LOCAL AND GENERAL

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23322, 4 October 1945, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Civil Case.—At the Timaru Magistrate's Court yesterday before Mr G. G. Chisholm, S.M., judgment for the plaintiff was given in the civil claim. J. and 11. Simmons v. James Bull for £24 with Court costs £4 3 -. Petrol Coupons.—Many motorists have the idea that because petrol coupons have a value in gallons I stamped on the back and the front that the double value of a one-gallon coupon is four gallons, said the Dis- | trict Oil Fuel Controller (Mr T. F. I Thornton). It was hoped that vendors had not been influenced by this subtle reasoning. Train Hits Steam Roller.—A steam roller caught on the line at the Thames Street railway crossing. Oamaru, was struck by the south-bound express yesterday afternoon. The roller was flung clear of the track, but the engine was damaged and the train had to return to the Oamaru Railway Station, where the engine was replaced. Airmen From the Pacific.—Originally expected on Tuesday, the Union Steam Ship Company's steamer Wahine is now due at Auckland to-day. She is carrying 575 New Zealand airmen who have been on service at Bougainville, in the Solomons. A reception will be neld on board and the men will then be provided with transport to their homes. Intellectual Decline.—“ There has been a decline in the prestige of ideas and of the intellectual in general,” said Professor A. W. Sewell, professor of English at the Auckland University College, in an address in Auckland. “Both philosophy and art are judged too glibly by their propaganda message in these days, when our aim is to produce only atomic bombs and cheap refrigerators.” No Politics.—The Dominion Council of the New Zealand Returned Services’ Association carried a resolution on Tuesdaj' reiterating that constitutionally the R.S.A. is a non-party political association, and adding that it dissociated itself entirely from the Services’ Political Association. The R.S.A. believed that the best interest of returned servicemen could be achieved only by a united non-party political association. To Hold Convention.—A widely representative group of younger businessmen of the Dominion will gather in Auckland to-morrow for a three-day national convention of the New Zealand Junior Chamber of Commerce. In addition to Auckland members, there will be 70 delegates from other chambers, as well as representatives of the United States and Melbourne Junior Chambers. Members of the national body of young farmers’ clubs will sit in as observers. Seventeen remits are to be presented to the convention, and cover many items of general interest, including rehabilitation, education, and war memorials.

Parents and Schools. —Much more evidence of a genuine desire on the part of parents to obtain a better understanding of the work of the schools is recorded on the annual report of the chief inspector, Mr G. E. Overton, to Parliament. The number of parent-teacher or home and school associations shows a remarkable increase The movement follows three main lines of activity—social gatherings, raising of funds, and discussion groups. The development of discussion groups is particularly valuable, Mr Overton says, as new aims and methods in education are frequently not understood by the parents, and they welcome the opportunity to gain the information at first hand.