Local and General News

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21993, 19 June 1941, Page 4

Local and General News

“Suburb of Australia" In spite of the war or any other circumstances in which New Zealand might have claims to individual fame, some people still believe the Dominion is a “suburb” of Australia. A Hamilton firm this week received a letter from New York addressed to “Ward Street, Hamilton, New Zealand, Australia.” Civil Cases Judgment for plaintiff was entered by Mr H. Morgan, S.M., in the Timaru Magistrate’s Court yesterday in the following civil cases: A. Gabites v. J. Atherton, jr., claim £2/12/10, costs £l/3/6; A. L. Marshall and J. H. Don v. M. Kidd, claim £5/7/6 (balance), costs £t/17/6; M. C. Butterfield, Ltd. v. P, A. Shaw, claim £4/13/3, costs £l/7/6. Slippery Going “A new recruit to Moral Rearmament was once a leading Communist in the East End of London,” said Mr Athol Williams in a speech to the Napier Rotary Club. Before he joined the movement he had been responsible for organising many strikes, he said. “On one occasion mounted police were called out to disperse the rioters," said the speaker, "but he turned the tables. He bought up all the available marbles in the district and sprinkled the road.” “On the Nail” “The overdraft is unusually high this month,” commented the secretary of the Hawke’s Bay Hospital Board, commenting on the financial position of the board at this week’s meeting. Mr Rees explained that the position would adjust itself as soon as the contributing local bodies made payments. “Do you want something from the Napier Borough Council?” inquired Mr A. E. Bedford. "Yes, I want £2OOO from you,” replied Mr Rees. “Very well,” said Mr Bedford, “You shall have it to-morrow morning.” "A Pitiful Case” What was described by Mr V. Langley as a most pitiful case, was mentioned In the Napier Magistrate’s Court this week, when he stated that the complainant in a maintenance action was a woman who had to keep herself and seven children on £2/10/- a week. He explained that they lived in the country in a house which had no windows and was not fit to Jive in. The children could not procure shoes and stockings and the family, being too poor to purchase butcher's meat had to rely on goat’s meat. Home Guardsmen Pick Maize Home Guardsmen settled the labour problem for one farmer at Whakatane when he could not get Maoris to pluck his 10 acres of maize. Farmers in the Bay, in response to the Government’s request, grew many hundreds of acres more maize this year, but are finding labour scarce for the cropping. Ninety Home Guardsmen, however, spent three hours at the work and picked all but IS acres. They were rewarded at contract rates, and the funds will go to the expenses of running the Guard. Soup for School Children A timely innovation was made at the Dunedin North Intermediate School on Tuesday when a scheme was inaugurated for providing approximately 100 of the children who take their lunch to school with a cup of hot soup. The soup, a nourishing vegetable brew, is made in the cooking room, and is served in the assembly hall, a charge of a penny per half-pint cup being made to cover the cost of the ingredients. The scheme, which is to operate during the winter term, has the cordial approval of the parents and the practical endorsement of the children. Heroism Unlimited “It Is very difficult to say anything on occasions like this,” said Mr E." J. Herrick in thanking the members of the Napier Harbour Board for offering him their congratulations on behalf of his son, Lieutenant T. Herrick, RJf., who has been awarded the D.S.C. “I think that those who are singled out for distinction ought to be very humble when there are so many thousands of deserving heroes," Mr Herrick said. The chairman (Mr T. M. Geddls) said that Lieutenant Herrick was one of a family of brothers who had all played a conspicuous part in the present war. Waikato River Diverted The new channel for the Waikato River which has been cut near Taupo in connection with the dam to regulate the flow of water from Lake Taupo to Arapuni is now completed. A small opening about 2ft wide was made at the lower end of the cut on Friday night, and by Saturday evening the new channel was filled to within 2ft of the present river level for the whole length of the cut. As soon as th. full level is reached the top of the channel will be opened and the whole flow of the Waikato will then be diverted into the new course. In readiness for this, the new bridge has been opened for one-way traffic. No Unsightly Hoardings “During their drive round Napier both Sir Cyril and Lady Newall expressed themselves as very pleased at the absence of signs and hoardings which might have detracted from the picture of the landscape,” said the Mayor, Mr T. W. Hercock, on Monday. “They were specially impressed at the fact that there were no advertising signs on the Marine Parade, and added that the electric sign on top of the municipal offices might serve just as useful a purpose erected at some other place than in such close proximity to the Parade,” added His Worship. “England on Her Own” A New Zealander writing to his parents at Wanganui states that young German seamen taken prisoner in the Indian Ocean by the Leander, looked very anaemic. Italian prisoners looked far healthier than the Germans, he said. Some of the men in the Leander tried to tell the prisoners that they were ip a New Zealand warship, but they simply would not believe this. “They said the colonies were not in the war and had let England down, with the result that England was fighting on her own. We could not convince them otherwise. It just goes to show how much the average German knows about the war and who he is fighting,” he added. Miners’ Doctor to Carry On Dr. J. D. Simpson, medical officer to the Ngakawau Medical Association (West Coast) for 35 years, whose appointment was terminated on account of the social security legislation, has decided to carry on as the result of an extensive petition signed by practically every miner concerned. The position was extremely serious, as without a medical man over 500 miners might have downed tools. Dr. Simpson was given three months’ notice by the Ngakawau-Stockton Medical Association to force him to work under the social security legislation, which he refused to do. Dr. Simpson has decided to continue under his old agreement; he is to be employed by the association and not under the social security legislation. The Minister of Health, Mr A. H. Nordmeyer, has been apprised of the settlement.