LOCAL AND GENERAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 December 1945, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Greymouth failed to reach its National Savings quota of £520 this week, £391/2/5 being 0 invested? After another day .of negotiation spent by the parties in the Wellington tramway dispute, yesterday, the Conciliation Commissioner, v Mr. S. Ritchie, said that so far there was no report to make, but negotiations would be resumed on Monday.—P.A.

Advice that it had been decided to make a contribution of £2,000 out of the gross opossum revenue of £16,425/7/9 for the 1944 season to acclimatisation societies and other bodies was received by the Council of the Grey District, Acclimatisation Society at its meeting this.week. The amount allocated to the Grey Society was £7O/16/7. The' sum of £lBB 18/8 has been allocated to the Westland Society.

An order calling on the tenant of a house to permit inspection by the vendor’s valuer Avas given by the Land Sales Committee at a sitting at Whangarei. • The application Avas made on behalf of the vendor of a house property, consent to the sale of which was being sought. The applicant stated that the tenant had refused the vendor’s valuer entry to the premises for € the purpose of valuation.

Commenting on the increases involved in the amendment to the Carpenters’ and Joiners’ Apprenticeship Order, Mr. D. T. C. Brayshay, Inspector of Awards, said that they were on a par with amendments m other parts of the country. The old award rate for an apprentice starting when under 18 years of age ranged from 19/10 for the first six months to £.3/4/6 for the last six months of a five-year apprenticeship. The new scale ranges from £l/10/10 to £4/19/10. An apprentice starting when over .18 used to receive £1 13/-, increasing to £4/0/3. He will now receive increases from £2/6/3 to £5/15/3.

A warning against attempts to continue in civilian life the habit of “scrounging” practised among the forces overseas was given by Mr R. C. Abernethy, S.M., when a former serviceman appeared in the Magistrate’s Court at Invercargill on a charge of stealing a service greatcoat. The accused had taken the coat to replace his own, which had been stolen. This was quite a commmon practice in the Armed Forces, said Detective Sergeant J. Gibson. “If you lose part of your equipment you replace it from the kit of somebody else,” he said. “It is called ‘passing the buck. The tale was not a new one to an old soldier, said the magistrate, but the “scrounging” habits practised overseas could not be applied when men returned to NeAV Zealand.

The efforts of a Blenheim housewife to supplement the poor selection of toys that will once again make the task of Santa Claus a difficult and unenviable one this Christmas, did not meet with the success they deserved (records the “Express. Having devoted much time and ingenuity to the creating of a number of woolly animals, which would have gladdened the heart of any child, she called on the manager of a local toy shop to arrange for their disposal. The story she heard was an incredible one. “You Avant to sell the toys, I want to buy them; and the public is eager to get them; but because you are not a registered manufacturer I can’t take them/’; the manager ..informed her. He added that there were very strict regulations concerning, this matter, and frequently inspectors visited his shop to check up on. the origin of toys.

At a sitting of the Westland Licensing Commission at Hokitika a large number of transfers were put through and all other business transacted in just under one minute, which is the shortest session on record. The following applications were dealt with: Transfers: Club Hotel, Greymouth, Mary Bradshaw to John Forrest. Red Lion Hotel, Hokitika, A. R/Neil and E. J- Blake. Central Hotel, Hokitika, P. M. Schroder to C. F. W. Schroder. Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, Greymouth A. F Breeze to R. A. Bullivant. Three Mile Hotel, Hokitika, M. Mandi to R. H Blackler. Courthouse Hotel, Kumara, W. McD. Clark to W. .A. Stark. Southland Hotel, Hokitika, T. C. O’Connor to John Berry O’Connor. Mrs. Ellen McFarlane was granted permission to carry on the business of McFarlane’s Hotel, Kumara, till the next'quarterly meeting.

A further forty State houses are to be bfiilt in Holland Settlement, Cobden, and a start will be made on a number of these early in the New Year. The new houses will be con 1 - structed below the terrace in Fitzgerald Street; and this will be the first time that the Department has built houses in Cobden west of the terrace, on which about 100 houses have been erected. Clearing operations in Fitzgerald Street, have not yet been completed, but a start will be made on those sections already treated. The Department’s Land Purchasing Officer, Mr. Bell, ot Christchurch, recently visited Greymouth, and negotiated for the purchase of several blocks of land in the south end of Greymouth, but it is not known whether arrangements for the sale have been finalised. It is expected, however, that even after the land has been purchased, it will be some time, possibly longer than six months, before building operations commence.

It’s Xmas time and the best for six years. Do it justice and purchase from Revingtons Bottle Store (street entrance) the best of wines and ales. —Advt.

A new 12-channel telephone carrier •system between Wellington and (Auckland would be brought into serIvice on December 10, announced the I Postmaster-General (Mr Jones) yesI terday. By rearrangement of existing facilities, the installation of the new system will enable the provision of six additional toll channels between Wellington and Auckland, doubling the existing outlets, two additional channels each between Auckland and New Plymouth and Wellington and New Plymouth, and one additional channel between Wellington and Napier, Wellington and Hamilton, and Hamilton and Napier. The Minister said that it was fortunate that installation had been completed in time for Christmas traffic. He said that a second 12-channel system had been allocated, for use between Wellington and the South Island, but some time would elapse before this system could be made fully operative. When additional outlets were available it was intended to provide direct circuits between the main centres of the North and South Islands, thus eliminating the need to switch calls between the more distant centres through Wellington and Christchurch. —P.A.