Plunket donations coincide
A public meeting was held at Invercargill on Wednesday evening to discuss and deal with proposals and offers by Mr W.D. Hunt and Mr and Mrs R.A. Anderson. Dr Truby King said, referring to the present gifts, that the offers had been made independently, one by Mr Hunt in Wellington, and the other by Mr Anderson in Invercargill. It was a remarkable coincidence that these two unsolicited offers should have been made at one and the same time. He had gone down there without the faintest idea of Mr Anderson’s offer, and it was a very pleasant surprise indeed when he found that the Plunket Society here had had a similar offer from Mr Anderson. Mr Hunt’s property at Bainfield was a most perfect home for the purposes of the society and Mr Anderson’s was similarly well adapted for the purpose for which it had been given.
NZ’s WW1 debt
A return presented to the House of Representatives to-day showed that the amount of interest paid on the war debt up to March 31, 1924 was £22,853,056. The war debt at March 31, 1924, was £77,434,184. The amount of interest charge at March 31, 1924, was £2,374,493, and on the present basis of sinking fund the total principal will be repaid in 33 years. On the assumption that the interest rates on the loans are unaltered the total interest remaining to be paid on the war loans will amount to £107,747,877.
Registration scheme for vets
A Bill providing for the registration of veterinary surgeons was introduced in the House to-night by Governor-General's message. It provides for the appointment of a board, and stipulates the qualifications of applicants for registration. An applicant is entitled to be registered if he is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, London, or a graduate in veterinary medicine and surgery, or the holder of a veterinary diploma of any veterinary school or other institution of which a course of not less than four years' study is required.
Immovable on divorce
The Roman Catholic Church’s Standing Committee of the Bishops of Australasia, at its meeting in Melbourne on October 9, issued the following statement and warning for the guidance of the faithful: "In view of renewed attempts to confirm and extend State interference with the marriage bond, we deem it our duty to remind the faithful that no human authority can break the bond of marriage. ‘What God hath joined, let no man put asunder.'
No human power, civil or ecclesiastical, can dissolve a marriage duly entered into between baptised persons and followed by conjugal intercourse. A civil ‘divorce' granted to such persons is null and void before God and in the eyes of the Church; the marriage bond remains intact after the ‘divorce’; the persons so ‘divorced' are not free to contract another marriage; and should they attempt to do so they cannot be admitted to the sacraments."
DIC profits up
The annual meeting of the Drapery and General Importing Company of New Zealand was held in the New Zealand Express Co's board room yesterday afternoon, attended by some 20 shareholders. Comparing the figures with those of last year, paid-up capital is about the same, grown by some £300. The profit and loss account shows a satisfactory increase — £54,611 against £43,961 last year.
— ODT, 31.10.1924 (Compiled by Peter Dowden)