LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 November 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Club Outing. Several members of the Masterton Young Farmers' Club left today on a club outing which took the form of a climb up Mt. Holdsworth.

Reported Vandalism. Cases of vandalism are reported to have taken place in Cooper Street. Lansdowne, recently. It is understood that residents have had their fences damaged, having been apparently hacked with axes. Gifts of Clothing.

The Masterton Sub-Centre of the Red Cross Society gratefully acknowledges the gift of parcels of clothing from the following:—Mesdames McKeon, Hearn Smith, Whitehouse, Kerr, Chalmers. Neilson. Miss F. P. Maunsell, A. Campbell. Chalmers. Mr. Saunders and E. R. Armistice> Day.

A notification issued by the Government yesterday invites the co-operation of citizens and traffic controlling authorities in the observance of two minutes’ silence from 11 a.m. on Monday, November 11, in commemoration of Armistice Day. It is suggested that where a service is desired it take place at the local cenotaph or war memorial.

Sent to Gaol on Arson Charge. At the Wanganui S.M. Court yesterday, Alfred Francis Blake, farmer, Waverley, and his wife, Elvie Ruth Blake, who had been found guilty of aiding and abetting in the crime of arson, in which a house was destroyed in Beach Road, Waverley. on April 16, were each sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour. Mrs Blake collapsed in the dock after sentence was pronounced and had to be revived before being removed. Points Prize Winners at Show.

The following were the winners of points prizes at the Hawke’s Bay A. and P. Society's spring show:—Beef cattle: D. G. Grant. Stud sheep: William Rayner (Masterton). Lincolns: William Rayner. Open Romneys: J. A. Mitchell. Natural-conditioned Romneys: William Rayner. Ryelands: J. Ridd and Sons. Open Southdowns: J. Knight. Natural-conditioned Southdowns: W. J. Gimblett. Fat sheep: W. R. Maxwell. Fleece wool: D. Canning. Poultry: J. E. Beamish, 1; T. B. Holdaway, 2. Horse leaping events: A'. P. White. Dorset Horn: C. L. Crooks.

British Industry in War Time. The Wellington branch of Messrs Alex. Cowan and Sons, Ltd., papermakers and printers’ furnishers, has received. a cablegram from the firm’s headquarters in London which bears witness to the courage and cheerfulness with which industrial and commercial operations are being carried on in Britain in spite of enemy air raids. The cablegram reads: — “Directors and staff greatly appreciate your thoughtful enquiries. Glad to report all well and cheerful and carrying on in London and Valleyfield despite difficulties.” New Waiouru Military Camp.

The most modern of New Zealand’s military camps is near completion at Waiouru. Half a mile square, it is set in the lee of the hills and enjoys the bracing atmosphere of Mount Ruapehu, 15 miles distant. On completion its capacity will be almost double that of Trentham and Papakura combined, with ample room for enlargement on areas set apart for the purpose. When the finishing touches have been added to what is already done, more than 7000 men will be accommodated, fed, and given recreation with ease. There will, indeed, be no difficulty in taking up to 10,000.

State Housing Scheme. There are still 21,800 people on the waiting list of the State Housing Department, according to figures quoted by the Minister of Housing, Mr Armstrong, in a speech yesterday at the opening of the State block of 50 flats at Berhampore. The Minister said that to secure one of these flats was something like drawing a winner in “Tatt’s,” at least there were as many applicants. Housing was indeed one of the greatest problems Wellington city, at least, had to face, at present. At the rate they were able to build houses in New Zealand, the youngest present would be old-age pensioners before the department caught up with the problem.

Motor Car and Jigger Collide. Four railway bridge painters were injured in a collision between a mo-tor-jigger and a car on the Duthie Road level crossing, near Tengutu (Taranaki) yesterday afternoon, but the driver of the car, Mr Frederick Richard Nicholas, was practically unhurt, though the car came to rest upsid6 down. The injured men are:—Mr Thomas Boyack, married, Wanganui; cuts on the head and shock. Mr James Henrick Cecil Howard, Wanganui; deep head wounds. Mr Henry Thomas Hart, Wanganui; abrasions and cuts. Mr James Hight, Aramoho; badly bruised foot. The first two were taken to Hawera Hospital by ambulance. Proposal to Strike.

The Auckland Butchers’ Industrial Union has advertised a meeting for Sunday morning to consider a proposal to strike. The secretary, Mr W. E. Sill, when approached, said he would have nothing to say till after the meeting. The president of the Master Butchers’ Association, Mr H. C. Bridges, also declined to make a statement, remarking that he preferred to see what happened at the meeting before commenting. From reliable sources it is ascertained that dissatisfaction exists among unionists with the latest award of the Court of Arbitration, some members feeling that they did not receive the favourable treatment that was due to them.

Public Works Employees. “Compared with the peak figure of 25,153 at this time last year, just after the outbreak of war, the number of workmen employed on public works has dropped by 9371 to 15,782,” said the Minister of Public Works, Mr Semple, in a statement last evening. "The immense programme of constructing defence works occasioned by the war, such as military camps and aerodromes, raised the total number of workmen, including contractors’ employees and local bodies' employees engaged on subsidised works, from round about the 20,000 mark in August. 1939, to over 25,000 men within a few weeks, but since then a gradual diminution of the department’s normal activities has resulted in a steady decline in the number employed."