NEWS IN BRIEF

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 19, 17 October 1942, Page 8

NEWS IN BRIEF

Air Force Day Arrangements are in hand for an Air Force Day, on a comprehensive scale, with parades and displays, on November 6, in support of the Liberty Loan campaign. Railway Alisliap. Slight disorganization of rad trallic soutli of Balclutha followed the derailment of five wagons of a goods train from Invercargill to Dunedin on Friday morning, states a P.A. message from Dunedin. This occurred at a siding near Clinton. The express from Dunedin was not delayed. The track was damaged for a distance of a mile. Alleged Theft of Whisky. On a charge of stealing eight eases of whisky, the property of Burns, Philp and Company, Ltd., on October 13, Douglas Alexander Biddiss, a soldier, aged 22, appeared before Air. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrates’ Court, Wellington, yesterday. He was remanded till October 21. • Die whisky was valued at £57/4/-. Coal Production. The reintroduction of coal-cuttiug machines iu all sections of the Renown Colliery at Huntly and the introduction of the contract-trucking system would be made on Monday, said the Minister or Alines, Air. Webb, yesterday. He added that was an important development in the stimulation of coal production. September’s Fires. During the month of September the AVellington Fire Brigade received 117 calls, 56 to actual fires and 61 false alarms. Of the actual fires, 16 were property, 30 gorse, grass or rubbish, and 10 chimneys. Of the false alarms, 34 were found to have been justifiable, and 2< malicious. Paradox of Potatoes. The potato paradox reached the limit of absurdity in Auckland this week when, after a long period in which greengrocers had no supplies, they suddenly came into possession of quantities that they could not sell. In an attempt to get the market moving again, the price of potatoes was reduced a half-penny, wholesale and retail. Drowned in Ditch. AV'illiam Patrick O’Connor, of Rimu, aged 38, was on Friday morning found dead, apparently having been drowned in a roadside drain on the AA’oodstoek road, states a P.A. message from Hokitika. A bicycle lay on top of him and his shoulders and face were in the mud and water. He leaves a wife and four children. He was last seen alive riding home on Thursday evening.

"The Scotchmen’s Grandstand.” 'Surprise was expressed at yesterday s meeting of the AVellington hire Board when Mr. Malcolm Fraser questioned the chairman as to a section of land belonging to the board in Adelaide Road, about which an inquiry to lease had been received. “Don’t you know the ‘Scotchmen’s Grandstand’ that overlooks Athletic Park?” asked Mr. S. S. Dean. "Unfortunately the Aliuister of Internal Affairs will not let us sell it under what it cost,” added Mr. Dean.

Meningitis Cases. Seven cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis were reported in the Hamilton .health district for last week, one ease being fatal. The victim was a boy aged five, who became ill at school and died within a few hours. Forty cases of the disease have been reported in the AVaikato during the last three months, two proving fatal. They came from a wide and scattered area. The disease has been of a sporadic nature, and in many instances the cases have not been serious. Truck for Fire-fighting. . Aulsebrook and Co., who are, closing theif Wellington branch for the duration of the war, have offered the use of their motor truck for emergency fire, purposes under certain conditions. When this offer came before the Wellington Fire Board yesterday the superintendent, Air. C. A. AVooUey, stated that such a truck would be useful in cases of emergency. It was thought that perhaps the offer concerned more closely the E.F.S. organization. The matter was left in the hands of the chairman, Air. S. S. Dean, and the superintendent to deal with. Fire-Fighting Territorials. “What is the difference between E.P.S. and E.F.'S.?” asked Mr. Malcolm Fraser at the monthly meeting of the AVellington Fire Board yesterday. Mr. S. S. Dean, chairman, explained that the E.P.S. was the Emergency Precautions Service, and the E.F.S. the Emergency Fire-fighting Service. The former had many and various .duties to perform in an emergency, but the E.F.S. had to attend to fires, as an auxiliary to the regular fire brigades. The secretary (Air. 11. S. Fairchild) said that members of the E.F.S. were "fire-fighting territorials.”

Smaller Juries Advocated. "The matter could be quite easily settled if the authorities would take the obvious course of reducing the number of jurymen necessary,” said Air. Justice Blair in the Supreme Court at AVellington yesterday when explaining to jurymen the reason for the late resumption of the Court after the luncheon adjournment. Half his time during the interval was taken up with seeing men seeking exemption from the jury service for which they were called. "They all tell me they are key men at their work. It interferes with business, but could be easily remedied,” added his Honour.

Doctors Differ. Dr. O. C. Alazeugarb, in appearing lor a plaintiff in the Compensation Court yesterday, said that all the doctors but one had given the opinion that further amputation of plaintiff’s finger was unnecessary. He. however, was inclined in this instance to agree with the one doctor against the majority. “As Dr. Alazengarb is a doctor, it appears that he believes he is qualified to give medical evidence, for this is what he is doing, said Air. AV. E. Leicester, counsel for defendant. Air. Justice O’Regan said that both the Court and counsel would have to be guided by the weight ot medical evidence.

Failure to Enrol. Walter Roy Webster, salesman, was convicted by Mr. Stout 8.M., m the Magistrates’ Court, Wellington, yesterday, on a charge of failing to enrol m the Second Division of the General Reserve. He was sentenced to one month s imprisonment. Webster, who pleaded not guilty, said he had enrolled and had received his enrolment card, but it, had either been lost or stolen by a soldier. He had no wish, he said, to evade his responsibilities. Mr. Stout said was no possibility that three duplicate files in the National Service Department could have gone astray.

Earthquake Damage and Fire Stations. Reporting to the Wellington hire Board yesterday, Mr.- S. S. Dean chairman, said that he had visited the Northland. Khandallah, and Thorndon fire brigade stations with Mr. G. IL MitcheJ, architect, last Monday, to inspect earthquake damage. Very little damage of any kind had been done to the new station buildings at Khandallah, and other than the damage to chimneys, there was nothin<* to worry about at the Thorndon station. At Northland, however, there was a fair amount of damage. In places the hollow brick walls had been cracked, the yard had sunk, and it seemed ns if the back wall had moved out. Mr. M. Fraser said that evidently this building had always been unsatisfactory. The chairman’s suggestion that the State Fire Insurance Department should be notified of the damage to the Northland station was agreed to.

Earthquake Freakislmess. While most of the clerical staffs ot the Wellington City Council have moved across Mercer Street to the new Central Librarv. the city council itself continues to hold' its meetings and committee meetings in the Town Hall building. rhe reason for this is that the council chamber and the main committee room are both in the southern half of the building, which was not appreciably damaged in the earthquakes. Such is the freakishness of these earth movements .that the severitv of a shake varies within a few yards.' The northern half of the Town Hall building suffered a wrench that cracked piers and walls, causing a considerable dislodgement of plaster from interior walls, but nothing of the kind happened at the other end of the building. Similarly, in Wellington South the chimneys in the houses of one side of a street suffered signal damage, but on the other side scarcely a chimney was nfFertpd-