LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 July 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Sly Grog Seller Fined. James M. Glenie was at Ashburton yesterday fined £25 for having sold liquor without a license. The defendant was fined £l5 for a similar offence in May. Bequest to War Expenses Fund. A bequest of £.2000 has been made to the New Zealand Government under the will of the late Mrs H. V. Bayly, Auckland, who has directed that this sum is “to be applied toward defraying the expenses of the present war against Germany and her allies.” Wages and Prices. A rise of .5 per cent in the nominal wage-rate in the year ended March, 1940, against an advance of 4.8 per cent in retails prices is shown in the. annual report of the Department of Industries and Commerce, which has been presented to the House of Representatives. Divorce- Petition. A decree nisi, to be moved absolute within three months, was granted by Mr Justice Ostler in the Supreme Court Wellington, yesterday, in the following undefended divorce case on the grounds stated:—John Barton Dalziell (Mr Whiteman) v Kathleen Dalziell, order for restitution of conjugal rights within 14 days. Engine Running Costs. To run an engine one mile, 64.631 b of coal at a total cost of 10.45 d are needed, according to figures given in the annual report of the general manager of the New Zealand Railways, which has been presented to the House with the Minister’s statement. The total cost of operation of a locomotive for the year ended March 31, 1940, was 23.78 d a mile. The railways during the year used 492,456 tons of coal, all of it New Zealand coal, the total cost being £780,686. Band Concert in Park.

The following programme will be rendered by the Masterton Municipal Band in the Park on Sunday, commencing at 2.30 p.m.:—“Newcastle,” march (Bulch); “Homeward,” march (Ord Hume); “Good Morning Song” (arr. Denham); “Cavalry of the Clouds,” march (arr. Wright); “Love Never Grows Old,” waltz song (arr. Denham); “F.D.R. Jones,” fox trot (H. J. Rome); “Thoughts,” waltz (Alford); “Tommies’ Tunes” (arr. Field); “La Favorita,” selection (Donizetti); “New Rochdale,” hymn and “St Margaret” (arr. Broadhead). Enlistment of Teachers.

The enlistment of teachers in the Canterbury district has not so far caused any staffing difficulties to the Canterbury Education Board, according to the secretary of the board (Mr L. E. Rowley). Twenty-three teachers have now been called up for service, comprising 15 permanent teachers, three relieving teachers, three supernumerary teachers, and two probationary assistants. Ten others have advised the board that they are waiting to be called up for medical examination. Mr Rowley said that the board had sufficient supernumerary and relieving teachers to meet its present needs. A Sixth Column.

An appeal to all Christian people to enrol as “Sixth Columnists” by pledging themselves to daily prayer at noon for the Empire's cause, has been issued by Commissioner J. Evan Smith, territorial commander of the Salvation Army in New Zealand. The commissioner, it is stated, was inspired by a recent speech by Lord Halifax, British Foreign Secretary, in the course of which he referred to a Yorkshire village, the people of which, after hearing talk of the fifth column, had decided to form themselves into a sixth, members of which were pledged to devote a few minutes daily to prayer.

A New Industry. An announcement that a new industry, the extraction of fish liver oils, has been commenced in Wellington by the Karitane Products Society, Limited, was made by the Minister of Marine, Dr. McMillan, in a statement issued last night. Dr. McMillan said that for a number of years he had been interested in the production of vitamin-contain-ing oils from the livers of fish caught in New Zealand waters, and he was very pleased, therefore, that, thanks to the co-operation of the Wellington fishermen, the Karitane Products Society, and the Marine Department, this industry had been established. Thefts From Firm. A warning that if similar cases continued to come before him of thefts by employees the penalty would be imprisonment, was given at Auckland by the magistrate. Mr Morling, when 19 men and one girl, employees of Reid (New Zealand) Rubber Mills, Limited, pleaded guilty to the theft of goods from the firm. The smallest individual amount involved was 3s, and the largest £9 ss. The goods comprised cycle tyres, hot water bottles, rubber mats, tennis balls and rubber plugs. The police said that for the last three months constables had been specially detailed to catch the offenders. The magistrate fined all but two of the defendants (the girl and a youth aged 17) £lO each.

National Security Tax. When the usual weekly salary or wage payments were made yesterday many thousands of people felt the effect of the new national security tax, as it became operative this week. Nominally separate from the social security tax. the national security levy, is to be assessed in conjunction with that tax as “a combined charge at the rate of one penny for every sum of tenpence or part thereof” of income. This combination of the taxes avoids doubling the odd penny in amounts exceeding multiples of tenpence. In effect salary and wage-earners found that deductions from their wages double or approximately double the amount in the past.

They Scattered. 1 A large class of school children was assembled on the grounds the other (day for instruction in emergency precaution drill. The teacher, among other things, addressed them on the natural tendency of people to go into a huddle when danger threatened, and explained that the one way to make an air raid ineffective was for the community to scatter and seek individual shelter. "Scatter” was the watchword for the occasion, he impressed on his proteges. Then the teacher proceeded with some practice and gave the signal to scatter. The drill was successful beyond all expectations —it took the teacher three hours to find the dissipated units and got. his class together for ordinary school work again.