LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 October 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Vital Statistics. Following are the vital statistics registered at Masterton for September, the figures for the corresponding month last year being given in parentheses: Births. 19 (32); deaths. 17 (12); marriages, 8 (11). Harrier Club Dance.

The Masterton Municipal Hall was well-filled with dancers on Saturday night, when the Masterton Harrier Club held its final dance of the season. Messrs J. Hunter and J. Long were capable M’s.C., and excellent music was supplied by the Blue River Dance Band. Drivers’ Licences. The Masterton Borough Council issued 38 motor drivers’ licences during September, making the total issued to date, 2,087. Twenty-five motordrivers’ licences were issued by the Masterton County Council during September, bringing the total issued to date to 1,211.

Gathering of Odd Fellows. Sixteen members of the Loyal Heart of Oak Lodge were present at an Odd Fellows rally held in the lodge room. Masterton on Saturday evening. A very pleasant time was spent by the members of the various lodges present, including a number of visitors from Wellington. A return visit to the city will probably take place early in January. An Italian Denial.

The Royal Italian Consulate at Wellington states that the news of rioting in Milan and of desertion by Italians daily crossing the French frontier, reported by the Paris correspondent of the “News Chronicle” and published on September 30, is absolutely without foundation. “The dispatch of such false news at this moment demonstrates the desire of anti-Fascist circles to reduce the merit of the gesture Signor Mussolini made toward securing world peace,” the Consulate states. Building Permits.

Only one new dwelling was included in the seven building permits issued by the Masterton Borough Council during September. The total value of the permits was £2,803 10s. For the coi responding month of last year, seven peimits were issued of a total value of £1,974 ss. For September of 1936, 16 permits were issued of a total value of £8,607 13s 3d. The Masterton County Council issued 8 building permits duiing September of a total value of £2,344.

Road Cycling Championship. ■ Riding consistently all the way, C. W. Shilton (Rangiora) won the South Island 100-mile cycling championship on Saturday. Shilton started off the scratch mark, states a Christchurch Press Association telegram. C. J. Brown, off 27min, finished first, beating E. D. Taylor (20min), by half a wheel in an exciting finish. Taylor’s performance was particularly meritorious, for he was six minutes behind the first bunch at-Dar-field. Conditions were fairly favourable for the race, although several rough patches were encountered on the roads.

Railway Freights. It is evident that the Minister of I Railways is endeavouring to avoid raising tariffs,’but circumstances are apparently too much for him and a new tariff chargeable on the railage of wool shows an increase,” said Mr A. E. Jull, National candidate for Waipawa, when discussing at Onga Onga on Saturday night the losses being made by the Railways-Department. Mr Jull told his audience that during the last woolselling season the' German buyers of wool at the Napier sale wishing to rail their purchases to Wellington, for transhipment to a foreign ship, made a special deal with the Railways Department whereby they had the wool railed to Wellington for 3s 9d a bale, against the tariff rate of 9s 3d. This said Mr Judd, not only resulted in an obvious loss for the railways, but deprived the Napier Harbour Board of the wharfage on the wool.

Political Broadcasting. A denial of the statement of the Minister of Education, the Hon P. Fraser, that the broadcasting allocation to the National Party for the election campaign was the same as the previous Government had offered the Labour Party at the last election, was given by the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Adam Hamilton, in an address at Waikaka. “It was nothing of the sort,” said Mr Hamilton. “We were never consulted about the number of broadcasts or the night we should have. We had no part in setting the stage for broadcasting the election campaign. Before the last election, when we discussed broadcasting arrangements, we took the leader of the Labour Party, who is the present Prime Minister, and the senior whip of the party into our confidence and had a conference. There is no justice or truth in Mr Fraser’s statement,” he continued. “We had no conference this time. We were told the number of addresses and the nights set down were our allocation.. We took what we were given, and I can say without hesitation that our six men will be as good as their 10.” (Applause.)