LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 December 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

University Degree Results. The following ex-pupils of Wairarapa College have passed in the University of New Zealand degree examinations: —Education 1, first 8.A., Alice E. Brenkley, L. J. Coup, I. J. McLachlan, final 8.A., Hazel M. Pettit; pure mathematics, final 8.A., E. C. Coddington. Te Wharau Accident.

The Masterton Hospital authorities report thtat Mrs R. McKersey, who was injured in a motor accident on the Te Wharau Road on Sunday, spent a comfortable night. Both her legs were broken, one of the fractures being a compound one.

Knox Sunday School Building. An interesting feature of the new Knox Sunday School building, at present under construction is the use of “coke-breeze” bricks for the inner partitions, which are thus rendered fireproof and sound-proof and into which nails can be driven. The bricks are light to handle and this is an advantage of considerable merit.

Rotary Club. At this week’s luncheon of the Masterton Rotary Club the children of local orphanages will be given their annual Christmas treat. The speaker for the occasion will b'e Mr C. E. Wheeler, of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, who will talk on a tour of New Zealand lighthouses in the Government steamer Matai under the command of Captain Burgess. The Rotary Club will go into recess until February 3 following .this week’s meeting. Shag Menace to Trout.

Results of his investigations into the shag menace on inland waters of New Zealand were placed before the annual conference of the council of South Island Acclimatisation Societies by Mr H. G. Williams, of Dunedin, who has given 17 years’ study to the problem. Mr Williams said that he had examined the stomachs of 1680 shags, and these contained a total of 9944 trout. Of the shags examined, only five contained eels. Mr Williams contended that the shag fed on the food which was most abundant in the water in which it was operating.

To School by Air. The suggestion that in, say, 25 years children might be taken to school in aeroplanes was made by Mr W. P. Spencer, member of the Canterbury Education Board, in speaking at the opening of the new Belfast School. “We are living now ,< in, a changing age. Things are moving quickly,” said Mr Spencer. “Who knows? In another 10 years this school may be out-of date. We have seen consolidation come, and children are being conveyed in up-to-date vehicles. In another 25 years they may be conveyed in aeroplanes. You may think that is a lot of .‘boloney,’ ladies and gentlemen,” he added, when his words brought a smile, “but it is not.” Early Morning Fire. /

Thick smoke made it difficult for firemen from the Central Fire Station to extinguish a fire in the premises of Vickery and Inkersell, Ltd., photo engravers and stereotypers, Boulcott Avenue, Wellington, early this morning. The fire was caused when sparks fromt an incinerator on the first floor of the building ignited a pile of rubbish stacked round the furnace. Fairly extensive damage was done to one of the outside walls of the building, but firemen quickly brought a relay of bucket pumps into action, and soon had the blaze under control. It was fortunate that the fire did not spread to the floor above as a large quantity of chemicals and other highly inflammable material was stored there. Deteriorated' Lands.

A decision to ask the Government to appoint a commission to make an immediate investigation of deteriorated lands with a view to national action was reached by the Stratford executive of the Farmers’ Union after consideras tion of the serious position in the back country of Taranaki. A remit was passed which asked that the Government set up a commission to take evidence and bring down a .report on deteriorated lands and abandoned farms with a view to the promotion of land settlement and increased production and to make available land for young farmers who had proved their capabilities. Mr H. A. Hunt said he felt that the matter had been allowed to drift by both the previous and the present Governments until it threatened the welfare of New Zealand. Famous Coalmine (Closed.

The last chapter in the history of the famous Blackball mine—once one of the most important in the South Island and employing several hundred men —has been written in the last few days. A deputation of miners employed there met the Minister of Mines, Mr Webb, when he went to Blackball last week, and though the deputation was in private it was later announced that the 40 men working the area were seriously concerned at the possibility of fire spreading underground, and of a “creeping” of the strata. An inspector of the Mines Department investigated, and the next day the mine was ordered to be closed. In the space of a few hours from the making of the decision the miners were given temporary work' on Scheme 13 unemployment jobs on public properties near Blackball, and the old mine was closed, almost certainly, for ever. Handshake Across the Sea.

A notably friendly note is struck in a letter of Christmas greetings from England received by the Advertising Department of the “Times-Age” today. It was from the Managing Director of a British advertising agency which controls a large account with the “Times-Age” and read as follows:— “ ‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast,’ wrote Pope in his ‘Essay on Man.’ It is a well-known quotation, and one cannot fail to realise the truism expressed. Throughout this year we have seen so much turmoil, so much chaos, precipitated by international upheavals which threatened to upset the peace of the world. Yet, despite everything, we have managed to avert the most serious catastrophe—a European war. Let us hope then, that we shall shortly see a return to peaceful conditions in Spain and the Far East and that all enmities and prejudices will soon be forgotten. We all hope for greater tolerance and trust between nations and that in the New Year we shall be able to consolidate and safeguard those things which we have so earnestly endeavoured to protect. We ask you to accept this letter as our handshake across the sea, and a an expression of our sincere appreciation of the many services you have rendered us and our clients. We hope that you and yours will have a very happy Christmas and that the New Year will bring you increased prosperity.”