LOCAL AND GENERAL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 58, Issue 4187, 22 May 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A project for the formation of a bowling club at Pirongia is to be discussed at a meeting of all interest tomorrow evening.

Borough Councillors were making an inspection o f all the streets of the borough to-day in view of deliberations on works expenditure for the current year at to-night’s meeting of the Borough Council.

Totalisator investments at the Waikato Racing Club’s meeting on Saturday totalled £50,881, as compared with £46,620 10s for the corresponding day a year ago. The turnover on Saturday constituted a record for one day at a winter meeting at Te Rapa.

A reminder is given of the public address to be given by Mr J. Hargest, M.P., at the Town Hall to-morrow evening. Mr Hargest is a prominent member of the National Party _ in Parliament, and has previously visited Te Awamutu as the guest of the local branch of the Returned Soldiers’ Association.

Reports in the Auckland papers concerning the concert given on Thursday evening last by the Royal Auckland Male Choir indicate that the people of Te Awamutu who attend the Choir’s concert in the Te Awamutu Intermediate School Assembly Hall next Saturday evening are in for a real treat.

At the special sale of thoroughbred bloodstock at Claudelands on Friday, on account of various owners, a two year-old bay filly by Surveyor—Archileen (and therefore a half-sister to Trilliarch and others) was purchased by Messrs Candy Bros., of Pokuru, at 76 guineas; and the fivelyear-old mare Irish Belle (Beau Irish—iWenday) went to Mr J. Cavanagh, of Ohaupo, at 51 gineas.

In the financial statement tabled at Friday’s meeting of the Te Awamutu Power Board it was shown that the power fund account was in debit £740 3s Id; the loan account in debit £1555 8s 6d, and the consumers’ finance account in credit £1434 12s 7d. Thus the total debit in all accounts was £B6O 19s. The amount due by the loan account to the power fund account for amounts advanced up to March 31st, 1939, was £4745 2s 4d. Accounts present for payment totalled £1560 16s 9d.

The Waikato Racing Club’s opening day on Saturday of its mid-win-ter meeting had a special interest in that Mr J. T. Young’s gelding Te Takina (trained by Mr A. Cook and ridden by R. Home) won the Otorohanga Hack Handicap in a thrilling finish with Vai Lu, the verdict being a nose in favour of Te Takina. Later in the day the same horseman piloted Gay Rose to victory in the president’s Handicap, the principal flat race of the day.

During a reference to supply to Kawhia township the secretary-man-ager stated at Friday’s meeting of Te Awamutu Electric Power Board that to date good progress had been liiade with the field -work, but the electrical foreman had been laid aside with influenza, and that circumstance had delayed progress somewhat. He added that when the survey was completed there would still be formalities to attend to, and they could not be completed for several months. However, there would be. no avoidable de-

Record revenue was collected from sales tax in the financial year ended March ' 31. The return totalled £3,572,110, compared with £3,519,109 in the previous year and £3,050,985 in 1936-37. The Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, had budgeted for a decrease of £99,000. Sales tax collections in March totalled £314,707, an increase of £60,223 on the figures for February and of £37,017 on those for March, 1938. The past month’s total has only been exceeded on three occasions since the tax was introduced, in January and December, 1938, and January, 1939, all of which reflected the payment of this tax on goods bought for the Christmas trade.

Re-licensing of all motor vehicles is now under way, and as all vehicles must bear new number plates on the Ist June next, before they may be used on any road, owners should make early application to avoid long waiting at the local post office. The public will realise that postal officials are experiencing a particularly strenuous time this year, owing to Social Security registration, and it is more than likely that owners who apply for plates late in the month will experience much longer delays than in the past.

For the seventh successive month withdrawals from the Post Office Savings Bank exceeded deposits, and figures for the financial year ended March 31 show an excess of withdrawals of £4,163,418. This is the first time since 1933 that withdrawals have exceeded deposits, while the amount of over £4,000,000 has only been exceeded once in the past 11 years. Withdrawals in March totalled £3,076,830 and deposits £2,557,545. Deposits for the financial year were £30,434,281, a decline of £2,606,791 on the previous year. Withdrawals at £34,597,709 showed a sharp advance of £4,969,635 and reached by far the highest level in recent years.

The Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, states that the Price Investigation Tribunal which was recently set up by the Government would commence work this week. An announcement concerning the appointment of Mr Justice Hunter as one of the members was made recently. The other member whom the Government has appointed is Mr H. L. Wise, advisory officer of the Department of Industries and Commerce. Mr Wise is an accountant by examination, a member of the New Zealand Society of Accountants and of the Incorporated Institution of Accountants of New Zealand, and a fellow of the Royal Economic Society. He has had c.onsiderable experience of price fixation and control in New Zealand under the Board of Trade Act, 1919, and the Prevention of Profiteering Act, 1936, and has in addition made a special study of price regulation and control in other countries.