NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26350, 3 January 1947, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Launch for Queenstown A new launch, which is to make its first appearance on Lake Wakatipu about the middle of the month, has been named Meteor. This boat, which will be owned and operated by Mr J. H. Stone, of Dunedin, was designed in Auckland and built in Port Chalmers. She has an American 95 h.p. Kermath high-speed marine engine and is 28 feet in length, and 7£ feet in beam. There is accommodation fon-12 passengers, and with her full complement she has an estimated speed of 25 knots. The Meteor is to be used for scenic trips, for "taxi” work'orf the lake, and for aquaplaning. Famous Yacht’s Future

The famous queen of American yachting,; J. P. Morgan’s 2,000,000dojlar Corsair, is being fitted out in New York as a luxury cruise passenger ship. When conversion is completed, the Corsair will have accommodation for 90 passengers and a crew of 80. The yacht will operate from the Pacific coast of the United States, states the New York Journal of Commerce. During the war, the Corsair was used by the British Admiralty on convoy patrol duty. Slimmer Waists After War

Military training reduced the average waistline to the confusion of manufacturers of men’s suits, and a survey of men's stores throughout 60 cities of the United States showed a greater demand in men’s suits and trousers for ‘longs’ with small waistlines and a lesser demand, for "shorts” and " stouts.” Now manufacturers are trying to discover a size ratio to match the new male physique. Many stores reported that they were unable to size suits properly and were rushing in orders to fit the streamlined ex-service-man.

Dear Cigarette Papers Mr L. M. Robertson, of Manly, was sent a Christmas gift of cigarette papers (189 packets) by his father in New Zealand, says Jim Macdougall, in the Sydney Sun. When he went to the Customs office to collect the package h‘e was presented with this bill: — Duty, £2 12s 4d; Customs, entry, 8s 6d; certification, 6s; sight entry, 3s 6d; agency, 7s 6d; cartage, 7s 6d. Total, £4 5s 4d. He thinks it’s a bit rough having to pay £4 5s 4d for a Christmas present which,'in any case, cost his father £ 1 18s in the first place. Tea for New Zealand

Approximately 1000 tons of tea for New Zealand were loaded at Colombo by the 14,182-ton liner Largs Bay, which is en route to Auckland with 227 passengers from the United Kingdom. The agents for the vessel, the Shaw Savill and Albion Company, have received advice that the ship let! Colombo on Christmas Eve and is due at Auckland on January 13. The Largs Bay also has cargo for discharge at Wellington, Lyttelton, and Port Chalmers. She is travelling to the Dominion via Suez, Aden, Fremantle, and Sydney, and carries a number of passengers for Australia. Magpie Imitates Tui ,

During the past few weeks residents living along the back of Cheltenham Beach, in Auckland, have been entertained each morning by the efforts of a magpie to imitate the song of a tui, which daily frequents the locality for a breakfast of puriri berries. ' As soon as the tui lapses into silence after about an hour of song immediately following daybreak, the magpie takes up the chorus. Its imitations are so good that visitors could be forgiven for mistaking them for the notes of a tui. The magpie is quite tame and enjoys pietes of liver with which the residents feed it.

Radio-Telephone Services The extension of New Zealand’s overseas radio-telephone service to Eire and France was announced by the Postmaster-General, Mr Hackett, on Wednesday. He said that the charge for calls to Eire would be the same as for those to the United Kingdom, namely. £1 5s a minute, with a minimum charge of £3 15s for a threeminute call. For calls to France the charge would be £1 7s 6d a minute, with a minimum charge of £4 2s 6d. The Minister added that, owing to adverse radio conditions very few calls were being exchanged with the United Kingdom at present, and it might be some little time before the position improved.

The Friendly Policeman A year ago the Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched a campaign to attack juvenile delinquency through direct participation by constables and officers in a Dominion-wide educational campaign, and officials believe they have been largely successful in explaining the aims and activities of the Federal force and impressing on youth that a policeman should be regarded as a friend and protector rather than someone to be feared and avoided. The main weapon in the campaign is public speaking and thousands of talks were given at youth centres, clubs and in the schools. Designed for all types of audiences French or English-speak-ing, and illustrated by moving pictures, the talks have such titles as “The Story of the R.C.M.P.," “Policing the Far North,” “The Story of Our Law,” “ The Public and the Police,” “ Safety Rules,” “ Discipline,” and “Courtesy.” Seamen Travel De Luxe What is believed to .have been the first charter flight in New Zealand aviation in which prisoners were carried under police escort was made by a Canterbury Aero Club machine, reports the Christchurch Star-Sun. Two seamen who deserted a tanker at Port Chalmers and were dealt with by the court at Dunedin, travelled de luxe to rejoin their ship at Wellington just before she sailed. They could not have completed the trip in time by any other method. The Shell Oil Company arranged to charter the Canterbury Aero Club’s Dragonfly. Piloted by the club’s instructor (Mr L. F. Poore), the machine flew to Dunedin in the morning, carrying two policemen from Christchurch. The seamen were taken to the aircraft under guard, handed over, and the northward flight was begun. The Dragonfly landed at Rongotai. and the men were put on board the tanker just before she sailed. Mr Poore then flew back to Christchurch with the policemen. Effect of Alcohol on Motorist An interesting test to determine the effect of alcohol on an experienced motor driver was recently carried out in England. The “ victim ” was a young volunteer and experienced driver who although fond of whisky, did not indulge heavily. Before the first test the man had no drink, and when the stop sign was flashed on the screen he braked in o.7sec, representing 31 feet travelled before stop was effected. At a second attempt, O.Ssec was registered, equal to 22 feet. Following a drink of whisky by the driver, the test continued and o.Bsec was registered, equivalent to 35 feet. This time was repeated after two more whiskies, but following the fourth three tests gave o.9sec 2 4sec, and I.4sec equalling 39.5 feet 106 feet and 61.5 feet- respectively. All the tests were made at speeds around 30 m.p.h. A medical examination was made after each test, and the man’s pulse rose from 76 to 100. After the fourth drink the doctor pronounced the man to be unfit to be in charge of a motor vehicle.