LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21057, 8 March 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

' Exhibition Open Good Friday The Centennial Exhibition will be open on Good Friday. Red Corss Collection The Otorohanga branch of the Red Cross Society made a second collection last week, and raised £32 10s. Australian Butter Exports Butter exports from Australia for the six months ended December 31 were 1,240,012 cwt, an increase of 180,000 cwt, or 17 per cent, on the output for the same period of 1938. Patriotic Donations Donations to the National Patriotic Fund Board, from all sources, now total £35,572 Is lOd while the St. John Ambulance and Red Cross Sick and Wounded Fund now amounts to £1775 13s 2d. Midland Railway Good progress is being made in clearing slips and repairing washouts on the Midland line. Ijetween Westland and Canterbury, but it will be at least a week before the work is completed. Restrictions on the speed of all trains still apply at various points along the line. Soldiers In Hospital Since a few weeks after the outbreak of war there has been several soldiers in the Waikato Hospital all the time. Visits to them have been made regularly by members of the Hamilton branch of the Red Cross ; Society, who have supplied the men with cigarettes, fruit, and books. Pigs That Pay As an instance of what can be done with grass-fed pigs, off the range, one such animal was railed from Kio Kio to the Auckland Freezing Company by its breder, Mr S. R. Sanson. Its dressed weight was 486 lb; the head alone weighing 451 b. The net returns for the pig was £7 3s 3d. Dredging Company’s Dividend The Stock Exchange Association has received advice that the directors of the Grey River Dredging Company, Limited, have declared an intermin dividend of 4d a share, payable on March 21. A first dividend of 3d a share was paid last October. Rotary Movement Gift As a tribute from the Rotary movement of the Dominion and Suva to the native race, and in particular to those members of it going overseas to fight, two handsome cups which will be used for inter-com-pany competitions within the battalion were handed over to Lieuten-ant-Colonel G. Dittmer. commanding officer of the Maori Battalion.

Commissioning Officers A party of 13 non-commissioned officers has been chosen from the infantry battalion at Papakura to take an advanced training course at Trentham. It has been decided to commission at present only those required for the second echelon. Thus, unless a few more are found to be needed for the 21st (Auckland) Battalion, the remaining prospective infantry officers will be kept on advanced training until requirements for the third echelon are determined.

Industrial Disputes The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Regulations, 1940, which are issued with this week’s Gazette, give effect to section three of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act No. 2, 1939, specifying forms to be used under this section of the Act. The section referred to provides that where a dispute is settled before a Conciliation Council the terms of the settlement may be embodied in an dispute by the Arbitration Court. Pound of Flesh “The only people who were willing to make a concession in L S D were the farmers,” said Mr W. W. Mulholland, president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, when speaking at the meeting of the Waikato sub-provincial executive of the Farmers’ Union, to-day, in connection with negotiation? concerned with the control of hides. “All the others concerned wanted their pound oi flesh with an ounce thrown in for good measure.” Maoris’ Fine Work Excellent progress is being made by the Maori branch of the Red Cross Society at Ngaruawahia, which is the strongest branch in the Waikato Centre. The latest reports were tabled at a meeting in Hamilton last night of the Waikato Centre, and they revealed that the Maoris have collected £509. The branch membership stands at 1353. The next strongest branch in the centre is Hamilton, with a membership of 533, and a total of £4Bl 2s 6d funds collected. Taumarunui, with 188 members and £290 9s in funds is next in order. “The excellent work of the Maori community,” said Dr W. R. lea, chairman of the centre, “.is an inspiration to us all.” Collecting Funds In Schools “It was not intended that the children should collect or that they should contribute something towards the effort,” said a member of the Hamilton Headmasters’ Association when the decision of the Auckland Education Board not to allow children to collect on behalf of the funds for the fighting forces was refereed to him this morning. The application to the board came from the Combined Appeal Committee in Hamilton, and although the board was in sympathy with the object of the appeal it considered it unwise to depart from its policy in regard to children making collections.