In the News

Southland Times, Issue 24879, 20 October 1942, Page 4

In the News

Not To Be Raffled Rationed goods must not be offered for prizes in raffles. Official advice to this effect has been received by the Southland Trades Council from the Minister of Internal Affairs. The council recently wrote to the Minister asking if it would be permissible for a person to buy say a suit of clothes and present it for a raffle for patriotic purposes. The Minister in his reply stated that this was not permissible as coupons were issued to a person to buy goods for personal use. “Proper Racket” The patent medicine business had degenerated into a proper racket, in which profits exceeding 1000 per cent were sometimes made, the Leader of the Legislative Council, the Hon. D. Wilson, said when moving the second reading of the Medical Advertisements Bill in the Council yesterday. The Bill was supported by other speakers and passed without amendment. —P.A. Distribution of Lime The Department of Agriculture had not considered any compulsory scheme for lime rationing, the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. J. G. Barclay, said in reply to an urgent question by Mr C. W. Boswell (Lab., Bay of Islands), in the House of Representatives yesterday. The Minister said he had asked primary production councils to discuss the distribution of lime with representatives of the lime producers so that the most equitable distribution possible might be arranged. Still Coming From Crete It is stated by men who have just returned to New Zealand from the Middle East that, months after being reported missing, men are still filtering back to Egypt from Greece and Crete. Income Tax and Wages The fact that the Commissioner of Taxes has power to order income tax due to be deducted from wages was recently brought to the notice of the Southland Trades Council. The council has now received an official assurance that, though the commissioner has this power, it will not be used unless a person has made default in his payment of income tax. Plating Materials Commenting on the plating control notice, which has been gazetted, the Minister of Supply, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, said last night that restrictions had been imposed on plating materials to meet the situation as it existed locally. The notice prohibited the use of tin or tin salts, chromic acid, chromio salts, cadmium or cadmium salts, copper or copper salts and nicket or nickel salts for any plating excepting that certain equipment for the armed forces must be plated. Plating materials, the Minister said, must not be used except under permit from certain recognized authorities. The notice was definitely designed to meet the needs of New Zealand’s munitions programme and essentiality was the only basis upon which the materials could be used.— P.A. Dairying Change-over During the committee stages of the Finance Bill in the House of Representatives yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. J. G. Barclay, in reply to Mr W. J. Polson, said that because of the varying nature of cases it was difficult to introduce a blanket clause for the payment of contributions towards capital expenditure caused by the change-over in the dairy industry. All cases of hardship would be dealt with individually. The whole of the amounts received would be paid out either by the increased prices the dairy farmers were receiving this year or in compensation. He could not give the exact figures, but for last year it would be about £1,000,000, and this year about £600.000. —P.A. Conserving Golf Balls Several proposals for conserving golf balls were put forward at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Golf Association in Wellington. Mr C. M. Cox (Akarana) said that golfers in South Africa, on reaching the green, were now being allowed to replace their ball with another one. Mr H. A. Hanseiy (Shandon) said his club had allowed this practice to be followed for some time past. Sir Alexander Roberts said the committee of the Hutt Club had recently surveyed its course with a view to cutting out tiger country, where balls were apt to be lost, and other clubs might with advantage follow this example. Not Ineligible The position of members of the Emergency Fire Service who are called up for service with the armed forces has been clarified by a statement by the Director of National Service, Mr J. S. Hunter, in reply to a question raised about the retention of men for fire-fighting purposes. He pointed out that men who were physically fit and of age for overseas service were not made ineligible for that service by being members of the E.F.S. —P.A.