Local and General

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 February 1945, Page 4

Local and General

Of eight Greymouth women who were medically examined 'with a vieAV to be selected for direction to the Mental Hospital, Hokitika, four have passed fit, aqd directions will be issued in the near future. Fifteen women were interviewed in connection Avith the work. Of a number of Hokitika women interviewed none Avas considered suitable .or mental hospital work.

Reference to criticism of the radio-tele-phone appeal for patriotic funds, raised at a meeting of the Auckland Patriotic Council, when it Avas stated that a good proportion of the monev' promised Avas not collected, Avas made at last evening’s meeting of the \Vesrland Provincial Patriotic Council at '.zreymouth. Asked hoAV much of the money promised had been obtained, the Mayor of .j-rey-mouth, Mr. F. A. Kitchingham, said that there was very little outstanding the last time ne had noted the returns, and most amounts' would now be in. He said that there had been a difficulty in tracing some people aviio had promised to contribute but had left only their names. Hokitika delegates . said that all amounts promised in their district had been collected.

Work on the Grey vvaterfront was recommenced this morning after yesterday’s interruption on account of rain, but a five-knot run in the river is complicating loading and bai' conditions in the meantime prevent the departure of vessels with cargoes completed. The Kaimiro, Pakura and Rata are ready to sail and will depart -when conditions permit, out tne speed of the river prevents their moving to other berths and allowing empty ships to use the cranes. The .Korowai arriyed in the roadstead this morning and is awaiting favourable conditions before entering. Any time lost by the Korowai will be unfortunate in view of her smart run from Greymouth to Auckland and back. She took a cargo of coai to Auckland, discharged and returned here a little over 7 A days. The trip usually takes 10 days.

All of the public codes authorised for use in overseas telegrams may now be used in telegrams to France, according to an announcement by the Post and Telegraph Department. Railway travel is now back to normal, and this morning’s express to Christchurch from Greymouth was the smallest for some time. Only 150 passengers left Greymouth, and.the train of six carriages was not nearly full. The express to arrive . from Christchurch this afternoon will be of similar dimensions.

The Millerton Miners’ Union, at a recent meeting, passed a resolution asking the Government to nationalise all coal mines in the Dominion. The union considered that the preservation of coalfields in New Zealand could only be accomplished by the Government, and called for a well planned policy which the Government alone could carry out.

The section of the Midland railway line near Omoto, where a subsidence occurred on Sunday afternoon, is showing no signs of'further deterioration, despite the five-knot run in the river and yesterday’s stormy conditions. Repairs have been carried out and after to-night patrolling of the area will cease. The reduction on the speed of trains over the affected section will be continued in the meantime.

The sitting of the Compensation Court concluded at Greymouth today, four cases having been disposed of. Mr Justice ORegan will now proceed to Westport, where the Court sits on Monday to deal with tour cases, one of which has been deferred from Greymouth. The Court will sit at Christchurch next week, . where along with other cases it will take further evidence and complete cases adjourned from Greymouth and Westport.

A .recommendation that members of Hospital Boards be paid a stated sum for attendance at the Board’s monthly meetings, in addition to actual travelling expenses, is to be made to the Government by the Hospital Boards’ Association of New Zealand, in the terms of a remit adopted at the conference at Wellington, yesterday. It was also decided to urge that a member’s travelling allowance be increased from tenpgnce to 1/8 an hour.—P.A.

The variety of articles which American sailors could buy from their ships’ stores was mentioned during the hearing of a case by Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M. at Auckland recently. Counsel for the defence asked an American witness if it were correct that the sailors could buy anything from fountain pens to lipstick or even pillow cases. Witness: I could not testify to lipstick. Counsel: We will leave the lipstick out, then. Mr. Luxford: Yes, they get the lipstick ashore for nothing.

This month’s rainfall at Greymouth so far has been considerable, 7.57 inches having fallen in the seven days to 9 a.m. this morning. Of this total, yesterday’s precipitation was 3.23 inches in 24 hours. The year s total is now nearly 17 inches. Apart from a run in the river holding up shipping, the fain caused little damage m the toAvn, though street flooding Avas prevalent. The slip which blocked the road to Otira at Turiwhate has been cleared, and the road was re-opened for traffic this morning. >

A total of 292,592 motor vehicles had been licensed for the current licensing year by the end of December, 1944, representing an increase of 10,303 or 3.65 per cent, over the number licensed at the corresponding date in 1943, said the Postmaster-General (Mr. P. C. Webb) yesterday. The number of cars licensed, 196,641, represents an increase of 520 or .26 per cent, over last year’s figures. Commercial vehicle licences 84,032, are higher by 9179 or 12.26 per cent., and motorcycles, 11,919, show an increase of 604, or 5.34 per cent. —P.A. “Tickets arc selling exceedingly well in Greymouth,,” said the Mayor (Mr. F. A. Kitchingham) at a meeting of the Westland Provincial Patriotic Council, last evening, referring to the fact that the Trade Union Art Union would be closing shortly. Members remarked that a similar position existed all over the West Coast. The Mayor of Hokitika (Mr. A. R. Elcock) stated that there were not enough sellers to meet the demand at a dri\'e last week, and vendors were besieged. There would be no difficulty in getting rid of the rest of the tickets by next Friday.

Ladies! Do you know there is an electric stove, a radio, and 220 other valuable prizes in the wonderful Victory Art Union, which closes on next Tuesday. Don’t delay and miss these lovely prizes. Get your ticket at the Patriotic Depot to-day.—Advt.

A swarm of bees obliterated two navigating lights in the Rangitoto Channel, Auckland, on Tuesday night. When an officer on Mount Victoria station reported the lights out, the Harbour Board’s lights attendant went out in a launch but it was two hours before the lights were cleared. An inspection of the lights yesterday, showed that a number of bees had penetrated into the interior of the lights. There is no record of bees previously interfering with the lights. —P.A.

Expressing alarm at the continued and rapid increase in hospitalisation and the belief that a A'ery important contributing factor vzas the poor and inadequate housing, the Hospital Boards’ Association of New Zealand, at its conference at Wellington, yesterday, instructed its executive to wait on the Minister of Health, the Minister of Housing and such other Ministers deemed advisable and stress the extreme urgency for providing immediately all facilities for the erection of sufficient houses to meet the needs of both pakeha and Maori.—P.A.

Westport local bodies, the Westport Borough Council, the Buller County Council and the Progress League, have protested against the inclusion of Westport in the West Coast Regional Planning Council, Organisation for National Development, which was to cover the area from Karamea to South Westland. After reference to authorities at Wellington, those bodies have been advised that regions may decide their oavii boundaries. After consultation with the Nelson Council, the Greymouth district Rehabilitation Department, which is carrying out’the secretarial duties of the proposed local council, has advised Westport‘bodies that they may work in with the Nelson Council. The Mayor of Nelson has accordingly sent an invitation to Westport delegates to attend a conference on February 22. The position of Reefton has yet to be decided.

What s worse than washing in unsettled weather and dashin# in and out to the lines every time it rains? lhats easy—washing in sweltering hot weather—standing over a boiling copper and steaming tubs and then out into the boiling sun, while you iQ-- dropping in your tracks. Well, .it boils down to this, washing has no place in any woman’s life — the family wash takes a greater toll of enerp'v than many women realise -—and it’s not worth it either, when the Westland Laundry make such a wonderful job of your washing. Hundreds of Greymouth women‘have proved that our service reallv pays and 'the work has a orofessional finish that only a first-class laundry can achieve. You can send your mostprized linens to us in perfect confidence. ’Phone 13’6. Depot: 27 Albert Street.—The Westland Laundry Ltd. —Advt,