NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 57, 4 September 1943, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

WEATHER FORECAST Strong and squally southerly winds, decreasing somewhat tomorrow. Weather overcast and showery, but improving slowly tomorrow. Temperatures cold. The further outlook is for a continued slow improvement. The Moon.—Full moon, September 14. ♦ High Water.—Today, 8.32 p.m.; tomorrow, 8.51 a.m., 9.16 p.m. Rehabilitation and R.S.A. Every member of the Returned Services' Association should keep in touch with the public and make rehabilitation a national issue Mr. H. B. Burdekin, Levin, member of the Dominion R.S.A. executive, told members of the! Wanganui R.S.A. Rehabilitation did not rest with the executive of the jR.S;A., said Mr. Burdekin. Skating for Servicemen. The Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee will open the Civic Patriotic Skating Rink in Wakefield Street at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday. The rink will be available for use by all servicemen and their partners. Sixty Consecutive Frosts. A former Hamilton resident now domiciled in Central Otago mentioned in a letter to a friend that the township of Alexandra and neighbouring settlements had experienced 60 consecutive frosts. The average for the 60 nights at the Alexandra station was 11 degrees, and the frosts had varied from 5 to 22 degrees. A Useful Tip. "Horse meat is sold in some restaurants in» America, but it must be indicated as such on the menu. It was suggested to me that when ordering a porterhouse steak I should be careful to see that it was not spelt 'porterhorse'," said Mr. Lan Matheson, vicepresident of the New Zealand Manufacturers' Association, when relating some of his experience's during a recent trip abroad, at a meeting of the manufacturers in Invercargill. Sanctity of Oath. "I feel that the sanctity of the oath is largely undermined, both before Justices and in courts of law," said Mr. T. E. Maunsell, S.M., addressing. Justices of the Peace in Nelson. He said that the oath was generally gabbled in a monotone and it was often doubtful whether the person heard it. "I have been seriously considering whether I will not have the oath in court in printed form and handed to the witness with the Bible, and the witness asked to read the oath through word by word," he added. Little Things That Counted. In the monotony of prisoner-of-war camps it was the little things that counted, remarked the Rt. Rev. G. V. Gerard, Bishop of Waiapu, ,in an address at Waipukurau. He related that at one camp in which he had been interned in Italy, an Australian bugler sounded the "Reveille" and followed this with a few bars of such patriotic tunes as "Rule Britannia," "There'll Always be an England," and other martial airs familiar to the Empire. The internees often wondered what the Italians would say or do if they knew what the bugler was playing, and next morning were keenly interested to listen to the variations which the "Aussie" gave to his daily performance. Beef Shortage. " Taranaki is experiencing difficulty in obtaining adequate supplies of beef and, according ,to authoritative opinions, the acute position is likely to continue for some time. The shortage is attributed to the unfavourable autumn and severe winter conditions, lack of labour required for growing crops and inadequate supplies, of fertiliser. It is estimated that thei position will not be eased until mid--1 October, when store cattle now being fattened will be ready for the market. Supplies which are normally ready at this time of the year are retarded because of the absence of suitable feed. Middle East Changes. "The three most noticeable features about Cairo are that there -is much more motor traffic, there are nojv numerous blocks of modern buildings and the Mohammedan women are not veiled to the same extent. Otherwise it has not altered much since the last war," said Captain T. L. Macdonald, M.P., in an interview with the "Southland Times." Captain Macdonald said that it was in Palestine where he saw changes. There were signs of progress everywhere. As an example Tel Aviv, where after the last war there were only a'few scattered houses, was now a modern city. There were high buildings everywhere and it was seething with humanity. It was an amazing transformation. Airgraph Mails. In view of the fact that the Supplementary Estimates provide for the expenditure of £7000 to provide for the photographic processing of inward and outward airgraph letters, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce has written to the Director-General of Post and Telegraph asking that if any machinery is being duplicated the additional plant be set up in Auckland. Further suggestions concerning the extended use of the service to the United States, made by a city business firm, have been forwarded to the Director-General for comment. Neglect of South Island. "This Government and past Governments have neglected this part of the Dominion, and it is time attention was given to it to stop the drift of population to the North Island," said the I Mayor, Mr. A. H. Allen, when speaking at a deputation to the Minister of Rehabilitation, Major C. F. Skinner, regarding the possibility of irrigation schemes for Central Otago. "New Zealand is not the North Island," Mr. Allen said. "The South Island is a very important part of the Dominion, in many respects the most important part. As we grow, the Dominion grows, and the people of New Zealand as a whole will benefit as we do." Inquiries for N.Z. The opinion that the exploits of the New Zealanders overseas and their movements in various countries had created a tremendous interest in the Dominion, and that it was evident that the tourist traffic after the war would be much larger than before, was expressed by Captain T. L. Macdonald, M.P., in an interview with the "Southland Times." Captain Macdonald said that he had met many people who had not heard of New Zealand until they had read of the exploits of the Dominion troops and pilots, or until they had come into contact with the men. They had then shown an immediate interest, and it seemed that New Zealand would have a big number of people to look at it after the war. He had been asked by one person how to get to the Dominion to live.

Colonial Goose. . An amusing episode in an Auckland restaurant was provided by two overseas servicemen, who protested volubly against the mutton and seasoning they were served with after they had ordered colonial goose. They said they had expected real goose and not this typically New Zealand dish. Charged Him More. After fining a first offender for drunkenness the amount of his bail, £1, in the New Plymouth Police Court Mr.. W. H. Woodward, S.M., asked if it was not usual for bail to be 10s in such cases, states the "Taranaki Daily News." "Yes," replied Senior-Ser-geant C. M. Anniss, "but he wandered into court on Monday wearing his hat and smoking a cigarette. . Therefore it was really contempt of court as well as drunkenness, so I charged him £ 1." Unnecessary. A good story illustrating the keenness of the people of Britain to save for the war effort was told by Mr. Lan Matheson, vice-president of the New Zealand Manufacturers' Federation, in relating some of his experiences during a recent trip abroad. Mr. Matheson said that a fishmonger in the Old Country thought he would have the sign "Fresh Fish Sold Here," erected over his shop. Before giving an order to the signwriter he consulted some of his friends for economy suggestions. The first thought the word "here" was superfluous, and the second said it was not necessary to have the word "sold," since everyone knew that the man's business was selling of fish. A third said that the word "fresh" was not wanted either, as everyone knew that the vender's fish was always fresh. Finally a fourth friend said: "I do not' know what you want the word fish for, since I can.smell your, shop half a mile away." Auckland Harbour Tunnel. "You can rest assured that when the matter is being further investigated, the question of tunnel access will be taken into consideration," states the Minister of Works (Mr. Semple) in a letter to Mr. R. D. Stewart, of Auckland, chairman of the Harbour Tunnel Committee. Recently Mr. Stewart forwarded a largely-signed petition to the House of Representatives asking for improved harbour transit. It was suggested that a commission be set up without delay to make the fullest investigation. Mr. Semple states in his letter that he considers the question of transport facilities in the Auckland area a most important one. "The whole position," he says, "wiIJL have -to be again very carefully investigated before any decisions are made. I do not think I can say any more at the moment, except to assure you that if an opportunity arises for carrying out further investigations in connection with this problem they will be undertaken."