Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 87, 13 April 1938, Page 6

Town Talk

tramway Picnic

The annual picnic of the employees of the Wanganui Tramway Corporation is to be held at Raorikia on Good Friday. Extensive arrangements have been made, and it is expected that a large number will journey upriver.

Opening of Shooting Season. Owing to May 1 falling on a Sunday, the opening of the shooting season this year will be on Monday, May 2. Five major acclimatisation societies have been given power to charge a licence fee of 25s but the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society is charging only 11.

Receipts From Baths Increase. The effect of the dry summer on the takings at the city baths are reflected in the statement of receipts for the general account embodied in the annual report of the town clerk, Mr G. Murch. The council, in its budget for the past year, provided for receipts of £3OO from this quarter, but the actual receipts up to March 31 last were £527 9s 4d, an improvement of £227 9s 4d.

Supplementary Municpal Roll. The supplementary roll for the municipal elections next month close at live o’clock sharp to-day. In a statement yesterday, the town clerk's office stated that claims for enrolment would be received not later than 5 p.m., the time laid, down by legislation. Persons who have lived m New Zealand for twelve months and the past three months in Wanganui, ratepayers and those who occupy property within the city boundary are eligible for nomination.

Officials for Regatta. Arrangements have been finalised for the New Zealand rowing championships, which are to be staged on the Wanganui River on Easter Saturday, and the interprovincial eight-oar race on Easter Monday. The following officials have been appointed for the events: Starter, Mr E. J. Crotty, deputy-starter, Mr E. Armstrong; judge, Mr L. Sheppard; assistantjudge, Mr D. O. Corby; clerk of scales, Mr W. Blair; umpires, Messrs P. Evans, W. Coombes and F. Wilson.

Alter Fifteen Years.

For the first time in fifteen years there will be an election for the Aramoho School Committee when the biennial meeting of householders is held to-night, in the lengthy period since the 1923 election the number offering for the committee has been such as not to require the holding of a ballot. Fiften candidates are offering for the nine vacancies on the committee to-night, this fact furnishing evidence of the keen interest being displayed in the election.

Employers’ Association Members. “The membership shows a slight increase for the past year,” stated the annual report adopted at the annual meeting of the Wanganui Employers Association last evening. During the past year, 35 new members had been secured, bringing the membership of the association up to 344, compared with 329 last year. Twenty members resigned, 12 of them having gone out of business. The report mentioned the necessity of securing assistance for the secretary in order to make a complete canvass of the city and district. “The foundation has been laid by the secretary and, by securing the services of the right man, no difficulty should be experienced in securing a large increase on our present membership,” stated the report.

Noxious Weeds At the annual meeting of the Okoia branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union held on Saturday the matter of noxious weeds wg.s a subject of discussion. It was the opinion of those present that it would have been better for the Wanganui County Council to have taken over the administration of the Noxious Weeds Act, with the employees of the Rabbit Boarou acting as sub-inspectors. As the county councils would not act, it was considered that the best action that could be taken was the formation o" a limited number of Noxious Weed Boards. Some divergent views were expressed but the meeting was unanimous in the opinion that the problem should be tackled immediately. It was also decided to hold a special meeting to ascertain if members would prefer to amalgamate with th* Fordell and Makirikiri branches, half to go to each.

Swimming at Aramoho. Evidence of the good use made of the baths at the Aramoho School is furnished in the biennial report of the headmaster, Mr A. E. Stone, to be presented at the meeting of householders to-night. “During the two years,” states the report, “very good use of the baths has ben made for instruction in both swimming and lifesaving, for which a large number of certificates have been gained by pupils. In the upper standards I estimate that 90 per cent, of the pupils are swimmers. I would like tc express my sincere thanks to Messrs W. Firmin and C. Downey for their great assistance and interest in the swimming. During the past two months free use of the baths has been made by Kaitoke and Brunswick schoolchildren, many of the pupils having been taught to swim on these visits. Thanks are also due to Messrs Bridges and Earle for presenting trophies to the senior and junior champion boy each year.”

Dangers of 40-Hour Week. “The 40-hour week has been generally legislated for by either the Government or the Arbitration Court and already claims have been tiled for a 35-hour week. Where is it all to end?” stated the annual report of the Wanganui Employers’ Association adopted last night. “The employer who does not put long hours of work and thought into his business, soon finds that his competitor who does is beating him to it. So it is with countries. There will not be an overseas market open to us when countries like the Argentine, Russia, etc., arc fully organised, and even now it is mostly a bounteous nature that gives us a price of advantage over othei countries. That advantage can easily be offset by any increase in working costs, and these latter appear to be increasing all the while. It is fast be coming the position that England wiL be obliged to buy in the best market, and that even Empire ties cannot withstand the strain of economics. The whole international outlook is such that it would be folly to conjecture what the future or the next 12 months may hold in store for any nation or nations.“