LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 September 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Frozen Meat Market. Messrs Levin and Co. Ltd. have received the following cable from theii London agents, dated September 15, 1938: “Frozen meat quotations are unaltered. The demand is very poor and the market is dull.”

N.Z. Tennis Tournament. The New Zealand championships tournament are to be held in Christchurch from December 31, 1938, to January 7, 1939, both inclusive, and the New Zealand junior championships tournament in Wanganui from January 11 to 14, 1939, both days inclusive.

Christmas Shopping Hours. The Hastings Retailers’ Association has decided to make, application to the Labour Department to secure an extension of shopping hours for weekdays preceding the Christmas holiday period. Mr C. Griffiths, president of the association, said provision was made in the ’ award for an extension of shopping hours at such a period, and it was proposed to secure authority for an extension to six o’clock from Monday to Thursday inclusive, and to 10 o’clock on the late night, Friday, in that week.

Housing Clause Objected To. The Wellington Ratepayers’ Association takes strong exception to a clause in the Wellington City Housing Bill which makes provision for the city council raising a loan of £50,000 without the consent of ratepayers. “The majority of the ctiy councillors elected in May last accepted unequivocally as part of their election platform the proposition that the city council raise no loans without first having the sanction of ratepayers as declared by poll,” says a statement issued by the association.

England’s New Housing. One of the developments in England that impressed Archdeacon Whitehead, who has just returned to Dunedin from an extensive tour of Great Britain and the Continent, was the enormous extent of new housing, both in the cities and in the country. He said, in an interview, that the architecture of a great deal of it was to be deplored, as ’ was the great development of flat-building in the south of England. The north of England was not adopting flats, however. “They don’t like flats up there,” he said, “and this type of accommodation is still comparatively rare.”

“Cold Pig” on the Shelves. “Every bookseller of any size has his graveyard of what he terms ‘cold pig,’ ” said Mr A. J. Coveney in an address to the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Libraries’ Association. “It is not what a bookseller sells, but what he doesn’t sell, that creates his biggest problems. To justify his being called a bookseller he must of necessity keep a representative stock, knowing at the same time that quite a percentage of his stock will not find a ready sale. A few copies of an important book left over may. easily absorb all the profit from those sold.” Band Concert at Park.

The Masterton Municipal Band will play the following programme at the Park on Sunday, commencing at 2.45 p.m.:—March, “Lyonia” (Trussell); hymn, “God Defend New Zealand” (J. H. Woods); cornet solo, “Your Dear Brown Eyes” (Stephen Adams); selection, “Lucrezia Borgia” (Donizetti); march, “The Fighting Brigade” (Drury); horn solo, “Silver Threads Among the Gold” (arr. Allison); hymn, “Lead, Kindly Light” (arr. Caros); fox trot, “The Merry-go-round Broke Down” (arr. Debham); tone picture, “Norwegian Cradle Song” (Morel); march, “The Kangaroo” (Bailey).

Biiiiards and Snooker. Playing in the Y.M.C.A. billiards and snooker competition last night Daniells and Post Office drew, each side winning five games. Details are, Daniells’ players mentioned first in every case:— Billiards: F. Watson beat V. Missen; B. Reid lost to G. Marsh; H. Slight lost to J. Dunbar; S. Allan beat F. Connor; O. Gaskin beat L. Thompson. Snooker: F. Watson lost to V. Missen; B. Reid lost to G. Marsh; H. Slight lost to J. Dunbar; S. Allan beat F. Connor; O. Gaskin beat L. Thompson. Next Tuesday, Catholic Club will play Y.M.C.A. B and on Thursday Post Office will meet Pioneers.

Von Tempsky’s Anniversary. Seventy years ago the gallant Von Tempsky, “the most conspicuous and romantic figure among the white scouts who had mastered the art of bush warfare,” fell rallying his men at the engagement of Te Ngutu-o-te-manu, inland from Hawera. The attack on Titokowaru and his insurgent native followers was led by Colonel McDonnell, but they encountered the enemy skilfully posted in the bush. Their hot and accurate fire drove the white force back, and Von Tempsky was among the 20 who were killed in the engagement.

Vegetarian Rats.

City rats like a green leaf diet occasionally, as a Christchurch amateur gardener discovered to his cost lecently. He bought a box of well-grown nemesia plants and took them to his office. As the office was kept very warm by central heating, he thought the plants would be better in a cool atmosphere, so he left them in the bicycle shed in the basement of the building. When he went to get them at the end of his day’s work he found that the rats had made a meal of them, cutting them down to mere stumps, and even burrowing down in places to get at the roots.

Business and Politics.

“We want private enterprise to do the job in New Zealand, the Leader of the Opposition and of the National Party, the Hon Adam Hamilton, told the conference which met in Wellington yesterday to discuss the encouragement of private enterprise as against State action. He added a warning: “We’ve got to make the capitalist system work, otherwise it is ‘going west’; the capitalist system won’t work if it is going to be exploited. If you can run efficient businesses, giving service, that is what the people want, but if private enterprise tries to exploit society we can’t stand for it,” he said. “Private enterprise has got to prove that it is more efficient than Socialism. You know your own business best, we know tfie political side. We trust you to give the best service.” The Labour Party, Mr Hamilton said, "wanted to bring’ everything into the clutches of the State; the National Party wanted private enterprise to show that it could do what was required better than the Government.

Friendships in Germany

A novel method used in Germany by young men who wished to become acquainted with young women was mentioned by Mr Victor C. Peters, of Christchurch, in an address to the Christchurch Business Men’s Club. All the tables in a hotel he had visited were equipped with telephones, he said, and if a young man desired to become acquainted with a young woman at another table, he rang her on the telephone. When she asked at which table he was sitting, he would give the number, and after scrutinising him she would reply whether she wanted to. meet him or not. Bible Society Activities.

This year being the 400th anniversary of the English Bible has naturally focused some attention on the activities of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and it is interesting to note that the Bible Society recently received into its library a Gospel in the thousandth language to be there represented. There are now on the society’s lists of languages and dialects 723 in which they have produced editions of the Bible, and this imposing number has grown thus: —One hundred languages on the list by 1824, 200 by 1871. 300 by 1892, 400 by 1906, 500 by 1917, 600 by 1928, and 700 by 1936. Of recent years some 12 new translations have been made annually. Eight years ago a Gospel was translated into Worrora, which is the language spoken near Broome in North-western Australia. Though the people number only 300, their speech is understood by other ti ibes living to the south, east, and north-east, of them, and also by a smaller tribe called the Yaujibai, living on the Montgomery Islands. In all there are only, about a thousand people who speak Worrora—which is a most complicated tongue, having no fewer than 171 forms of the verb “to be.”