Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 106, 5 January 1940, Page 4

Local and General

Post Office Figures. Referring to the Christmas rush the postmaster Mr L. G. Wood stated that after a very strenuous time in the mailroom postal business was well up to that handled last Christmas and New Year season. In the telegraph branch there was a slight falling oft in "Greetings" trai' fie, the commercial business being well maintained. The New Bank. There have been many comments on the colour of the plaster on the outside walls of the new Union Bank. The tops of the walls have already received their brilliant coats, and in contrast with the grey of the unfinished portions the: effeet is not particularly impressive. No doubt wiien the plastering is completed and the scaffolding removed the building Avilt present a better appearance. The: building wiH' not be finished until the end of this month. ' ;: i ' 1

Pole Replaced. Having shown signs of weakness for some time, the power pole on the Civic Building corner was replaced on Wednesday. Correct War Colours. Sealed specimens of the correct shades of Armjr khaki, Air Force blue and Admiralty blue have been sent by the British War Office, Air Ministry and Admiralty to the British Colour Council for official registration in their Dictionary of Colour Standards, which is the recognised reference for colour determination throughout the world. These officially approved shades are being copied on colour charts and sent to textile and dyestuff manufacturers and large and small tailoring concerns all over Britain and the Empire. "This will eliminate the enormous waste of materials, dyes and money which occurred in the last war, when in the absence of colour standardisation many uni-forms-were returned as useless simply because they were not uniform in colour," says an official of the council.

Shipping. There has been little activity at the wharf over the holidays. The Waiotahi sailed on the 31st of December Avith :?000 boxes of butter and 170 crates of cheese and the Clansman is scheduled to arrive at 2 p.m. to-day.

Saturday's Cricket Draw. Alter the holiday spell cricketers wiM be looking forward to the recommencement of the cricket competitions. The draw for Saturday's matches is as follows: Hillcrest v Paroa at Domain, Whakatane v P. and T. at Domain, Central a bye. Sudden Death. The death ' occurred on Monday, alter a brief illness, of Mr Arthur William Cremen, youngest son of the late David and Mary Cremen. Deceased, who was forty years of age, was well-known in Opotiki,and deep regret has been felt at his sudden death. The funeral took placo at the Opotiki cemetery on Tuesday morning. Farm Labour. An entirely satisfactory position in regard to general farm workers and harvesters in the Rotorua district is reported by Mr L. H. Armstrong, Placement Officer in Rotorua. He states that Scheme 13 and 415 contract workers have been trans ferred to harvesting where necessary, and that at present there are only two vacancies in the district. In the Bay of Plenty, how T ever, the position is not so satisfactory, and there have been a number of inquiries, which have been impossible to fill.

Butter and Betting. It was the third clay of the Ellerslie meeting, and the last race but one that day. A well known Aucklander who is not afraid to put his money down when he fancies a horse was "doing" just 40 of the best Reserve Bank notes. How he was going to get them back was his one worry. As he made his way towards the totalisator, still wording over the debit, his wife darted out of the crowd and said. "Oh, Ted, we've no butter at home!" Like the cockney whose fish barrow had been capsized by a drunken reveller— words failed him.

The Democratic Principle. "We have a system of local government which, I believe, it is our desire to retain,'" said the chairman ol' the Horowhenua County Council (Mr G. A. Monk), at a meeting held to protest against the increase in county rating. "There have been desperate efforts to discount the powers of local bodies, and they are continuing to-day," he continued. "Whatever you do, see that you retain that democratic principle which gives you a say. You can have amalgamation of local bodies, but do not lose that power which gives you a say in their affairs." Deer Destruction. Plans of this year's official campaign for the destruction of deer have beeil completed by the fields division of the Department of Internal Affairs and are to be put into operation within a few days. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon W. E. Parry, has stated that an extensive area of deer-infested country of the North and South Islands would be simultaneously attacked | this season. The number of men engaged at the outset would be 120, of whom 150 would operate in the North Islalnd and 90 in the South and Stewart Islands. The Minister said that in view of the increased value of deer skins special efforts would be made to increase the proportion of skins recovered. It was expected that a substantial contribution towards the cost of the season's campaign and to overseas funds would be. derived from that source.