LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 December 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

No Publication on Monday.

The ‘'Times-Age'’ will not be published on Monday next, Boxing Day.

Free From Infectious Diseases. Masterton has had a clean sheet this week in the matter of infectious diseases.

Shooting Accident. When Mrs M. Swanson was shooting rabbits in Mungaroa at about 8 o’clock last night, the pea rifle she was handling discharged accidentally, and a bullet entered her left foot.'Mrs Swanson was attended by a doctor and later was taken by the Free Ambulance from her home in Mungaroa Valley to the Wellington Public Hospital, where the bullet was removed.

Butter Exports. New Zealand in 1937 supplied 31 per cent of the total imports of butter into the United Kingdom, Denmark 24 per cent, and Australia 16 per cent. In the same year New Zealand supplied 59 per cent of the total cheese imports into the United Kingdom, Canada 25 per cent and Australia 4 per cent.

Borough Endowment. The tender of Mr E. B. Terry for the lease for 21 years of the Masterton Borough Council’s endowment block of 750 acres at Mangaone, near Pahiatua, was accepted by the council at its meeting last night. The rental is £220 per year, plus rates and the applicant also agrees to pay interest at the rate of five per cent on an amount up to £2OOO to be expended by the council in pros viding a dwelling house.

Factory Pay-Outs. The average New Zealand pay-outs made by dairy factory companies for butterfat supplies, according to a table published in the annual report of the Primary Products Marketing Department are as follow: Season 1936-37, 13.558 d for butter and 15.176 d for cheese; season 1937-38 (estimated), 14.812 d for butter and 16.389 d for cheese. In the Wellington district the average payments were: Season 1936-37 13.610 d for butter and 14.923 d for cheese; season 1937-38 (estimated), 14.935 d for butter and 16.151 d for cheese.

Telegraph Charges. The Postmaster, Masterton, has received advice that on and after January 1 next, the following changes are to take place in telegraph rates. In inland telegrams code words are to be charged for on the same basis as those in overseas telegrams, namely, five letters to a chargeable word. Code words in inland telegrams may, however, be composed of more than five letters. In addition, the existing pronounceability and vowel requirements are to be abolished and code words may be formed without restriction. In inland telegrams containing a mixture of code and plain languages, the code words are to be counted five letters to the word and the plain language words fifteen letters to the word.

Building Boom. Building has boomed in Dunedin this year. The total number of permits issued and their value, constitute a record which will not be easily eclipsed. Up to yesterday some 1003 permits of a total value of £800,284 have been issued by the building surveyor. This figure is £222,681 in excess of the total at this time last year. This huge increase undoubtedly arises from the Government’s housing schemes in different parts of the city and suburbs and also from the boom in building in the city itself, where many warehouses, hotels, and other public buildings have been either extensively remodelled or completely re-built. Before the depression of 1930-1933 the year 1929 constituted the record in building, the value of the permits issued amounting to £565,629. Labour for Farms.

Further reference to the question of farm labour was made by the Minister of Public Works, Mr Semple, in an interview last evening. He said that as a result of numerous representations made to him about the release of public works employees to assist with seasonal work, he had approved of public works workmen taking up farm work during the period the works were closed down for the Christmas vacation. Such approval, said Mr Semple, war conditional all the time that the men were not to compete with other labour. Only where there was a definite shortage were the men to offer their services. "I am prepared to cooperate to the fullest extent possible to assist the farmers with their seasonal work,” said the Minister.

Dairy Produce Shipments. “The distribution of butter and cheese in the United Kingdom has been widened by means of direct shipments to the main United Kingdom ports,” states the annual report of the Primary Products Marketing Department. “In particular, regular shipments have been commenced to Cardiff, Southampton, Hull, and Newcastle-on-Tyne. Over one-third of the Dominion’s butter and cheese is now distributed from ports other than London. With the exception of butter to Glasgow, the shipping programme for 1938-39 calls for still greater quantities for west coast ports. The price level of New Zealand butter and cheese has improved substantially during the year in relation to the produce of competing countries, and disturbing fluctuations in price during short periods have been minimised.”

Pickpocket’s Busy. It is understood that a number of reports of the activities of pickpockets were received at the Detective Office, Wellington, yesterday. A storeman working for a Wellington firm said, in an interview yesterday, that he had lost between £l3O and £l5O, mostly in £5 notes. The money represented his personal savings over the last 12 months. He said he had been carrying the- notes in a wallet in his hip pocket for some days and had intended using them in carrying out some improvements at his home in Roxburgh Street. He travelled by tram from a stop near Featherston Street to Courtenay Place and walked from there to Roxburgh Street. When he returned to his work at 1 o’clock he found the money missing from his pocket. A second man who' was interviewed yesterday stated that £3O in notes had been stolen from his pocket. A Government employee, he said he travelled on a crowded tram yesterday from Lambton Quay to Parrett’s Corner. He had the money with him in his pocket, but when he alighted from the tram he discovered that it was gone.

Montreal. —What is said to be the largest single export cargo of Canadian flour, 2,100 tons, was shipped recently from’ this port to Norway. The Norwegian Government was the purchaser.