Absentee Ministers.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXII, Issue 101, 28 March 1942, Page 4

Absentee Ministers.

“One Who Helps to Pay It" writes as follows to tile Auckland Herald: Can you inform me where Mr Langstone is, and what he is doing lor this country? I assume lie is still drawing his salary. Pedestrian Injured. While traversing Coleman P. .ce about B.ld o’clock last evening Mrs D. K. Kingfibeer, of Palmer-ton North, was struck by a car, under very poor visibility conditions. Mrs King,sheer was admitted to the Hospital sulfcring from a fractured left leg. Grant For School Hostel. Mr J. Hodgens, M.P., has received a telegram from the Minister ol Mducation (Mr Mason) stating that Cabinet lias approved of a grant lor additions and improvements to the hostel at the Palmerston North Hoys’ High School. This involves improvements | to the diningroom and the laundry,] the amount to be spent being over. £IOOO. |

Rugby in the Manawatu. Feeling that it would lie difficult to carry on a senior competition without the inelusion of teams from the Army and the Air Force, the Manawatu Rugby Union has written to the New Zealand Rugby Union seeking its aid in enlisting teams from camps or from units that may he in this district. In the meantime, the clubs have been asked to conduct a survey, as tar as possible, of tbeir 'available playing strength, so that their delegates may report to the annual meeting, thus enabling the incoming executive to estimate what conditions may rule in the coming season.

Prison Accommodation. The accommodation lor prisoners at Auckland gaol is a subject that lias come into , the news. Just what the actual accommodation lor prisoners in this gaol is at the moment is not available, and one has to go back to the New Zealand Year Hook of 1919 to find the last published official statement on the subject. Here it is stated that in 1918 the Auckland gaol had space for 311 prisoners, and that the average daily number of prisoners in that gaol for the year was 231. Whether there lias been any enlargement of the gaol accommodation in Auckland since then does not appear from the published records.