TOWN EDITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14986, 13 August 1919, Page 6

TOWN EDITION.

His Honor, Judgo MacCormick, of the . Native Land Court, proceeds to Auckland by the Arahura to-morrow evening. A special meeting of the Carpenters' Union will be held m tho Labor Council Chambers at 7.30 p.m. to-morrow. As the business is most important, every member is urged to attend. 1 "We have had a, good deal of trouble a m Whataupoko with etormwatcr, several pipes being choked with rubbish, mostly put m drains from private premises," stated the Engineer m his report presented to tlie Borough Cohncil last night. To-morrow (Thursday) afternoon a meeting of lady supporters of the "nilssal's Regiment" will be held m the Girls' Emergency Club rooms, at 3 p.m. The men's commitee of the same "army" will meet at Sheridan and Adair's, build- . ing at 7 p.m. j Arrangements are advanced for the ' Catholic social and dance to be he'd m. the Waerenga-a-hika hall to-morrow, and a large attendance of townsfolk is expected. The floor is m excellent order, and tlie music will be of the best. An exhibition of the "fox trot" will be given. j A lady well known to a large circle !of friends, Mlbs Annie Davis (sister of j Mr. George Davis, of Matawhero), died : at a private hospital at Gisborne this j afternoon. Miss Davis, who was 73 'years of age, had not been m good health • for some time past. She had recovered : from' a severe iliness, and was apparently progressing well, . but m the past few I days her condition again became serious, j and she passed away as stated. The • deceased lady was well known for her kindly and cheerful disposition, and her death will be much regretted by all who • knew her. I In the absence of the chairman (Mr. W. G. , Sherratt), Mr. xl. Ken way presided over yesterday's meeting of . the' Repatriation Committee. The committee dealt with eight applications, mclud- , ing one business proposition, which was recommended. Two applications were held over for further consideration, and four grants were made for tools, furni- ; ture, etc. Referring to the labor question, the Repatriation Officer (Mr. W. I. Williams) informed a Herald reporter i that there was plenty of work ottering m the country, but most of the applicants preferred employment m town.. Many men come m 'asking for employment, and when questioned as to the nature of the work required, reply "aaiythlng." The result .is that it meant casual labor, and most of the men were altogether unlit for heavy work. The problem was in /finding suitable employment. Labor was wanted at the present time at Whakatane at 13s and 14s per day, and any men desirous of taking on this work' 'should call into the Repatriation Department for particulars. Some indignation was expressed to a Herald reporter this morning by a produce merchant at the action of the Government m bringing to New Zealand by the s.s. Opawa 2500 sacks of South African maize. The effect of this, he said, will be that the market m New Zealand will be lowered one shilling per bushel. The present price was 7s ' lOd f.0.b., sacks m, at Gisborne, and the drop will be felt by croppers m this district. He could not understand why the Government did this m view of the pressing need m shipping freight. Not only that, but it was putting money into the bands of South African merchants for no better purpose than to break down the New Zealand market. The Government should protect the farmers to the utmost degree, and yet the sum of £4000 is put into the hand* of South African traders to break down the market. The shipping space could have been, utilised to better advantage. He remembered an instance before the war when the pcice of maize went up, and supplies were brought from Java, which meant a very large sum being , paid to the Dutch, and these supplies were responsible for breaking the market.