NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 168, 18 July 1942, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Bus License;f The Auckland Transport Board will sit as the Metropolitan Licensing Authority for the Auckland transport district on Monday morning to review passenger service licenses in its area, in order to bring •bout a reduction of services for the purpose of conserving petrol and rubber supplies. The services to be reviewed are the feeder bus services of the Auckland Transport Board and those carried on by a number of operators. Centre of Incessant Noises Caustic criticism was recently expressed by members of the Seddon Memorial Technical College Board of Managers of the proposal by the Government to establish on the old Parnell School site a new workshop factory as part of the ex-soldiers' rehabilitation scheme. The opinion was emphatically expressed that it would be difficult to discover a more unsuitable site for such a purpose because of the almost ceaseless noise of trains, trams and motor traffic climbing the adjacent hill. It was eald to have been a great relieL-to school teachers when the Pagnell School was moved from this centre of pandemonium, and concern was expressed at the possible effect such a din might have on the nerves of ex-servicemen. Rabbits and Pasture During a meeting of rabbiters held at Lowburn (Otago Central) dome interesting figures were quoted with respect to the question of how rabbits affected the carrying capacity of various properties. An expert raobiter of many years' experience of rabbiting In Central Otago quoted an instance of a property which some years ago grazed between three and four thousand sheep until one year when 60 1 000 rabbits had been taken off It. Since that year about 8000 rabbits had been taken off yearly, and the property now grazed between six and seven thousand sheep. This was the result of the application of Intensive methods of combating the pest. Absent Without Leave The soldier was of a friendly type, a visitor to the city, and business X^iJ 0 o. th i mom * nt » 9lack in the Queen Street restaurant where he went for a meal. It was only natural, therefore, that he should drop Into conversation with the proprietress. This and that disposed of, he mentioned, as an Item of interest, that he was "A.W.L." The lady lookwi • at him admiringly. she said, Ira sure you must have deserved It." The soldier looked inquiringly, but just then the proprietress was called to the kitchen He was such a nice boy, she told them out there. He had Just been wromoted; but what position did A.W.L. mean . . . They had such • funny way oi using letters Instead the army! They told her ■that A.W.L. (absent without leave) uS£a) m#ant " CB " (conflned to '

Sick Hospital Norses There were 59 nurses off duty at the Auckland Hospital to-day, the majority of them suffering from influenza of a fairly mild type. The number varies from day to day, but the position has improved compared with earlier in the week, when there were 68 members of the nursing staff off duty through illness. Keep to the Left It was suggested by a responsible Si? connected with transport in Wellington that the time was opportune for reiterating the ordinary rules of the road and the footpaths. The main rule was keeping to the left, whether driving a vehicle on the road, or walking on the footpath. j i atter ru ' e was being disregarded to some extent, but it still held. The Match Trick He came out of a tobacconist's, proudly bearing a bright new box of matches. Five minutes further up the street a good-looking stranger accosted him and asked if he could oblige with a light. Our friend willingly did so. After a struggle to protect the flame from the wind, the cigarette was lit, and both men went their respective ways. A little later, our friend thought he too would like a smoke, but when he drew the matchbox from his pocket he went dizzy with dismay. The stranger had kept the new box of matches and palmed off on him an old box containing half a dozen dead ones! Sugar Registration i Replying to an inquiry from the Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce why consumers were required to register under rationing for sugar, the Rationing Controller said the chief advantages were that it enabled a check against the issue of duplicate ration books. Moreover, registration enabled easy and accurate distribution of bulk stocks to the grocers. The question, ended the controller, had been recently considered, and it was not likely that it would be varied. In view of possible disputes between storekeepers and customers it was felt by the chamber that where circumstances warranted transfers of registration should be permissible. Old Armour Turns Up An interesting discovery was recently made at an Otago military camp, when an assortment of parts was being looked over. This discovery consisted of a number of pieces of genuine armour, which had been in use about the year 1600. These pieces comprised three Maltese helmets, two helmets of the later lobster-tail type, one breastplate, one back plate, complete shoulder pieces, a pair each and forearm pieces, and hi« e H r J. tems - The collection has been Otago Museum, _ aut horiUes there have been to receive it, describ*t w a valuable acquisition to ' S^lS?^L ltereat * "*• to ** speciajly