Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 280, 25 November 1937, Page 6

Town Talk

Far East Relief Fund. • An anonymous donation of 5s has been received for the “Chronicle’s” Far East Relief Fund, making the total collected £6 5s 6d.

Flying Competitions. Next Saturday, landing, bombing and message dropping competitions will be held between pilots of the Wanganui and Middle Districts (Manawatu) Aero Clubs, on the Wanganui Airport. The Manawatu pilots are expected to arrive about 11 a.m. In the recent competitions at Palmerston North between the two clubs, the Wanganui pilots secured the lead on the aggregate.

Corrugated Roadway. The surface of No. 3 Line between the end of the bitumen in Wanganui East and Gordon Park is in a rough state at the present time. The greater part of the roadway over this area is just a series of deep corrugations which make travelling uncomfortable for motorists owning other than the latest model vehicles. It is understood that repairs are to be effected on this highway in the near future. Welcome Ramfall.

Yesterday’s rain was a welcome visitation for farmers throughout the Wanganui district, whose pastures have felt the effects of the recent spell of dry weather and strong winds. Last week's fall did a considerable amount of good but yesterday's rain will help to freshen up the growth of grass. The consequent improvement in the condition of pastures will no doubt have a corresponding reflection in the stock markets.

Visiting Delegates The entertainment of Waterside Workers’ Union delegates at present sitting in conference in Wanganui will include a picnic at Kai Iwi Beach next Sunday and a trip to the Chateau during the following week-end. The visitors will also be taken for a toux of the city and surrounding districts. This morning the delegates were the guests of thp Mayor (Mr W. J. Rogers) at morning tea. The conference will last over a week, depending on the volume of business to be dealt with.

Lengthy Conference. Asserting that too much time was wasted at interprovincial conferences through Members of Parliament, Ministers of the Crown and others being permitted to give addresses, the Makirjkiri branch of the Farmers’ Union tabled a remit at yesterday’s meeting of the Wanganui executive that the number of remits should be restricted to 60, and that discussion should be devoted exclusively to the remits. Several suggestions for curtailing the length of the conference were made. The meeting decided to forward the remit to the Dominion executive. The Wool Sale Season. The first New Zealand wool sale of the present season is to be held at Auckland next Saturday. The first Wanganui sale will be held in January, and already large consignments of wool are coming into the stores. The recent spell of line weather resulted in shearing being carried out much earlier than for many seasons. The allocation for the Wanganui sale is 30,000 bales and it is considered that brokers will have little difficulty in filling their individual allocations in view of the early season. The sale at Auckland will be watched with considerable interest by farmers all over the Dominion as it will give some indication of the type of market to be expected this season. Furthermore some idea will be gained of the type of wool attracting the best market.

An Unexplained Mishap. Following a lengthy skid on the Halcombe Road about three miles from Feilding, a sedan car left the road, capsized and burst into flames on Monday night. A passing motorist was unable to find anyone connected with the car and travelled to Feilding to report the matter to the police. Constable Strawbridge went out and found the car still burning, while a section of a gorse hedge was also alight. The occupants had disappeared and it was not until Tuesday morning that the police had ascertained that the car was registered in the name of Allan Keith Bishop, of Wangaehu. The car was almost completely destroyed and from the wheel tracks on the road it appeared that the vehicle had suffered this fate after becoming out of control.

A Gentleman’s Agreement. Reference was made yesterday by Mr. William Brown to the first agreement ever entered into between emplayers and workers on the wharves at Wanganui. For many years Mr. Brown represented the employers on the Disputes Committee and he was one of two original delegates who conferred to frame the first agreement. “We met in the old Meat Company’s offices,” Mr. Brown stated, “and it was rather significant that nothing was signed between us. The men asked us if we would take their word on what was agreed on and we agreed and they were perfectly willing to take ours. So there it was, purely a gentleman’s agreement and it worked splendidly.” Mr. Brown added that Messrs. Lovegrove at that original conference and Mr. J. Prime, then secretary to the Employers’ Federation in Wellington, and himself the employers. Meat From Wood

An article which appeared in a recent issue of a farmers’ periodical regarding the manufacture of artificial beef from wood in Canada was recently referred to the New Zealand Meat Board by the Wanganui Provincial Executive of the Farmers’ Union At yesterday’s meeting of the executive, the board advised that its London manager had made enquiries from all the large meat interests but no one interested in meat could give him any information at all. He haa also communicated with the Agricultural Products Officer at the Canadian Government headquarters in London but this officer had never heard of the process. As it was supposed to have originated in Canada, this officer would have known something about it if there had been anything in the statement. Mr Forsyte had also written to the Agricultural Department in the U.S.A., but the department had not heard of the proposal. However, Mr Forsyth was still waiting to hear from several others to whom he had addressed enquiries and if anything further was reported the executive would be informed.