LOCAL AND GENERAL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4563, 22 April 1942, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

In all, the rationing scheme has involved the printing of twenty-five different classes of forms. This was learned on an inspection of the series. The twenty-five classes cover applications, ration books, and ration cards, and permits, instruction forms of various kinds, and surrender and default forms and others.

At Monday’s meeting of the Waipa County Council it was revealed that the percentage of current rates collected was 97.68 (compared with 97.38 per cent last year), and arrears 67.56 (compared with 53.09 per cent last year). That, said the chairman (Mr S. C. B. Macky), was a fine result, and reflected well on the treasurer, Mr T. Grant.

At the District Manpower Committee sitting in Te Awamutu on Tuesday, when an appellant made reference to certain work to be done on his farm during the coming months, Mr R. P. Smith, member of the Committee, replied that In such times as the present much maintenance work would have to be left, adding: “I’m not expecting half of my drains to be cleaned this year.”

The opinion that most of the shortage of matches was caused by hoarding was expressed recently by the principal of a Wellington firm manufacturing matches, though he admitted that local industry had an increased burden to bear now that many of the match-producing countries in the world were under enemy control. Necessary chemicals were also in short supply.

Primarily designed to test signal communications, a three -day battle operation was completed on Sunday by Northern Divisional Headquarters. For the first time in the district, and possibly in New Zealand, a carrier pigeon service was used. The first message was sent from Divisional Headquarters in the field to the Mayor of Hamilton, Mr H. D. Caro. The pigeon delivered its message of greeting in good time.

During the progress of last night’s meeting of the Te Awamutu E.P.S. the Chief Warden explained that a Maori enrolment officer is in Te Awamutu each Thursday to enrol Maori members in the E.P.S. unit. This prompted a controller to report that of his own knowledge a form, in the Maori language, had been handed to a Maori who, after looking blankly at it for a minute, had returned it to the enrolling officer. “That no good to me,” he said disgustedly, “I don’t know what it means. Give me one in English.”

Appealing at Tuesday’s sitting of the District Man-power Committee, a Panetapu farmer stated that he had three brothers, all of whom were serving in the Royal Navy stationed in England. One had been lost with the aircraft carrier Glorious, and the other two were still serving, one having been wrecked on the cruiser Effingham off the coast of Norway and the other having been one of the four survivors from the destroyer Daring. The father had served in the Royal Navy all his life, and was now retired and living in England.

Appreciation of the hospitality extended by New Zealanders to South African troops in Egypt is expressed in a letter received in Wellington from a lady in Capetown. She writes: “My son, who is in Egypt, had the pleasure of meeting your husband, and during their time together your husband was very kind to my son. I want to thank you very sincerely and all New Zealanders for the very great kindpess your boys have shown to our South African boys in making them so welcome to the New Zealand Club there, as we have not one of our own. I assure you my son and others thoroughly appreciate it.”

A former director of New Zealand artillery, a 69-year-old retired sheep farmer, a man “71 years young” who gives the Home Guard all his spare time, an ex-fruit farmer who left his retirement, and a chemist with 50 years of his profession behind him—this (states the Dominion) is a crosssection of the men who have willingly surrendered their retirement to help in vital war production. A reporter talked with them in a large industrial plant switched completely over to war work. There are hundreds of these men in war industry who have given up the rest period of life, which, in normal times, is the well-earned reward of most men. They tare not in their present jobs because they have to work for money; they are there because they felt they had to work for New Zealand.

As a result of trials carried out last season under the supervisor of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture, the extension of commercial linen flax growing to the North Island is not considered practicable under present conditions. Following the successful establishment of the industry in the South Island in response to Great Britain’s war-time demand for linen flax fibre, a number of autumn and spring-sown areas were grown in the North Island last season, but less than 25 per cent produced crops suitable for processing. The districts selected for the trials were Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay, and Rangitikei, where soil and climatic conditions are comparable with those in some of the South Island centres. The essentials are soil of the medium loam type, reasonable rainfall for the growing plant, and warm, dry conditions toward harvesting time to allow even ripening and drying out of the crop after pulling.

Writing to the secretary of the Te Awamutu Patriotic (Ladies) Committee, Major L. S. Rogers, who is wellknown in this district, has a message of appreciation to all who are contributing to the comforts of the soldiers serving overseas. “I received a composite parcel from Te Awamutu,” he says, and as no name was on the parcel I concluded it came from your Association. If so, I thank you. Life in' the Western Desert, he adds, is anything but pleasant at times, and for four months I have been working very hard while the push was on. He goes on to explain that he has charge of a surgical operating unit which was donated by wealthy American quakers. It is highly mobile and goes right up into the front lines. After giving some general idea of the conditions of life in the desert, he concludes by saying how welcome are parcels from New Zealand. “They help to make an arduous life more pleasant,” is the way he describes it.