LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 July 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

W.F.C.A. Burglary. A check-up on stock yesterday revealed that tobacco and cigarettes to the value of £2 10s, and 25s in cash were taken from the W.F.C.A. in Masterton when the premises were broken into during last week. Kaituna Dance. The Kaituna Dance Committee held a dance in the local hall on Saturday last, when those present spent a very enjoyable evening. Much appreciated music was supplied by Messrs J. West and M. Hunt, and extras were played by Mr C. Bell and Mr M. Hunt. The Monte Carlo waltz was won by Miss J. Laing and Mr O. Wyeth, and the Lucky Spot fox-trot by Mr Bell and partner. This Small World. Mrs H. T. Wood, of Masterton, who is on a visit to Europe, recently called at New Zealand House, and in conversation with the High Commissioner, Mr W. J. Jordan, mentioned that she came from Masterton. At this Mr Jordan took from his pocket-book a clipping, and said: “I see by this that a namesake of mine has been re-elected Mayor of Masterton.” Dinner at Gladstone.

Mr J. Griffith, of the Gladstone Hotel, on Saturday night entertained Mr D. Kennedy, club captain of the Wairarapa and Ruahine Aero Club, and a large number of friends at dinner in honour of Mr Kennedy’s approaching marriage to. Miss A. Beetham. It was a most enjoyable gathering, and best wishes were expressed for Mr Kennedy’s future health and happiness.

All Black Transferred. C. K. Saxton, the South Canterbury half-back, who at present is touring Australia with the New Zealand Rugby team, will go to Invercargill to live immediately upon his return to New Zealand. Saxton is a warehouseman in the employ of Ross and Glendining, Ltd. He will be transferred from the Timaru branch to the Invercargill branch. Whether Saxton will play for Southland this season is not known. He will probably arrive at Invercargill before the Hawke’s Bay-Southland game, but he will not be able to play for Southland until he has lived in the Southland district for three weeks.

Rotarians Return. Rotarians who attended the international convention in California and returned to Auckland by the Niagara yesterday were Messrs G. W. Hutchison, who was elected District Governor in New Zealand, M. P. Brown, Napier, P. Price, Melbourne, C. Hockin, Perth, and.G. P. Drakeford, Manila. Mr Hutchison said that the people in California were all talking “recession,” He saw many shops and offices empty in San Francisco and Los Angeles. “The people with whom I spoke blamed Roosevelt’s legislation,” he said. “They seemed surprisingly bitter toward the President.” Public Works Estimates.

The Estimates of public works expenditure for the current financial year will be tabled in the House of Representatives today. The usual practice is for these to appear simultaneously with the Consolidated Fund Estimates and the Budget, but this year, owing to pressure of work in the Government Printing Office, it was not possible to have them ready in sufficient time for presentation last week. When the House resumes today the Financial Debate will be continued. This is expected to occupy the best part of the coming fortnight.

Self-sufficiency in Greece. That Greece was the most extraordinary example he had seen of a country impoverishing itself in its search for national self-sufficiency was the opinion of Mr Wayne H. Fisher, of Los Angeles. Mr Fisher, a member of the South Californian Institute of Pacific Relations, is visiting Christchurch. In' order to increase the grain crop, olive groves and orchards which had flourished for centuries had been destroyed and the land ploughed up, he said. Because of the steepness of the hillsides, erosion had set in immediately, and the fertile patches were rapidly losing their soil. Measles in Auckland.

At least 10 per cent of primary school scholars throughout the Auckland district, and about 100 teachers, have been absent with measles in the past two months. In the North Shore districts both German and ordinary measles were prevalent, a doctor states, and a fairly high percentage of children had been obliged to absent themselves from school. Office staffs in the city do not, generally speaking, appear to be much affected. Inquiries made among school authorities suggest that, from the viewpoint of numbers, the primary schools are still badly affected. There are ,40 teachers away on sick leave. In one 'of the smaller country schools south of Auckland there are 70 children absent out of a total school roll of 250.

Deaths by Drowning. There were 128 death's by drowning in New Zealnd during 1937, stated the National Committee of Swimming and Life-Saving in its report on the “Learn to Swim Week,” which was held during December last year. In the first three months of 1938, there were 77 deaths by drowning, or 12 more than those caused by motor accidents. A distressing feature of these fatalities was that the average age of the victims was 22 years, and 17 had 34 other persons dependent on them. The charge to the State and the potential value of those who lost their lives could not be estimated, stated the report, but any action taken to reduce drowning accidents was a step by which such charge and value could be reduced, and from the result of the first “Learn to Swim” week the national committee believed that it had achieved something toward that end.