LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 March 1939, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Frost In Masterton. ’ A frost of 7.2 degrees was registered in Masterton this morning.

The Unexpected Happened. A Masterton visitor to Wellington observed on Tuesday night, when the alarm of fire was given, that a very large portion of the population of Wellington rushed to the new Social Security building!

Weight Judging Result. The winners of the weight judging competitiori* at the Masterton Beautifying Society’s carnival were Mrs I Le Fort and W. R. Willoughby, who divided first and second prize money between them. The correct drpssed weight of the ewe and lamb was 129.1 lbs. Mrs Le Fort guessed 129Jlbs, and W. R. Willoughby 1291b5. A contribution to the society’s funds is acknowledged from Mrs Le Fort. A Jumping Cow.

A clause in the Stock Auctioneers’ Association’s rules to the effect that any . person entering the yard does so at his own risk was fully appreciated by buyers on the lower benches at Stortford Lodge (Hawke’s Bay) yesterday, when an Aberdeen Angus cow cleared the five-foot rail separating the sale ring from the buyers’ benches, landing at the feet of buyers in the lower benches. Buyers scattered in every direction, but the cow, after glancing in disinterested fashion at the consternation her hurdling feat had caused, turned and leaped back into the ring.

Shipping Strike in San Francisco. As a result of a waterfront strike in San Francisco the position of the shipping services to the South Pacific is at the moment in a state of uncertainty. The sailing time of the Matson liner Monterey for New Zealand and Australia, scheduled for Tuesday, is now indefinite. Only scant details of the trouble have been received in Auckland, and the extent of the dispute is. not known. It is reported, however, that the Hawaiian liner Matsonia, which was to have cleared San Francisco for Honolulu last Friday, has been kept in port. From this information it is considered probable that the dispute has already been of some days’ duration. Increase in Price of Footwear.

Many footwear factories in Auckland and other parts of the Dominion are from two to five months behind with delivery of orders or expect such delays. An anxiety by retailers to acquire stock because of the restriction of supplies from overseas is one of the factors in the situation. Prices of footwear are almost generally advancing, several large New Zealand factories being in a position to advance the reason that, as they have increased wages, production costs are higher. Recent adjustments of factory price lists, affecting footwear yet undelivered in most instances, are said by retailers to show increases from 7J to 10 per cent., this assessment being described by others as a very modest estimate.

Boot Repairers Award. Agreement on the terms of a Dominion award for boot repairers was reached in conciliation council at Christchurch. The hours of work were fixed at 40 for a five and a half-day week. The rates of wages for all male workers, except those paid under rate by special agreement, were fixed at 2/7 an hour or not less than £4 15/- a week, without deduction through sickness, accident or default. Overtime is to be paid for at time and a half for the first three hours and double time thereafter. One week’s holiday on full pay is to be granted to eg c h worker on the completion of 12 months’ service, in addition to nine other idays set down as public holidays to be observed by the industry. Women workers shall receive £4 a week, from which no deduction is to be made for time lost.

Motorist Fined. Nicholas Moore, Masterton, was fined £2 with costs 17s by Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrates’ Court, Petone, yesterday for failing to keep a vigilant look-out for an' approaching train and attempting to cross the railway line at Petone when it was not clear. Inspector A. J. Archer said that defendant drove over the line while the warning lights were operating and the bell ringing. Several cars were stopped on the other side of the crossing. Mr J. R. Scott said that defendant was a Roman Catholic priest. He had been driving behind two other cars which crossed the line before the warning devices began to operate. Defendant’s car was just on the line when the warning signal started and he had either to drive on or back off the crossing. There was then no train in sight. Egg Dumping. Steps to avoid the dumping of eggs on the Wellington market, specially from the South Island, and so eliminate sudden depressions in the wholesale prices in the province were advocated in a remit submitted to the New Zealand Poultry Producers’ Federation at its annual conference in Wellington yesterday. “We have a marketing director, and I simply can’t understand why dumping can’t be stopped with the powers that exist already,” said the president, the Rev. W. F. Stent (Carterton). The Government was as much an agent as anyone else, he added. On the suggestion of Mr G. D. Hunter (Waikato) the remit was amended to refer to the dumping of eggs from any centre in any other centre. “At present eggs are dumped direct on the Auckland market from the State floor in Wellington, much to the annoyance of local producers,” he said. The amended remit was adopted.

Marketing of Eggs. A statement that the Internal Marketing Department’s business _• was being run precisely on the lines it was brought into being to stop was made by Mr T. Gill (Oamaru) at the annual conference of the New Zealand Poultry Producers’ Federation in Wellington yesterday. Mr Gill is a member of the New Zealand Poultry Board. He was opposing a remit from ManawatuRangitikei urging that the department be asked to publish in the Press daily reports of its buying and selling price for eggs. He said that he had done his marketing through the department for two years. The prices he received did not correspond with the published price and were always to the advantage of the department. “I have no fault to find with Mr Picot or his officers,” said Mr Gill. “The fault lies with the policy of the department. It is wrong for the Government to take over a private business and compete on the market with private concerns.” The remit was defeated, as was an amendment that Dominion Distributors be asked to publish payouts weekly.