LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 June 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Masterton Frost. A frost of 7.8 degrees was registered in Masterton this morning. National Patriotic Fund. The National Patriotic Fund has now reached a total of £141,305. Damage by Floods. It is officially stated that the damage caused during the recent Taieri floods was not less than £20,000. Gift Parcels. The gift parcels for soldiers overseas require to be in hand tomorrow and not on July 8, as was stated yesterday. Parcels may be left at the Ladies’ Rest Room, Dixon Street. Man Power Committee. A sitting of the Masterton District Man Power Committee was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Mr T. Jordan. Between thirty and forty cases were dealt with. Military Camps to be Enlarged. The capacity of the three military camps at Burnham, Trentham and Papakura is to be increased by 50 per cent, according to the Minister of National Service and Public Works, Mr Semple. Exact figures of the accommodation of the camps could not be given, but this would be the extent of the increase, he said. Ingenious River-Works.

An ingenious method of protecting the bank of the Waimakariri river at Kainga, devised by Mr H. W. Harris, engineer to the Waimakariri River Trust, was reported on by the chairman of the trust (Mr F. W. Freeman). Mr Harris had bought 150 drums at Is each, filled them with shingle, and placed them along the bank where erosion had been occurring, Mr Freeman explained, and they looked like honey pots. They appeared to be successful, and certainly proved the ingenuity of the engineer, he said. War and Disease.

The great toll of disease in wars of the past was remarked on by Professor A. H. Tocker in an address to the Economics Society at Christchurch. The war of 1914-18, he said, was the first great war in history in which deaths in battle or from wounds received in battle were more than the deaths from disease. In the Crimean War three times as many men died from disease as in battle or from wounds. In the Great War the proportion was reversed, 10,000,000 soldiers being killed and 3,000,000 dying from disease. Y.M.C.A. Card Evening. The fortnightly card evening to be held at the Y.M.C.A. tomorrow night, under the auspices of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, will be the sixth and final night of the present competition for aggregate prizes in both bridge and fivehundred. Great interest has been shown and competition for the winning places is very Jceen. As usual, the hall will be suitably heated and every attention will be given to the comfort of players. Attractive prizes will be awarded for tomorrow night’s .play, quite distinct from the aggregate prizes. A good supper will be provided at the close of the evening. Sick and Wounded Fund.

“Money is continually coming in and I am fully confident that the final figure will reach £500,000,” said the honorary Dominion organiser of the Sick, Wounded and Distress Fund. Mr J. Abel, last night. He added that-with miscellaneous receipts the total now stood at £460,000. Since the campaign opened collections have maintained a steady average of more than £lO,OOO daily, including Sundays. The provincial totals last night were:—Auckland, £155.000; Wellington, £105.000; Canterbury, £70,000; Otago, £53,000; Hawke’s Bay, £30,125; Taranaki, £17.000; Gisborne, £7,000; Marlborough, £3,200; Nelson, £2,700; West Coast, £2,000. Y.M.C.A. Appeal.

An appeal was made at the weekly meeting of the Masterton Optimist Club last night by Mr S. L. Hatch for members to assist in the forthcoming Masterton Y.M.C A. appeal for funds to keep the local Y.M.C.A. running. MiHatch stressed the fact that the appeal had no connection with any patriotic collection and was entirely for local use. It was pointed out that well over 2000 people made use of the rooms every week, and that the Masterton Y.M.C.A. was open to all, whether members or not. At a subsequent meeting it was decided to run a dance in the Y.M.C.A. hall on Saturday, July 6.

Prayer at Rotary Club. Grace is always said at Rotary Club luncheons throughout the world. At yesterday's luncheon in Wellington the usual grace was omitted. Instead the Rev. H. W. Newell recited the following prayer: “Almighty God, before Whom the generations pass away as a tale that is told, look down, wc pray Thee, upon our country in our day of need and opportunity. Revive and restore the spirit of our people that we may, as a nation, return to the ways of truth and righteousness, so that outbroken purposes and uncertain steps may bn taken up within Thy almighty will. We commend to Thee the wounded, the dying, the dead, the bereft, the Give us good success, if it be Thy will.”