LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 7 November 1946, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Donor of £58,000 The donor of the £58,000 for war purposes mentioned by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash) yesterday is stated to be Mr. S. J. Robinson, the managing-director of B. J. Ball (N.Z.) Ltd., paper merchants. He is a kecn tennis player and golfer. At present Mr. Robinson is visiting Dunedin. Wool Salvagc The worK or salvaging scveral thousand bales of wool from the scene of the Rongotai firc will probably be complcted in about a fortnight and although the salvaged wool is at present being stored at Napier, in a Wellington wool store, and in a shed near the site of the fire, it is hoped to ship the bulk of it to the United Kingdom as soon as possible. No decision has been made regarding the disposal of the unsalvable wool which still litters the ground near the burned building. Imported Dogs Another indication of the gradual return of pre-war services by shipping companies, was the arrival | at Auckland of four dogs as cargo | on the Federal Line steamer ! Nor thumb erland . The animals, which were accommodated in their jown kennels. comprised a pair of j dachshunds, a golden spaniel and a Jpoodle. They were consigned by an English export company and the first pair will go to the Thames district. The spaniel will be taken to Christchurch and the poodle has been sent to an Auckland company acting as agents for its future owner. Farmers Concerned "That this branch of Federated I Farm,ers views with concern 'the I manner in which the Manawatu jCatchment Board is approaching |the difficult problem of erosion and ! river control, and considers that (Federated Farmers should take a more active interest in this important matter." This was the text of a remit from the Aokautere branch carried at a meeting of the Mana;watu Provincial executive of Fed- ! erated Farmers in Palmerston 'North yesterday. A delegate from Aokautere said the concern was : caused by the decision of the catchment board to control the river by a . system of cuts, which would accel- ; erate the flow of water and create iproblems further down the river. 'It was decided to ask the board's • engineer to address the executive at a later date. Cancer Campaign The cancer death rate, which had shown signs of rising in every country, might possibly be- coming to its peak, and there were signs that from now on a reduction in the rate could be achieved, said the ; registrar, Dr. S. C. Allen, of New Plymouth, at the annual meeting of the Taranaki centre of the New i Zealand Cancer Campaign Society ; at Stratford. "People have a dread jof cancer, and we call our centre a consultation centre and not a cancer centre," said Dr. D. Steven, of Stratford. "People don't want to l)e tdld they have cancer, but if we strike a case in its early stages we find wc can get a person to go to a . consultation clinic where he or she would probably not go to a cancer clinic." It was interesting to note, he addcd, that the number of new non-ma.iigant cases was twice the number of malignant cases. A Much-borrowcd Axe The lighcer side oi the administration of the law was dealt with by Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M., in an address to members of the Hamilton Bapbist Church Men's Fellow..hip, reports the Waikato Times. He recalled a prosecution brought by the police against a number of men employed m the construction of the Arapuni dam a few years ago. The charge was that of taking part in an illegal assembly for the purpose of gambling. in other words, there had been a raid on a gambling "school" in one of the camp buildings. The first defendant, an ingenious fellow, said he had a good excuse, as he had gone to the hut to borrow an axe. He was fined £1. The next defendant made. the same excuse and also the next. Then the Magistrate Intervened. "The next man who says he went to borrow an axe will be fined £5," he said. 'Tm getting tired of it." So the remaining defendants, decided on a simple plea of guilty and the law was met by the imposition of a 'fine of £1 with costs all round.