Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 12, 15 January 1932, Page 6

Town Talk

Efforts Rewarded. Over two thousand pinus insignis trees have been planted at the Wanganui Health Camp site on the tram line to Castlecliff by members of the Wanganui Rotary Club. The trees are in the form of a belt round the site, and are all doing well. Burglars Active A considerable quantity of provisions, including tinned fruit and bacon, besides an amount of cigar ettes, was taken on Tuesday night from Messrs. J. A. Thomson and Co.’s store in Alma Road when the building wau entered by prising open the doors. Ii is obvious that a motor car had beer, used to transport the stolen articles Finger marks were left on a side of bacon. An Optimistic Chairman At Tuesday’s meeting of the Patea County Council, when the most persistent, question of the present time — finance —was under discussion. The chairman (Cr. W. G. Bolton), expressed it as his opinion that matters pointed to a decided improvement in New Zealand shortly. One councillor just then murmured the word “cheese.” This prompted Mr. Belton to reply that he considered there would be a rise ir this product in the near future. Electric Consumers. Report was made by Mr. P. H. Smith to the Wanganui-Rangitikei Electric-power Board at a meeting yesterday morning that there had been an increase of 12 consumers in the board’s district during the past month. Eight of these consumers were resident in Wanganui, three in Marton and one in the Marton county. In addition to these new installations there were 67 extensions to existing installations during December. There are now 9669 consumers on the board’s roll. High-grade Fruit. Evidence is now to be seen in Wanganui of the effort of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation is making to have a universal mark for the highest grade of apricots, nectarines, peaches, apples, pears, plums, lemons and cherries. A sticker is attached to each case of the highest grade, announcing “Dominion-mark Fruit,” and all cases of fruit bearing such a label are guaranteed to be in first-cla.ss condition and to be of that standard right through. So far the scheme has not been applied to all fruit being sold at the marts, but a certain percentage of the cases carry the label. Health Camp Art Union. Three hundred and one pounds six shilling and elevenpence was the net profit from the Wanganui Health Camp Art Union, run by the Wanganui Rotary Club to help in the provision of buildings at the camp. The balance-sheet has now been issued, and total expenses are shown as £152 18s Bd, that amount being made up as: Charges and purchase of the gold, £lO2 6s 9d, printing and stationary £26 7s 3d, postage, etc., £l6 13s lid, general expenses £5 10s 9d, wages £2. Prizes amount to £lOO, but against, that is the amount of gold to be disposed of which is expected to realise a fraction more than the amount paid for it, as the price of gold has since gone up since the amount was bought. Effect of Bright Weather. 11 Revenue for December shows a decrease of £360 compared with the previous year,” stated Mr. I’. H. Smith, in his report to the WanganuiRangitikei Electric-power Board yesterday. “The reduction is in the use of industrial power and this confirms the suggestion that the abnormal drop in lighting returns for the previous month may have been due to the exceptionally bright weather experienced at that time. Every encouragement has been offered to intensify illumination and with the reduced charges for current it is gratifying to observe that the revenue from this source has been maintained.” The revenue in December 1931 was £5867 Ils 7d as compared with £6227 12s 2d during December 1930. Concession to Guarantors. Obligations with regard to the guarantees on country lines have been suspended by the Wanganui-Rangitikei Electric-power Board for a further year. At a meeting of the board yesterday, Mr. P. H. Smith, managingsecretary, reported that as a result of a similar policy during the last year, the revenue from guarantor consumers had been £2067 10s 2d less than the amount guaranteed for the year ending December 31, 1931. It was considered that although there had been a very serious decline in revenue, the finances of the board were such that they would permit of the concession being continued during the present year. Members agreed that every aid f should be granted to poop!? in the 5 country districts in this respect. Fruit for Wanganui. Most of the fruit at the present time coming to Wanganui is grown in either the Hawke’s Bay or the Wairarapa districts. Peaches, plums, nectarines, toniatoes, dessert; and cooking apples are ._ coming from Hawke’s Bay, with rasp- £ berries, loganberries and black cur- . rants from the Greytown district in G the Wiararapa. Half-bushel cases of . peaches are selling on the mart floor e from four to six shillings, tomatoes in is the twelve pound quarter case for halfy a-crown to three, and six, according to i- their grade. Nectarines arc not pleng tiful, and now run in the vicinity of i . seven shillings a case. Raspberries e command nine shillings a case, and the n new season’s desert apples run from r three and six to four shillings a case, o with cooking apples a little lower, -i Apricots from Otago will be arriving ’• at any time from now on. 5 v Matter For Supreme Court. Discussion took place at the meeting ri of the Wanganui-Rangitikei Electric- - power Board yesterday morning in conv' ncction with the Crown’s liability for electrical installations on returned p soldiers’ farm properties which have been abandoned. It is understood that I the Crown advanced money to place G these men on the land and they in turn q agreed to pay for electrical installa[j tions on their properties by way of G time payment. The existing depression >. has caused several of these farmers to give up their land and power boards are finding themselves in the position 7 . of not having been fully paid for init stallations. The Crown is taking over a those properties, installations included, , s and is paying no liabilities on the lat--0 ter. The Wanganui-Rangitikei Board n is co-operating with the Power Board ;r Association to have a declaratory e judgment of the Supreme Court in order to see what the liability of the , Grown is in connection with the balance owing for electrical installations where property is repossessed by the Crown.