Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 113, 22 January 1940, Page 4

Local and General

Clansman Arrives. Under the command of Captain F. Shirley, the N.S.S. Co's in.v. Clansnan arrived al 1 p.m. on Friday with 17(5 tons of benzine and genera! goods. Bay of Plenty Yachting. In the Idle Along class at the Wellington yachting regatta the Bay of Plenty representatives are doing exception-ally well. In the 1 ail ranga class, the Tauranga crew is also performing with merit, being beaten in one race by only one second. Farms Left Vacant by Recruits. The problem of farms left vacant by men enlisting for service overseas was discussed by members at the monthly meeting of the Geraldine branch of the New Zealand Farmers* Union. The president, Mr G. Wooding, said that he knew of two farms that would become vacant shortly because farmers were enlisting. After discussion, the following remit was carried: '"That, in cases where farms arc left vacant by farmers enlisting, this branch suggests that the Government supply necessary labour free, the farm to !>e managed and supervised by a competent farmer, to be appointed by the local primary production council." Petrol Rationing. Although no delinite statement on the subject has yet been made, the general opinion is that petrol rationing will be introduced at the beginning of next month, when the school holidays are concluded, and business life is back to normal. There is no definite evidence to support these views, but before Christmas the Minister cf Supply, Hon. D. G. Sullivan, referred obliquely to the re-imposition of rationing when the holidays were over. It is considered in some quarters that while the quota for private cars is not likely to b(; reduced below 10 gallons per month, it is possible that the licenses for transport operators will be reduced to a certain extent, as may also those of cars used for business purposes.

Coronation Picture Arrives. The "Coronation" picture, painted by Mr Frank Salisbury, has arrived in Wellington. It is a loan from His Majesty and >vi 11 be placed on view at the National Art Gallery at the end. of this week. This tremendous canvas covers an area of 352 square feet, and includes portraits of Royalty and several hundred members of the peerage who attended the Coronation ceremony. The frame, which measures 26ft bj r 20ft, bears the coat-of-arms of the various Dominions who contributed towards the cost of the work as a special Coronation gift to His Majesty. The frame has been in New Zealand for some time, awaiting the arrival of the picture from America, where it was exhibited at the New York World's Fair. No canvas of such a size has ever been exhibited in New Zealand before. Those Army Pants!

They love the Army. The recruit of 1910 finds that the bullying, abusive sergeant who was the terror of the Great War soldier has departed, giving place to a man who drives his men just as hard, but by different means. He gets the same hard work out of his ex-civilians, who get the same "weary bodies and aching limbs for the first week or two, until they are "toughened up." The men at the various camps in New Zealand all come back on their leave declaring that the life is great. Here is an extract from one letter received from a Ngaruawahia trainee: "I feel as if I had always belonged to the Armj r , in spite of a pair of khaki denims made to fit a posterior twice the size of mine." He goes on: "This is the only life worth living. It's hard—but a welcome rest from the Avorries of work in civil life .... Our platoon is, of course the best in camp .... The tucker is good —I never remember enjoying a hot dinner better than my first here . . The beer before was even better!"' He goes on to say that "all the time I am running into crowds of people I know. . . I reckon it's going to be some life." The letter probably isn't extraordinary—there have been thou sands of others like it. Of such men is New Zealand's Sccond Echelon Force.

Over I.U Inches. Steady rain over the week-end resulted in 1.(55 inches being recorded. Of this figure the bulk fell on Sunday when no less than 1.1(5 was measured. Collision on Taneatua Road. Coming into collision on the rlaneatua Road early on Saturday evening a car and a light truck both had the right-hand mudguards smashed. There were no serious injuries, a small girl, with slight scratches, being the only one hurt. Labour Party Discussions. A decision to invite members of brandies within .i (>0 mile radius of Rotorua to a joint discussion at the end of this month, was reached at the last meeting of ! he, Roto; ua branch of the Labour Party. This 5s the fifth of a series conductcd at different centres in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. The last discussion was on international affairs, and the coming one will be on conditions within New Zealand. Farewell Letters. Letters have been received in Wanganui and Taihape by friends and relatives of men in the first echelon of tlie New Zealand Expeditionary Ftorce. One received in Taihape stated that it had been dropped overboard in a bottle. Another received in Wanganui, said that several letters were thrown to passing launches. The Taihape man's letter was found in a bottle picked up by a member of the Petonc Rowing Club, who posted it. It was a letter of farewell. Rotoma Hill. The Public, Works Department is engaged in applying the sealing or final bitumen coat to eight miles of tar-sealing over the Rotoma Hill. During the past two days, one and a half miles of second coat sealing has been completed. Considerable improvements have been effected to this section of the Rotorua-Whaka-tane main highway flaring the past two years, and this is now being com pleted by tar-sealing. Special care has been paid to the. preservation of the fine native bush which fringes the roadway through the gorge and the road verges have been carefully banked and. planted with clover. An Explanation. Owing to the refusal of the Army Department to supply any information regarding recruiting except through the circuitous channel of making application to the area headquarters at Paeroo,, says the Rotorua Morning Post, it is not in a position to supply the names of men enlisting from the district as was done previously. This paper is anxious at all times to assist the military authorities, but to do this expects some co-operation. Now that it has become necessary to refer the most trivial details to Paeroa for approval, it has become impossible to give up-to-the-minute news of the recruiting campaign locally. This explanation is made so that readers will understand that the non-publication of the names of recruits is not through any indifference on the part of this paper.