LOCAL & GENERAL

Grey River Argus, 30 January 1946, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

Goods railed eastward through the Otira tunnel last week amounted to 17,547 tons. The weight carried in the corresponding week- last year was only 28 tons due to the railway strike. 'ln 1944, 17,348 tons were transported.

The loud shrieks of a small child on the Greymouth railway station yesterday, just after the arrival of the express, caused many people to think there had been an accident. However, the child had merely taken fright as the train began to move when the front carriages were being taken off.

Fourteen West Coast servicemen, who returned to New Zealand on the “Durban ' Castle,” arrived at Greymouth on yesterday’s express from Christchurch. They were met on the station by representatives of the Borough Council and the R.S.A. and a large crowd of relatives.

A meeting of the Dobson State Miners’ Union will be held at 8 o’clock this morning to decide whether work will recommence, it is understood that the dispute at Dobson concerns boring operations in the mine. There was no change in the position as regards the Liverpool and Strongman mines’ dispute last night. As yet no satisfactory settlement has been obtained in respect of the dispute over hewing and jigging rates.

Ladies, have you yet called at White’s Fashion Bargain Section? —- Advt.

Estates to the value of £501,072 were reported and accepted for administration by the Public Trustee during the month of December, 1945. The total of estates and funds under administration by the Public Trustee on the 31st March, 1945, was £67,867,C\36, and the new business the nine months ended 31st December was £6,094,116. Grants of administration made by the Court in favour of the Public Trustee numbered 150 for the mon. During the month 407 new wills appointing life Pubic Trustee executor were prepared on behalf of testators and lodged for safe custody, and 386 existing wills were revised to provide for changes desired by testators. The total number of wills now held in the Public Trust Office on behalf of living persons is 131,503.

The Rehabilitation Department, Grey district, advanced £168,572 9s in loans since its inauguration up to December' 31, 1945. The loans were made up as follows: Housing loans, 102, amounting to £90,282, of which 41 were supplementary loans amounting to £4360; farming loans 16, amounting to £44,811; furniture loans, 138 amounting to £12,944; business loans 39, amounting to £365 17s; miscellaneous loans 11, amounting to £2374 2s; special grants 55, amounting to £897 10s.

One case of scarlet fever and one of tuberculosis were reported on the West Coast last week. Five cases of scarlet fever and five of tuberculosis were reported in Canterbury, and one case of infantile paralysis from South Canterbury. There were two deaths from tuberculosis reported in Canterbury and one on the West Coast.

“Why, I couldn’t have done it any better myself!” That’s the compliment all housewives pay the Westland Laundry. In fact, our professional finish is better than the average housewife’s—it is indeed “de luze” laundering. You can send us everything and our specialised staff will give it . careful attention. All washing is carefully sorted and laundered according to its own individual specification. There’s a service to suit every section of the community-—Bagwash, Fully Finished and Thrifty. ’Phone 136. Deoot: Sam McAra. Mackay Street.— The Westland Laundry Limited.— Advt.

Cn a charge of converting to their own use a motor-car valued at £5OO, the property of William Anderson Bird, at Greymouth, on January 26. Sylvester Raymond Edwards, aged 21, and Vincent John Wright, aged 18, appeared in the Magistrate’s Court, Greymouth, yesterday momin?, before Mr. N. V. Lovell, J.P. Wright was also charged with a breach of a probationary license. On the application of Senior Sergeant C. H. L. Holt, who said the police inquiries had not been completed, accused were remanded until Monday next.

At a sitting of the Magistrate’s Court, Greymouth, yesterday, before Mr. N. V. Lovell, J.P., a statutory first offender for drunkenness, arrested in Gresson Street, was discharged.

That the fresh in the Grey River over the week-end had scoured the shoaling on the bar was revealed by soundings taken yesterday by the Harbourmaster (Captain H. Moar). There was a depth of 16 feet on the outer bar and 15 feet on the inner bar at low water, giving a high water depth of 25 feet. No scouring occurred in the shoaling in the river and dredging will begin this morning. 4

New chums are often surprised to find that New Zealand is a tobaccoproducing country, and that the “weed” grown and manufactured within the Dominion is of such splendid quality. “Why, you can’t better it even in America,” declared an enthusiastic new arrival to an Auckland tobacconist the other day. But why should you expect to better it, if it comes to that? To start with, the climate of this country is peculiarly favourable for tobacco culture, and secondly, the leaf comprising the brands chiefly in request—Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead), Navy Cut No. 3 (Bulldog), Cavendish, Riverhead Gold. Desert Gold, and tailormades—is grown in specially selected localities, matured with extraordinary care, and blended by experts. It is not surprising, therefore, that connoisseurs should pronounce the brands named equal to any tobacco in the world. Moreover, these brands have an added merit of being freer from nicotine than any others, because the toasting process to which they are subjected at the factory is a wonderful purifier, and thus is the health of the smoker safeguarded.— Advt.

During recent months there has been a marked decline in the number of passengers arriving in and departing from, Invercargill by air, and this fact is rather disconcerting to those organisations that have been advocating that Invercargill, should be made the terminal of the main internal air service, and also a trans-Tasman terminal. In 1944, when the service was first inaugurated, it was. well patronised but last month there was a marked falling off in the number of passengers carried as compared with the number in December, 1944, ana there has been no improvement since the beginning of the year. In December, 1945, the plane only twice carried a full complement of passengers, but in December, 1944, it was full 16 times. In December 1945, 24 return trips were made which means that 240 passengers could have been carried each way but there were only 132 outward and 165 inward passengers during the month. By way of contrast, during the first season of the service the monthly average ol passengers each x way was about 240. It is also worth' noting that the service from Dunedin north is fully booked for weeks ahead.

At a meeting of -the executive of the Greymouth Aero Club held on Monday evening, Mr. L. J: Wicks was appointed secretary. It was decided to write and congratulate the local recipients of New Year honours. It was also decided that the hangar ana’ club room required painting and a working-bee is to commence this work on Saturday. Every effort is to be made to revive the West Coast United Aero Club, which has been in recess during the war, with a view to commencing flying activities at an early date. The secretary was instructed to 1 write to thank Mrs. Shallcrass for donating a Roll of Honour and Mr. P. C. Heaphy for the donation of a trophy to he known as the Court Heaphy Trophy. The President and Mr. B. Cummings were appointed delegates to the United Aero Club.