LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 6 March 1947, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

En Route To Contest A Scottish atmosphere was brought to Levin tpday when several special buses carrying pipe bands to the contest at Wanganui stopped for a few minutes at Levin. .The bands, which arrived in Wellington this morning by thp mterisland steamer. were: Timaru, City of Christchurch A and B, Temuka, Ashburton County, Burns, Dunedin, and Canterbury Caledonian (Christchurch) . Bound For Japan The Minister of Defence,. Mi"Jones, stated . ■ yesterday that he ejfpects to leaye New Zealand early next week tq visit the New Zealand forces in .Japah. He will travel by Lodestar airdraft ' and wUT be accompanied by Major-General N. W. McD. Weir and others. Mr. Jones said the general purpose of the visit was to see something. of fche work the New Zealanders were doing and the conditions under which they were living. Aero Clubrs New PJane A" weekend trip to Christchurch and over to Nelson in the Middle Districts Aero Club's new Percival Proctor was made by Mr. H. Jensen (accompanied by Mrs. Jensen) who returned to Palmerston Nprth yesterday. The plane, a fully enclosed full vision job, performed very well, and will be very useful for taxi service for this club. Canterbury and Nelson Aero Chibs each have a Percival Proctor which has become very popular. Church Union A meeting of interest and importance will be held in St. John's Methodist Chureh tonight. The speakers will be Rev. E. M. Bates, M.A., of the Presbyterian Church, and Rev. W. A. Burley, M.A., of the Methodist Church. The Presbyterian Assembly and the Methodist Conference have given a lead to their people, and it is anticipated that union between the two churches will soon be an accomplished fact. Southland's Eel Catch A quarter of a millipn eels, representing a total as large as that for the previous 11 years, was taken from Southland streams during the season which has just closed. This effort by the Southland Acclimatisation Society and by representatives of can.ning firms should mean a great increase in the quantity available for expori and a corresponding improvement in the numbers of trout in the streams. Sheepfarmers' Gatherings Reinstatement of the annual gatherings of sheepfarmers, which were held for nine years prior to 1941 at Massey Agricultural College, is proposed as a result of repeated requests from the main sheepfarm-^ ing districts of the North Island. It is expected that the eommittee of farmers and members of the College staff, who are responsible for arrangements for the gathering, will shortly decide upon dates for what in the past has been a threeday session. Registration Of Builders "I definitely do nnt gee &ny great advantage accruing through, the proposed registration of biuilders," said Sir James Fletcher, former Buflding Controller, when interviewed in Dunedin regarding the proposai by the New Zealand Maater Builders' Federation fpr the compulsory registration of all mas=ter builders. "Statgments made by several speakers, that registration would result in the elimination of building firms responsible for shoddy work and would alsp eliminate unfinanciai builders, cannot be accepted," he continued.