LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 April 1940, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

No Publication Tomorrow. The “Times-Age” will not be published tomorrow, Anzae Day. Heavy Frost in Masterton. A very heavy frost for this time of the year. 10.1 degrees, was registered in Masterton this morning. War Expenses Fund. The interest-free loans and donations to the war expenses fund has now reached a total of £1,672,029. National Patriotic Fund. The latest list of donations to the National Patriotic Fund brings the Dominion total to £99,074 10s 4d. The expenditure to date is £51,049 2s 9d. Power Board Profit. A profit of £2103 on the year’s operations was reported to a meeting of the Dannevirke Power Board yesterday by the chairman, Mr M. O. Grainger. Greeks and Patriotic Fund. Greek-owned shops in Napier and Hastings are to give one day’s takings to the National Patriotic Fund, and employees in. these premises are to give a day’s wages to the fund. The majority of Greek-owned shops in the district are fish shops and restaurants. The daily takings in some such Wellington shops is as much as £5O and £6O. The date of the donation is yet to be fixed.

National Party Activity. “The National Party must be kept alive, so ’.hat in by-elections or the general election falling due next year, we shall not have forgotten the tenets of the party,” said Dr. J. Guthrie when introducing Mr Doidge, M.P. for Tauranga, to the National Club in Christchurch on Monday. As they knew, there was a truce between the two political parties, said Dr. Guthrie. They had arrived at the stage when, for the time being, hostilities were almost suspended. “But we have not forgotten our creed and our duty to the country,” he said, “and this club, when the truce is in being, is the only place where we can hold our own meetings and talk politics and hold our party together.” Order of Foresters.

Every court in the district was represented at the sixty-first annual meeting of the Hawke’s Bay district of the Ancient Order of Foresters. The annual report commented on the decline in the membership of 41. There was a slight drop in sick pay paid out --£2435 as compared with £2631 last year—and funeral benefits were £95 higher, amounting to £505. The fund now stands at £41,116, having increased by £BO9 during the year. The election of officers for the district executive resulted: —D.C.R., Bro. C. J. Cushing; D.S.C.R., Bro. W. Kemsley; D.S.W., Bro. J. H. Paget; D.J.W., Bro. R. <l. Cushing; D. 8., Bro. W. F. Ware; D. treasurer, Bro. L. T. Bisson; D. secretary, Bro. F. R. Redpath. Pipe Bands.

At a meeting of the executive of the Wellington-Hawke’s Bay Pipe Band Centre in Palmerston North, the bal-ance-sheet of the recent centre contest was presented and adopted. Congratulations were extended to the organising committee on the financial result, despite the unfavourable weather that prevailed. The Port Ahuriri Caledonian Society’s Pipe Band was granted affiliation, increasing the number of affiliations to 20. The secretary pre' seated a (.up for competition among the college bands of the centre, for the highest aggregate points in the quickstep and. test selection. It is not intended to institute a separate competition, but it will be run in conjunction with the open events. The cup will be the Gray Nasmith Cup. Anzae Day at Exhibition.

Tomorrow, Anzae Day, the Centennial Exhibition will open at 3.30 p.m., in accordance with the permit granted the company by the Wellington City Council. Given a continuance of the splendid autumn weather which has prevailed over the past two days, large crowds are expected to attend in the afternoon and evening. Many people from the city and surrounding districts will be in town for the Anzacs ceremonies, and the Exhibition should attract the interest of a considerable number of these after the ceremonies arc over. All facilities, including Playland, will be available till the usual closing hours. Yesterday's attendance at the Exhibition was 15.848. The total has now reached 2,337,753, a daily average of 16,348. Drunken Motorists. In cities, towns and boroughs the number of road accidents caused by liquor for the year ending March 31 was higher than for the previous 12 months, but in the country districts ihe total was smaller. The Dominion total fell from 202 to 179. Auckland, which in the previous year had built a total of liquor accidents that called for special comment from the Minister of Transport, had a still worse record last year. Wellington came out fairly well. Christchurch was more careful and Dunedin was less careful'. Of the 53 liquor accidents in the four main centres 29 were weekend accidents, and cf these Auckland contributed la, Wellington 4. Christchurch 6, and Dunedin 4. The department's comment is brief: “That the position is serious is indicated by the figures of 1/9 accidents, resulting in 23 deaths and 272 persons injured. In these cases the severity of accidents is greater than in alt other road accidents, one person being killed for every 12 injuied. rhe average tor all accidents was one death for every 21 others injured." Wagons Derailed. Because of a mam line derailment at Ngahauranga early last night, railway traffic on the double-track section between Wellington and Petone was suspended and all passengers to and i’tom the Hutt Valley were transported by a fleet of railway buses. The mishap occurred at about 7.21) p.m., when a return service from Waterloo, consisting of empty passenger cars, collided with a number of wagons in the Ngahaulanga yards. Five wagons were derailed and some were damaged. Because the accident occurred when the train from Waterloo was crossing the up main line to enter the yards, both cutward and inward tracks were blocked, but gangs of men were burned to the scene of the derailment ; nd by 9 o'clock the down line was clear. ' The work of clearing the up line was finished early this morning. In the meantime no difllculty was being experienced in providing road transport for suburban passengers, but freight traffic to and from the Wairarapa was delayed