NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26275, 5 October 1946, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Current Ration Coupons The current tea and sugar coupons, Nos. 49 to 52, will remain valid until October 27. The value of each is 2oz for tea and 12oz for sugar. A special six-monthly issue of tea coupons is being distributed to applicants who have reached the age of 70 years. The form contains four tea coupons, each of half a pound, two of which are valid for each of the quarterly periods, August-October and November-Janu-ary. An extra 31b of sugar on each ration book is available for jam making on surrender of coupon YlB up to October 31. Butter coupons Nos. 49 to 51 may be used until October 27. The value of each is Boz, the fourweekly ration being 1 Jib. Expectant mothers, nursing mothers, and persons who have reached the age of 70 years, are entitled to an extra half pound of butter for the four-weekly period ending on October 27 on production of coupon No. 49. Coupons may be use only when the corresponding numbers in the ration book are available. Meat coupon No. 49 will expire on Oc-. tober 13, and No. 50 may be used from Monday until October 20. The total value of these coupons is Is 9d in the case of adults and Is in the case of children, the H and J coupons each having a value of 6d. Hosiery coupon X 202 will remain valid until November 30. Theft of Small Sums The premises of two coal merchants in the city were broken into on Tuesday night last and a small sum of money was taken in each instance. Australian Mail The through express on Thursday brought to Dunedin 33 bags of Australian mail and eight bags of parcels, which arrived in Wellington by the Waipori. Inquiries at Savings Bank In order to assist members of the public calling at the money order and savings bank branch of the Chief Post Office, an inquiry counter will be established in that branch on Monday. The officer in charge of the inquiry counter will- deal with all inquiries relating to overseas permits to remit money, savings bank matters, withdrawals from other districts, transfer accounts, loss of savings bank pass books, and similar matters. Novel Use of “ Walkie-talkies ” A novelty was introduced to school sports yesterday, when at the King’s High School annual cross-country, military “ walkie-talkies,” small two-way radios, were used to inform spectators at the starting point of the progress of the race. One set was kept at the school gates, where the race was started, and two were situated around the course. The wirelesses, which were operated by members of the school cadets’ signalling section, created much interest among the spectators.

Price of Tennis Balls That 7s 6d was too much for a pair of tennis balls was claimed by members at the annual meeting of the South Canterbury Lawn Tennis Association. Mr R. L. Stokes said the matter should be taken up with the New Zealand Association. It was a ridiculous price to pay* considering the majority of tennis players were young girls and bovs, he said. Mr G. R. Innes Jones suggested that the South Canterbury Association should subsidise the price of balls to its players in some way, and several members spoke in support of his proposal. It was decided to protest to the New Zealand Association about the price of balls. Drought Losses Dairy factory production in the North Island drought-stricken areas in the 1945-46 season dropped by 33,297,5371 b butterfat, representing £3,231,460, stated the secretary of the Kia Ora Co-operative Dairy Company, Mr J. H. Sunderland, at a meeting in Gisborne a few days ago. To arrive at these figures Mr Sunderland said, the production of the 1945-46 season was compared with the average of the previous four seasons. The percentages of decreases in production were: Gisborne. 28.74; Hawke’s Bay (Heretaunga and Norsewood only). 28.68; North Auckland, 21.6; South Auckland, 16.1; Bay of Plenty. 12.8. Chewing’s Fescue

Increased popularity for Chewing s fescue in America is reported by Mr R. J. Ballinger, of the agronomy division at Lincoln College, who has just returned from England, via the United States. He said considerable quantities of this grass were being grown in the State of Oregon, the .seed having been imported from Southland. the original home of the grass, which was first grown for seed on a station near Gore. The growing of the seed in Oregon had brought it to the notice of farmers in America,’ and it was receiving a good hearing in the markets. The demand for seed from New Zealand, however, was still strong.

Unregistered Dogs A warning was issued by the chief traffic inspector that it was the intention of his department to take proceedings against all owners of dogs who had failed to register for this year. The Dog Registration Act provides that the annual registration fee shall be due and payable on January 1 in every year, and any person owning or harbouring any unregistered dog for a period of 14 days after that date is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding £5. In the past many owners of dogs have waited until an officer of the department has called at the residence, but the Act is definite on the point that the registration fee is payable at the office appointed by the local authority. The Traffic Department has served a written nffiice on all owners of dogs, and, failing immediate registration, prosecutions will be instituted in every case. Need for Immigration “The general development of this country will be retarded if we cannot get many more thousands or men, women, and children here in the next three years. The influx of 50,000 in that time presents no major problem in our opinion." states a report prepared by Mr J. L. Hay (chairman) and Mr T. H. Langford (public relations officer) for submission to a meeting of the Christchurch Expansion and Development Committee. They express “ the greatest concern ” at the report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Immigration, and suggest that every member of Parliament should be written to and asked to give an expression of opinion immediately. The report emphasises the urgency of the matter, and draws attention to what other parts of the British Commonwealth are doing, notably the action of the Australian Government in sending a delegation to Britain, Norway, and Sweden last November, and in agreeing to give free passages to Australia to 17.000 United Kingdom former servicemen annually—“ in spite of the fact that the housing position is much more acute there than in New Zealand.”