LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 June 1941, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Church Parade Cancelled. The church’ parade which was to have been held by the Cadet Division of the St. John Ambulance on Sunday has been cancelled owing to the Home Guard manoeuvres. Sudden Death at Fire. Fire which destroyed the farm home of Mr A. Balmer, Pohangina, was unfortunately attended by the sudden death of Mr James Andrew Nairn, aged 70. Kohuratahi, Taranaki, who, while passing, saw flames, and rushed inside and warned two children. He then collapsed and died. Mr Balmer was in town at the time. Meat Board Election. Sheep farmers of the Wairarapa will meet in the Farmers’ Rooms next Wednesday to nominate two delegates to the Electoral Committee for the Meat Board election and if thought necessary to nominate a board member. Mr S. Timbs, of Wanganui, will give a demonstration of trimming a carcase.

Studmaster and Military Service. Whether a single man (a studmaster) should enter on active service when this would mean the possible dispersal of a Romney stud sheep flock was a point placed before No. 3 Armed Forces Appeal Board in Palmerston N. yesterday. The chairman, Mr Coleman, S.M., said that even the dispersal of such a flock would not weigh very much with the board. The appeal was lodged by Mr J. Batchelar, Fitzherbert West, on behalf of his son, R. M. Batchelar, on the grounds of public interest and undue hardship. The board decided that the reservist be not called up before August 31 and dismissed the appeal accordingly.

Farmers and Military Service.

The opinion that the farming community was not giving the assistance it should to the appeal boards in arranging for the release of men for military service was expressed at a sitting of the No. 1 Appeal Board at Auckland yesterday by the chairman, Mr Orr Walker, S.M.. during the hearing of a farm worker’s appeal. He said that in the last war every assistance Was given by farmers to release men. “The main objective now, as far as I can see," he said, “is that the farming community is bent on seeing that nobody is taken off the farms. ’ A witness stated that the proportion of men taken from the farming industry was higher than from other sections of the community. Mr A. M. Samuel, a member of the board, disagreed, stating that a large number of appeals on behalf of farmers had been treated generously.

Oil Boring Operations. A bulletin issued by the New Zealand Petroleum Company reports that at Morere bore operations were recommenced on June 16. The bore had been circulated to the bottom of the 9 5-Bin. casing at 5008 feet. Midhurst well has reached a depth of 7238 feet. Progress during the past fortnight was 223 feet.

Cost of Cheese Change-Over. A meeting of 150 suppliers of the Te Aroha-Thames Valley Dairy Company held yesterday to consider a proposal to change over from butter to cheese manufacture adopted the following resolution: —"That the Government be asked to meet increased costs incurred by butter companies over and above their normal costs caused directly by the change-over to cheese." Another resolution stated that if the changeover was compulsory the costs would be approximately £75 a member, wh.cn the Government should meet. Alternatively the costs should be spread as a national effort.

Railway Finance. Returns of railway, revenue and expenditure for the second four-weekly period of the current financial year were announced yesterday by the Acting-Minister of Railways. Mr Nash. He said the preliminary figures indicated there would be an increase in net revenue of approximately £28,485, compared with the figure for the corresponding period of last year. “The approximate gross revenue from April 27 to May 24 amounted to £914,322, against £879,818 for the second period of last year, an increase of £34,504," said Mr Nash. “The expenditure (£750.997) this year was only £6019 in excess of last year’s second-period disbursements. The net revenue for the second period of 1941 and 1940 respectively was £163,325 (tentative) and £134,840, an increase this year of £28,485.

Queue up for Divorce.

Petitioners for divorce literally queued up in the Supreme Court, Wellington, when undefended cases were being heard this week. Only a small fraction of the people interested in the 20 undefended divorces set down for hearing were able to get into the courtroom. The room used was that known as the annexe, which is resorted to when the two proper courtrooms are in use, as they have been all this week. The judge, judge’s associate, registrar and several barristers had scats at tables, but. the other counsel engaged in cases that were to be called had to stand, the two reporters had to sit with their paper on their knees, and there were chairs for only six petitioners or witnesses. The rest of the petitioners, witnesses and spectators had to wait their turns in (he passage, which, being narrow, caused them to form up like a queue.