Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 185, 6 August 1936, Page 6

Town Talk

Saturday Half-Holiday. Support for a provincial Saturday half-holiday for Taranaki was given by the Inglewood County Council on Monday. Dearer Meals. Following on a meeting of restaurant proprietors in Wanganui on Tuesday night, the price of meals in the city was advanced by threepence yesterday. Decisions to increase the price of meals have been reached in a number of other centres in the Dominion following on the reversion to the 1931 salary level and the proposed introduction of a 40-hour week. English Libraries’ Conference On her recent visit to England, Miss A. M. Blackett, librarian at the Wanganui Public Library, attended the annual conference of English librarians at Margate. In an interview yesterday, Miss Blackett said that there were more than a thousand delegates present, including overseas representatives. The conference’ which lasted over a week, discussed many important matters concerning libraries. Miss Blackett was afforded an opportunity of addressing the gathering. English Praise for Library During her recent visit to England, Miss A. M. Blackett, librarian at the Wanganui Public Library, visited the Croydon Library, the librarian of which was Mr Berwick Sayers, the author of several books on library economy. In an interview yesterday, Miss Blackett said that she had shown Mr Sayers a number of photographs of the Wanganui Library. Mr Sayers had expressed the opinion that for layout and administration, the Wanganui Library was 40 years ahead of the libraries in some of the provincial towns of England. Wanganui Tourist League An important meeting of the Wanganui Tourist and Development League will be held in the City Council Chambers to-night, when the executive will present a report outlining the activities of the body since the amalgamation of the present organisation and the old Wanganui Development League. It will be in the nature of an annual general meeting. The financial position will be stated and the election of officers for the ensuing 12 months will take place. Members of the executive celebrated Arbor Day yesterday and the league in endeavouring to arrange a committee to secure protection for the young trees at Castlecliff. Coastal Steamer Delayed. Heavy rain at Picton yesterday delayed the coastal steamer Storm and prevented the vessel from leaving for Wanganui, where she was due to-day. She was originally expected at Wanganui from Dunedin and way ports, last Saturday, but rough weather in the South Island caused a series of delays and upset the vessel’s itinerary. The Storm has consignments of general cargo and will be on her first visit to Wanganui for many weeks. During her absence from this port she has been engaged in the WellingtonGreymouth timber trade and was in port at Greymouth when the Abel Tasman was swept from her moorings and wrecked. Political Conferences. “Well, what do you think of the Budget?” After waiting for several months in expectation of the first Budget of the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, naturally this was the question that was on everyone's lips in the city yesterday. Between farmers, however, the topic of conversation was the fixation of the guaranteed prices for dairy produce. Wednesday is farmers’ day but yesterday more than the usual number of “cockles” appeared to be about city streets. Groups of farmers were gathered in many parts of the Avenue and at these little conferences discussed the pros and cons of the guaranteed prices with frequent mention of the proposed graduated land’ tax. Dairy Industry and the Harbour “What effect will the new administration of the dairy industry have upon the Wanganui Harbour?” was a question put to Mr William Morrison, chairman of the Harbour Board, yesterday. He replied that, on the face of things, it looked as though the harbour would lose revenue from the storage of butter, because, under the new operation of the industry, the tendency of dairy companies would be to get the produce on to the Home liners as quickly as possible. In the past, when the factories themselves were coping with the market, it remained within their province to hold or dispose of butter with the object of getting the best possible market. Now, under a guaranteed price plan, there will be a fixed rate per lb. so the need for holding or selling will greatly disappear, the object being to get the guaranteed price as soon as possible. It is assumed, however, that the Dairy Board will maintain its control of shipments as in the past and such regulation will necessitate a certain amount of storage. It is hoped, under the new control of the industry, that an economic law will apply to the shipment, of produce and factories will be required to utilise the nearest port. If that law applied it would greatly assist the Wanganui Harbour.