LOCAL AND GENERAL

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23188, 30 April 1945, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Cyclist Injured.—A collision involving a car and a cyclist occurred in Timaru last evening and resulted in the cyclist, Arthur Charles Davey, 17 James Street, aged 66, being admitted to the Timaru Public Hospital suffering from a lacerated forehead. His condition was reported to be satisfactory.

Church Parade.—Girl Guides of the Timaru district attended church at the various Timaru churches yesterday. In the morning members of the Takaina, Girls’ High School and Craighead Companies attended St. Mary’s and in the evening the First Timaru Rangers and the First Timaru Company attended the Banks Street Methodist Church and the Kai-Arahi Company St. John’s Church, Highfield. Last Sunday Timaru South attended the Kensington Methodist Church and Kai-Arahi Brownies Chalmers Church.

News in the Gilberts. —“It is wonderful how the news spreads,’’ said the Rev. Father Mehl, of the missionary order of the Sacred Heart, who recently arrived in New Zealand after spending 15 months on Japanese-occu-pied Abemama, In the Gilbert Islands. He said Abemama was 22 miles long, but in less than half a day any item of news, such as the arrival of the American forces, spread over the whole island. It was carried by the natives travelling in canoes up and down the lagoon on the western side of the island.

Educational Standard. —The opinion that the authorities in charge of the correspondence schools for primary school children had rrken a retrograde step by reducing the standard of the work provided was expressed by Mr C. P. Speight at a meeting of the Southland Provincial Executive of the Farmers’ Union. The school leaving age had been raised to 15, but children of that age now leaving school had a poorer’ education than those of 14 used to have, he said. A new arithmetic book, which, it was said, would make it easier for the child, had been issued. Children were sent to school to use their brains, not to have things made easy for them, he concluded.

Parliamentary Under-Secretaries.— Mr T. H. McCombs, M.P., Lyttelton, is the fourth Parliamentary Undersecretary to be appointed under the legislative provision made soon after the Labour Government was elected. The first appointment was that of Mr J. A. Lee, and, after his break with the party, there was an interval before the appointment of Messrs J. Thorn, Thames, and A. G. Osborne, Onehunga. Messrs Thorn and Osborne are Under-Secretaries to the Prime Minister, but Mr Lee was Undersecretary to the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash), with special reference to State housing. Mr McCombs ■will also be attached to the Ministry of Finance, but his duties will be more closely related to financial matters. The appointment will make it necessary for Mr McCombs to spend the greater part of his time in Wellington. It is not yet known whether he will continue to hold office as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives. Mr Thorn is chairman of the Goldfields and Mines Committee, and Mr Osborne was chairman of the special committee set up last year to inquire into service voting.