LOCAL AND GENERAL

Timaru Herald, Volume CLI, Issue 22203, 21 February 1942, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Winter Feed Prospects Prospects for winter feed, so uncertain |at the end of November last, have improved considerably as a result of the dull, rainy weather which has handicapped the wheat crops. Swedes and mangolds are coming on very well and grasslands are carrying good growth. War and Scholarships Scholarship holders whose studies have been Interrupted by military service are to be permitted to resume them after their release from service, according to a decision reached by the Auckland University College Council. Four scholars are at present affected. Application for Petrol Application for 11 gallons of petrol to enable members to attend meetings is to be made by the Taranaki Power Board. Advice was received at a meeting at Eltham from the Electric Power Boards and Supply Authorities' Association that some petrol would be available for that purpose. Unexpected Visitor A diversion was caused in the Public Works Department’s Hamilton sub-station when a fairly large bird was seen to be flying about in the switch room. The surprising discovery of the man on duty who caught the feathered visitor was that it proved to be a tui. Beer Barrel Shelters Something novel in the way of airraid shelters has been constructed by a Mosgiel (Otago) resident. He has sunk into the ground a number of discarded beer barrels, one for each ' member of his family. The lids of the barrels act as covers and are on ground level. In the event of emergency all that is necessary js to lift the lids and jump into the barrels, and the lid can then be replaced. Protection of Ministers The following resolution was passed at a meeting of the Napier branch of the New Zealand Labour Party:— “That this meeting affirms its complete loyalty and confidence In the present Government and strongly urges that immediate and drastic steps be taken to protect the Minister of National Service and other Ministers of the Crown from slanderous, malicious and lying attacks which are calculated to undermine the nation’s unity in its war effort during a time of greatest emergency.” Inequality of Sacrifice The fact that there was notable inequality in the positions of men engaged in Army work was again remarked upon at a meeting of the No. 1 Armed Forces Appeal Board. The chairman, Mr C. R. Orr Walker, referred to the cases of men employed in the same trade, some on Army pay and others at high wages. It was pointed out in reference to a similar case by Mr T. P. McCready, another member of the board, that difficulty would be created if some men received military pay while workers above military age earned the award rate. Sporting Barristers Their past and present sporting bents were used by two counsel in a case before the Supreme Court at Auckland to give point to the questions they put to witnesses in a claim for damages. One suggested that the condition of a workman’s muscles had a bearing on his capacity to lift weights and sustain the strain. “I used to be able to do the 440yds sprint in about 51 seconds, but my muscles would not carry me so well now,” said counsel. The other counsel, in accepting a witness’s statement that a sheath block weighed about 61b, tested the article, and remarked: “I have done a bit of fishing and wouldn’t mind hooking a trout like that if it only weighs 61b.” Confidence from Deeds “If ever we have any fears as to the result of this war, take confidence from what has been done in the past,” states the Wellington branch of the Royal Society of St. George in its annual report. "Numbers of British soldiers have changed the history of the world, British seamen in small ships have driven enemy fleets off the seas, and our airmen have proved by similar deeds that this fighting capacity is in all three Services.” ' The society records with a deep sense of pride and humility its recognition of the deeds of heroism displayed by the personnel of the Army, Navy and Air Force at Dunkirk, Greece, Crete, and Libya and the Merchant Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic. “Future history.” the report adds, “will record epics of heroic endeavour unsurpassed in British history.” War Publicity The importance that the Government attached to films as a medium of war publicity in New Zealand was emphasised by Mr J. T. Paul, Director of Publicity, when giving evidence before the Armed Forces Appeal Board in support of an appeal by the Director of National Service on behalf of an employee of the Miramar Film Studios. Mr Paul said that films were considered the most helpful form of war publicity and the best method of presenting phases of the war effort and maintaining public morale. This policy was being extended in Britain. The Miramar film studio was producing a v’ar effort newsreel each week, and this was shown in almost every theatre in New Zealand. The studio was also producing longer films, and had been asked to produce some showing the Industrial side of. the war effort. In addition the Army had made a request for instructional films.