Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 2, 28 November 1947, Page 4

Local & General

Coupons Saved Values of food coupons received by the Whakatane Post Office in the Aid for Britain campaign up to November 22 are: Sugar 251bs; tea 281lbs; butter 282£-lbs; meat £3OB/16/1.

New Year Sports Final arrangements for the New Year’s Day sports were made by the executive of the Caledonian Society at a meeting on Tuesday night. A comprehensive programme has been mapped out and the executive feels sure of success.

Citizens’ Boys’ Band

An appeal is at present in circulation for funds for the Whakatane Citizens’ Boys’ Band to purchase new instruments. It is pointed out that the old instruments are in a very bad state and that correct tuning is about impossible. Mr W. Jarrett is the conductor and Mr F. Milne the secretary. Soil And Health It was becoming more and more apparent that soil deficiency had a serious effect on public health, Mr C. H. Brebner told Rotarians during an address at Wednesday’s club luncheon. He said the composting of urban and country organic wastes into fertilisers was something that should and would demand greater public and official attention.

Value Of Soil That soil erosion was one of the most potent causes of the decline and fall of past civilisations was pointed out to Rotarians by Mr C. H. Brebner in the course of an address at Wednesday’s luncheon. Vast deserts where once, civilised communities had flourished bore ghastly testimony to the folly of denuding the earth, he said, and added that soil conservation was a major problem in New Zealand.

“Olympia” Receipts As a result of the showing of the film “Olympia” at the Regent Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday, £149/4/10 will go from Whakatane to the Food for Britain fund. Dominion total proceeds from the film up to November 22 had reached £12,052, all of which has been donated to the fund by KerridgeOdeon. The Government has waived the amusement tax, so that every penny can go to the cause.

Courage First semi-inebriate overheard in a local pub: “I ’ates the taste of this beer.” Second ditto: “Yus. I’ll be glad when I’ve had enough of it.”

Thefts In Opotiki Two thefts from premises occurred in Opotiki during last week-end. Entering the building of the Farmers’ Trading Co., in Church Street, through a skylight, intruders attempted to blow open the strongroom door. They failed, but the door was so damaged that it could not be opened. Valuable watches and a rifle were taken, in addition to a small sum in petty cash. Marc’s Four Square store was also entered and 900 cigarettes and about £6 in money taken. A Maori, Tai Coleman, has been charged before Justices with the theft from Marc’s and remanded.

Labour Day Change Since the “appalling” weather on Labour Day in Wellington, which seems to. have been dogged by climatic misfortune since its inception, the Wellington Labour Day Committee has again discussed the desirability of having this statutory holiday changed to a more seasonable time of the year. In the belief that the Government will favour the change, if the trade union movement generally desires it, the committee holds the opinion that a remit to this effect should go to the next annual conference of the New Zealand Federation of Labour, with the object of submitting a national opinion to the Government.

Bee Sting Responsibility “As part of the school project, I .keep bees. Am I under any liability if a child is stung?” a teacher has asked the New Zealand Institute. The answer was: “Ronald Rubinstein’in ‘John Citizen and the Law’ says: ‘lt may be of interest to note that the owner of bees is not responsible for any. sting which one of his disgruntled pets may cause. Bees as a class are regarded as wild animals and there is, general speaking, no ownership in a swarm of bees. When, however, they have been hived, they are the property of the owner of the hive. If they leave the hive in order to swarm, their owner may follow them so far as he may see and reach them.”

R.S.A. Immigration Policy The council of the Wellington R.S.A. is still pursuing energetically its declared policy of preventing the entry to New Zealand of undesirable aliens as immigrants, says a statement from the association. At a meeting the council asked the N.Z.R.S.A. to recommend to the Government that the . Immigration Advisory Council be particularly instructed to direct its attention to the institution of measures preventing the entry to the Dominion of undesirable ' immigrants and the growth of unassimilable groups or factions, harmful to our standards of living, way of life, and national ideals.