GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 23 October 1941, Page 4

GENERAL ITEMS

Shops and Offices Act During the year the Minister of Labour had advised employers’ organisations that it was the intention of the Government to bring down an amendment to the Shops and Offices i Act, said the executive of the Wellingj ton Drapers, Clothiers and Boot Retailers’ Association, in its report to I the annual meeting of the association j L-st night. So far the Bill has not been Ib? ought before Parliament, and it was i hoped by the executive that the Government would, during the war period, refrain from bringing into operation I more legislation which no doubt would | adversely affect the retail traders of | the Dominion. Early Conservation ; “Christchurch was one of the first j cities in New Zealand to do something ; about conservation,” said Mr L. W. j McCaskill, addressing the New Zealand Education Fellowship ConferJ ence. He said that it was a magnifii cent effort by the early settlers to put I aside more than 500 acres of some of | the most valuable land in Canterbury. I He was referring to Hagley Park. ; which, he said, was one of the first ex- : amples of conservation in the Do-

The new gymnasium at St. Patrick's iCollcKO, Wellington, was officially j) opened last night by the Prime Min - !, lister, Mr Fraser. It cost ,112300 oil* which there was a State subsidy oil, I £4OO, in labour, and £IOOO tins been i Isnbscrtfed by the efforts of old boys!, and Ihe parents’ association. [r N.Z.R.S.A. Membership ! As compared with the total at 30th,' | September. 1940, the Dominion financial ! membership of the New Zealand Re- i i U rued Soldiers’ Association shows on j • i increase of 3105. The total figure inj eludes 780 ex -servicemen from the present war, an increase of 177 for the , ‘ pest month. Motor-Vehicle Accidents For the twelve months ended 31st ' August, 1941. 4.108 persons were injur 1 ed in motor -vehicle accidents in New Zealand. 194 fatally. Use of Horses 1 The belief that a greater reliance o:i horses for transport and fanning and i.similar work would eventuate from the rationing of benzine is not borne out I by inquiries among dealers -nut manu- ) facturers -.l' saddlery (states the "N Z. ’ Herald' ) On the other hand there are j : indications that the popularity and de- ! * to and for hacks and ponies for riding 1 , I arc high i r to-day than for at least a:, {decade. It appears that even the slower | tempo of life in the country districts j i has become quickened with the need; < 'burners and their families have come ; i to look upon motor-transport as in-j 1 c spendable. That was an indisputable ' claim, stated ;• representative of a Y stock firm. The day when the farmer;. ; idied upon the “old grey mare’ and . ' I g<g for transport on business and social } purposes was definitely long past and . was not likely to be revived irrespective of economic conditions. Speedy in- j < dividual transport was even more essential in the country than in the cit'.es ; where public facilities existed. *No j farmer can afford to spend half a day ; i travelling in a horse-drawn gig tor 1 j reach the saleyards or township." stated another man. Even were there any tendency to revert to that method, gigs ‘ were practically unprocurable as there;, were very few carlwrights in the coun- ' t.y. Moreover, a good, new gig could hardly be bought tor less than about ).' GO. which was a fair part of the price I of a used car. New Potatoes Cheaper I With larger consignments of new ! potatoes reaching the Auckland Mar-,; ) kets, wholesale prices have declined ■ j substantially in the last few days (states i the “Herald”). Best lines were quoted or Tuesday at from 2jjd to 3Ad per lb., ! compared with to s.id about a ! iweek ago. New potatoes were being , I sold in Queen street shops at 5d and 6d per lb. Industrial Disputes | In the six months ended 30th June. | 1941. New Zealand had 33 industrial, i disputes involving 55 firms and (5,769 j workers. In these a total of 14.724 : I working days were lost, the approxi- ; | mate loss in wages being £15.340. j Grounds of An Appeal “With a name like that you would; ‘ not have appealed on conscientious I : grounds,” said the chairman, Mr C. R. | ■ Orr Walker, S.M.. to a reservist who j ! appeared before the No. 1 Armed I (Forces Appeal Board at Auckland. The j j reservist, who was appealing for post-; | ponement of service on the ground of I undue hardship, smilingly agreed. His i Christian name was Kitchener. j Victorian Tobacco , j Most of the Victorian tobacco crop, j has been graded and forwarded to the 1 i Melbourne appraisal floor (states the; “Age”). According to the Agricultural ! I Department, the first 3001 b averaged. {2s 9cl a lb. The total amount of new ; season's leaf offered will be 700 tons. ; Varieties of Potatoes | Of the 2728 acres of potatoes grown j in 1940-41 over half this area was plan- j ted in Aucklander Short Top (1382 j acres). Other popular varieties grown commercially were Arran Chief (302 acres), which returned the highest yield per acre, Dakota (232 acres), and Inverness Favourite (190 acres), which returned the second highest yield per Dear Strawberries 1 Captain Cook strawberries, which j are being offered at the City Markets j, in small quantities, are now commanding higher prices than when they first made their appearance a fortnight ago. I On Tuesday they were selling at from ; ! 4s to 4s 5d a chip, compared with 4s to 1 . j 4s 2d a chip on Bth October, when the j, , | first consignments were sold. Shop-! I keepers, who are not exhibiting price I tickets, were quoting them on Tues- . 1 j day at 5s a chip. Returned Soldiers’ Membership I A statement that already about 200 i returned men of the present war had | {become members of the Auckland Re- ; j turned Soldiers’ Association was made at this week’s meeting of the branch', by the president, Mr J. W. Kendall. ! He said that the first returned New ; Zealand airman joined a few days ago. . The total financial membership at 30th September was 3587, or 250 less than last year, but it was hoped that mem- 1 bership renewals would have brought : the branch up to i f s usual strength by the end of the year. Mr Kendall later j stated that the present membership j was 3771. i A School Keeps Itself { Lingfield central school is on the | borders of Kent and Sussex, not very ! far from London (writes an English j correspondent). It has attached to it | ten acres of land, and it is using five of! ! them in the war effort.. For the last | two years the children, whose ages ! {range from 11 to 15, have ploughed; I two to three acres and have produced : ■ a fine crop of wheat. They have made 1 ■; a vegetable garden out of a rubbish j i j heap, and produce almost enough po- ' | tatoes to keep the school going all the ; i year. The boys have made a pigsty for I ; a breeding sow. and a couple of litters, j i and the pigs are sold locally, as also j are geezo. rabbi's and poultry. The ; farm grows enough food l’or the canteen and tuck shop, which feeds 300 children every day. The youngsters get a hot meal for 44d, and even at that low price a small profit is made. Previously bread had been made from the wheat, but now it must go to the | Government. Further than all this, | the girls gather wool scraps from the ; hedgerows and spin and weave it into ! garments and scarfs. The head master i wears a sports jacket which was made j in this way. and he is very proud of it j —and of his pupils’ ingenuity and perseverance. This is an outstanding case, but it is an example of what many of the youngsters of Britain are doing to help in a wide variety of directions. And they are getting good fun out of it. as well as increased health and a better sense of comradeship. Skirts! Tailored in plain Woollens land new Checked Tweeds. Konerays, ' Gorays and other styles, with Inverted ior Box Pleats. S S.W. to OS., from [ j 29/6. McKay’s.* ; Twin Sets! The ideal utility garments | j in new Knitted designs Light SummerI weight Wools in beautiful soft pastel shades, 39/6 upwards. McKay’s.* , ; For the Week-end Holiday. Ladies’ j I Man-Tailored Slacks, in Flannel and' ! Worsteds. Neat Zip fastener or but-; 1 tons: inset pockets, all shades, S.S.W. ! 'to O.S. From 28/6. At McKay’s.*

Cost of Living "During the last war the Court in its Judgments gave a definite l ias in favour of the lower-paid workers, for rca- ; sons which it stoutly repeated in vari- j ous memoranda,” said Mr P. M. But- ! ler, in the Court of Arbitiation ye.ster- ; day, when presenting the claims of 1 New Zealand builders, contractors and I general labourers for an increase in I l wages. “The reasons referred to by the Court then are real to-day also; in : 1 fact, the impact of the cost of living l ' is more severe to-day on us. because of ! the colossal cost of house rents and | 1 clothing (which items loom largest in) 1 iur expenditure) as compared with the :I first two years of the last war and the r first two years of the present war,” N said Mr Butler.