LOCAL & GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 June 1939, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

Hospital for Hutt Valley. The Wellington Hospital Board at a special meeting last night unanimously decided to apply for permission to raise a loan of £435,000 for the erection of a Hutt Valley hospital, will) the necessary adjuncts.

A Magnificent Spectacle. Those Masterton people who were out of bed this morning at seven o’clock had a magnificent spectacle presented to them, when a cloudy sky was touched with beautiful tints of bronze, rose pink and gold.

Bowlers in New Zealand. An increase in the number of bowlers playing the game as members of clubs affiliated to the New Zealand Bowling Association has increased by 824 in the last 12 months and the total is now 19,039. stated the report which was presented to the annual meeting of the association in Wellington yesterday. There are new 382 clubs on the register, 10 having been granted affiliation during the year.

Uniforms Purchased in 1910. “The uniforms at present being worn by members were purchased in 1910 — so Councillors can draw their own conclusions” —said the Superintendent of the Carterton Volunteer Fire Brigade, who was a member of a deputation which waited on last night's meeting of the Carterton Borough Council. The Superintendent stated that the members did not mind fighting fires, but they did object to having to “cadge” money to carry on the work of the brigade.

Hospital Benefits. “The Government has absolutely no intention of increasing the payments to hospitals under the Social Security Act above 6s a day for each patient,” said the Minister of Health, Mr Fraser, in an interview last evening, when commenting on a statement by Dr. J. P. Hastings, a member of the Auckland Hospital Board. Dr. Hastings had said he had reason to believe that the Government proposed to increase the daily payment for hospital benefits to Bs. The payment will remain at 65,” said Mr Fraser, “and in the opinion of the Government that is quite adequate.” All Black Tour. Alteration to the provisional itinerary of the All Black’s tour of South Africa next year will be recommended to the New Zealand Rugby Council by the Canterbury union. At a meeting of the union’s management committee, members condemned the proposed arrangement, whereby the team plays its second match of the tour at Kimberley, a centre noted for its difficulties of acclimatisation on account of altitude and for crops of injuries, which teams suffer there, because of the hard, flinty ground. It was decided to recommend that matches at Durban. Port Elizabeth, East London, and Oudtshoorn be played before the match, at Kimberley. Borough Council Deadlock. The four members of the Upper Hutt Borough Council who brought a meeting of the council last Thursday night to an abrupt ending by walking out failed to attend last night when the meeting was due to resume. As there were only three councillors present, and four were needed for a quorum, the Mayor, Mr J. Blewman, was forced to adjourn the meeting without any business being done. The deadlock which resulted in the four councillors leaving the meeting on Thursday arose when the mayor introduced the question of the appointment of a representative on the Hutt Valley Power Board to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the former Mayor of Upper Hutt, Mr P. Robertson. Pork Pies in Tins. The packing of a pork pie in a tin caught the attention of the industrial magistrate, Mr J. A. Gilmour, when the Otago and Southland preserved foods, jam and starch factories employees’ dispute was being heard. “Do you really put pork pies in tins?” asked Mr Gilmour, rather incredulously, of an employers’ witness. The answer was in the affirmative, and the magistrate commented that the fact that the public could buy canned pies did not seem to be very well advertised. “That is because canned pies are not sold to any extent in New Zealand,” the witness replied. “They are exported chiefly to New Guinea and the South Sea Islands, where they are very popular.” “Underground Poultry.” Rabbit provides a fairly popular dish in many New Zealand households, but those who enjoy their rabbit stewed, fried, or baked might be more •than a little surprised to hear that in some quarters it is not regarded as meat. This strange fact was brought to light at a sitting of the industrial magistrate in Dunedin, when a factory manager was giving particulars of his employees who were covered under the New Zealand freezing workers’ award. “We can all types of meat.” he said, “and the workers engaged in this work are covered by the freezing workers’ award; that is, except those canning rabbits. The inspector of factories' has ruled that rabbit is not meat.” "Not meat?” queried the industrial magistrate, Mr J. A. Gilmour, with a smile. “What does he call it? Underground poultry?”