LOCAL AND GENERAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 December 1940, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, announced that loans and donations to the War Expenses Fund now total £2,637,319. Amounts acknowledged include a gift of £l5OO from the Dominion Federation of New Zealand Women’s linstitutes.—Press Assn.

Ten private placements were made this week by the Greymouth office of the State Placement Service, seven being permanent and three temporary. Those found employment comprised a delivery roundsman, a furniture factory hand, two labourers, a farm labourer, an assistant storeman and a waitress.

Owing to the absence of the Magistrate, Mr. G. G. Chisholm, from the district, the charges against Henry James Levett, of Harihari, in connection with the Jehovah Witness organisation, were adjourned yesterday, and will now be heard at the ordinary sitting of the Magistrate’s Court at Hokitika on Wednesday next.

Because of the heavy expenditure resulting from war activities, the adoption of the recommendations of the Agricultural Lime Investigation Committee must be delayed, according to an announcement made yesterday, by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Lee Martin. He added; however, that it was hoped it would be possible to review the situation in the near future.

In view of the overcrowded condition of the wards in the Wellington Hospital, and the fact that several wards are away from the main building, it is proposed to discontinue the carol singing by nurses on Christmas Eve. In the past, one or two church choirs have sung carols round the wards, and no doubt this will be done again this year. It is also suggested that the paper decorations be discontinued.

Appealing for more enthusiasm in the formation of the Home Guard at Westport, Major G. E. F. Kingscote, area officer of the guard, said that he was frankly, disgusted with the small enrolments in the town compared with the country districts. He said that only 30 men had enrolled at Westport, compared with 80 at the small township of Karamea. Major Kingscote said definitely that the guard was not a sop for those persons who want to feel that they were doing something to win the war, but a necessary organisation in case the Dominion was invaded.

None of the West Coast, men selected in the overseas ballot will be medically examined until after Christmas, as the Army Office at Greymouth is awaiting the determination of a large numbex’ of applications by selected men to join the Air Force. A Medical Board sitting, however, will be held at Wataroa on December 17, to deal with men selected in the Territorial ballots. Major O. McCormack, Area Staff Officer, Nelson, will make a visit of inspection to the West Coast on December 16 and 17. White’s are showing beautiful Summer Coats specially for Xmas trade. The colourings are of the very latest and fit; quality and style guaranteed.—Advt.

All men over the age of 16 years,residing in the Cobden area,/are reminded that a meeting of all members and all willing to join the Home Guard will be held in the Cobden School Gymnasium to-morrow (Sunday) morning at 11 o’clock.

Surprising answers were forthcom-. ing in a general knowledge test which was conducted at Napier Intermediate School. Part of the test required pupils to complete given proverbs, one of these' being “One swallow does not make- a Summer.” One pupil gave the answer, “One swallow does not make a feed,” and another that “One swallow does not make a drink.”

The establishment of a Standards Council is provided for in the Standards Bill, which was read the first time in the House of Representatives. The Council is to act in an advisory capacity to the Minister of Industries and Commerce, to whom it will make recommendations on the registration and use of standard marks, the application of standard specifications, and the examination and testing of commodities, processes, and practices. —Press Assn.

“Our profits have grown from £ 16,454 to. .£ 24,727,” said Mr. G. Husheer, chairman of the National Tobacco Co., Napier, in his annual statement; “but (he added) this gam is entirely wiped out by the additional taxes we have to provide for. He showed how, after deducting income tax and social and national security taxes from the profits of £ 24,727,« the sum of £7582 only remained—not enough to pay the usual dividend, it was added; but to do this it was necessary to draw on the company s reserves.

At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the West Coast Federation of Women’s Institutes, held at Harker’s Rooms yesterday afternoon, there were present. Mesdames Stewrat, who presided, Smith, Templeton, Johnson and Armstrong. It was reported that several members met the Group Travel party from Nelson during their stay in Greymouth. Headquarters notified that the sum of £l5OO had been handed over to the War Purposes Fund, £550 being on 'loan for the duration of the war. The greater part of this amount is the 1/per member contributed by the Women’s Institutes of New Zealand.

“Owing to a fear by parents that if they leave their children too long at school they will be too old for working, because of wage regulation, there has been a steady drain from the secondary schools in their first and second year,” said Mr. T. Conly (vocational guidance officer) at a meeting of the Otago School Committees’ Association. “The class legislation hits the working people hard, but of course it was- designed to get better pay for the better educated. The wealthy man can make provision himself for his son, when he reaches 17 or 18 years,” he concluded.

The first girl herd-testing officer for the Gisborne district has commenced her duties with the Bay of Plenty and East Coast Herd Improvement Association. She is Miss Ora Russell, of Whatatutu, and is among the first 25 to attend classes at the Massey College this year for the women’s emergency herd-testers’ reserve. In view of the drain on the staff by war conditions, members of the women’s emergency herd-testers’ reserve are being called on early and, in addition to Miss Russell in the Gisborne district, another member of the reserve received an appointment for the Bay of Plenty area under the association's control.

Comment on the action taken with delinquent children was made by Mr. Justice Northcroft in the Christchurch Supreme Court yesterday, when four young men appeared for sentence on charges of breaking and entering and committing theft. The plea by counsel for three of them (Mr. W. R. Lascelles) was that- they had lacked the control of early employment—the discipline of a firm master—and had had an unfortunate succession of jobs. Mr. Lascelles had also commented on the fact that the three were former Weraroa farm school boys. “These cases are distressing,” Mr. Northcroft said, “and again emphasise that firmness with child delinquents does not seem to be fashionable these days, with the result that the children misunderstand the leniency, and then later, come before the Court convicted with some crime.”

Severe financial loss will be suffered by Chatham Islands farmers whose sheep, consigned to the Addington market, were lost with the island steamer Holmwood. The Holmwood, formerly the Tees, carried 1370 wethers from two vendors—the Chudleigh Estate, and Mr. S. Henderson. The sheep, on the average, would be worth at least 30/- each, representing a loss of at least £2OOO. Freight from the Chathams amounts to 8/6 a sheep, and this loss of a further £5OO or so has also to be borne. It is understood that the sheep were not insured. Of the total shipment 1000 head were from the Chudleigh Estate, and the remainder from Mr. Henderson. He was particularly unfortunate because 250 of his 370 sheep were to. have come to Lyttelton on the previous trip; but he was unable to find space on board.

A few lines of German goods are still on the market in Auckland (states the. New Zealand Herald) although the British blockade has now been in force for 15 months. This indicates the large stocks of German goods that must have been on hand in Britain and in New Zealand at the outbreak of war. In fact, one Aucklander found' that the only lighting flex one firm had in stock was of German manufacture. The firm, he was told, was unable to procure English flex. Recently he inquired at one shop for a pair of carpenter’s dividers, and was shown a pair of German make, the only compass in stock. At another shop he asked for a padlock. He was shown one of German manufacture, and in declining to take it, had to explain that he disapproved of the lock because' of its origin.

The difficulty of getting suitable farm labour was explained by a farmer appealing on behalf of an employee at a sitting of the Whangarei Area Manpowei- Committee in Helensville. Witness skid* one -man would not come because there was no picture theatre handy, and a Maori who applied for the job wanted to know if there was a radio set in the house. “I told him that I had no radio, but I had a gramophone. The Maori said: ‘Gramophone no good to me,’ and refused to take the job.”