PETTY PILFERING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 16, 20 January 1944, Page 6

PETTY PILFERING

Petty pilfering in Wellington during the holidays is considered to be far less than in previous years. Comparatively few complaints have been made to the police, and though there has been a certain amount of petty thieving at the Te Aro Baths, there, too, the position is considered to be better than during previous summers. One Wellington resident, however, suffered badly from vandals recently. He left his car parked outside his home, and in the morning found that the petrol had been siphoned out and the tank cap taken, as well as the spare tyre and all the light bulbs, and the handles broken off the doors.

The long period of dry, hot weather in Taranaki is creating problems for farmers other than those immediately related to dairy production. If the present conditions persist for a further three weeks the maintenance of stock will be seriously prejudiced. A group of farmers from areas north of Waita-ra expressed the opinion that if the drought continues much of the fat stock that usually goes through the works in the five months of the season, during which farmers normally expect to have them killed, will be lost as fat stock and they will have to be kept as stores. What was required was some provision for speeding up killings at the works so that stock which was fattened could be taken in at the time; otherwise if it had to be held over it could not be maintained at the fat quality because of the very serious shortage of feed. .