LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 August 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Masonic Donation. A further cheque for £1250 from the Masonic Grand Lodge of New Zealand has been received by the National Patriotic Fund Board. This makes a total donation of £2500 from the Grand Lodge to the National Patriotic Fund.

Farmers and Guaranteed Price. The annual meeting of the Te Aroha and Thames Valley Dairy Company yesterday adopted the following resolution:—“That the Hon W. Nash be asked to take into consideration the farmers’ increased production costs in determining the guaranteed price for the coming season.” ,

Magpie Attacks Golfer. Angry at having its nesting operations disturbed, a magpie left a belt of trees in the vicinity and attacked a young woman on the Havelock North Golf Club’s links at the weekend. The bird attacked the golfer four or five times, and it was only the successful wielding of a golf club which finally drove it .away.

Entertaining Soldiers. At the weekly meeting of the Masterton. Optimist Club last night a proposal that an entertainment be arranged for the men at the Tauherenikau Camp early next month was considered. It was decided to discuss the matter with the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Y.M.C.A.. with a view to a joint concert being held. The matter will be finalised at the next meeting of the club. Donations and Grants.

The annual report of the Wairarapa Interhouse Association records a successful year from the financial viewpoint. The Association has donated for patriotic purposes the sum of £BO to the Mayor’s Fund, loaned £5O to the Government, given the Y.M.C.A. £5, the proceeds of a dance for the Red Cross Society were £22, and it has paid back to the various marching teams the sum of £45. Criticism of Government. The Auckland branch of the New Zealand Enginedrivers, Firemen, and Cleaners’ Association unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the six points contained in the motion passed by the Otahuhu and Hutt Railway Workshops workers demanding changes in the Government’s policy and expressing the confident opinion that the resolution expresses the feelings of railwaymen generally, in spite of the contrary statement by the Prime Minister. Attendance at Divine Service. The fact that only 3 per cent of the people of New Zealand attended Divine service was referred to by the Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt Rev F. A. Bennet, in a sermon which he delivered in St John’s Church, Napier, on the occasion of the celebration of the diamond jubilee of Hukarere Maori Girls’ college. That was surely a disgrace, said Bishop Bennett. It was not till we were face to face with reality that many of us became aware of our utter foolishness in ignoring those things that mattered most in life. Interhouse Movement. “There is still much room for support from the local business houses,” reads a passage in the annual report of the Wairarapa Interhouse Association. “There are certainly a few who are keenly interested in this movement, but there are many who do not realise the beneficial effect such a movement as this will have on their staff. We would like to feel sure that during the coming year more business houses, both large and small, will take a keener interest in our affairs, as we are totally self supporting, and do not make a practice of asking for financial help, and at the same time we cater only for business girls.”

Motor Driving- Licences. A statement that next Saturday was the last day on which driving licences could be renewed without the applicant having to undergo another driving test was made yesterday by the Minister of Transport, Mi’ Semple. “Under the terms of a recent regulation introduced to protect road users from drivers who had grown incompetent through lack of practice,” said Mr Semple, "it is compulsory for any person who has not renewed his licence within three months of the date of its expiry to pass a practical driving test before being granted a new licence. As August 31 marks the end of this period of three months, all those intending to renew their licences would be well advised to do so this week.”

Presbyterian Church Funds. A year ago the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was faced with a serious deficit in its general and home and foreign mission funds. Final results of the Dominion-wide campaign undertaken to put the funds on a satisfactory basis were reported to the mission committee in Auckland. The figures showed that for an actual expenditure on all budget funds of £45,634 the receipts had been £54,279. For mission purposes only the expenditure was £42,616 and the receipts £50,794. The debt of £16,112', with which the financial year commenced, has been reduced to £7952. The amount asked from the congregation was £41,276 and the response was £45.684, which is £14,388 more than congregations contributed in the previous financial year.

Interhouse Girls’ Choir. “The formation of an Interhouse Girls' Choir was commenced while the girls were in training for the Exhibition Display, and on their return they settled down to constant practice," states the annual report of the Wairarapa Interhouse Association. “To Mrs Miller Hope who offered to take charge of this section we are extremely grateful. The results of the concert held early in July you all know, and we make bold to say that it is the only choir of its kind in New Zealand, and quite expect that other associations will be taking a leaf out of our book in the near future. It is proposed to commence practice some time early in September with the idea of making a special concert towards Christmas, and we feel sure that our efforts will again meet with unqualified success.”