NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26274, 4 October 1946, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Trolley Rus Routes The report of the Transport Com-

mittee of the City Council, which will be presented to the meeting of tile council on Monday evening, states that a report has been received from the chief traffic inspector. Mr E. H. Barrett, commenting on the trolley bus routes recommended by the engineer-man-ager. Mr L. C. Greig. " Mr Greig’s recommendations were discussed by the council at its last meeting. Copies of the chief traffic inspector's comment have been supplied to councillors, but the town clerk Mr R. A. Johnston, said yesterday that the report was not available for publication until it had been presented to the council. Portrait of Statesman A portrait of Mr W. F. Massey, when Prime Minister of New Zealand, painted by Augustus John. R.A., has been presented to the National Art Gallery by Mr Leslie Lefeaux, former governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Taxi Monopoly The “closed union" aspect of the taxi cab business was strongly criticised yesterday by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, which expressed the opinion that the development of a monopoly had led to a lack of service. The chamber decided to urge the Auckland Transport Board to increase the number of taxi licences, and also decided to approach the appropriate authorities for tke removal of the restrictions on the issuing of licences.

Demand for New Cars The huge, unsatisfied demand tor ! new cars was demonstrated in Grey- ! mouth recently, when a Greymouth j firm took delivery of its first post-war j heavy model car. The price of more | than £7OO is almost double the pre- j war figure for a similar model, but the j firm has had several offers from j would-be purchasers at a much higher ' price for the privilege of driving the car away; These offers have reached ! as high as £IOOO, but prior orders are ‘ sufficient to absorb all the cars which \ will be supplied to the firm for some j time to come and high bidders are doomed to failure. Supply of Bananas

“ There will be no relief in the ( shortage of bananas until the summer 1 of 1947.’’ said Mr H. E. Radley, rc- ; porting on the supply of fruit to the South Island, at a meeting of the Canterbury Progress League on Wednesday night. He said that “ a vicious : circle" existed. The shipping com- ■ panies said that as there were no j bananas, no boais were needed, while j the growers said that as there were no boats available, no bananas were re- j quired. If the Maui Pomare was sent j to the islands immediately, however, | it would not get any of the fruit as ; it would take six months for the grow- i ers to arrange the supply.

Theft from Friend A woman who Hole £lO from a friend visiting her home was fined a similar amount by Mr W. H. Woodward, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court at New Plymouth, on Tuesday. She . was Mary Caroline Lock, married, with foulchildren. who pleaded guilty to the theft of money from Jean Winifred Roberts. Counsel said that two five pound notes fell fi-om Mrs Roberts’s handbag when she left the room. Mrs Lock had acted purely on impulse and had regretted her action ever since. It was a particularly mean theft to have stolen money from a friend, said Mr Woodward, who refused to suppress the name. Flood Damage Question

The question of damage to communications in the South Island by flooding is to be re-examined by the Public Works Department. This information is contained in a telegram received by the president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, Mr C. J. Wood, last night from the Minister of Works, Mr Semple, in reply to rcoresentations from the Chamber. “ Your telegram concerning the severance of communications with the south has been noted,’’ the, Minister states. “ This question has been undcr consideration for some time. and. m view of the constantly recurring difficulties. will be re-examined." Maryhill Cable Car Services

Authority has been granted by the. Transport Committee of the City Council for the operation of a 10minute service on the Maryhill cable car line. The only' period during which it will not operate will be during the interval wheh it is necessary to make arrangements for a meal relief. The report of the committee, which will be presented to a meeting of the council on Monday night, states ihat a request for additional services on this line was received from the Mornington Ratepayers' Association. Since the gripman was standing by for the whole period and the plant was available, the committee decided that the additional service should be given a trial. It would be reviewed at. a later date. • Fate of the Philomel Letters and telegrams from former naval officers and ratings throughout New Zealand have been received at the Devonport naval base since representatives of the men serving in the establishment approached their commanding officer. Commander P. Phipps. D S.C.. R.N.Z.N.. with a request for permission to subscribe to a fund to purchase the veteran cruiser Philomel and so save her from the shipbreakers. Offers to contribute to such a fund if it were created have been received from many ex-naval men who received their training in the Philomel. It was their hooe that if a sum could be offered exceeding the highest shipbreaking tender the old cruiser cou.d be retained by the Navy and sunk with due ceremony in New Zealand waters.

America To-day " In case you are interested, my first impressions on the home front after my discharge from the navy are distinctly unfavourable.” writes an American naval officer to a friend in New Zealand. "In addition to a clothes -■hortage. there is also a lack of butter, automobiles, household equipment, etc. Meat is dearer than at any time during the war. wheat is being withheld to send to Europe, and the housing shortage is acute all over the country. The recent strikes in the automobile, steel, coal and railroad industries had everything in a turmoil, and whole industries were shutting down right and left. This town of Scranton, with a population of 150.000. has about 50,000 unemployed at the present time. Jobs are hard to find, and most of them are not paying sufficient wages to meet the high cost of living. I would have been better to have stayed in the navy.”

Plums Shipped to London An experimental consignment of six trays of plums, which was despatched bv Mr S A. McCauley, of Roxburgh, to England by the Port Huon on her last voyage from New Zealand, arrived in London in perfect condition, according to a letter received by Mr McCauley from the chief steward of tbc vessel (Mr William Common) m whose keeping the fruit had been placed. Writing from London Mr Common stated that the plums, together with some apples, which were a gift from Mr McCauley for the trouble involved in caring for the stone fruit, were in perfect condition on arrival, after having been kept In a temperature of about 40 degrees throughout the voyage. Mr McCauley had not previously forwarded plums for any great distance, and the experiment was carried out to discover how far they would travel without deterioration.