LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 November 1941, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Million Pounds Appeal. The net result of the appeal for £lOO,OOO as Wellington’s share of the £1,000,000 wanted for patriotic purposes was that £105,526 was contributed by August 31, said Mr T. M. Donovan, chairman of the appeal committee, in a report to the Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee yesterday. Hotel Avon. Up till a few years ago the whole of the building which extends along Lambton Quay . from Molesworth Street to Mulgrave Street, Wellington, was known as the Hotel Cecil. When a lease of the southern section of the building ran out the premises were divided, the section with the licence being maintained as the Hotel Cecil, while the southern section became the private Hotel Avon. This part of the property, which belongs to the Government, is now being resumed by the owners, and is to be occupied as offices. A Woman's Suicide. Returning after a brief absence at' a friend’s house on Sunday evening, Mr N. A. Swanson, a foreman at the Waipukurau' Hospital Board’s building works, found his wife, Ethel Swanson, aged 27, hanging in the washhouse. She left letters to the police, her parents and her husband declaring, her intention to commit suicide. Evidence given at the inquest showed the deceased had exhibited suicidal tendencies since twin sons had been born in April this year, as she felt they were too much for her to look after. A verdict of suicide by hanging was returned. Promotion of Health. An interesting development in the promotion of health and prevention of disease is taking place in Wellington. In an interview last evening the Minister of . Health, Mr Nordmeyer, revealed that an X-ray survey of the chest health of a cross-section of industrial and clerical workers was being undertaken. Mr Nordmeyer said that in England during the Great War the mortality from pulmonary tuberculosis rose to an alarming extent among workers, particularly women. This was probably due to the extra strain of war work, to the longer /hours, and generally to the unhealthy, conditions in which some employees were compelled to work. It was desired that this should be avoided in New Zealand, and as experience showed that the greatest mortality from this disease among workers was found to occur in the age group 14 to 35 years, particular attention was being paid to these, though the opportunity 'of being X-rayed was being given to those of all ages. j

Two Youths Drowned. Two youths, William Henry Getley, aged 17, and Edward John Roderique, aged 16, were drowned in a lagoon at Westport. They were out in a flatbottomed boat on Saturday night and the boat was found upside down on Sunday morning. The police recovered both the bodies yesterday. Westport Coal Company. The profits of the Westport Coal Company, Limited, for the past year amounted to £23,020, in addition to £14,485 brought forward from the previous year, making a total of £37,505. The annual report of the directors of the company states that an interim dividend of 6d a share was paid for the half-year ended March 31, absorbing £11,250, and it is recommended that a similar dividend should be paid for- the second half-year, ended September 30, leaving £15,005 to be carried forward to next year’s account.