LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 April 1938, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Loss on Band Contest. The recent band contest in Palmerston North resulted in a loss of £126. The attendance receipts were very disappointing.

Donation Acknowlegded. The Masterton Fire Brigade acknowledges receipts of a donation of £1 Is to its recreation fund from Mr W. J. Gay, in appreciation of services rendered. Aero Club Activities. Mr K. R. Johnston, pilot-instructor of the Wairarapa and Ruahine Aero Club, who is engaged in instruction work at Dannevirke, arrived in Masterton this morning in ZK-ABE. He is returning this afternoon in the club’s Whitney Straight.

Poppy Day Appeal. There was an excellent response to the Poppy Day appeal at Palmerston North yesterday, when £263 was collected. This figure exceeds last year’s by £24. A few returns remain outstanding. Fire Brigade Call.

Escaping vapour from an overflow of hot water from a heater at the .residence of Mr W. J. Gay, Bannister St., was responsible for the Masterton Fire Brigade being summoned at 9.7 p.m. yesterday. No damage was done. Our Volunteer Band.

Few people realise (a correspondent writes) the amount of work bandsmen have to put in before appearing in any local function. With Anzac Day ahead, the men are giving up three nights a week to practising. Tomorrow they go up to Solway to do a spot of marching and so, when they appear in their smart uniforms to help make Anzac Day a success, we vzill appreciate the music and be proud of our bandsmen.

Railway Mishaps. In a statement issued last evening the Minister of Railways, Hon. D. G. Sullivan, announced that immediately upon, the receipt of the inquiry board’s finding in connection with the accident to the Wellington-New Plymouth excursion train near Ratana and the coroner’s finding as to the cause of the fatality in the Aylesbury accident, which are at present sub judice, he intended to release for publication a comprehensive statement reviewing those main line derailments and train accidents that had occurred during the last few years and up to the present time. Moa Bones Discovered.

The thigh bones of a moa were discovered on the bank of a dried up creek at Kourarau by a party of surveyors. The bones measure about 2ft 4in in length. Other remains of the skeleton were in such an advanced stage of decay that they could not be removed intact. Some years ago many bones of the moa and of several other extinct New Zealand birds were discovered in the Ruakakapatuna Valley, Martinborough, an area which has proved particularly rich in remains of this kind.

Choral Service. ' The service at Knox Church tomorrow will be mainly choral. The choir will render Stainer’s -Cantata “The Cruicifixion.” For many years this beautiful work has maintained a high place in the affection of congregations and its interest for singers, from the great cathedral organisations .to the humblest parish church choir, shows no Sign of waning. The music ranges from the introspective and meditative to the most intensely dramatic and poignant. Solos, duets and choruses are interspersed with hymns in which the congregation may participate. Rents of State Houses.

“It is misleading people of this country to suggest that the wage-earner can pay rents asked by the Government from tenants of State houses,” declared the Rt Hon J. G. Coates, in an address at Mangere. Taking an average over 20 years, Mr Coates said, he doubted whether the working man could afford to contribute more than 12s 6d a week. Mr Coates said he would much prefer each house to be subsidised to the extent of £2OO or £3OO, so long as a man on wages had an opportunity of paying rent and eventually making the house his own. Certainly, should there be a fall in prices, the rents at present charged by the State would have to be reduced.

A Tremendous Task. New Zealand is faced with an expenditure of £5,000,000 in the control of rivers, which every year cause widespread damage through flooding. Speaking to a deputation from the Kowhai County Council which waited on him, the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, quoted this figure as being the lowest estimate yet made by engineers, who were investigating the causes of river erosion and other problems throughout the Dominion. Flooding was a danger in the Kowhai district, but the menace there was infinitesimal compared with other cases. The Minister added that had scientifically-planned protective works been undertaken when the first signs of danger became apparent the cost would have been small in comparison with that now facing the country. A tremendous task confronted New Zealand, but the Dominion could not afford to leave it undone any longer. Palm Sunday.

Special services appropriate to Palm Sunday will be held at St. Matthew's Church tomorrow. At 11 a.m. the annual children’s procession of palms will take place. In the morning the choir will render the “March from Olivet to Calvary” (Maunder) and in the evening Stainer's "Crucifixion." The solos will be sung by Messrs G. V. Greer and Frank Thornton (tenors) Wm. C. Mann and Leslie Wales (baritones) and Austin Hale (bass), whilst the quartette will be sung by Mrs Moss. Miss Rose Robinson and Messrs N. Ninnis and Alan Green. The choir will be under the direction of Mr Wm. C. Mann with Mr A. Miller Hope at the organ. At 7 p.m. members of the C.E.M.S. will join with all branches throughout New Zealand in a Revival Service.