SUPPLY OF TEA

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25054, 18 November 1944, Page 6

SUPPLY OF TEA

RATIONING BREACHES WHOLESALER FINED £s o The first of their kind in New Zea. land, eeven charges brought under theRationing Emergency Regulations against a wholesale merchant,, ilohn' ' Gilbert (Mr Garland), were heard before Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M.. yeg . ' terda.v. Defendant pleaded guilty. Sergeant Bennett said defendant was an importer as well as a merchant. Two of the charges related to the supply 0 f 101 b of tea without a permit, and the other five charges concerned the supply of 831b of tea to a grill-room proprietor on permits issued to another person A rationing inspector visited defendant in August and found certain irregulari ties. Defendant subsequently admitted that, while travelling about the countrv on business, he had collected from C u Stomers any permits for tea that thev did not require. Defendant then accounted for these permits to the Rationing Controller, but supplied the tea to persons who did not posses? permits. Plea by Counsel Counsel said that dealing in rationed goods was only a small sideline with defendant, and consequently he was not familiar with the regulations as a trader might be expected to be. 1 D i every case, he had been in possession of I permits for the amounts of tea sup- 1 plied, and did not know that his actions constituted an infringment of the resu. latioris. e There was no suggestion that he had been making undue'profit on .the transactions, the total profit involved on the tea sold being only los 2d. No attempt was made to disguise the ; matter, everything being recorded' in his books. Five of the charges relating to the supply of tea to a grill-room '■ proprietor came in a different category J'lie proprietor's father-in-law, iif f e , Arolia. was granted permits, and he had posted some to defendant, asking him to supply the tea to his 6on-in-lan in Auckland.

Magistrate's Comment ' "1 think it is clear that there is no suggestion that defendant exploited the permits in any way," said the magistrate. "Consequently, the case has no sinister aspects. But it passes my comprehension why defendant should make ' himself a party to such a business. A V trader should know far better than the public just why rationing is imposed. The bad thing about these breaches is that they cause inequality in the supply of a rationed commodity, and so cause disruption to public morale. This may be the first case of its kind, but 1 must impose an exemplary penalty." Defendant was fined £SO and costs. WORKSHOPS INCIDENT AID FOR EX-SERVICEMAN (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Friday In evidence before the Railways Tribunal last week the statement was made that moulders at the Hutt workshops had notified the works manager that they were not prepared to assist in the training of a rehabilitated man who had been started as a moulder trainee. Mr T. F. Gebbie. representing the Tradesmen's Association, stated at yeiiterday's sitting of the tribunal that'the incident was due to a misunderstanding and it had been 'overcome by a discussion between the men and the management. The man concerned was now perfectly satisfied that lie was getting the fullest assistance and co-operation. Excepting one claim, in which the question of jurisdiction has been reserved, the hearing of claims by the second division concluded yesterday. The tribunal will proceed next v week with the hearing of the Railway Officers' Institute claims. LOCAL AND GENERAL ■■■' i Gooseberries More Plentiful <&n' * < ■ Substantially larger consignments ot gooseberries have reached the City Markets during the past week, with the result that the wholesale prices have fallen, sharply. The berries were, quoted yesterday at from lis to 14s 6d a case, compared with 26s to 32s 6d a case the previous Friday. Farming Machinery A resolution recommending the granting of licences to dairy companies and other co-operative companies to import farming machinery to meet suppliers' requirements was adopted at a meeting of the Auckland provincial executive of the Farmers' Union. The remit was submitted from the Franklin sub-pro-vincial executive. Bridge over the Avon By 9 votes to 8, the Christchurch City Council decided to give its support to the North Canterbury Hospital Board's proposal for a bridge over the Avon River at the west end of Cashel Street as the main entrance to the new hospital. A member said the scheme made a really worth-while contribution toward-the solution of the city's traffic problem. _ • '. Coal for Auckland After being bar-bound at Greymouth since last Monday, the Kaimiro, which is carrying 2000 tons of coal for tMAuckland Gas Co., left for Auckland yesterday morning. The vessel is expected to arrive on Monday night. Further supplies of coal for the gas works are expected next week on the Karepo and Kartigi, which are due to load at Greymouth and Westport respectively on Monday. Rose Sunday The National Rose Society of .Ne^: Zealand will hold its annual field day; tomorrow, Rose Sunday, in the Parnell 1 Park Rose Garden. The public will be j : able to view the 368 varieties of stand- L> • ard,'climber and dfrarf roses at ™® ir | ; best. Officials of the society will be.} -;, present to supply information on rose* culture to interested visitors. The band; of the Jubilee Institute for the will be in attendance. ■ "ias Haze Over Tasman mc A thick haze extended three-quarters of the way across the Tasman Sea froni v Australia, said Captain K. Brownjohn, master of the Tasman Empire Airwftjfes flying-boat Aotearoa, which arrived from Sydney yesterday afternoon. tain Brownjohn added that it WW. possible that the haze was caused by , the Australian bush fires. Sydney thick with dust, and he believed ■ that.,;. visibility on Thursday was limited %|| mile. _ I Rural Housing A remit stating that the permanent;; houses in the rural housing scheme were regarded as too expensive for the average' farmer was adopted at a meeting of the Auckland Provincial executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. It also asked that provision be made for the farmer who was prepared himself to build a house up to Government design. It was further suggested that the supply of standardised joinery and hardware at cost, priority in timber ana roofing materials, and a subsidy of 1° per cent on cost as provided in initiating the original housing scheme, would result in the erection of many houses that would otherwise not be built. New Parish Hall A parish hall to accommodate 300 persons has been erected by tne parishioners of the Church of Ascension, Point Chevalier. The church a&s not previously had an adequate Sunday school hall, and the new building lias been financed by the Sunday sc "°, building fund, weekly contributions oy parishioners and friends, and a loan £1250 from the Diocesan Loan "oam. A wooacn building on concrete tou • dations. the hall has been named Rattrav Memorial Hall, in memory , the late Rev. W. H. Rattray. who was vicar of Point Chevalier from l"'*' . 1940 A large room, the gift ol- t builder. Mr W: A. Phillips, who- i* * member of the vestry, has been add to the hall for the storage of gyninas equipment.