LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 June 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

House to be Raffled. Builders in the Hutt Valley intend to erect a modern house to be raffled for patriotic funds. Bomber Retrieved. The Baffin bomber which came down in shallow water at Whangarei on Tuesday and was embedded in the mud, has been retrieved and is apparently undamaged. German Woman Interned. A young German woman was taken into custody by the Auckland police yesterday under the Emergency Precautions Regulations. She will be interned for the duration of the war. She is believed to be the first enemy alien woman to be interned in New Zealand during this war. Birthday Honours. It is stated officially that the military section of the postponed Birthday Honours list will be published on Thursday, July 11. It is not proposed to announce the list of civil honours till some more appropriate time, which will not, in any event, be before the New Year, 1941. A. & P. Ball. Arrangements are well in hand for the Masterton A. and P. Association’s annual bail, which is to be held in the Municipal Hall on July 10. Those who wish to appear as debutantes are requested to give their names to the secretary, Mr R. H. Williams, as soon as possible. Hostel and Club for Soldiers.

A soldiers’ hostel, with 50 beds, in Sydney Street east, and a soldiers’ club in Willis Street, with provision for dancing and recreation, are to be provided in- Wellington. The Wellington Provincial Patriotic Council yesterday made grants of £5OO and £4OO for the furnishing of the hostel and club respectively. National Party Meeting.

A general outline of the position of the democracies was given by Mr W. A. Veitch in an address in Masterton last night to members of the Masterton branch of the National Party. The meeting was held in the Lecture Room, Municipal Buildings. Mr J. W. Hayden, chairman of the Masterton branch, presided.

Another Mine Discovered. It is understood that owing to the discovery of another mine, the naval authorities deemed it wise to close the port of Auckland till further sweeping had been carried out. Following the loss of the liner Niagara last week, two mines were discovered on successive days, and the latest discovery has resulted in further prompt action by the navy.

The War and Humour. That the British still have a strong sense of humour, in spite of dark days, is evident in a series of posters just to hand from England, which are being displayed in the windows of a shop in Queen Street, Masterton. Hitler, of course, is the subject matter, but the artist has presented in addition the work of “fifth columnists.”

Cooking Demonstrations. There were large attendances at the gas cooking demonstrations conducted by Mise Una Carter in the Municipal Hall yesterday afternoon and last night. Miss Carter demonstrated the most economical and efficient use of a gas stove and showed her audience how to prepare a dinner and cook small goods. The cooking of a complete dinner will be demonstrated by Miss Carter tonight in the Municipal Hall. Broadcasts & Farm Work.

A complaint that the frequent Daventry broadcasts interfered with farm work and affected production was made by Mr F. C. Johnstone at a meeting of the Waikato Council of Primary Production. Mr G. Jamieson agreed with Mr Johnston and said that many farmers, instead of working, remained in their homes waiting for the broadcasts in the hope that something fresh would be announced. It was resolved to ask the Director of Broadcasting to reduce the broadcasts to three daily, in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.

No Trace of Escaped Prisoner. Late last night there was still no trace of Thomas William Hill, a prisoner serving a sentence at Mt. Crawford Prison when he escaped from custody while working with a gang last Monday morning. The police are still searching for him. Since Hill escaped two dwellings in Wellington have been entered. In one of them grey prison clothes were left in place of a pair of gardening trousers which were taken. These old clothes were later recovered in the second dwelling entered, but a new suit was missing. Hill, who is aged 25, was wearing grey prison clothes when he escaped. Coalmines Council.

The appointment of a Coalmines Council of three members to investigate complaints about the efficiency of equipment, the methods of working coalmines and the most effective use of the labour employed in mines, was announced last night by the Minister of Mines. Mr Webb. He said that the council would not only have the power to investigate various, matters as a Royal Commission should the need arise, but also to function as an executive body. The personnel of the council is as follows: Mr T. O. Bishop, secretary of the New Zealand Coalmine Owners’ Association; Mr A. McLagan. secretary of the United Mine Workers of New Zealand; and Mr C. J. Strongman, superintendent of the State Collieries at Greymouth. Not Seething with Communism. Suggestions that Victoria University College was a hotbed of Communism were denied by Mr R. Darroch, secretary of the Wellington branch of the Navy League, at the annual meeting last night. He said he was an old member of the college. He had an old copy of the magazine “Spike” of 1907, and many office-bearers mentioned in it were prominent in the Navy League today. In those days there were no Communists, and he did not believe there were many today. He only knew of one, who had himself told him of his beliefs. To say Victoria College was seething with Communism was quite wrong. There might possibly be 50 who held these extreme views, but those 50 were active in the affairs of the college, while the other 950 or so were getting on with their studies, and were apathetic about it.