LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 5 April 1946, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Shop Broken Into Mrs. M. A/ Bell's confectionery shop in Oxford Street was broken into in the early hours of Thursday morning. The thief made his entry by breaking a pane of glass in the front door and opening the catch on the inside. Some change from the till was removed. Final Leave For J-Force Final leave, to include the Easter holidays, is to be granted shortly to the personnel of the J-Force relief drarts. It is customary to grant seven days' clear leave, but on this occasion the period will be extended to 10 days to cover the Easter leave in addition. The personnel Will be marched Out of the camps from April 16 to April 18, and will return on April 29 and April 30. ! Value of Ambergris I A piece of ambergris, found some | years ago on the beach by a resident j of Orepuki, has been valued at more j than £300. At first the resident did i not realise the value of what he had : pieked up, and it lay in his house for jsome time. Later he accepted an j offer of £10 for it, but the transI action was not dompleted because | the purchaser did not have the money. This has turned out to be fortunate for the finder, who will now receive a sum more than 30 times as large. The Last Launching j The active opefations of United i Ship and Boatbuilding, Ltd., at j Auckland ended yesterday morning i with the launchihg of the seventy- ; eighth vessel since the company was ! formed, in April, 1943, to cope with j war contracts. The vessel was the 1 114ft. powered cargo lighter Melva, | which was under construction for S the U.S. Navy when the ship-build-j ing contracts terminated. She will j! be left with many various small. ij craft on the hands of the New Zea- ' land Government. | Royal Tour Anticipated | "I fully anticipate a visit to New j Zealand by Their Majesties, the •■! King and Queen, as soon as it is posjsible," said the Prime Minister (Rt. ' Hon. P. Fraser) when asked if I there were definite prospects of ! Their Majesties coming to New ! Zealand, after their forthcoming ! tour of South.ri Africa. "Their ! Majesties have been in Canada, and | they are going to South Africa, and I I think they would wish to come to New Zealand and Australia," Mr. : Fraser added. "I am very hopeful : it can be arranged." j Followed Instructions ! The request on the current land | tax fonn to "read all instructions I carefully" impelled one Auckland J tax-payer, who is most meticulous | as well as extremely conscie'ntious, | to make a slight correction in the part that reads, "Where change of I address has occurred since last j return was made, state previous ' address." Striking oitt "octrured," he Ityped in "occurred," initialled the I alteration, completed and signed the | return and posted it with the feel- ! ing of satisfaction that comes to the j golfer who is "one up" on his ! opponent. Revenue Lost to Ratepayers • The Wellington Ratepayers' Association is perturbed at the increasing purchase- by the State of properties and buildings in the city, yvhich, a member pointed out at a recent meeting of the committee meant a consequent loading of rates upon the general body of rate- . payers. As Government administrative buildings were for the use of the whole of the people of the Dominion, it was stated, then it was not equitable that Wellington, because it happened to be the capital, should be deprived of the rates that would be normally paid upon such properties. The extraordinary growth of State departments ip late years was having a prejudicial eft'ect so far as ratepayers iil the city were concerned. Escapees Surrender to Police While driving into Taumarunui at about 7 o'clock on Monday'night a taxi driver on the main road was surprised by two men callirig on him to stop, and stating that they were escaped prisoners and wanted a lift to the police station to give themselves up. The driver took the men as passengers. They then asked him to get them meat pies, as they were starving. The driver took them to the railway refreshment room and left them in the car while he obtained pies, which they ate ravenously before being driven to the police station, where they gave themselves up. The men had been walking for three days through bush country and were cold, hungry and exhausted. The men, R. Shortcliff and R. Drury, were brought before a justice of the peace and charged with escapirig from Hautu prison camp.