EDGECUMBE INITIATIVE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 34, 27 March 1942, Page 4

EDGECUMBE INITIATIVE

THE action of a small group of enthusiasts at Edgecumbe in taking the necessary steps to turn out trench mortars for use in the defence of these parts should ever the need arise:, will be received with a glow of pride. Already Opotiki,, Rotorua and Te Puke have moved, in the latter place, munitions have been manufactured for over a week. Whakatane we understand is awaiting a combined movement with other towns which will ensure uniformity of production. This to our minds while reasonable enough in normal times, cannot be expected to produce quick results, for the Japanese can be repelled by weapons of all descriptions whether uniform or net. Give: us and give them quickly! that is the cry at the present time. If we await conferences, experiments, tests and all the rest of cur red tape intricacies, who is there tin. say that we may be found lacking when, the unguessed time or emergency actually arises.

Schnapper More Plentiful Some quite good liauls of schnapper have been made oil the Opotiki and Coast bcaehes and at Ohiwa. Schnapper arc now predominating (n the number of fish caught. According to an old Maori fisherman. March and April are the two months in which .schnapper arc most plentiful and this sems to be borne out in the results obtained to date. During an afternoon's fishing at Ohiwa. two fishermen caught fourteen schnapper, beside other lish. on the line, and the schnapper were larger than those caught a fortnight earlier. Small sharks, eaten with relish by many Maoris, have also been caught at Ohiwa.

Absentee Miners l Mr T. MeGhie, manager of the Westport Stockton Coal Company's mine, stated at a sitting of the Manpower Committee that 30 of his underground workers had absented themselves at one stage. He hart appealed to them, but had received no satisfaction, with the result that the output of the mine was affected. He wanted to know if the committee had any jurisdiction in this matter. The chairman pointed out that the committee had no control over a state of affairs such as this. However, if any of the defaulters had appeals lodged on their behalf the committee would take into account the fact of their non-attendance.