LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 December 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

No Publication on Monday. The “Times-Age’' will not be published on Monday, January 2.

No Bankruptcies in December.

There were no bankruptcies recorded in the Wairarapa in December. The total for the year is three.

Live Cartridge in Tyre.

A Southland motorist had an unpleasant surprise when he entered his garage to get the car out to take the family to town. He found that one of the modern, low-pressure pneumatic tyres was flat. An investigation revealed that embedded in the tyre was a live .303 cartridge. Petitions for Divorce.!

A total of 497 petitions for divorce has been filed at the Supreme Court at Auckland during the present year. This compares with 491 filed last year, but the increase for the district is really much more substantial, for Whangarei has now a separate office where such petitions may be filed.

Lost Prospector. No trace has been found of Mr John Hudson, a gold prospector who has been missing for 24 days near Puysegur Point. A radio message to Invercargill from the lighthouse keeper at Puysegur says that there are signs that Mr Hudson tried to cross Wilson's River and it is feared that he was swept away. Waterside Worker’s Death.

The death occurred in Wellington Hospital at 3.10 p.m. yesterday of Mr William Perham, of Lower Hutt, waterside worker, who received a crushed chest and severe shock sflien caught between two trucks during shunting operations on the Pipitea Wharf yesterday afternoon. Mr Perham was a married man. He is . survived by his wife and three children, aged 13, 11 and 10 years.

Red Star Cricket Club Dance. The Red Star Cricket Club held a very successful dance in the Arcade Hall last night when a large number of dancers spent an enjoyable time to excellent music supplied by Pool’s Blue River Dance Band. Mr S. Hatch was M.C., and supper was supplied under the supervision of a capable committee. The club will hold its annual New Year’s Eve dance in the Hall tonight. Record Marriage Year.

More marriages have been registered in Auckland this year than ever before in the city’s history. Marriages by the registrar also were a record. Births and deaths were both higher than last year. A total of 3138 marriages was registered, this being the first time that the 3000 mark has been passed. The figure represents an increase of 257 on the 1937 total, which eclipsed the previous record of 2727 marriages set up in 1926. During the war years marriages did not exceed 2000, but there was a rise to 2210 in 1921.

Dustless Highway. Congratulations to Mr F. S. Dyson, district engineer of the Public Works Department, and others associated with him, were extended by Mr F. G. Farrell, president of the Automobile Association (Auckland), on the provision of a dustless highway between Hamilton and Rotorua. It is said that there are only two gaps in the dustless surface on this highway, at the Karapiro bridge, at Cambridge, and at the Oraka bridge, at Tirau. A special emulsion has been applied to the sections not previously permanently surfaced. Quick Money. Sitting in the saddle on the back of Cheval de Vblee while that horse galloped two miles to win the Auckland Cup, H. Long earned just over £2O a minute. From the time the horses left the barrier till Cheval de Volee reached the judge at the finish was exactly three and a half minutes, and as riders are paid £4 per cent of the amount of the stake allotted to the winner—in this case £1750 and a gold cup valued at £so—the ride to the jockey was worth £72. “The Doctor.” j Perhaps to a greater extent than anyone else, the sailor on an oceangoing steamer is subjected to the extremes of climate. One day he might be shivering in a raw whiter that “smells of snoW,” and yet only a week or two later be sweltering under a tropic sun. An Aucklander, writing home from his ship as it nears Holland in freezing weather, tells how he has just left Kingston, Jamaica, where “it’s so hot you can’t get very sunburned, because the perspiration keeps you soaking wet.” No white, he says, could live in the West Indies if it were not for one redeeming feature of the climate. This is a breeze that comes in from the sea every day about 11 a.m. and lasts until four in the afternoon. They call it, fittingly, “The Doctor.” Church Attendances. Attendances at the city and suburban churches around Auckland during the Christmas weekend showed a considerable increase on a year ago, and offertories were also noticeably larger. In the Anglican churches the number of communicants, particularly at the early morning services, showed a marked increase, and people were apparently undaunted by the heavy rain squalls which swept over the city. Between seven and nine o’clock and again later in the morning the sides of the streets near church entrances were lined with parked motorcars, and there were also many people on foot who defied the elements with raincoats and umbrellas. The contrast in attendances with the previous fine Christmas was remarked upon by many vicars. China’s Need of Relief. More than £4OOO has been collected in New Zealand to help to provide for Chinese children left homeless by the Japanese invasion, and advice from Hong Kong indicates that funds for this purpose are badly needed. "The refugees near the British. Concession in Hong Kong comprise a very large proportion of children, and the money that has been sent to Hong Kong by the Far East Relief Committee will be largely used for their succour,” says Dr G. H. Maaka, in a letter to the Joint Council of the Order of St John and the New Zealand Red Cross Society. "Every second person has malaria, there is a terrible lot of beriberi, and several cases of smallpox have been discovered. The authorities naturally are very perturbed about the possibility of an outbreak of smallpox. More than 20,000 refugees are being cared for by other organisations, and these are working very smoothly.”