LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 November 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Vita! Statistics. The' vital statistics recorded in Masterton in October were (figures tor October, 1937, in parentheses):— Births, 22 (22); deaths, G (7); marriages, 4 (10). No Bankruptcies. No bankruptcies were recorded in the Wairarapa last month. So far this year only two have been reported. In the previous twelve months there were five. Tramways Dispute. No fresh developments are reported concerning the Wellington tramwaymen’s dispute. Negotiations are in progress for a conference between the Wellington Trades Council and the Tramways Union (acting in conjunction) and the city council.

Drum and Bugle Band. One of the main attractions at the East School bazaar on Saturday last was the presence of the Central School Drum and Bugle band. The boys played several selections which were greatly appreciated by the large number of people present.

Garden Competition. A special prize donated by Mr C. L. Needham and to be awarded to the champion garden in the home, gardep competition promoted by the Masterton Horticultural Society consists of bulbs valued at one guinea, not £1 10s as was stated in error yesterday. Drivers’ Licences.

During October the Masterton Borough Council issued 47 drivers’ licences, making the total to date for the licensing year 2134, as compared with 2244 issued for the last licensing year ending in May, 1938. The Masterton County Council issued 24 licences in October, bringing the total to date this year to 1235. Last licensing year the total for the county was 1250.

Amateur Athletics. The Masterton Amateur Athletic Club’s opening evening run of what promises to be a most successful season will take place on the Park Oval tomorrow, starting at 5.45 p.m. The events will include 50 yards and 75 yards sprints, putting the shot and throwing the javelin. The handicapping will be done on the ground prior to each event. A Tragic Occurrence. Within a few hours of celebrating an unusual anniversary—65 years of married life —Mrs George Dabinett died in Milton on Saturday, aged 88. There was to have been a celebration on Sunday. when the anniversary fell, and 85 guests were invited. Evidently the excitement of the occasion proved too much for Mrs Dabinett. She arrived at Port Chalmers with her parents in the ship William Jane Young. Guaranteed Prices.

The belief that guaranteed prices fixed for this season would ensure dairy-farmers enjoying a standard! of living comparable with that of other sections of the community was expressed by the Minister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Nash, when replying to a protest from the Dargaville-Arapohue branch of the Farmers’ Union. Members considered The reply unsatisfactory, and it was decided to prepare another report to be sent to the Minister. Cleanest Town in World. Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, with a population of 36,000, will shortly be the cleanest town in the world, according to the Consul-General for the Netherlands, Mr A. Claessen, who is returning home by the Aorangi via Canada after a visit to the Dutch East Indies. He said that a scheme was being completed for the central heating of all public and private buildings with water from hot springs. As lighting and other cooking was done by electricity, there would be no smoke and Reykjavik would thus be the cleanest capital city in the world. “In the summer the climate is delightful,” said Mr Claessen. “The highest.temperature we reach is 65 degrees, this being at the seaside. The winters are never very cold, as the Gulf Stream surrounds the island. Flowers grow in profusion and it is possible to grow vegetables.” 4 “Keep Calm And Dig.”

“I suppose never before have so many millions of people been under the same awful dread at the same time, and praying for the same thing,” writes the Rev. R. P. Taylor, formerly assistant curate at St. Barnabas’, Fendalton, and now serving in London, to his father, the Rev. F. N. Taylor, of Amberley, on his experiences during the recent European crisis. ‘‘There seemed hardly a ray of hope. Everywhere groups of people were grimly talking about gas-masks, evacuation, and so on. Hardly a smile anywhere. Even those astonishingly good-hum-oured men, the bus conductors, had lost their power for joking. Placards were awfyl. For instance, ‘Keep Calm and Dig.’ Anything better calculated to make you lose calmness could hardly be imagined. Trenches were being dug all over the open spaces. Gasmasks were being distributed with feverish haste. All the fire stations, hospitals, etc., were sandbagged. All children had their bags at school packed ready for immediate evacuation.”

Missed Their Ship. Rain was falling dismally when two young men walked into the Wellington Central Police Station just before 8 o’clock last night. They were able seamen from the Orient cruise liriei Orcades, they said, and had been left behind because they were under the impression that she was due to leave port at 10 p.m. The actual sailing time was 6.30 p.m. They had only 2s between them when they reached the police station, and were wet through after tramping the streets in a fruitless search for the Orient Line s shipping office. Two stewards had also been left behind in Auckland, they said. The younger of the two sailors, a fair-haired, well-built young man of about 20, was optimistic. ‘’Well, at least I’ve got a trade I can turn to,” he said. “I was a carpenter before I went to sea.” His mate stroked a dark moustache ruefully. “I’m not so lucky,” was his comment. “I’ve no trade, although I know something about handling horses. The only experience I have to back me up is that gained when I was secretary to a journalist.”

The skipper of the first ship to reach Montreal, when the St Lawrence River thaws each year, receives a “prize” of either a silk hat or a silver-mounted walking stick from the mayor of the city.