LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 June 1938, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Increase in Rates. The increase of £18,652 in the rate levy for the current year decided on by the Wellington City Council on Wednesday night means an increase in the rates of approximately id in the £. Australian Defence.

The intention of the Commonwealth Government of Australia to spend £43,000,000 on defence during the next three years was mentioned yesterday by Mr C. E. Critchley, Australian Trade Commissioner, in an address to the Wellington Optimists’ Club. It was going to mean a lot to Australia, said Mr Critchley, as most of the money would be spent in the Commonwealth. The plan was related to the wider scheme of defence of the British Empire rather than to the defence of Australia, and it had been arranged in consultation with the Home Government. All branches of the community were being organised by the Government to help in the plan. A voluntary panel of industrialists had been formed and the transport and communications industries had also been organised.

A Fish for a Name. Kaikoura is justly famed for the fine crayfish—ol’ more properly, rock lobsters —to be caught on the rocky beds of its coast. But few people appear to know that the place was itself named after the delicacy. The Maoris, like the pakeha, were fond of crayfish, and they called the place “Kaikoura,” “kai” meaning food and “koura” crayfish. Decline in Birth Rate. If the number of births in New Zealand continues to fall as it is doing today, the population of the Dominion in 100 years is going to be reduced to 500,000. This was the rather startling announcement made at the annual meeting of the Wairoa branch of the Plunket Society by Dr S. W. J. Harbutt. He stated that one of the most important things to any country was its man power, and, with a falling birthrate, man power was also being reduced. He had heard people ask what was the use of raising children who were to become gun fodder later on. That was an entirely wrong attitude. The bigger the family the stronger a country would be, with the result, he said, that there would be less likelihood of trouble.