LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 July 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Frost and Fog. A frost of 7.1 degrees was registered in Masterton this morning. Masterton was enveloped in a thick fog for some lime in the early part of the morning. Overseas Funds. A slight improvement in the overseas funds of the Reserve Bank and the returns of the six trading banks is shown in the latest returns. On Monday the sterling Bank stood at £5,580,075, an increase for the week of £23,278. Deducting overseas liabilities, the bank’s net overseas assets at the beginning of this week amounted to £5,510,461, compared with £5 462,249 on July 10, an increase of £48.212.

Use, not Preservation. When the Carnegie Corporation makes gifts to educational bodies it contemplates that they will be used to the fullest extent, even at the cost of wear-and-tear. The Auckland Training Coliege is shortly to receive from the corporation an art teaching set, consisting of hundreds of photographs, and a large collection of books. The lecturer in art ’at the college, Mr R. Donn, said recently that while in America' he had been informed that, in the corporation’s view, the material should be showing signs of wear in five years, and should be quite worn out in ten. Otago’s Centennial Memorial.

“I feel sure that it was your action which ultimately resulted in a change being made in the form of Otago’s centennial memorial,” Mr P. O. Smellie (president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce) told members of the Dunedin Junior Chamber of Commerce at a meeting recently. “Your action prevented the perpetration of a mistake which would have been‘a blot on the city.” The Junior Chamber had freely criticised the illuminated fountain proposal at a time when most others were accepting it in a half-hearted manner. “I think that is a feather in your cap,” concluded Mr Smellie. Church Competitions.

The judge’s report on the last two of four Dominion competitions in connection with the Centenary of the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand, has been received. In the short story contest five entries were received. Result: R. S. Watson, Ashburton, “The Clock,” 1; Cantab, “The River,” 2; Hospes Conjunx, “Plough for God,” 3. The last two remain anonymous. Sixty entries were received for the hymn tune competition, the judge, Dr Galway, Dunedin, reporting that not one satisfied the preliminary requirements, but, as he was convinced that no ungrammatical poem would have been accepted in the words competition, he' saw no reason why the rule should be relaxed for the music.

Supplies of Onions. While a few hundred tons of Japanese onions, imported by the Internal Marketing Department for distibution throughout the Dominion, are. due to arrive at Auckland early next week, a consignment of New Zealand onions is to be exported by the Awatea from Wellington today. It is stated that the apparent inconsistency is due to the fact that, because of droughts and fires in Australia and the consequent shortage ■of onions there, orders were placed in New Zealand some time ago and growers are complying with their contracts. At the same time marketing officials here estimated what the shortage in New Zealand would be and ordered from Japan accordingly. If they would “keep” there would be sufficient New Zealand onions to fulfill the demand, but they went bad if kept too long, it was stated.

Money from Lodge. A decision that the United Ancient Order of Druids must pay funeral and death benefits in respect of one. of its deceased members to his widow, the money not forming part of his estate, was given by the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in the Supreme Court, Wellington, yesterday. In August, 1937, Edwin Hugh Gough, Petone, died without leaving a will. The widow contended that £l2O in death and funeral benefits from the United Ancient Order of Druids was payable to her, but children of the deceased by a former marriage claimed that the money formed part of the estate and that they were entitled to part of it because the deceased died intestate. In a reserved decision his Honour, after discussing previous decisions and the Friendly Societies Act, said that the rules of the society constituted the contract between the member and the society, and it was under the rules that the money became payable. Therefore, under them the society was entitled to pay the money to the member’s widow.

Boy Scouts’ Observation Test. Much interest and curiosity were aroused in Christchurch on a recent morning by the sight of a number of Boy Scouts carrying out an observation test, the first exercise of this sort that has taken place in Christchurch. Eleven patrols of six scouts took part, each being provided with a note-book in which were pasted photographs of the following 12 subjects: The old ford over the Avon opposite the Supreme Court; part of the Supreme Court building; the Edmonds Clock Tower; a plaque on the Bridge of Remembrance; a tree at the corner of Latimer Square; door of the old Provincial Council Chamber; door of the Girls’ High School; the Scott statue; Bowker Fountain in Victoria Square; Edmonds band rotunda; Queen Victoria statue; part of a well-known building in Cashel Street. These had to be located and their position and any interesting facts known about them noted in the book Rover Scouts were stationed at intervals along the route to observe and award points for the carrying out of traffic rules at crossings, dress, and general conduct and discipline. The first patrol to finish took about two hours and the last about two hours and a half. There were few failures to locate the various objects and the general standard was good, though some, of the descriptions of them were amusing.