Local and General

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 April 1943, Page 4

Local and General

The airgraph service which is now available for messages addressed to civilians in the United Kingdom has been poorly patronised in Greymouth. Since the service was extended at the beginning of the month only two such messages have been lodged.

Since the admission of a case of infantile paralysis to the Grey Hospital, yesterday, there* have been no further notifications oi the complaint in the Greymouth health district. The Hospital authorities to-day reported that the condition of the three patients, all children, is satisfactory.

During the forthcoming Easter holidays, there will be a lesser number of express trains than the Department has been able to provide during past years. Passengers desiring to make a journey exceeding 50 miles by trains leaving Wellington for Auckland and vice versa, during the period April 21 to 27 inclusive, will not be issued with tickets unless seating accommodation has been secured. The return portion of the tickets will not be available for use unless seat reservations for the return journey have been secured. On trains other than these referred to the Department will be able to provide only a limited amount of accommodation, and reservation of seats at the time of booking is advisable in order to avoid disappointment. —P.A.

The Minister of Mines (Mr. Webb), commenting on the stoppage of work by miners at Hikurangi, as a protest against the removal of the sole doctor for the district, expressed regret at the men's action last week. He said that the miners interviwed him regarding the necessity for a doctor, and he said he would discuss the position with the Minister of Health when he returned to Wellington. The men had done wrong in stopping work, he addd. He realised that mining was dangerous and that in the event of an accident or any mining disaster, many lives could be lost in the absence of a doctor. While the men had a legitimate case in asking for a doctor, it did not improve their case by stopping work. The Health Department gt present was doing its best to obtain a doctor for the district, and he hoped the men would return to work immediately.—P.A.

Mr J. Slack, of Christchurch, and formerly of Nelson Creek, will lake; over possession of the Railway Hotel, Greymouth, this month, from Mrs I. E. Coffey, who has been licensee fox’ the past 10 years. Reductions in woollen battledress production and in the quantities of woollen cloth from which they are made, with the diversion of mill production to blankets and other essential civil weaves, were announced by the Minister of Supply (Mr Sullivan) yesterday, in reply to an inquiry about advice given to clothing manufacturers on future production of battledress and service greatcoats.

There were five cases of tuberculosis reported from Canterbury last week, four of septic abortion, one of puerperal phrexia, one of cerebrospinal meningitis, and six of poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis). There were two deaths from tuberculosis in Canterbury, and one from poliomyelitis. There was one death from the latter disease on the West Coast, and two additional cases notified.

Large numbers of runners are required by the Greymouth E.P.S. for attachment to various units. The runners’ duties are mainly concerned with the delivery of messages from units to headquarters during trials and in the event of the mobilisation of the E.P.S. for an emergency. Girls, between 18 years and 21, who hate bicycles will be welcomed, as also will boys from 14 years upwards.

A review of last week’s black-out trial was made at a meeting of zone wardens last evening, when reports on the attendance of wardens and other aspects of the trial were received. It was decided to refer to the Central Committee a recommendation that various signals be sounded simultaneously in future instead of in succession, the latter method tending to create difficulties.

The Government is unable to consider favourably at present the suggestion that recipients of age benefits under the Social Security Act should be allowed to have other sources of income without a proportionate reduction being effected in the age benefit payments. This reply has been made by the Minister in charge of social security (Mr Parry) to a suggestion from the Associated Chambers of Commerce.

The Secretary of the Grey Returned Servicess’ Association, Mr T. P. Ryan, states that greater interest is being taken in the work of the Association in this district than at any previous time in the 21 years he has been Secretary. The membership of the Association up to March 31 last was 235, compared with 214 last year, 205 in 1941 and 193 in 1940. The. 235 present members inqlude about 40 men who have returned from the present war, one of them being a member of the Air Force. A meat delivery scheme for Hokitika and the surrounding area is announced in the Gazette, being effective as from April 1. Three vendors are parties to the scheme and it is provided that meat may be delivered to any person on such three days in any week during December, January, and February, and on such two days in any week from March to November, as the Minister or Zoning Officer shall from time to time appoint. Otherwise meat may be delivered to the premises of wholesale purchasers only. A collection of 99.054 per cent, of the rates levied had been collected by the due date, the County Clerk (Mrs S. A. Hewson) reported to the monthly meeting of the Kaikoura County Council. It was a record collection for the county and probably for New Zealand, said the chairman (Mr F. J. Monk). Favourable comment was made on the balance-sheet for the year ended March 31, 1943, which showed a credit balance of £7926 8/11, including sale of plant totalling £2432. After deducting the amount received from this sale the position showed an improvement of £2573 14/3 on the year’s working. Cr A. Howard suggested that the financial position of the council was probably a record for the Dominion.

At a meeting of Justices of the Peace at Nelson the following resolution was approved: “That the attention of the Minister of Justice be again drawn to the desirability of amending the law requiring jury notices to be attached to church doors to the disfigurement caused thereby to doors which have been recently painted and that as the necessity for the law has long since passed away the Minister be respectfully requested to take the necessary steps for repealing that section of the Juries Act under which the procedure is at present made obligatory.” Mr. T. E. Maunsell, S.M., commented that in his opinion the correct place for the display of jury notices was the Post Office and not church doors.

At a social held last evening in St. John’s Hall a welcome was extended to Rev. W. R. Martin and his mother. There was a fair attendance, presided over by Mr. A. Kilpatrick, who said that with Rev. A. D. Horwell in camp, they were in much the same position as other charges, but they were fortunate in being able to have Mr. Martin’s services as supply for the next six months. Mr. Martin, acknowledged the welcome. The programme was as follows:- —-Pianoforte solos. Misses Learmont and Jarvis; vocal solos, Misses Freeman-Brown, C. Brown and Chisholm; accompanistes Misses Jarvis and Brown: 'recitations, Mrs Broad. Thanks were accorded the performers and those responsible for arranging the social. A sale of produce from the Harvest Festival, on behalf of the Presbyterian Orphanage, was held, and supper was served.

Advice received by the Greymouth Secretary of the War-Purposes Loan Committee from the Reserve Bank show that up to March 31, 523 applications for £2,556,530, advance subscriptions, had been received for the next war loan. National institutions with 29 applications for £1,445,000 headed the list, the remaining £1,111,530 having been received from the following:—Auckland £520,650: Wellington, £249,880; Invercargill, £90,540; New Plymouth, £54,600; Dunedin, £35,800; Christchurch, £34,600; Napier, £29,190; Palmerston North, £22,470; Nelson, £20,460; Gisborne, £14,428; Hamilton, £9,905; Wanganui, £7,800; Greymouth, £6,900; Timaru, £6,390; Thames, £5,360; Oamaru, £1,565; Blenheim, £1,000; Westport, nil. The Greymouth total was made up from four applications, two. from the Hokitika Savings Bank amounting to £5,500; one from a Hokitika resident for £l,OOO, and a further one for £4OO.

Nursery Squares, 30 x 30, twill back, flannelette squares, British make, only a limited supply, 31/6 doz. at C. Smith’s.—Advt.

Pardon me, Madam, “Have you the time?” Have you the time to do all you would like to do in civilian defence, Red Cross work and other war activities. Thinik what you could accomplish with one extra day each week by using our Laundry Service. Think of the freedom, too, from that weekly drudgery of home laundering. You’ll .save not only time but energy, and most important, your health. Hanging clothes in a cold, windy yard is risky at this time oz the year. Your clothes will benefit, too, we know exactly what temperature, what suds and what method to use for each type of fabric and colour. You’ll find your white things whiter, your coloured things brighter.—Westland Laundry Ltd. ’Phone 136. Depot, 27 Albert Street.—Advt.