SOUTHERN NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 81, 3 April 1908, Page 2

SOUTHERN NEWS.

WESILAND LAND BOARD. HOmTTKA, this day. The Land Board election resulted: G. Maliinson (retiring member), 234- J Ryall, 204: J. Ward, 75; W. Morgan, 3"£ A large number of papers were returned unsigned, and were declared informal, but would not have affected the result of the polling. HOSPITAL EXTENSION. HOKITIKA. this day. The trustees of the Hokitika Savings Ban!; have donated £300 to the Westland hospital to assist in the erection of a second brick 'wing, an operating room, and executive quarters. SCARCITY OP PLASTERERS. C_ffiISTCHTJRCH, this day. For some considerable time past) building contractors in Christ church have experienced great difficulty in securing the services of plasterers. Inquiries made by a reporter yesterday went to show that completion of a number of large buildings had been delayed owing to the shortage. The difficulty had been very pronounced during the past sis months, but some relief had been felt during the last two weeks. One contractor stated that he had advertised for plasterers for weeks without getting any response. He also stated that, as far as he was aware, employers had not offered, to increase the award, rate of wages in order to attract outside plasterers, as any increase given in such a case would be instantly j demanded by all hands on the job. FOR CLOSER SETTLEMENT. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, this day. The Government intends cutting up the Ormaglade run, in the Teviot district, of 28,000 acres, ■ into four small grazing runs of seven thousand acres each.