LOCAL AND GENERAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 November 1940, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The total of interest-free, loans and donations received to date by the Minister of Finance for the war expenses fund is £2,634,307. Among the in-terest-free loans received is one from “Anonymous,” Canada, for- £2,248 1/6 for the duration.—Press Assn. The vital statistics at Greymouth for the month of November, with comparisons with the corresponding period of last year given '.in parentheses, are as follow: Births, 31 (36); deaths 13 (8): marriage notices issued 14 (11); marriages by Registrar 4 (2).

One officer and 98 other ranks of the Fourth who have been on leave on the West Coast, will leave by to-morrow’s express, on return to Burnham and North Island camps. The party will be in charge of Lieutenant Dejoux. The Army Department advised that the Medical Board sitting which was to have been held at Wataroa on December 7 has been postponed until a later date, which has not yet been fixed.

The deadlock which has been reached between the Ngahere Gold Dredging company and its employees, following upon the dismissal of the employees who failed to report for work on Monday, has continued and the dredge was still idle to-day. The Chairman of Directors of the Company, Mr. C. C. Davis, of Christchurch, arrived this morning, and this afternoon is attending a conference between the parties, in an effort to reach a settlement of the dispute. The conference was still proceeding when the “Star” went to press.

On Wednesday afternoon, the District Organiser of the National Savings Movement, Mr. C. W. Browne, addressed a meeting of the employees of the Brunner Collieries Ltd. In his opening remarks, Mr. Browne thanked Mr. J. Devlin for the co-operation which he and the Union Secretary, Mr. R. Scott had extended to the Postmaster at Brunnerton in organising the meeting. The speaker then outlined the Group Savings Scheme. Mr. R. R. Smith agreed to act as the group collector. At the conclusion of the address, Mr. Devlin put to the 70 employees present a motion that a National Savings Group' be formed. The motion was carried, there being two dissentients.

. Anyone glancing into the Greymouth Courthouse, this afternoon, could be excused for thinking that there had been a wave of juvenile crime in the district, for the courtroom was almost filled with children. However, they were not arraigned before the Court, but were merely improving their education, through general knowledge. Under the direction of the headmaster (Mr. H. R. Barrett) the senior pupils of the Cobden School had been taken to the Court to be given an indication of Court procedure and the general principles of British justice. The children entered keenly into the setting up of a mock Supreme Court, complete with judge, registrar and jury, and at question time were given an opportunity to clarify the points that were not clear to them. /

A request that there should be provided for women members of the voluntary aid detachment the same protection as is provided for members of the Home Guard movement in respect of compensation for accident or sickness was made by Mr. W. J. Polson (Opposition, Stratford), in a question to the Minister for Defence (Mr. Jones) in the House yesterday. Mr. Polson asked whether the Minister was aware that young women who joined the V.A.D. were asked to’sign a declaration that they would not hold .the Government responsible for compensation for any accident, or sickness they might receive or contract during their training,.though apparently, they were liable to be called for service at any time, anywhere, on completion of their course of training.

Three elderly members of' the C.laudelands Bowling Club, Messrs H. Paton, aged 85, C. Woodcock, aged 75, and S. Godfrey, aged 71, have joined the Hamilton Home Guard. The three have been active in recruiting for the Home Guard since its formation.

The reintroduction of the senior cadet corps system of military training was advocated by Mr. E. P. Meachen (Government, Marlborough), in a question to the Minister for Defence (Mr. Jones), of which he gave notice in the House yesterday. In a note to his question he said that the only avenue open to boys who had left school under the eligible age for territorial training was the Home Guard.

A request that the Minister for Defence should make it clear that members of rifle clubs would not be asked to give up their rifles was contained in a question of which Mr. W. J. Polson (Opposition, Stratford), gave notice in the House of Representatives. He said that practically all rifle club members were members of the Home Guard, where their great skill with their own rifles might be of great service if the necessity arose.

Speaking at the opening of the Vogeltown School baths at New Plymouth,' Mr. G. H. Davey, the headmaster, stated that before any child attending the school could embark on a course of swimming instruction, its parents had to sign a certificate stating that the child could keep its head under water to a count of 20 and blow bubbles while doing so. Equipped with this familiarity of water, an average of only five lessons was required to teach the child its first strokes in swimming. Last year, 15 out of 16 pupil learners cold swim 40 feet after their first five lessons, while some became proficient in only four lessons. A discussion on the general war situation was held informally at the conclusion of the annual conference of the New Zealand Manufacturers Federation at Hanmer Springs this week. Members expressed the opinion that the seriousness of the situation, particularly as it affected New Zealand, was not generally realised. The following resolution was- carried: “This conference of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation, realising the seriousness >of the position of New Zealand in the present conflict, pledges itself, and the members of the federation to do the utmost to assist the Empire and the. Government of this Dominion in achieveing an early and triumphant victory and in the tasks of rehabilitation to follow.”