LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 September 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

“Happy Fathers.” Last week no fewer than four members of a Masterton joinery factory became “happy fathers.”* State Houses at Masterton. Cabinet has accepted the tender of W. Rigg Ltd., for the erection of six state houses at Masterton. Wellington Competitions. At the Wellington musical and elocutionary competitions yesterday Miss Leah Johnston (Masterton) won the ladies’ negro spiritual with 83 points. Miss D. F. E. Junker (Pahiatua) being third with 81 points. Miss Johnston is a pupil of Mr T. Vaughan, of Masterton.

The Dredge Kerimoana. On the last stage of her long voyage the Wellington Harbour Board’s new hopper dredge Kerimoana left Westport at 12.15 p.m. yesterday for Wellington. If she meets with favourable weather on the run up the coast, the Kerimoana will take about 40 hours from Westport, and should arrive at Wellington on Sunday morning. The dredge left Glasgow on March 13, and thus has taken nearly six months to reach Wellington.

Tramways Dispute. A further discussion between the tramways committee of the Wellington City Council and representatives of the Wellington Tramways Employees’ Union, was held on Thursday, when matters in dispute between the two bodies were discussed. When interviewed yesterday, the Mayor of Wellington, Mr T. C. A. Hislop, would - not make any statement about the conference, beyond saying that the final decision would be made by the tramways committee. Women’s Place in Japan.

“A few years ago Yokohama was a small fishing village, and now it is a city of 800,000 people,” said Mr E. Nichol, Junr., in an address to the Invercargill Orphans’ Club. “There are modern buildings and up-to-date hotels providing European meals prepared by French chefs. Women act as porters and carry the luggage upstairs. Man is supreme, and women are nothing but chattels, and hardly more than animals. Men do just as they like and the women folk take it for granted.” Preservation of Forests.

“Very few individual settlers have paid any attention to forest preservation,” said Mr A. J. Wattie, of Hawke’s Bay, in a paper dealing with afforestation and its relation to flooding, at the annual conference of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors at Auckland. He said that on hundreds of hill country farms one might see steep shaded faces cleared of bush. They were such that they would never grow productive pasture and, by reason of steepness and the decaying of roots that formerly held the soil together, they were fast becoming denuded of top soil and rapidly growing barren. Strange Death of Tree.

Mystery surrounds the death of a willow tree, which has added to the beauty of the section near the Ridgway Street entrance to Cook’s Gardens, Wanganui, for the last 25 years. For an unaccountable reason the tree recently withered and died and had to be felled. In the opinion of the caretaker of Cook’s Gardens the damage has been caused by a nearby leakage of gas. To support his contention the caretaker stated that in recent years he had planted twelve young trees in the section and only a few had survived.

Value of Standards. The advancing mechanisation associated with trade and industry, indeed with the whole of social organisation, was making demands upon the engineers which could not be met except by a corresponding increase in the application of the standards principle to their activity, states the annual report of the New Zealand Standards Institute. Standards, by predefining dimensions, patterns, strengths, methods of test, construction, and installation, and all related factors and considerations, greatly simplified the complexity of the procedure of designing, manufacturing, installation, and operation.

Government as Ratepayer. “The Government has said it is prepared to pay for services rendered; but if it does not pay rates is the City Council prepared to cut off the services rendered by the city, such as water supply and rubbish removal?” This question was asked by the City Rate Collector (Mr J. K. Macdonald) at a conference of local bodies in Christchurch convened to discuss the writ-ing-off by Mortgage Adjustment Commissions of unpaid rates. The chairman (Cr G. Manning): “You propose direct action?” Mr Macdonald: “Absolutely.” Discussion on this suggestion lapsed when Cr E. H. Andrews remarked that questions of health had to be taken into consideration.

Mouse in Beer Bottle. “What is a ‘sighter’?” asked Mr Justice O’Regan in the Arbitration Court in Auckland when a witness in the Auckland brewers’ and bottlers’ dispute used the word in describing work in a brewery. The witness said a sighter was a man who inspected bottles after washing for faults in the glass and for dirt. “Some years ago there was a case in Scotland in which there was a mouse in a bottle,” said his Honour. “A woman drank the beer and became ill. The brewer dropped into a heavy claim for damages. Do you ever find any mice?” Mr N. V. Douglas, who was appearing on behalf of the workers in the dispute, replied: “They are more skilful in New Zealand, your Honour.” . Centennial Fund. The Bishop of Wellington, the Rt. Rev. H. St. Barbe Holland, last night completed the visitation of nine more parishes, in the course of his tour to launch the Anglican diocesan centennial appeal for funds to build the Wellington Cathedral, and establish the bishop’s fighting fund for general diocesan needs. A further £5OOO has been subscribed. The bishop, accompanied by Canon D. B. Malcolm, has been through the Wanganui, Patea, Opunake, Taihape and Mangaweka districts since leaving Wellington a fortnight ago? The £5OOO includes three gifts of £5OO each, and represents contributions by 50 people. It is not expected that this will be the full or only response of these districts, ds the bishop has merely been launching the appeal in each parish. So far the bishop’s personal endeavours therefore have raised £13,000 in the course of his tour through 21 parishes.