LOCAL AND GENERAL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3927, 16 July 1937, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The monthly meeting of the Waipa County Council is to be held on Monday.

The final figures for the King George V. Memorial Fund will be approximately £86,203, exceeding the' original aim by £36,000. To this will be added the Government’s subsidy.

The T e Awamutu Municipal Band and several local artists paid a visit last evening to the Tokanui Mental Hospital, where a short concert was given, which was greatly enjoyed by the staff and patients.

The following referees have been appointed for the opening matches of the Springbok tour of New Zealand:—.Auckland, July 24: Mr A. Thompson (King Country); WaikatoThames Valley-King Country: Mr J. A. Malcolm (Auckland). Taranaki, July 31: Mr A. de Clifton (Wellington).

A suggestion contained in a Christchurch newspaper that the Government may reintroduce compulsory military training was given an emphatic denial by the Minister of Defence. Hon. F. Jones, in an interview with the Dominion last Wednesday evening. "The adoption of compulsory military training,” said the Min ister, “has never been suggested, noi is it intended.” Mr Jones said that the question of the reorganisation of the land forces of the Dominion was under consideration, and had been under consideration for some time. As he had already announced, he hoped to be able to make a statement as early as possible.

During the conference in Te Awamutu on Wednesday regarding cartage charges, reference was made several times to the agreement entered into by farmers in the Ngarua district for the handling of bobby calves. It appears that the settlers in that district have a mutual agreement by which only one carrier is supplied with the bobby calves on each road, thus obviating a lot of travelling over roads, duplication of services, etc. The Settlers’ Association, which only commenced the scheme on Monday, .already has promises of over 3000 calves, and hopes are entertained that the arrangement will be so successful that other districts will follow suit.

The contract of Mr T.elements, of Otahuhu, for the rebuilding of tha Commercial Hotel in Victoria Street, Hamilton, has. been accepted. Work on the building for which the tender is £62,000, will be commenced imrne diately. "That membership of the Farmers’ Union be compulsory and universal among farmers,” was a remit discuss ed in committee and rejected by the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union at Wellington on Wednesday. Mail advices from Australia te hand indicate that the former Tc Awamutu wrestler, "Bill” Bayne, successfully defended his title .as light heavyweight champion of Australia in a match with Billy Meeske, at Syd hey, on July 2nd. The bout was a lively and strenuous one, but Bayne was definitely the winner. “The administration of the marketing scheme overseas has been fairly sound, and Inquiries show that faulty administration has not been respon table for the price fluctuations which have taken place,” said Mr W. W Mulholland, Dominion president ot the New Zealand Farmers’ Union in his address to the annual conference at Wellington on Wednesday. “Rationalisation of the method of production is a sounding phrase, but in practice what does it mean?” asked Mr W. W. Mulholland, Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union in his address to the annual conference at Wellington on Wednesday. “Some magic formula that will enable a farmer to work twice as long without feeling tired? Or perhaps an ‘efficiency’ expert will team him to strip four teats at once in rhythm to a jazz band on the wireless.” (Laughter.)

A schedule of works costing £44,300 to provide employment for 310 men lor at least live months was adopted by the Auckland City Council last night. The works are to be under taken under the proposals made by the acting Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, that the wages- ol the men employed will be subsidised from the Employment Fund to the extend of £4 a week a man. The Govern ment subsidy is estimated at £26,408, leaving a balance of £17,892 to be pro vided by the council.

We understand that as a result ot the conference of local body representatives at Hamilton last evening with .the Minister, on the Government’s scheme for absorbing all sustenance men for work under local body supervision, only four such men will be available for Te Awamutu and three for Waipa County. It was thought prior t-o the conference that there would be something like onu hundred men available for employment in Te Awamutu and neighbourhood, but the scheme provides for, as far as possible, finding employment for the men near to their homes, thus avoiding heavy transport costs.