LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 June 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Frosts in Masterton. There was a frost of 6 degrees in Masterton yesterday morning and 8.3 degrees this morning. Vital Statistics, The following are the vital statistics registered at the Masterton Courthouse last month (figures for May, 1939, are given in parentheses): Births 30 (25); marriages 17 (14); deaths 12 (10). Loading of Produce for Britain.

As a Government war measure a large overseas liner was worked at Auckland throughout the weekend, loading produce for Britain. Two hundred men. continued work to 10 p.m. on Saturday and resumed from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. yesterday. This is the first time cargo work has been, carried out in Auckland at weekends since the war started. Farmers and War Service.

A decision to suggest to the Government that no single man eligible for military service overseas be accepted for training under the Government subsidy scheme for farm work, was made by the Auckland Provincial Farmers’ Union conference. It was also decided that branches be recommended to take action, where necessary, in cases where farmers had enlisted for military service, to ensure that their properties were efficiently supervised in their absence.

Running Record Equalled. Clyde Jeffrey, the brilliant Stanford University sprinter, ushered in the Western American outdoor track season the other day with a world recordtying performance (9 2-ssecs.) in the 100 yards dash at Long Beach, California. American Athletic Union officials announced that they would formally petition the national governing committee to place it alongside the marks of Frank Wykoff and Jesse Owens, co-holders of the world’s record.

Woman Fatally Injured. Found lying by the side of the road yesterday morning after she had attended a patriotic dance at the Kaikohe Maori settlement, a middle-aged woman was taken to the Kawakawa Hospital, where she died at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon. The victim was Mrs Benjamin Anderson, aged 42, of Kaikohe. She was apparently knocked down by a motor vehicle which did not stop after the accident. Mrs Anderson was keenly interested in the formation of the Maori branch of the Red Cross.

Membership of Farmers’ Union. A membership of 9735 was reported by the president, Mr H. M. Rushworth, at the annual Auckland provincial conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union. The figure for the previous year was 9287. Explaining the smaller increase of 448 members last year, compared with increases of more than 1000 in the years immediately before, the president said he believed that the union was reaching a peak in membership and the annual increase in future would tend to taper off.

Sheep Dog Championship. The following is the result of the North Island sheep dog trial centennial championship (short head), which finished at Cambridge on Saturday in good weather: —Fraser Smith’s (Awakino) Highland Fling the Second, 581 points, 1; S. F. Herbert's (Pongaroa) Jett, 56| points, 2; F. Wilsher’s (Pahiatua) Roy, 56 points, 3; B. Ellis’s (Teakau) Flirt, 551 points, 4; M. A. Matheson’s (Middlemarch) Scot, 54 pointi, 5; G. H. Morrich’s (Gisborne) Spot, 53 points, 6; H. Phillips’s (Mokau) Royal Chief, 52J points, 7. Cost of Living.

Though all industrial laws may now be amended under the powers given by the Emergency Regulations Amendment Bill passed on Friday, the application by the Federation of Labour to the Arbitration Court to, adjust wages to meet the increased cost of living will be proceeded with. The intention of the Government at present not to offer any obstruction to the application was stated in an interview by the Minister of Labour, Mr Webb, on Saturday. “We have no thought of obstructing the hearing under the new legislation,’ said Mr Webb, “but it has to be remembered that every day determines a new policy.”

Telephone Directory Cut Down. Although “business as usual” is, in general, the predominant note in business circles, reminders that the Empire is at war are occasionally encountered. The latest of these to come under notice is in connection with the telephone directory, the new issue of which is now being distributed and from which it will be seen that the classified section—the familiar yellow pages at the back of the book—has been discontirn ued. A notice to subscribers inserted in the new alphabetical directory announces that the discontinuance is due to the need for conservation of supplies of paper. Sport in Wartime.

Replying to a sports bodies deputation on Saturday which sought a lead from the Government on the question of continuing club games during the war, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Parry, said the responsibility of a decision rested with the sports organisations themselves. He expressed the view that no good purpose would be served by the abandonment of recreative games. “Very many of the clubs,” added the Minister, “have had their ranks somewhat depleted by players having joined up for military duty. There are, however, young players not of military age coming on who need an outlet for their enthusiasm for their particular sport and these players require to be catered for,”