LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 June 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Heavy Frost in Masterton. A frost of 12.5 degrees was registered in Masterton this morning.

Sick and Wounded Fund.

A decision to give £5OO to the Sick, Wounded and Distress Fund was made by the Wellington City Council last night.

Code Telegrams with Australia. The Post Office advises that the use of Acme Commodity and Phrase Code is now permitted in code telegrams exchanged with Australia. National Patriotic Fund.

The total in connection with the National Patriotic Fund has reached £119.015. The expenditure to date is £65,000.

Phenomenal Number of Births.

There was a phenominal number of birth registrations in Palmerston North during May, the figures being 78 compared with 39 in May last year. Deaths were 25, the same as in May 1939, but marriages were fewer, namely 33 compared with 37 in May, 1939. Linesman’s Death.

Repairing electrical apparatus at the Patutahi sub-station yesterday morning, Samuel Wells, station operator, and Algar Octo File, a linesman, suffered severe burns and shock. File died later in hospital. The men came in contact with cables carrying 50,000 volts. Wells, who was less seriously injured, was reported to be making good progress.

Shortage of Coal. Though there has been a slight easing in the shortage of coal in Wellington, dealers are still being rationed severely and have in turn to ration customers. Those associated with the trade do not hold out hope of any immediate improvement and expect that coke, which has been much in demand during the coal shortage, will also have to be rationed soon. Large dealers have ample supplies of wood, but smaller dealers are in some cases short of stocks. Production of Food. In his presidential address at the conference of the Otago Provincial Council of the Farmers’ Union yesteray, Mr R. S. Thompson said there must be no limit to the Dominion’s production in war and the State should make it a national affair by providing every farmer with the means of increasing production. Britain depended on overseas for 60 per cent of her food. Her supplies from Scandinavia and the Low Countries were cut and she had four million more mouths to feed than in the last war, plus hundreds of thousands of refugees. There was ample labour in New Zealand capable of diversion to production. Nothing must stand in the way of its use.

Farmers and Communism.

Enthusiastic support for the Returned Soldiers’ Association in its efforts to expose the activities of Communistic influences in the Dominion was forthcoming at the annual conference of the Otago Provincial Council of the Farmers’ Union yesterday. The conference adopted a resolution urging the suppression of all subversive activity, the dismissal without superannuation of public servants found participating in such activity, and the cancellation of the naturalisation papers of naturalised foreigners discovered taking any part in subversive activity. Before the discussion began, an unknown visitor, suspected of being Communistically inclined, who admitted having come to the meeting to hear arguments against Communism, was asked to leave the conference.

Athletics and the War.

A motion that the national open athletic meetings, including crosscountry, be discontinued for the duration of the wai - was put forward by Mr W. Holly at last night’s meeting of the management committee of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association in Wellington. Mr Holly said it seemed hardly fair that athletes should travel round the country to championships when other men were serving overseas, or that they should have the chance to gain national titles which were not really open titles because of the absence of many athletes, including present title-holders. The chairman, Mr H. L. Austad, said that the rules provided for national championships annually and Mr Holly’s motion could not be dealt with at the meeting but could be given as notice of motion and discussed at next meeting. Meantime centres would be able to discuss it. This was agreed to.

Officer Court-martialled.

A general court-martial was held at Papakura military camp. Accused was Captain E. C. N. Robinson, who was charged with conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, in that he. proceeded overseas in one of His Majesty’s transports when cognisant that he had been found medically unfit to go and that a memorandum to the effect that he would be discharged had been issued by the Northern Military District headquarters to the camp commandant, Papakura' mobilisation camp, and to the officer commanding his battalion. Captain Robinson said he pleaded guilty and accepted full responsibility for his action. After hearing evidence the Court was closed while it considered its verdict, which cannot be made known under the regulations governing the court-martial till it has been confirmed by the officer convening the court-martial. Disruptive Influences Alleged. Allegations said to have been made against the chambers of commerce and the Farmers’ Union by railway workers, that these bodies were disruptive influences, were discussed at a meeting last night of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. It was decided to invite representatives of the railway workers to a round-table conference to exchange views. Mr A. Leslie Wall drew attention to the chambers having been accused of being a disruptive body. He said he felt they should get together with the railwaymen and invite them to tell the chamber why their considered it disruptive. He felt convinced that the statement had been made simply because the men were not familiar with the activities of the chambers. The chamber resolved to recommend to the Prime Minister that with a view to clarifying the position the associated chambers be given the opportunity of stating their case to the nation over the air insofar as the war effort of the business community was concerned.