LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 August 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Fifth Frost in Succession. For the fifth morning in. succession Masterton experienced a frost, that registered this morning reaching 7.1 degrees. Plunket Society Donations. The following donations to the Plunket Society are acknowledged:—Mrs C. A. Cameron £l, Mesdames D. S. McKenzie, P. H. Southey, G. McNaughton, Schliercke, R. E. Graham, Chambers. Bouzaid, E. Aplin, H. Tinsley, J. H. Blair, W. Foubister, W. Malmo, H. King, 5s each. Democratic Labour Party. A Dunedin branch of the Democratic Labour Party, established by Mr Lee. M.P.. was formed at a meeting held on Monday night, and a provisional executive was elected. It was reported that Mr Lee would shortly visit Dunedin and that steps would then be taken to set up a more permanent organisation. Rotary Conference. A New Zealand District Rotary Conference is to be held in Wellington on August 20 and 21. to be presided over by the District Governor, Mr D. A. Ewen. These conferences are. as a rule, attended by all the club presidents and secretaries in the New Zealand zone. There are 26 clubs in New Zealand. Members of the Wellington club will act as hosts. Drunken Motorist Sent to Jail. Keith Desmond Whitburn, aged 35, a salesman, was charged at Auckland S.M. Court yesterday with having been in a state of intoxication while in charge of a motor-car on the Manukau Road. The police said the car collided with a boy riding a bicycle. The boy was seriously injured and went to hospital, but had now recovered. The car was- being driven rather erratically and fairly fast. The accused was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment with hard labour, and his licence was cancelled. Railwaymen Condemn Government. The annual meeting of the Hillside branch of the New Zealand Railway Tradesmen’s Association adopted a resolution as follows:—“The association has noted with concern the gradual and complete somersaulting of the Government relative to the most important points in its policy. We have no faith in the Minister of Finance and regard the Budget as an attempt to consolidate the capitalistic system and an unwarranted attack on the real wealth producers of the community, especially the family man on the lowest income level.’' Photographic Competition. With 72 prints representing six clubs this year’s Dominion interclub photographic competition for the Bledisloe Cup was judged in Hamilton. The work of many of New Zealand’s leading photographers was to hand and the standard was exceptionally high. The Auckland Camera Club won the cup, with Wellington as runners-up. The champion print of the collection was the work of Mr L. Kitching, a member of the Auckland Camera Club. The results of the competition were: Auckland, 1021 points, 1; Wellington, 1012 points, 2; Christchurch, 1009 points, 3; Waikato, 982 points, 4; Dunedin, 979 points, 5; Hawke’s Bay, 963 points, 6. Refugee Fined. A Jewish refugee. Maria Heumann, was charged on summons in the Auckland Magistrates' Court yesterday with having caused to be sent, otherwise than through the post office, a letter addressed to a woman in Holland. She did not appear, and was not represented by counsel. The police said the woman was a refugee from Germany, and had lived for five years in Holland before coming to New Zealand. The letter was written to an old friend, and contained unused bus tickets. She gave it to another refugee to post when he reached Sydney. Remarking that the offence did not call for a very big fine in view of the circumstances, but , would have been serious had there been anything sinister in the letter, Mr Orr Walker, S.M., imposed a fine of £2 with costs 10s. Untaxed Municipal Trading. Criticism of the refusal of the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash, to bring municipal trading undertakings within the scope of taxation legislation was expressed by the council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce at its meeting last night. The Minister’s decision was given in reply to a letter sent to him by the Associated Chambers of Commerce. The president, Mr R. H. Nimmo, said the taxation issue was the result of allowing municipal trading, which was itself fundamentally wrong. Members decided to protest against the terms of the Minister’s reply and reiterate their opinion that all municipal and State trading concerns should be subject to the same taxes and disabilities as private concerns. H.M.S. Muritai. The well-known Wellington harbour ferry steamer Muritai will henceforward fly the White Ensign and be known as H.M.$. Muritai. She has been taken over by the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy for defence purposes. She was taken off the Eastbourne run last week, and went round to the Patent Slip yesterday for conversion to her new calling. The Muritai is a 460-ton, twin-screw steamer, owned, according to Lloyd’s Register, by the Mayor. Councillors and Burgesses of the Borough of Eastbourne. She was built for them at Montrose, Scotland, in 1923, and in May of that year arrived at Wellington after a three-months’ voyage. She came out via Suez, Colombo, Sourabaya, Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef.

Men Injured in Motor Accident. Four men received injuries necessitating their removal to the Wellington Hospital, when a sedan motor-car collided with a telegraph pole on the Hutt Road, two miles north of Ngahauranga about 7.50 p.m. yesterday. They were Mr R. R. Gardner, barman, slight concussion; Mr J. Wilson, lacerated wound to the scalp and concussion: Mr G. Pike, waterside worker, injury to right elbow and concussion: Mr L. Wallace, storeman, scalp wounds, injury to left ribs, and concussion. The car was being driven toward Wellington by Mr Gardner who, it is understood, was dazzled by the lights of an oncoming car, which made him think he was on (lie wrong side of the road. He turned the wheel to the left and the car swayed, a rear wheel striking a telegraph pole and bringing down several wires. The car turned completely over and finished up on its wheels facing north.