LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 March 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Refugee Teachers. Prompted by information of a similar application from Auckland, the Victoria College Council decided last night to apply for a grant of £5OO a year for five years from the Government for the employment of a refugee university teacher or other scholar.

Weight Judging Competition. The correct combined dressed weight of the ewe and lamb in the weight judging competition held at the Masterton Beautifying Society-Y.M.C.A. carnival at the Park last Saturday were: Ewe, 99Jlbs.; lamb, 29,pb5.; total weight, 129Jlbs. The names of the winners will be announced tomorrow.

Sunday Baseball. A resolution of protest against permission being granted to use the Levin Domain on a recent Sunday for a demonstration of baseball was received from church organisations in Levin at this month’s meeting of the Levin Borough Council. The communication was received, the council agreeing to the request by the signatories that the protest be published. More Fruit Bottled.

The import restrictions on preserved fruits are causing added activity among Wanganui housewives in bottling fruit, according to reports from sellers of glass preserving jars today. One leading grocery firm has sold twice as many bottles as last year, and other reports indicate similar increases. Hotels are preserving fruit in quantities.

Proposed Sanctuary. The use of the Waihopai reserve as a sanctuary for game birds was advocated by Mr D. Wishart at a meeting of the council of the Southland Acclimatisation Society. He suggested that half a dozen tame ducks be purchased and placed in the reserve to try to entice the wild duck to the sanctuary. The suggestion was'adopted. Fast Travelling.

Within 24 hours motor-car, rail, ship and aeroplane were used by the leader of the National Party, Mr Hamilton, during his North Island tour. Mr Hamilton passed through Hastings on Wednesday, and that night addressed a meeting of supporters in Gisborne. Yesterday he travelled up the East Coast and by the weekend he will be in the Rotorua district.

Additions to Hospitals. On the casting vote of the chairman, Mr J. Glover, following a nine-all division, the Wellington Hospital Board, at its ordinary meeting last night, adopted the recommendation of the board-in-committee that the architects be instructed to proceed with plans for the erection of blocks B, C, and D of the Centenary Hospital. This work, it is anticipated, will cost between £400,000 and £500,000.

Social Security Building. The building that has been- constructed in Aotea Quay, Wellington, to accommodate the head office staff of the Social Security Department, ,will be opened on Monday by the Prime Minister, Mr Savage. The speakers, in addition to Mr Savage, will be the Minister of Health, Mr Fraser; the Minister of Social Security, Mr Nash; the Minister of Pensions, Mr Parry; the mayor, Mr Hislop; Mr Chapman, M.P. for Wellington North; Mr J. Fletcher, representing the contractors; and Mr J. T. Mair, Government architect.

Echo of Sea Tragedy. “The pathologist’s report corresponds exactly with the age and stature of this boy and I am justified in finding that it is part of Basil Rabe,” said the coroner, Mr F. K, Hunt, S.M., during an inquest at Auckland on a human leg which was found in the surf at Waiheke Island on March 14. Evidence was given that Basil Rabe, aged 17, and Hazel Fisher, of Marumaru, were reported blown out to sea from near Thames on January 30 and that their bodies had not since been discovered. In his report, Dr Gilmour, the pathologist, stated that he estimated that the leg belonged to a male aged about 17.

Land Clearing by Machinery. , Land-clearing, drainage and cultivation by Diesel-powered machinery and implements specially designed for such purpose will be demonstrated on 20 acres near Westport on Tuesday in the presence of representatives of the Government. The demonstration will be opened by the Minister of Labour, Mr Webb, who referred in an interview last evening to the important influence i* was likely to have on the land development of the future. The Minister of Public Works, Mr Semple, will also be present. The machines to be used in the demonstration include treedozers, angledozers, bulldozers, ditching and draining implements, rooters, tractors and discers. Guaranteed Price for Fruit.

The Government has agreed to assist the fruit industry by taking over all fruit produced at a guaranteed price on condition that the New Zealand Fruit-growers’ Federation and the Export Control Board, as representative ‘of the whole industry, ask the Government to bring the proposal into operation. That statement was made yesterday by Mr J. Dicker, chairman of the Nelson Fruit Advisory Committee, and vice-president of the New Zealand Fruit-growers’ Federation. The Government claimed that the guaranteed price would take the place of and would be equivalent to the present export guarantee and the subsidy paid on locally-marketed fruit, he said. Following the offer made by the Government the controlling organisations of the industry took steps to ascertain the opinion of the growers and the Fruit-growers’ Federation Board adopted a'resolution accepting the Government offer of a guaranteed price.