LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 27 March 1946, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Drought Relief Plan Arrangements have been made by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash) for the establishment with the Bank of New Zealand of relief accounts for farmers affected by the drought and requiring special assistance. InSpecting Air Route A Pan-American World Airways Skymaster is leaving San Francisco on Monday for Auckland and will carry four officials of the United States Civil Aeronautics Authority who will inspect the route and the faciiities. . Brunner Mine Disaster Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of the Brunner mine disaster | in which 65 men and boys lost their j lives in the worst eolliery tragedy j in the Dominion. Three days- were { required by the rescuers to bring the I bodies of the victims out of the j mine. i New Zealand Crossbreds j "New Zealand Metlno crossbred 1 wools are among the best in the ! world," declared Professor A. F. ' Barker of Melbourne, formerly in I charge of the textile department oi Leeds University: "These wools are | specially suited to the hosiery trade, Land because of their bulk and body they may be regarded as excelient : for particular classes of goods." | Tobacco Stolen i Thieyes broke into the warehouse | of R. Wilson and Co., of Timaru, ai I the week-end and stole cigarette^ ; and tobacco to the value of £250, : and £13 8s 5d -.in cdsh. Gaining j entry through ra f anlight, the 1 intruders left a trail of smashed ! locks and broken doors. Though ihe 1 bond store was also entered the ; stock of spirits was not interfered J with. ! Girl Attacked in Bed | Injuries to the head were received ! by Doreen Cottam, aged 19 years, at ; her home in Courtney Street, New : Plymouth, early on Sunday morn- ! ing. Her mother, Mrs. C. S. Cottam, ! who was sleeping on the opposite i side of the house, was roused by 1 : screams. She found her daughter with head injuries and the bed cov- • ered with blood. The girl was sent j to hospital but is expected to be disj charged in a few days. j Extravagance! j An Auckland solicitor recently j had occasion to send two account I books to a Government Department for examination. They were delivered by a clerk, but were returned to the solicitor by post, despite the I fact that the solicitor's office is less > than 100 yards distant from the j particular Government office conj cerned. "The postage amounted to 5/8, which the Department had to pay to the post office," said the solicitor to-day. "It is strange that when the Government advises people to economise, it does not' set a good example. The two books could have been deliv.ered by hand in less than a minute." Ploughs for China Of interest to the farming community and also to the general public is 'the exhibit of an UNRRA plough in Messrs. Goldfinch and Cousins' window at Palmerston North. A total of 400 single furrow ploughs was made by a Palmerston North engineering firm on ^the order of UNRRA, ^ for dispatcli to China, and evidence of the potentialities of this New Zealand secondary industry is givep. by the fact that the order aws fulfilled at the lowest price quoted in any part of the world. Each plough cost 32s, complete with spanner, extra shear and extra bolt. Heavy Potato Losses A large part of the main potato crop in Hawke's Bay this season, amounting to some 40 acres, has been seriously affected by the potato moth and growers' losses are particularly heavy. One Hastings grower with an area of 35 acres will harvest only about 10 per cent. of his normal crop. The prevalence of "the fly" this season is due almost entirely to the long dry speil, which caused the ground to crack and allow easy acdess to the tuber. Early potato crops were not affected, and there are some late plantings that have escaped the depredations of the pest, but the main potato crop has been reduced to such an ext,ent that there will be a serious shortage^ in the province this winter. ' (