LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 July 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Stipend of Clergymen. At the Wellington Diocesan Synod yesterday it was decided that the vestries of each parish and parochial district be recommended to increase the stipend of their. Vicars and curates by the granting of a cost of living bonus, according to the circumstances of each case. New Services Club. Intended primarily as a centre of hospitality in Wellington for service men and women whose homes are overseas, the Allied Services Club in Manners Street was opened by the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, yesterday afternoon. The ceremony was attended by political leaders, heads of New Zealand and allied services,, diplomatic representatives and administrators of the patriotic funds and patriotic workers. Mr McLagan’s Position. Ngakawau miners, at a stop-work meeting held on Monday at the Stockton mine, decided bi 7 a large majority to rescind the previous resolution regarding the appointment of Mr A. McLagan to the new War Administration, and its bearing on his position as national secretary. The following resolution was recorded: “That Mr McLagan be permitted to stand for the position of national secretary and, if elected, a pro tem secretary be appointed. If the war finishes before his term of office expires, he will automatically resume his former duties as I national secretary.” Mr Muir, referring to the appointment of Mr McLagan to the War Administration, said that all the Buller miners at a special meeting recently accepted the national council’s recommendation, and felt that the honour had been bestowed, not only on Mr McLagan, but on the industrial movement, of which miners were a part. Inequalities of Wealth.

Speaking at the Wellington Diocesan Synod yesterday, Canon D. J. Davies said that the Church today, in taking a deep interest in political, economic and social problems, was not invading new territory, but was merely seeking to recover the territory which once belonged to her. The quality and quantity of material things that a man enjoyed and the methods by which they were produced and distributed involved moral considerations from which the Church could no longer stand aloof. Though New Zealand had been called the working man’s paradise, there were even here inequalities of wealth that were extreme, and that must be abolished. The standard of life of the. masses had been greatly raised by modern methods of production, but nevertheless the owning classes had more than their share. The aim, he stressed, was not equality of wealth but the abolition of extreme inequality. Excessive wealth meant tyranny on one side and slavery on the other. The profit motive had a natural place, but the present social system emphasised it and excluded far finer motives in the production of wealth.

Frost in Masterton. A frost of 4.4 degrees was registered in Masterton this morning. County Rates. A formal resolution was passed at yesterday’s meeting of the Masterton County Council striking the rates for the year ending March 31, 1943. A statement of the rates levied showed that this year they were £270 less than those made last year. The Russian Way. When a seaman on a Soviet ship in Sydney became ill he was treated at an intermediate hospital at a charge of £3 3s a week, but his captain ordered his transfer to a leading, exclusive private institute (says the newsletter published monthly by the Australian section of the Empire Press Union). “Men are invaluable to us,” the captain said. “The cost of the treatment is nothing. It must be the best.” 71 Children’s Party. The St. Matthew’s College Parents' Association will hold its annual plain and fancy dress dance in the St. Matthew’s Assembly Hall on Saturday next, commencing at 2.30 p.m. A special effort is being made to provide the children with an enjoyable time. A ladies’ committee will supervise the afternoon tea arrangements and competent officials will have charge .of the children's programme which will consist of games, competitions and dancing. Hospital Levies.

According to an analysis of hospital levies affecting certain county councils, compiled by the Hawke's Bay County Council, the increase in levies over the period 1936-43 ranged from as low as 60 per cent, to as high as 177 per cent. It was noteworthy that in the case of the Masterton County Council, in which the increase in the levy in that period was 144 per cent., the present rate per £lOOO of unimproved valuation was £2 10s. the second lowest of the counties for which the analysis was taken. The only county with a lower figure, £1 15s per £lOOO of unimproved valuation, was Ashburton, where the percentage of increase in levy was 60 per cent.

Early Reprieve Wanted. Addressing the forty-first annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union in Wellington today, Mr W. W. Mulholland observed that it was interesting to note that in the period of the Union’s existence he was the fourth person to hold the distinguished office of Dominion President, and one of those four person's had held office for only one term. “We are perhaps unique among societies in New Zealand,” Mr Mulholland added, “in the length of the terms of our Dominion Presidents, but I hope no one will start figuring out averages and reckoning up how much longer I have to serve to complete my sentence. I am hoping for an early reprieve.”

Coughs and colds occur to each, And their symptoms wisdom teach; What relieves and cures we heed Till we know the aid we need. Coughs and colds soon wane away When relieved without delay— All we need to that assure Waits in Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure. 38