LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 August 1939, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

New Pictorial Serial. Commencing on Monday next, following the conclusion yesterday of the feature "Tail Spin.” by courtesy of 20th Century-Fox Films, the “TimesAge” will present a pictorial serial strip of the life of Alexander Graham Bell. This story will be presented in six instalments on Mondays and Fridays for three weeks and will describe some of the highlights in the life of the inventor of the telephone. Frost in Masterton. A frost of 9.4 degrees was registered in Masterton this morning. Reduction in Price of Sugar. The Colonial Sugar Refining Company has made a further reduction of ten shillings per ton in the prices of all grades of sugar as from today. Fiji Hockey Team. A mayoral welcome was given today by Sir Ernest Davis to members of the Fiji hockey team, which arrived by the Monterey to play nine matches against provincial teams in New Zealand. No Star Shower Last Night. Watchers of the skies last evening, scanning the interplanetary spaces for a deluge of shooting stars, were disappointed. The few odd meteors which were seen were not a part ‘ of the shower expected to whirl into the earth’s atmosphere from the wake of a wandering comet. Issue of Trench Mortars.

Arrangements for the issue of the new Stokes-Brandt 3in. mortar for the training of territorial infantry regiments were announced by the Ministe rof Defence, Mr Jones, in an interview last evening. This type of mortar is being issued as new equipment to the British Army. At the first opportunity a demonstration is to be given near Wellington of the mortars in action firing high explosive and smoke bombs of the latest type.

Mock Battle at Wellington Heads. The armaments of the forts at Dorset Point and Palmer Head will be manned continuously during the 24 hours from noon today till noon tomorrow for the exercises to be carried out to test the defences of Wellington against the entry into the harbour of an enemy vessel. H.M.S. Leith, representing an enemy cruiser, will engage the forts this afternoon in a mock bombardment, and. tonight will attempt to force an entrance to the harbour without being discovered. The night shoot with the Leith’s attempt to enter the harbour will be the highlight of the exercises. The-search-light batteries will be manned, and will try to pick up the warship as soon as she comes within range of the guns.

Manufacturers’ Cleavage. No fresh developments have arisen in connection with the Wellington Manufacturers' Association’s withdrawal from affiliation with the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation, and officials of both organisations have declined to make statements. It is learnt, however, that the Wellington association did not act on the spin - of the moment, but in accordance with resolutions passed at previous meetings. The differences between the two bodies, have, in fact, been going on for about three years,.it is reported. The federation considered 'the association's withdrawal on Thursday, but decided to resume discussion at the next meeting which is to be held in a month’s time. If and when those deliberations are made known, it is possible that a statement will be issued by the association.

Two Shifts in Industry. The Ashburton Chamber of Commerce on Thursday evening decided to place before the Associated Chambers a proposal by the president, Mr G. A: Gilchrist, for the adoption in secondary industries of a two-shift system, similar to that in Britain, to expand production without unnecessary increased capital expenditure on the extension of buildings and plant. Mr Gilchrist suggested a shift from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.. with two rest periods, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, with one rest period, and a second shirt from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., similarly divided. The morning shift of 42 hours and the afternoon shift of 361 hours could be alternated so that the workers would average 39 1-8 hours weekly, hourly wages to be adjusted to give as nearly as possible the same wage as for 40 hours. Work on Saturdays.

"We have been working girls on Saturday mornings off and on for a year,” stated a leading Dunedin boot executive, referring to the Auckland message published yesterday. He knew nothing of a request to the federation, nor could he understand the implication that any concession had been made, he said. The chief officer of the Labour Department, Mr Cadwallader, dismissed the message as erroneous. He said that factories had the right to work female and youth labour for 90 hours' overtime yearly. No longer a period than 3 hours could be worked, but there was no restriction whether the period was worked on Saturday morning or at night. No request to work four hours on Saturday had been made and the maximum permissible under the Factories Act was not exceedable.