LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 July 1938, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Central School Dance.

Another highly popular and well attended old-time dance was held in the Central School Assembly Hall on Saturday evening. Mr W. R. Nicol acted as M.C. An enjoyable supper was served by the ladies’ committee. Mrs Beecroft and Master Beecroft were the winners in the Monte Carlo competition. Extras were played by Mr E. Coddington and Mr Hood. A Fast Passage.

Averaging 21.6 knots an hour, the Tasman liner Awatea arrived at Auckland from Sydney yesterday right up to time, in spite of winds and heavy seas over most of the voyage. Captain H. Davey said the ship could easily have beaten her own record for the crossing. Although only five of the six boilers were in use, he found it necessary to slacken speed at noon on Saturday, again at 8 o’clock that night, and still further at 4 o’clock yesterday morning, so as to arrive no sooner than 7 o’clock off North Head.

Charity Ball. The annual Wairarapa Charity Ball will be held in the Municipal Hall, Masterton, on Wednesday, August 3. The committee decided at a recent meeting that no invitations would be issued this year. This measure has been adopted in previous years in order to curtail expenses and tne almost impossible task of reaching everyone in the wide area that the ball covers. The high standard of this ball will be maintained this year under the management of a very capable committee, who will spare no effort to make the ball an outstanding success. The subscription will be the same as previous years, 5/- each.

Value of Pipe Music. “Music is lagging behind in New Zealand,” said Mr C. Travers at the annual dinner of the City of Christchurch Highland Pipe Band. He said that a great deal of good could be done if the Government were impressed with the value of music, and referred to the impression created by the parade of the Scottish units in Sydney. Mr R. Will, secretary of the Provincial Pipe Bands’ Association, referred to the good work that was being done by the newer pipe bands, especially in the North Island, and said it would probably not be very long before the older bands were beaten • in the ! Dominion contests.

Power Interruption. An interruption to the direct electric power occurred in Wellington at 10.30 o’clock last night when flooding in the subway of the main substation in Jervois Quay caused a short circuit. The flooding was caused by the unusually high spring tides which during the last few days have flooded the basements of a number of Wellington buildings which are on reclaimed land. The work of pumping the water from the basement was begun by an engine from the Central Fire Station at 11 p.m. The current was on again for a period of about half an hour from 12.30 o’clock and it was stated at 1.20 o’clock thios morning that the current would be restored to normal within an hour. .

Exceptional Tides. , The highest tides for ,some years have been recorded in Hawke’s Bay during the. past three days. The harbourmaster at Napier, Captain A. McLachlan, said oh Saturday that during the past three days the tides had been about two feet above normal. No record for the purposes of comparison was available at 1 Napier, but he thought the tides of the past few days had been higher than those for some years past. The abnormal tides have caused flooding on several acres of farm lands-in the Clive district. At high water on Friday the sea flowed through a gap in the stop-bank on Mr Orbell’s property, south of the Waitangi Bridge. This bank was breached in the April flood. The Forensic Art.

With six solicitors holding office on the Auckland City Council, bursts of forensic enthusiasm are occasionally heard in the council chamber, but there was one stage of a recent meeting when the proceedings might well have been mistaken for a judicial hearing. A weighty examination of questions of corroboration of evidence was conducted by one solicitor when the case of an alleged breach'by a taxidriver was under consideration, and, in reply, a colleague pursued an equally legal line. Referring to his “learned friend” and addressing the council as “Your worship and gentlemen,” a third barrister made an eloquent plea on the offender’s behalf. The huipour of the situation was maintained by the final speaker, who, although not a legal practitioner, ventured the observation that the punishment fitted the crime. ■

Old Whaling Ship’s Log. The log of a voyage from Sydney to the South Seas, made in 1856 by the whaling barque Woodlark, has been discovered among the records of the Auckland Magistrate’s Court. It is not known how the log came to be placed among the records of the Court, but it it possible that it was produced when the ship’s company was required to appear in connection with the taking of the cargo from’ a brig from Adelaide, which was wrecked on a reef off Australia. The log shows that the voyage was unsuccessful as far as whaling was concerned, but oil was taken from the wrecked brig. Strained feeling between natives on board and the white members of the crew is mentioned, one of the natives having been heard three times to threaten the lives of the white men. The last log entry was on June 29, 1856, the first having been made on March 27. Work of Parliament.

Although the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives is not expected to last as long as in some recent years, it is thought that it may extend into next week. The next important development will be the introduction of the Budget by the Minister of Finance, the Hon W. Nash. The Financial Debate, which gives a further opportunity for members to talk on a wide range of subjects, and, incidentally, allows them twice as long as they receive on the Address-in-Reply, will then follow. The Opposition no-confidence amendment to the Address-in-Reply motion will again be under discussion when the House resumes tomorrow. It is not possible yet to estimate when the social security legislation will come before the House, but the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon M. J. Savage, has given an assurance that only that measure, the Education Amendment Bill and other absolutely essential Bills, will be considered. The work of Parliament may be expedited to some ex- j tent by sitting longer hours, and on extra days, but it seems likely that a full three months will be required. Present indications are for a short election campaign.

Maritime Museum Appeal. An appeal for gifts of old ships’ figureheads and other relics of vessels of former days has been sent out by me National Historical Committee, set up in connection with. the New Zealand centenary to extend the collection in the maritime museum at the Devonport Naval Base. In the grounds of the base there is already a representative collection of memorials of a vanished era of transport grouped in what is known as the f ield of Memories. The committee considers it particularly fitting that efforts should be made to extend this in preparationfor the centennial celebrations, and invites owners of relics to communicate with the secretary at Government Buildings, Wellington, or with the officer in charge of the Naval Base, Auckland.