LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 26 November 1946, Page 8

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Food Position in England There was no exaggeration about the reports of the severe food conditions in Great Britain, and conditions there were rather grim, stated Major-General Sir John Duigan, who returned from England on Saturday. Sir John said it had been noticed that former servicemen were having difficulty in settling down into civilian life. He had been told by the head of one large firm that no fewer than 300 former servicemen had been engaged, but only 10 had remained. Country Oicket Team The selector for the * Country cricket team, Mr. A. M. Ongley, has announced the team to play Wellington on December 6 and 7 in the annual Town-Country match, as follows: — A. M. Matheson (captain), W. Barker, J. Ridland (all Taranaki players), C. McVicar, J. A. Ongley (both Manawatu), G. Rowe (Wairarapa), H. B. Cave, E. K. Hunt (Wanganui), T. A. Downes, T. P. Rainey (both Hawkc's Bay), N. Hoare (Nelson). Rcscrves: Bowler, J. Hall ■ (Nelson); batsman, A. Marshall (Rangitikci). W. Norris (Manawatu) and H. Ricc (Horowhenua) i were not availablc for selection. I Dead Whale Waislied Up I A dead whale which was drifting i about a mile off shore and just south of the harbour entrance at Castlecliff on Friday evening eventuallv came ashore at Kai Iwi, four

! miles up the coast and about 200 j yards south of the Fisherman's I Rocks. The whale has a length of I about 38 feet. There were no marks i on tJie carcase to indicate how the I whale met its death, or whether it ! had been involved in a battle with ; sharks. A fcw weeks ago, incident- ! ally, the crew of the coastal steamer ! Kaitoa, bound from Onehunga to jNelson, reported having seen a Ishoal of sharks attacking two i whales about 50 miles south of New j Plymouth. # Run Over by Train j A young man had his right leg i severed when he was run over and | dragged by the engine of train near j Hastings at 3.10 p.m. on Saturday. ; He was Mr. Geoffrey Hunt, aged 21, 1 a medical student, of 93 Wainui i Avenue; Ashburton. He suffered ' also ccncussion, abrasions and ' shock. His condition 1s critical. The j accident occurred about a mile ; south of the station. The engine : crew felt a slight bump and heard ! a dragging noise in th gravel of the ! permanent way and then saw the man lying beside , the track. It is j not known how Mr. Hunt, who was ! on holiday in Hawke's Bay, came to : be near the track. With an ambuli ance not available at the time, the ,injured man was placed in a trailer and rushed to the Memorial Hospital. i A Socialist and Gambling j He was a socialist and as such | positively detested gambling, said iMr. J. Thorn, Labour candidate for ! the Otaki electorate, when asked by I a minister of religion what his atI titude was towards gambling. "I bei lieve the only way to get an honest living is to work for it," he said, but added that it was difficult to apply that ideal at present. "A great many people like a bit of a flutter and will probably disagree." Something in the vicinity of £20,000,000 i was passing through the totes, which proved there were more than I one or two persons interested. He admitted it was a very difficult question, particularly as it involved lotteries and art unions, and that ■ some people benefited by a proporI tion of the funds raised. On prinI ciple, however, he personally would :not encourage gambling. | Fall Over 20ft Cliff ! Knocked unconscious when he fell over a 20ft. cliff in the hilly ; country east of Upper Hutt on Sunjday, a young tramper was later ; brought out by a party of reseuers jwho made an arduous trip in the Jdarkness. He was Mr. Joseph jHagan, aged 19 years, of Welling- ; ton, and he was taken to hospital (With concussion, back injuries and6 abrasions. His condition is not scrious. After the accident two of liis companions remained with him and a third went for assistance. Thc tramping clubs combined to form a rescue party of 1,6. The party left fop the scene at 7.30 p.m., but due to the arduous nature of the journey they did not come out of the hills with Mr. Hagan until 5 o'clock yesterday morning. They had to wait for daylight to negotiate some of the worst- parts of the I trip. An ambulance met the party.