NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26635, 4 December 1947, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

Less Petrol Next Year The heaviest cuts in petrol quotas to resellers will apparently be in March and April, stated Mr V. D. Edwards, secretary of the Retail Motor Trade Association in Auckland. Resellers have been advised of their monthly quotas until April. Quotas for November and December are almost the same* as for last year, but from January onward they progressively decline. Cigarettes Missing

Twice within the past few weeks a Dunedin tobacconist has opened cartons of English cigarettes to find two packets missing. The fact that both the cartons concerned were sealed would suggest that someone handling the product in the factory was determined to avoid the increased price of cigarettes in Britain. Gathering of Superannuitants * Arrangements are being made for the reunion of the superannuitants of the Post and Telegraph Department to be held in the Chief Post Office building, Dunedin, next Wednesday, Invitations have been issued to 140 persons, and the gathering will take the form of a social function, with afternoon tea, items, and reminiscences. Precautions Against Fire Inspections of hotels at Wellington are being conducted so that a careful check-up. on fire precautions can be made, particularly in view of the recent tragedy at Christchurch. Thjs was mentioned by Superintendent J. A. Dempsey when he presented the police report regarding the conduct of hotels and licensees at the quarterly meeting of the Wellington Licensing Committee, says a Press Association message. '

Return of Expedition The scientific expedition at present at The Snares will return to the mainland this week-end, according to Captain A. J. Black, master of the Alert, which returned to Bluff this week. The Alert left again for Port Pegasus, and it was proposed to take the members of the party on board tomorrow,* the Alert being scheduled to return to Bluff on Saturday or Sunday.

Boys Break Windows Three boys were charged in the Dunedin Children’s Court yesterday, before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M., with breaking a number of windows at the Hillside Railway Workshops recently. The magistrate placed the boys under the supervision of the child welfare officer for 12 months and ordered their parents to make restitution of £3O. A fourth boy, who was apprehended by the police with the others, was not. charged, because he was only eight years of age. Food Parcels for Britain “It has been a nightmare to me learning what to prepare out of our meagre rations,” stated a letter from a former woman postal clerk in Gloucester, England, to the staff of the Chief Post Office at Dunedin, when making an appeal to be included in the food parcel scheme which she understood was being undertaken in New Zealand. The woman’s appeal did not fall on deaf ears, and the staff of the Post Office collected nearly £6 and sent two attractive parcels to the former English postal officer. Men’s Suits Still Scarce Men who imagine that suits will become more plentiful with the removal of clothes rationing are going to be disappointed, according to leading officials in the wholesale and retail clothing trades. They report that the supply of suits will still be restricted because of the limited supplies of worsted available from overseas. Similarly, other items of clothing, such as underwear and shirts, are still not plentiful. It is claimed that price control policy and shortages of raw materials have both contributed to shortages of made-up. goods. Schoolgirls’ Offer An offer by a small group of girl pupils of the Dargaville District High School to work in the Northern Wairoa Hospital during the holidays to relieve the shortage of staff was accepted by the Kaipara Hospital Board. Two of the girls would work for the six weeks’ holiday period and another four would join them after the New Year. The matron of the hospital. Miss W. N. McDermott, said that members of the Te Kopuru troop of Boy Scouts visited the hospital every night to help with dishwashing, while assistance was also given by members of the Girls’ Brigade. Care on the Roads “Ten persons lost their lives in traffic accidents last month,” said the Commissioner of Transport, Mr G. L. Laurenson. in a statement to the Daily Times. This showed a reduction, compared with the 14 killed during November of 1946. “With the approach of the holiday season, tens of thousands of New Zealanders will be on the roads,” said Mr Laurenson. “ With this vast increase in traffic the dangers of the roads will be greatly multiplied, and I urgently appeal to everyone for more care. During the December-January period last year 28 persons lost their lives in traffic accidents. In almost every case these people would have still been alive had someone pot been careless.”

Harold Beath, Stuart street (next Turnbull and Jones), for men’s, youths' footwear at reasonable prices.—Advt.