NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26541, 16 August 1947, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Current Ration Coupons Meat coupon No. 41 will become invalid to-morrow, and No. 42 on Monday. A full row of coupons has the value of Is 8d for adults and lid for children, the H. and J coupons each having the value of sd, which will be increased to 6d on Wednesday. Tea and sugar coupons Nos. 41 to 44 will be available until August 31. Each sugar coupon entitles the purchaser to 12oz, while the value of each tea coupon is 2oz. A special six-monthly issue of tea coupons is made to persons who have reached the age of 70, and two such coupons, each of Boz, are available for the three-monthly period ending on October 31. An extra 31b of sugar for jam-making will be available until August 31 on production of coupon Y 23. _Butter coupons Nos. 41 to 43 will be available until August 31, the value of each coupon being Boz, making the four-weekly ration 141 b. Expectant mothers, nursing mothers and persons who have reached the age of 70 are entitled to an extra Boz of butter on production of coupon No. 41. Need for Blood Donors

To deal with a pressing need for additional blood donors to meet the requirements of the Public Hospital a meeting of the Blood Transfusion Society, held this week, decided to make an appeal for increased membership. It was arranged that the hospital authorities, the St. John Ambulance Association and members of the committee should be empowered to deal with applications for membership. Real or Imaginary? “Is this man’s illness real or imaginary? ” Mr Justice Fleming asked Dr R. C. S. Dick, who was giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Christchurch. “ I can answer that by giving a simile, if I may,” was the reply. “ If you think you have fleas, you itch. There is no use saying you don’t itch,, for you do —yet you haven’t got fleas,” said Dr Dick. • “Thank you, I think the jury will understand that,” said his Honor. Prize for Song Writing

Mr Gordon Griffiths, of Timaru, has received word that second prize in an Australian song-writing competition has been awarded to his son, the late Second-lieutenant C. D. Griffiths, who was killed on Vella Lavella when attempting to rescue a number of his trapped comrades. The title of the song was “’Neath Fijian Skies.” More than 170 entries were received for the competition, the winner of which was an Australian, who composed “In the Smoke of My Cigarette.” Admiralty Tugs for Dominion Two Admiralty tugs, built for oceangoirig work, have been purchased by the Union Steam Ship Company. They will be renamed Tapuhi and Taioma. It is believed that they will be used to replace the Natone and the Terawhiti, both of which are more than 40 years old. A company official said that when vessels reached that age, they were no longer economical to run. The company had been seeking replacements for several years, he said. The new tugs are expected to arrive in the “ near future.”

Interesting Gavel A gavel with an interesting background was presented to the president of the New Zealand Timber Merchants’ Federation, Mr D. G. O’Toole, of Wanganui, when he took the chair at the opening of the annual conference of the federation at New Plymouth this week. It was made by disabled servicemen of the Second World War from puriri taken from an old'bridge over the Waiwakaiho River at New Plymouth, and from pine from the first home of the former Prime Minister, Mr G. W. Forbes, which stood for 26 years before it was destroyed by fire. Mystery of Identity

An elderly man who has* not been identified has died at Hastings Memorial Hospital. The police and hospital authorities have made constant efforts to verify his name and trace his relatives since his admission to the hospital on July 18, but as the sick man volunteered no information they have been unable to do so. A man who had two dogs with him walked into Waiwhare Station homestead and asked for a bed for a night. Next, morning he was delirious and had to be taken to hospital, where an operation was performed.. PNor to his fatal relapse he recovered to the extent of being almost ready for discharge from hospital, but during the period of his recovery he refused at any time to disclose his identity. . Week-ends in Prison

A request that the Attorney-general should consider initiating reforms in the judicial system so as to give the court wider powers in the form of sentences and to give full recognition to the growing importance of psychiatry in relation to penal work was contained in a question of which notice was given in the House of Representatives by four members on Thursday. In a note to the question, the members quoted remarks by Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., as stating that he considered that a more satisfactory system than sending a man to prison for three months would be to sentence him to a number of week-ends in prison. Mr Luxford also was reported to have referred to the growing importance of psychiatry by saying that at present the law did not let magistrates go as far as should be permitted.