LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 6 November 1946, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Power of Speech "I warn you young man I have an unlimited vocabulary and a very ; glib tongue. I can use both to good i ! advantage,"' said Mr. R. Semple, : when answering an interjector at his meeting in Levin last ni°ht. "I have been too long at this game to be caught by questions like that." Just "Tickling The Eafth" "When I took over the portfolio of. Minister of Works, I found conditions existing that were reminiscent of the Stone Age. Thev were only tickling the earth with long handled shovels — methods the Indians used 10,000 years ago," said 1 Mr. R. Semple, when s^eakin^ in j Levin last night. j Story Of A Dreadnought "We borrowed money from Engl land to give England a dread- : nought," said Mr. Semple in Levin* i last night. He was cnticising the previous Governments' methods of ! dealing with high finance. We I were still paying for that dreadnought after it had been sunk by ! the British because it was obsolete, I and the fish were playing round it on the bottom of the ocean. Not Self-Appointed Moses i "I have not come here to cringe before you, nor am I here to auc- ■ tioneer ior votes," said the Minister of Works, Mr. R. Semple, when ! speaking in Levin last night. "I'm | not going to ofier you a 'cheap 1 ride' or a home to live in. There s I no need for meto talk that tommyI rot. I am not -going to set mvself up as a self-appointed Moses to lead you out of a political wilderness into a new Jerusalem." i Mosquito Trainers Due i The delivery fiight from Australia ; of four Mosquito trainer aircrafr ' ior the use of the R.N.Z.A.F., will begin today. Escorted by an Avro ! Lincoln bomber, the Mosquitoes will | leave Brisbane for Norfolk Island i where they wili stay overnip'ht be- ! fore flying to Whenuapai. The i Mosquitoes will be flown bv New Zealand aircrews. The New Zeai land ground crews who went to | Australia with the aircrews for _ a : training course, are returning in ' the escorting botnber. Fine Sports Float A highlight of the procession ■ sponsored by the Levin Combined Amateur Athletic and Cycling- Club last evening was the float entered i by the Achilles Sports Club (Boys' i Training Centre). It depicted all ! the branches of sport in which the ' boys participate, and they formed ; a hiiman pyramid while moving along in the procession.. That the : boys kept their positions through- ' out says • -muCh for . the time they spent in training for this j event. The float was also driven around the oval at the Levin Do- ; main between items. Big Fire in Rarotonga i The main part of the Cook Island : Trading Company's store in Rarotonga has been destroved by fire, according to information received ! by traders in Auckland. A big per- ; centage of rationed foods for the : island was stored in the building and the loss has been a hardship to the people. It is aileged that three native misoners escaped from aaol in Rarotonga, stole a yacht and sprinkled petrol throughout the store. It is further aileged that the main building was burnt to the ground as a protest against p*aol conditions.

Pl-aiseworthy Display The first appearance in public of the two girls' marching teams, K.B.H. and the Caledonians was the suoject of praiseworthy comment. b" many citizehs at the Levin Doniain last . night. Their displayS compared favourably with those staged bv the professional teams in Palmerston North recently,. and reflect great credit on their c'oach, Mr. J. McFariane, in that • he has brought them to su'ch a high standard in the short while the girls have been practising. With the town now boasting three bands as well as the p*irls marching teaihs, Levin's name will be ^ell to the fore in the contbsts which are held in the future for these organisations. "We'v'e put the money in their pockets. I dofl't see them Wearing cast off clothing or hanging round sohp kitchens ahyway," said Mr. R. Semple, when rbplying to an interj'ector, whp stated that though wages "were high the people nad nothing to buy with their money.. "That's the answer to that onfe," he added. "Fire your next barrfel., That last bne wai a bl'ank eartridge, s or maybe a minlature stink bOmb."

"Point to a country that has d'ohe better. That's the test. If you can, then i'll go there and And out how they have done it," said the Minister of Works, Mr. Semple, in Levin last night,. when speaking of New Zealand's progreSs during the period the Labour Government had beeh in office.