LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 October 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Labour Day Rural Deliveries. The Post Office advises that the rural deliveries and private bag services will be despatched as usual on Labour Day. Found Dead in Bed. Laurence Scotland Gillespie, aged 63, farm manager for the Guardian Trust Company at Waimauku, North Auckland, was found dead in bed yesterday morning at a friend’s house. He was visiting Whangarei to attend a stock fair. Early in the morning he complained to friends of severe pains in the chest, but later appeared quite comfortable. Price of Sugar. A well-attended meeting of the combined grocers of Wellington last night decided to send a deputation to wait on the Minister of Industries and Commerce. Mr Sullivan, and place before him the serious position facing the grocers of the Dominion if they are not allowed to pass on to the public at least a portion of the increase in the wholesale price of sugar. A fighting fund to further the interests of grocers was established and within a few minutes several donations for it were made. Leave for Soldiers. Special Labour Day reave has been arranged for the soldiers in Trentham camp. They will do certain duties for two hours in the morning and then be free till 9.30 p.m. Tomorrow they will have leave from 1 p.m, till midnight, and on Sunday from 1 p.m. till 9.30 p.m. Tonight 30 per cent of the men will have the usual leave from 7 o’clock till 9.30 o'clock and 50 per cent of them till midnight. All but one-fifth of the men, who are required to stay in camp for essential duties, get leave. Typhoid Inoculation.

Today more than 1700 men at Trentham camp will receive a double presentation —an inoculation against typhoid and their first pay. Four Medical Corps 'doctors will inoculate the men at the rate of four a minute. In a week’s time they will be inoculated again. On active service inoculations against various diseases, specially typhoid, are a regular feature of the soldier’s life. Each inoculation is supposed to make the subject immune for a year from the particular’ disease against which the inoculation is intended.

Progress Maintained. The District Public Works Engineer (Mr P. Keller) reports steady progress with the Eglinton Valley-Homer tunnel undertaking (states the Dunedin “Star.”) The bush work on the road is complete to the 64-mile peg from the Marion turnoff, and the most advanced cutting is at the 6-mile peg. The road is open for traffic up to the Simile peg. The tunnel work is going forward steadily, and the piercing ol the lower heading is completed to 63 miles 14 chains from the To Anau Junction. This leaves approximately 12 chains yet to be pierced. Traffic on the Railways.

The returns of the New Zealand Railways for the period April 1 to June 24 show the total number of passengers carried as 7.001.626, which was a decrease of 120,901 compared with the corresponding period of last year, states the quarterly bulletin issued by the Department of Industries and Commerce. Passengers carried by rail numbered 5,615,208, a decrease of 34.665, and passengers carried by road motor services totalled 1.386,418. a decrease of 86,236. The total volume of goods carried was 1,859,104 tons, an mcrease of 49.185 tons. Live stock a 148,277 tons, decreased by 8544 tons; timber increased by 2384 tons 1o reach 113 477 tons, while other goods increased by 55.345 tons, to reach 1.597.350 tons. Railway Finance.

An excess of revenue over expenditure of £169,568 is shown in the operating account of the railways for the period from April 1 to September 16. This period of 169 days, or of 24 weeks and a day, represents close on six months of the current financial year. The gross revenue for the period was £4,306,401, as compared with £3,942,068 for the corresponding period of last year, an increase of £364.333. Expenditure amounted to £4.136,833. or £161.707 more than that for last years corresponding period, when expenditure exceeded revenue by £33,0.18. for the four-weekly period ended on September 16 there was an operating Joss of £7814. Revenue amounted to £700.853. an increase of £68.101 on that foi last year, and expenditure £708,667. as compared with £659,318 12 months ago. The capital cost of open lines on March 31. 1939. was £56,676.608. A year previously it was £a6,1)65,187,