NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 215, 10 September 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Refugee Student. The Auckland Hospital Board has decided to approve of the training of a female refugee medical student at the Auckland Hospital, The board received I a report at a meeting last evening that the joint relationship committee, consisting of members of the board and | the medical faculty, had agreed to cooperate with the Otago University in training the student. Record Number of Deaths. In a report on the Auckland Infirmary received a' a meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board last evening, it was stated that during July 09 people were admitted to the institution, 36 were 1 discharged, and 34 died. The number of deaths was the largest on record, and showed how the institution wa« becoming a chronic hospital. Fire Equipment at Infirmary. Fire-fighting equipment at the Auckland Infirmary is in a poor condition, according to a report received at a meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board last evening. When the water was turned on during a recent weekly practice, it wa* found that the five 100 ft lengths of hose were in a bad state. It Mas decided to ask the superintendent of the Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board, Mr. W. L. Wilson, to inspect the equipment and submit a report. Additional Fishing Boats. In a month or two Auckland's fishing fleet will be augmented by the addition of three new boats which are now under construction. At the yards of Mr. R. Lidgard is being built a 30ft fishing launch for the Messrs. Ludwig Brothers, and at the yards of Mr. P. Vos a new oOft boat for Waitemata Fisheries is well under way. A 49ft boat for Messrs. Vella and Bromlund is being built by Messrs. W. G. Lowe and Sons, and is expected to be finished shortly.

Children's Hospital Scheme. Notice of motion was given by Mr. J. Sayegh at a meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board last evening to move at i!.e next meeting of the board that, in .view of the growth of the city, the board erect as a separate unit a children's hospital, and that a committee consisting of the chairman, Mr. Allan J. Moody, the chairman of the finance committee, Mr. J. V. Macky, and the mover be authorised to collect the necessai— data and report to the board. Mr. Sayegh wanted to bring the matter up for discussion last evening, but, as ■members were not unanimous, the course of giving notice of motion was taken.

Air Raids of Last War. German aeroplanes made the first night raid on London on September 4, 1917. About twenty machines took part and dropped bombs on London and south-east England, killing eleven people and injuring 02. The German pilots of the Great War were more fortunate than those of the present, for only one raider was shot down. After their disastrous raids with Zeppelins at the end of 1916, when six of the dirigibles were destroyed, the Germans placed their reliance on aeroplanes. On July 7, 1917, they lost three bombers and seven fighters out of 22 machines engaged on a daylight raid on England, and after that resorted chiefly to night raids by moonlight, machines arriving singly, or in twos and threes, dropping their bombs indiscriminately, as they are now doing. Mayor's Plea For Tree. A splendid-specimen of a large tree on the Great South Road which has had its life threatened by a certain authority found a warm admirer at last night's) meeting of the Papakura Borough Council in the Mayor, Mr. S. Evans, who pleaded that the majestic giant be -spared. "I am definitely against destroying trees in Papakura and district," said the Mayor. "This old friend I have known for 50 years, and trees have helped to make the district. Where is there such a lovely place as Kirk's Bush between Auckland and Hamilton. The warden of Kirk's Bush, Mr. Butterworth, is definitely against this fine old landmark coining down." Although members pointed out that the electric supply might be in danger, the Mayor got his way, at any rate temporarily, by persuading the members to view the tree before allowing the axe to be used. Farmers' Union Plaint. The Stratford sub-provincial executive of the Farmers' . Union considered in effect that if the attractiveness of the 40-hour week, better wages and conditions enjoyed in town could not be competed with by the farming community, then the level of conditions in the towns should be brought to a par with those in the country, so that the competing basis of both labour markets should be somewhere the same. Mr. L. Marfell pointed out that it would not be fitting for the farmers to ask for greater wages for their employees under the present circumstances —to justify such a step the farmers would have to receive an increased payment. Nevertheless, the position for the farm hand was unfair. He quoted a case of a young man working on a farm, and then of another young man working in a job in town. The latter received £5 a week, worked 40 hours, "and went away to Auckland or Rotorua for the week-end." He contended that seeing the farming community was being called upon to throw all possible effort into increasing production, the same should be asked of the man working 40 hours a week in town.

Our Education "Too Cheap." "Education, both" in the secondary schools and in the university colleges in New Zealand, is too cheap, and that is the reason why students do not get more individual attention," said Mr. L. H. G. Greenwood, Cambridge University lecturer in classics and Fellow of Emmanuel College, in an interview in Invercargill. Schools and universities were short-staffed and there was a tremendous amount of routine work for university teachers and schoolmasters to do, Mr. Greenwood said. Whereas in Britain lecturers spent a great deal more time preparing for lectures, mapping out programmes and "rethinking" than they did in delivering lectures, the position in Xew Zealand was the other way about. Students in the" Dominion expected to get the most advanced education for practically nothing. There were two possible remedies to the situation. Either the Government could make larger grants to schools and • universities, or students should pay more. Students should be required to pay double what they pay now. Only the best students should be assisted with scholarships. As it was now, any ' person of only average capabilities was j able to obtain the best education that I could be obtained for very little money. I