the Tourist Department during the year ended March 31- reached the record figure of £841,724—an increase of £221,993 over the preceding year, states the annual report of the department, which was tabled in the House of Representatives. The trend of sales has been upward since 1938-39, and is attributed mainly to the greater use of public transport services and the large proportion of returned servicemen who used the Government booking services during leave periods. Increased Business

Further indication of the increased business being put through at the Chief Post Office is afforded by a return for the week from August 1 to August 7, compared with a return for the period from August 22 to 28, the busiest week of the corresponding month, last year. During the week August 22-28, 1945, the number of letters posted was 119,639, and secondclass matter comprised 88,653 articles, a total of 208,292 articles. From August 1 to August 7, the number of letters posted was 121,172 and second-class matter consisted of 116,704 articles, a total of 237,876. This represents an increase of nearly 30,000 articles.

Loneliness in New Zealand “ When I came out to New Zealand last year I was told that I would not see slums such as exist in England. That may be so. But 1 have never touched greater grief and sorrow than I have in New Zealand, and it all amounts to loneliness,” said the Rev. James Kay, regional padre of Toe H, in Canterbury and Westland, addressing a rally in Christchurch on Saturday. He was supporting an article by the founder of Toe H (the Rev. P. B. Clayton) on the theme: “ Where lie the watersheds of human woe? ” Among old people, in hospitals, and among youth away from home, Toe H could do a great work if it would put people-in touch with one another, said Mr Kay. Nothing was more souldestroying than loneliness.

Memorial to Mr T. D. Burnett The erection of a memorial to Mr T. D. Burnett in recognition of his being the originator of the Downlands water supply scheme in South Canterbury was discussed at the monthly meeting of the Levels County Council held at Timaru on Wednesday. The chairman (Mr R. G. Clelland) said that the scheme was one of the best which had been carried out in South Canterbury, and, as its ratepayers-used most of the water supplied by the scheme, it behoved the council to take the lead in the matter. It appeared that a cairn would be most acceptable to the Burnett family, he said. It was decided to ascertain the cost of a cairn, after which the council would circularise other local bodies in South Canterbury for their support on the oroposal Dairy Managers’ Claim

In their claims for a new award the Otago and Southland Dairy Factory Managers’ Union is asking that the responsibility for providing meals and accommodation for single men employed in dairy factories should be placed on the companies. Under the present award the companies have no such responsibility, and the managers of some factories are expected to provide meals in their own homes for the single men employed in the factories. The union feels that it is not lair to place this burden on managers’ wives, who have their own home duties and responsibilities. The union, therefore, intends to urge the inclusion of a clause in the new award to the effect that the companies shall be required to provide meals and accommodation for single men in their employ at a community centre or hostel, or in some other way. i

Prison System in New Zealand Criticism of New Zealand prisons was not justified, said Mr Justice. Blair in the Supreme Court in Christchurch on Wednesday. The opinion was often expressed that when a young man was sent to prison for the first time he was converted into a hardened criminal. But that was not the case, added his Honor, who said that he probably knew more about prisons than other judges did. Any experienced superintendent of a prison ensured that young men sentenced to detention were not permitted to form unhealthy friendships with older prisoners. Segregation was, in fact, carried out. “ There have been a great many cases where men subjected to a term of detention have very much benefited and become good and reputable citizens,” said his Honor. ” I knew a man who was declared an habitual criminal and must have spent about 20 years in prison, but while there he learnt a trade and afterwards became a respectable’ citizen. The prison authorities have not heard of him for 10 years.”