LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 June 1938, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Arbitration Court Sitting. A sitting of the Arbitration Court will be held at Christchurch on Wednesday, July 20, to consider the Dominion local bodies' drivers’ dispute.

Frosty! Christchurch yesterday morning experienced the hardest frost since 1934, 14.8 degrees being recorded. The record frost was in 1930, when 20.1 degrees was recorded.

Sidelight of Divorce Court. “This is the 44th divorce I have heard in twenty-four hours,” said Mr Justice Reed in the Supreme Court yesterday, when issuing a decree nisi. “It is the 22nd in which there are no children born of the marriage. I make no comment. I just state the fact.” Lecture at Clareville. „r

Mr F. W. Graham, who for many years was a resident of Clareville, tomorrow will give a free lecture in the Clarevile Hall on his experiences in India and China, and will be pleased if the occasion will enable him to foregather with old friends. An Unusual Accident.

An unusual accident happened on the Castlecliff golf links at Wanganui, when a player was struck on the top of the head by a ball driven from 200 yards behind. The ball just grazed the top of the head, parting a thick crop of hair neatly, and coming to rest about 30 yards further on. The player who was struck went down like a log, but fortunately was only stunned, and was on his feet again almost immediately and able to continue play. A “Fun Map.”

The “fun map” of New Zealand, prepared by the Government Publicity Department for the use of next summer’s holiday tourists and people on pleasure cruises has been released for publication. It subtly combines entertainment and education and is a most attractive advertisement for the Dominion. Some 50,000 copies have been sent overseas to agencies in every part of the world. Meantime, the map is in great demand for the adornment of offices, studies, and nurseries and as a rare example of departmental humour.

The National Party. An announcement is made by the National Party that two nominations for the Wellington Central seat have been received. They are those of Mr C. H. Weston, K.C., and Mr Will Appleton. A selection ballot among members of the party is to take place shortly. Subject to the approval of the national executive, Mr K. F. Jones has been selected as the National Party candidate to contest the Gisborne seat at the general election out of five nominees whose names were submitted to a ballot. Mr Jones, who is 35 years of age, is engineer to the Cook County Council. He is a son of the mayor of Dargaville. Power Failure Coincidence.

When Mr A. Walker complained at yesterday’s meeting of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board of a power failure at Eastbourne early one night in June, he, said that he had had a ship’s engineer”from overseas to dinner that evening, and there was no lighting, heating or cooking power. It had been 10 years since he had had that guest to dinner, and on that previous distant occasion the same thing had happened. No doubt the engineer-general manager had an explanation, but he had told his guest that he associated the failures with his visits. The failure was due to the overloading of a transformer; only Eastbourne was affected, stated Mr E. F. Hollands. A Samoan Memorial.

To perpetuate the memory of the late Major-General Sir George Richardson, former Administrator' of Western Samoa, an Apia message reports, it is proposed to erect a memorial by public subscription in bronze tablet or other form. Tributes are paid to the benefit of his administration, under which the banana industry was inaugurated, hydro-electric plant and the town water supply installed, and a wharf for local shippings was built during his regime. The village water supplies, improved sanitation and gifts of land to necessitous villages are also mentioned by Samoans. Sir George identified himself with the religious and social life of the people among whom he lived and worked.

Political Changes. “It seems that we in New Zealand like to have the same Ministry in Parliament for a generation,” said Mr W. R. Lascelles in an address on politics to members of the Canterbury Advertising Club. “The political history of New Zealand shows that it has created and tolerated Ministries that have lasted for about 21 years.” From 1872 to 1891, with two exceptions, there had been a Conservative Government, and then came a Liberal Ministry, which remained in power until 1912, when Massey was returned with a Conservative Ministry. From 1'912 to 1935 to all intents there had been a Conservative Ministry. “Now the question is whether we are going to have a Labour Ministry for a generation, or whe’ther its activities have outstripped the wishes of the people.” Mr Lascelles remarked.

No 40-Hour Week Then. “There was no 40-hour week in those days,” said Mr Luke Coleman, of Christchurch, who will be 83 on Monday. commenting on the working conditions of New Zealand in his early days. “We worked 16 hours a day for six days a week, and we were paid a shilling a week. I had a penny to myself.” Mr Coleman, whose job it was to watch the pigs foraging in the stubble and to keep them within their bounds, said that there was another young man who had the lowly job of stoning the crows, for which he received the same remuneration. This man. he revealed, was now a very prominent Canterbury man and a former member of Parliament. Later Mr Coleman went “out to service” —a kind of apprenticeship to a landowner. For £5 a year he worked from 5 o'clock in the morning till 8 o’clock at night.

Aerial Railway. The construction of a funicular' or aerial railway to convey visitors to the ski-ing grounds on the slopes of Mt. Ruapehu, at National Park, is likely to be undertaken shortly by the Public Works Department. Departmental engineers have made surveys during the past few weeks to determine the best route, and it is considered that the conveyor, which will be about two miles long, will be electrically driven and mounted on concrete pillars. There has been no announcement of details of the proposal, but it is expected that, if tire scheme is adopted, it will closely follow the lines of the aerial ropeway which it is planned to construct at an estimated cost of £30,000 to open up the magnificent snowfields that feed the Franz Josef Glacier in the South Island.