LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 26 June 1946, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr. Fraser's Overseas Visit It is expected that in the early stages of the session of Parliament opportunity will. be taken by the Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) to report to the House on his mission overseas at the end of last year and early this year to attend the General Assembly of United Nations. Dried Apples for Airmen A hundred tons of dried New Zealand apples sent to Air Command, South East Asia, have been distributed to uni-ts. The apples were part of a gift* made by New Zealand to Britain of surplus food held at the end of the war. The British anthorities asked that portion be diverted to the Far East. Arapuni Power Output Speaking at a meeting of the i Horowhenua Electric P-ower Board i yesterday, the chairman (Mr. G. A. I Monk) ment'ioned that he had been I informed that only 40 per cent of I the water going through Arapuni ! hydro-electric works came from Lake Taupo, so that the lake level did not constitute the whole problem of the output of electricity from Arapuni. Effect of Falling Birtli-Rate The view that the present acute shortage of boy lab.our is directly traceable to the- effect of the fall-« ing birth-rate recorded in the early years of the depression is held by members of the Ganterbury Manufacturers' Association. This year, they claim, is the.first of a number of years in which the shortage will be felt. Official surveys, they say, have determined that it will be 1952 before the shortage f£om this cause is alleviated.

Inflation in China A superstition based on the collapse of the German mark after it had grown to 60 times its pre-war value was prevalent in China during the war, said Miss Nessie Moncrieff, recently returned Y.W.C.A. secretary from China, at Auckland. Miss Moncrieff said that the Chinese believed that their dollar would collapse when it reached the same increase as the German mark, but to-day it was 2190 times greater than its pre-war level, and the inflation was still being maintained. Bate of Eiection No date has yet been fixed for the general eiection. The Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) in references he has made to the subject has s,uggested that it is . likely to be held towards the end of November or early in December. If the present s.ession of Parliament lasts beyond about the middle of October it may be found that polling day will be early in December. Candidates will probably want at least six weeks in which to do their campaigning, particularly in view of the alterations made to the electoral boundaries, and the large size of some of the rural constituencies. Women in Men's Jobs The employment of women in positions men could occupy was referred to by Mrs. S. Macdonald at the quaiterly meeting of t;he National Rehabili.tation Council when she statefl that many rnen were unsuited, by their disabfliti.es, to other classes of work. The Minister of Rehabflitation (Mr. Sjkinner) replied that it was true women were in many eases employed in v/ork which was done by men before the war, but the employment position disclos.ed that there was ample room so far bo,th for the men and the women. The position would adjust itself as time went on. Senarate Races "Experts here declare that the Japanese men and women comprise two separate races and I am inclined to agree," states a N,e.w Zealand airman stat.ioned in Japan, writing to a f.riend in Christchurch. "M'y experience with both is fairly flmited, hut I favo.ur the females every time," he adds. "We ha^ve "the serviqes of a Japanese hat^vo.man who, like the rest, is very honest and hardworking. She ke.eps ,hur kft in excellent condition and baji even b,rew tea. The women generafly seem to leajd a shocking life by our standards and o.ur girl seems p.a.theticafly g.rateful for the absence of bootings when she makes minor mistakes like bringing half-cold shaving water."