NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 65, 14 September 1943, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

WEATHER FORECAST

Northerly winds, strong at times. A shower or two at first, but weather mainly fair. Temperatures slightly cooler. ' The further outlook is for rather changeable weather, with a few showers.

The Moon.—Full moon, today. •High Water.—Today, 4.26 p.m.; tomorrow, 4.51 a.m., 5.30 &m.

Cricket Club's Gratitude.

The Lower Hutt City Council last evening received a letter from the Hutt District Cricket Club conveying the club's appreciation and thanks for the council's co-operation and for the very good match and practice wickets provided. The club realised that under the difficulties now prevailing it was fortunate in being so well served. E.P.S. Petrol.

The disposal of the two gallons of petrol supplied to members of the Feilding E.P.S. for emergency use was mentioned at a meeting of the Feilding Borough Council, when it was intimated that those holding such petrol may retain it on payment. N.Z. Shipbuilders. ; j The shipbuilding programme of the Dominion this year was estimated to cost £2,000,000, said the Minister of Defence (Mr. Jones) at St. Kilda. This,1 included the construction of barges and tugboats for the United States forces, and a proportion of these would be allocated to Port Chalmers. Early Coal Strike. It is recalled by an old SWaikato resident that in 1878—65 years ago— coal was being won near Huntly, and that in that year the miners engaged in the-Taupiri mine struck for an increase in the rate of wages for hewing coal from 2s 6d a ton to 3s. It is recorded that the increase was conceded. That must have been one of the first industrial strikes ever to occur in the Dominion. Rain and More Rain. There seems to be an unlimited amount of water up above waiting to be poured out on Wellington, and September is going to be the fourth month in succession with a rainfall well above normal. With the deluge last night and early this morning, September's average fall of a little under 3£ inches has already been exceeded, and there is still more than half the month to come. A big sunspot has just disappeared round the western limb of the sun, to reappear again in a fortnight's time, but it is hardly fair to blame it for Wellington's recent wettings—that mythical meteorologist, the clerk of the weather, working in conjunction with Jupiter Pluvius, must be held to be the culprit. Customer's Retort. A sign of the times is the disinclination on the part of some traders to sell goods which are scarce except to regular customers. That this attitude can more or less be countered by the consumer was proved in Dunedin the other day by .a lady who entered a tobacconist's shop to which was attached a hairdressing salon, and asked for cigarettes. She had with her a young boy, and when the shopkeeper informed her that he had no cigarettes oust then, she turned to the youngster and said sharply: "Come on, Allan, you'll not get your hair cut here." "And that," remarked the shopkeeper to the empty air, "is that!" _ am Stranded in England. New Zealanders stranded in England are entitled to apply to the Government for assistance towards their passage back to the Dominion, and incidental expenses. In giving this information, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr. Parry) said there was a Parliamentary vote of £800 to meet cases of the kind, states a Press Association message from Auckland. The system under which money was advanced provided that a relative or independent person should enter into a guarantee of repayment. Help in obtaining berths was-given by the High Commissioner's Office in London. There had been one or two cases where, through unforeseen circumstances, the debt for repatriation had been irrecoverable and the approval of Parliament to its writing off had been necessary. Football Investments. Plans are already being discussed by the management committee of the .Wellington Football Association for the best use of a considerable sum of money which the association expects to receive from the compulsory sale to the Government of the Kilbirnie Stadium, in which the W.F.A. has a large interest. Among the suggestions that have been made, said Mr. J. Meltzer, chairman of the management committee of the W.F.A., today, is one that a central training ground and gymnasium should be acquired in the vicinity of the Basin Reserve, which is looked upon as the home ground of Wellington Soccer. Another suggestion is that now is the time to acquire a playing area in the Hutt Valley, where the number of Soccer players is increasing rapidly. "There are other suggestions, to which consideration will be given by the management committee in due course," said Mr. Meltzer. Shortage of Plumbers. The Hutt Valley Plumbers' Association last evening drew the attention of the Lower Hutt City Council to the serious position Which had arisen in connection with the shortage of registered plumbers through; the call up for the Armed Forces. Councillor H. S. Dudding said that at present the plumbers could not cope with the work of keeping the city in a sanitary condition. If the Housing Department continued with its building scheme there-.was a grave danger that plumbers would be drawn away from necessary maintenance for constructional work, which would mean that maintenance of sanitary services would be neglected. Many plumbers were being called into the Air Force and he knew of one camp which had nine plumbers where there was work for only one. The council decided to advise the Housing Department that if plumbers were required they should not be sought from the ranks of those engaged on maintenance work.

Real Estate Values.

A property sale of more than ordinary interest was conducted yesterday by Messrs. S. G. Nathan and Co., on behalf of the Guardian Trust Co. The properties were as diversified in character as they" were in locality, and the saleroom was • rowded. The first lot. to come under the hammer was a building of two flats situate in Mqncrieff Street, off Elizabeth Street. Bidding started at £3000 and a sale was effected at £3800. Other properties sold included a six-roomed two-storey house in May Street, Thorndon, which commanded £1025. Attention of the room was switched over from properties in Haining Street^to dwellings and land in Upper Taranaki Street, then to dwellings and land at Melling, a property at Highland Park, then back to the city again, with a seven-roomed house off Brougham Street, and dwellings in Riddiford Street, Island Bay, and Lyall Bay. Sections at Khandallah and Kaiwarra also received attention. Reserves were not reached for a number of the properties submitted and business thereafter became a matter of negotiation. The sale was noteworthy as a test of real estate values today in Wellington and suburbs.

Elections 65 Years Ago.

Discussing politics at the door of a hall on the North Shore, Auckland, where a young candidate was to address.' a meeting, a white-haired, bearded man said he could remember 65 years ago when hotels used to stay open till midnight at election times. Feeling ran so high that supporters of Sir Harry Atkinson and Sir Julius Vogel, who held very divergent views regarding the financial ability of their leaders, often came to blows before an argument was settled. News of election results filtered through very slowly in the large electoral districts, where often only 500 voters were on the roll, and it was days after the election date before it was known which candidate was successful. Returns had often to be carried on foot over muddy bush roads from obscure out-districts. When the election was all over, however, the hatchet w;as buried and colonists lived at peace again.