LOCAL AND GENERAL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 65, Issue 5492, 1 July 1942, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A letter has been received locally from a sailor serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy, who was the recipient of a parcel which contained a tin of malted milk. “Much appreciated—just the thing to drink on cold nights!” he wrote. The work of installing plant at the Mangaiti flaxmill is now almost completed and it is expected that a trial run of the machinery will be made this week. Flax cutters will be commenting work this week and it is expected that the mill will be‘working at full pressure next week. The ration coupons for the purchase of tea during July have been announced by the Minister of Supply, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan. He said that coupons numbered 5 to 8 inclusive could be used for this purpose at any time from July 1 to July 31, but not later. This allows Boz. for each person for the monthly period. Praise for slit trenches comes from a soldier in Syria, who has been through Greece and Libya, and therefore should know. In a letter received in Auckland he says: “If the Japanese do go the whole hog and start bombing round your way (which I don’t think they will), take my tip and make good friends with your ‘slitties.’ It’s the best place to be when the eggs start falling.” Last night a motor car parked in front of Mr Shepherd Smith’s residence in Alexandra Street was struck from behind by another vehicle, which failed to stop. The metal work on the right-hand side of the car was damaged and a glass window broken. The police believe they have traced the vehicle responsible for the damage and it is expected that the matter will in due course come before the Court. While a group of farmers was discussing the search for three pig-hunt-ers missing on the Ngongotaha Mountain, a man who makes Hamilton his commercial centre, stated that this winter he had seen more wild pigs on his property than for many years. Other farmers agreed that wild pigs were again becoming a menace to flock-owners. Shortage of manpower on the properties and inability to get rifle ammunition were the principal causes for the increase. Addressing the New Brighton R.S.A., of which he is a life member, the Minister of Supply, Mr Sullivan, on Saturday night described hoarding as a crime agains tthe community. He said that problems of the future would be more acute than anything the country had yet experienced, and the civil population would have to make many sacrifices of goods they were accustomed to but which were not required for war purposes. Hoarding, he said, should be resisted and discouraged by everybody. Hoarding was a kind of cannibalism. Panic buying and hoarding deprived others, including women and children, of their fair and proportionate share of goods available, and compelled resort to rationing. A business man in Te Awamutu last night rightly earned the appreciation of many who venture the thoroughfare in these times of black-out. No doubt he violated a regulation or stat-utorily-imposed restriction, but he allowed a little light to guide the way along the footwalk. It gave most welcome relief, and rightly earned the gratitude of those who were helped on their way. Just before the kindly light appeared one man had stumbled over the kerbing; another had scraped his shins against the bumper of a parked motor vehicle; and it seemed rather a pity that such a free flow of opinion was not heard by the Lighting Controller in official Wellington. As one bystander remarked, in these days of education we may be an enlightened community, but we have a very dark outlook. Te Awamutu certainly gains notoriety for its black-out —that at least has been done in a very thorough wayAn important branch of the work of the New Zealand Red Cross Commissioner in the Middle East, Major Tweedy, is visiting all the cemeteries in and about Cairo and Tel el Kebir. He has inspected all the graves of New Zealand soldiers. Photographs have been taken of all the graves and copies, with a covering letter, have been sent to the next-of-kin. It may not be possible to visit cemeteries in the Western Desert, but Major Tweedy will obtain a photograph for the next-of-kin of the soldiers’ graves in this area if they will supply the regimental number, the full name and the unit of the soldier. It is hoped that any next-of-kin in New Zealand will take advantage of this and forward the information asked for to the secretary, War Purposes Committee, Box 139, Te Aro, Wellington. As soon as Major Tweedy was settled he took over from Lieut.-Colonel White and Captain Peek, N.Z.M.C. In view of the statement in Monday’s Courier to the effect that members of the Home Guard, after two years of training “knew nothing,” Mr A. E. Bryant, whose remarks at the Farmers’ Union meeting were thus reported, asks that his full statement be now published. In a discussion, which he understood to be in committee, he said that after two years in the Home Guard' “we know nothing compared with what we should know after two years if given equipment.” That, he added, was his own personal opinion and it was not necessarily the view of the Farmers’ Union. Further, it was not a reflection on any unit or company, but had reference to a system. His own position is that he has three men enrolled- in the Home Guard, two of whom are in separate units. These men are keen Homeguardsmen who are accorded opportunity to parade in what is strictly farm time. There are many farmers in this district and elsewhere who are in the same position, and as time is always valuable on the farm, particularly at this season, with a still busier season approaching, and with a dearth of farm labour, his desire was only to emphasise the opinion that the best possible use should be made of time in training, and this had not been possible in the past and in the circumstances prevailing, as no men, no matter how keen or anxious to give of their best service, could do justice either to themselves or the community if they lacked the equipment to train . with.