LOCAL AND GENERAL

Chronicle (Levin), 1 July 1947, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Budget in Few Weeks It was hoped to present the Budget at the end of July or early in August, said the Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash). Turkish Figs Arrive For the first time in seven or eight years, 'a shipment of Turkish figs has arrived in Wellington and this delicacy is npw on sale in the city shops. Tribute to Polic* A tribute to. the efflci'ency of the police was paid by Mr. Justice Callan in the Suprerqe Court at_ Auckland, when he tiafl before him for sentence two men '-who were caught stealing from a warehouse. "You may feel that yO'ii got nothing out of it," he >told them. "That is due to the vigilance and expedition of the very - competent pblice forpe that this- country-is fortunate to possess." .. " / •

Flood Inspection by Air The importance of ' an aero club in community activities was demonstrated on Saturday and Sunday j during the time of the distriot floods. Throughput both days the I Middle Districts Aero Club Percival I Procter and Tiger Moths were fully engaged on trips-over the stricken areas. Most calls for the aireraft service came from farmers of the district who • inspected their properties from the air and attempted to determine the position of their stock on their fiooded estates. ; Hares in Trpuble; Although stock in the Manawata district generally came through the weekend floods safely, the hare population appeared to have been particularly distressed. Near Tiakitahuna, ' where the raiiway embankment was ahnost the only part of the cquntryside above water -level, mapy hares too.k

refuge along the rails, ' with the result that farmers with rifl.es had a good day's sport. Flood-watehers at Karere took an amused and not unsympathetic interest in the plight of one rodent which had sought asylum On top of a strain-ing-post and was cut off from I escape by the steadily rising water. Office "Seniors" The present shortage of female labour has led many clothing manufacturers and woollen mills to experiment with male labour in the place of females. In many cases this type of work has proved very suitable for disabled ex-ser-vicemen, A further deyelppment in this eifort to use ali possible labour resourees has arisen in Wellington where Qiflee juniors are very diflicult tp obtain. The National Employment Service recently interested a number pf firms in empioying eiderly men instead of youtns as "Qfflce juniors" and four gatisfactory engagements h.ave so f.ar beep made. Pubiic Trust Business Estates to the vaiue of £674,245 were reported and accepted for administration , . by - the Pubiic Trustee during the month of May, 1947. The totai vaiue of estates and funds under administration by the Pubiic Trustee on March 31, 1947, was £66,833^004 and the new business for -the two months ended May 31 was £1453,592. Grants of administration made by the court in fayour of the Pubiic Trustee numbered 209 for the monthDuring the month 615 new wiiis appointing the Pubiic Trustee executor were prepared on behaif of testators and lodged for safe custqdy, and 559 existing wiiis were revised to provide for changes desired by testators. The tatai number of wihs npw hefd in the Pubiic Trust Ofilce oii behaif of J living persons is 136,687. • V* -> ■ . v" .

Dilatory Motorists Despite the fact that considerable warni'ng had been given motorists, some 40 per cent. failed to display the new reg-jstration slips on their windscreen this morning, said the district traffic inspector, Mr, M- Kehoe. There were aisp many who had not yet re-regigtered their vehicles. The excuses tendered by the majority of pffenders were that they had forgotten the date, or had left the new slips. in their offices. Diesei Plant Available The provision of Diesei plant to provide auxiliary electric power to oyercome the present shortage was considered by a eommittee of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, which reported its findings to the - council. " Inquiries conflrmed that 20 Diesei generating sets were ayailable in America for immediate shipment. The eommittee advocated setting up a purehasing commissiQn, -with representatives of the Government and power boards, to obtain plant which wouid meet the shortage in the next 12 to 18 months. Fourteen Days' Imprispnment In the Palmerston North Magistr.ate's Court yesterday Mr, C. C. Marsack, B,M„ senteneed two men, joseph Daiy, a labourer, born in England, of no fixed abode, and James Edward Ashley Perry, - a labourer, born in New Zealand, pf ho flxed abode, to fourteen days' imprisonment. They had been charged with being found on enciosed premises without lawfui excuse. Senior-Sergeant Audley, who conducted the prosecuiion, said the men had been found in a shed in the Pubiic Works yard and that their explanation had been that they had gone- there to shelter from the rain. The Magistrate intimated later " that he was not satisfied with the .excuse, i 'v