In the News

Southland Times, Issue 24598, 21 November 1941, Page 4

In the News

Election Novelty What promises to be a somewhat Gilbertian situation in local authority elections was disclosed at an Auckland Electric-Power Board meeting, when the board was invited to nominate a candidate for election to the Auckland Centennial Memorial Park Board. A letter was received from the town clerk (Mr J. Melting) advising that under the Act a member was to be elected to the park board representing the Auckland Harbour Board, the Transport Board and the Electric-Power Board. Each board could nominate one candidate and would have one collective vote. In the event of two or more candidates being equal in voting, the town clerk, who was empowered to act as returning officer, would decide the election by lot. Less Important Now

An indication that matters which command considerable attention in normal times should have less importance attached to them during the present crisis was given by Mr Justice Callan in the Supreme Court at Auckland. He described as very satisfactory the settlement of a claim that was to have been argued before him. “It would not have been very edifying,” he added, “in the midst of world war, that the time of the Court should have been occupied about the ownership of a trotting horse.” New Zealand Achievements The first pump to give a standard gallon of motor spirit whether the tank was full or empty, and the first reversible turbine were designed in Wellington, and spread band tuning in radio receivers was first established in New Zealand, said the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Sullivan) when addressing manufacturers at Wairakei. Grim Warning

Speaking at a Wellington Travel Club gathering, Lieutenant Carey Stevenson, assistant U.S.A. naval observer in New Zealand, said that before he left Washington he had heard the most gruesome things about the railway between Auckland and Wellington. He had been warned to be prepared to be tossed right out of the train on curves, and to be rolled out of his bunk at any time, but on venturing the journey, he had found it a very pleasant trip. Rationing of Clothes

The people of Britain are still well dressed, in spite of the rationing of clothes, according to letters received in Auckland recently. Women are, of course, said to be more perturbed than men by the limitations imposed, but they are contriving by the judicious use of their coupons and the more frequent overhaul of their wardrobes to turn themselves out in better fashion than was thought possible. Stockings are said to be the biggest bugbear, and their New Zealand sisters have at least something in common with them in that respect.

Illegal Raffle A fine of £3 was imposed on McGregor McLean in the Whangarei Magistrate’s Court for conducting a raffle. McLean, who pleaded guilty, said he was realizing on his son’s assets, and had raffled a wireless set among his friends, and was sending the money to his son overseas. Part of the money had already been forwarded. He did not know he was doing wrong. Breaking a Habit Many years ago an English clergyman offered a prize to the boy of his congregation who would write the best essay on “How to Overcome a Habit.” A nine-year-old lad won with the following: ‘“Habit is hard to overcome. If you take off the first letter, it does not change ‘a bit.’ If you take off another, you still have a ‘bit’ left. If you,take off still another, the whole of ‘it’ remains. But if you take off another, “it” is no longer there; all of which goes to show that if you want to get rid of a habit you must throw it off altogether.” Strict Censorship

Writing to a relation in Christchurch, a New Zealander serving with the East African forces in Abyssinia, said he was sending a copy of the Addis Ababa newspaper. Later in the letter, however, he says: “I now find that the censorship regulations do not permit sending the newspaper, even though it is in Coptic.” Fighting Drunk

What to do with a drunken man in a fighting mood on a tramcar was not one of the matters considered by the tramways conference in Wellington on Tuesday, yet it held up eight or 10 cars for about 10 minutes on Lambton Quay shortly before 5 o’clock, reports The Dominion. The man began giving trouble with the conductor as the car left the railway station, and. proving beyond correction in the ordinary way, he was put off the car at the Midland Hotel. There he was grappled with and fought with such vigour that three tramwaymen had to tackle him. Blood flowed before the police came along, but even on the way to the lock-up the recalcitrant one gave further trouble. Blackbird v. Stoat

A blackbird challenging a large stoat made an interesting scene in a Wellington street. The blackbird was uttering low clucking notes and was seen hopping about and diving on the stoat which seemed puzzled. More blackbirds were spectators in nearby veronicas, but on seeing a human being the party broke up. It Took a War “It does seem too bad that it has to take a war to bring people together,” said Commander J. P. Olding, United States naval observer in New Zealand, speaking at a reception given by the Wellington Travel Club. Commander Olding said that Britain and the United States had now come far closer to each other than was the case some time ago. “This war,” he said, “will scon be over, and I think that you realize as much as we do that after this war we must continue to be together—always.” (Applause). War Prisoner’s Dinner An indication that some at least of the meals New Zealand prisoners of war have received have been exceptionally good is contained in a letter received from Signalman P. G. M. Cosgrave, of Auckland, who was reported missing after Crete. He writes on July 23 that he had just finished enjoying a meal, cooked by himself, which consisted of roast beef, baked potatoes and green peas, with rice custard, coffee and cigarettes afterward.

Island Funeral The first funeral for about five years took place on Mokoia Island, in Lake Rotorua, at the end of last week, when a member of the Ngati Whakaue section of the Arawa tribe was interred. The deceased was Ramari te Kowhai, aged about 66. The conveyance of the coffin from the wharf to the summit of the island was accomplished only after Maoris with slashers and axes had cut a track through thick undergrowth, and even then the steepness of the ascent for some 600 ft. made the task difficult. Although Mokoia is sometimes referred to as a sacred island because of the centuries old burial ground at the summit, burials there are now rare.