LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 July 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Interest and Debt Free Money. An Auckland remit favouring interest and debt-free money for soldier settlement was defeated by 29 votes to 24 at the annual Dominion conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union in Wellington yesterday. The remit was: “If returned soldiers are to be rehabilitated on the land, the money required should be made available by the issue of interest-free and debt-free money from the Reserve Bank.”

Overseas Trade. A substantial increase in exports, and a decrease in imports are shown in the overseas trade figures for May, released yesterday by the Customs Department. For the five months of 1942, both exports and imports show slight increases. The figures for the 11 months of the production- year, which ends on June 30, also show increases for both exports and imports. Exports during May totalled £7,450,000, compared with £6,644.000 in May, 1941, an increase of £806,000. Imports for the month amounted to £4,926,000 against £5,536,000 in May, 1941, a decrease of £610,000. For the month there was an excess of exports over imports of £2,524,000, compared with £1,108,000 in May, 1941, an increase of £1,416,000. For the five months of 1942, exports totalled £32,191,000, compared with £31,344,000 for the same period of 1941, an increase of £847,000. Imports for the five months were £18,566,000 against £18,374,000 during the 1941 period, an increase of £192,000. The favourable trade balance for the five months was £13,625,000, compared with £12,970,000 in 1941, an increase of £655,000.

Concert Parties Entertained. Members of various concert parties were entertained by the Army at a complimentary dance held in the Municipal Hall last night. There was a large attendance. Frank Pool’s Orchestra played the dance music. Gumboot Shortage. Speaking at the Farmers’ Union Conference at Wellington) yesterday, Mi’ Polson, Minister of Primary Production for war purposes, said the gumboot shortage could not be overcome. There was not enough rubber for tires. Everything vzas being done for rubber parts for milking machines, and it was hoped this would cover the dairy-far-mer for a substantial period. Nevertheless, fanners would be wise to take good care of all the rubber they had. For gumboots, clogs would provide a suitable substitute, and would be made available. There were 15,000 pairs of gumboots in the country, including children’s, of which 8000 pairs suitable for farmers were still in reserve. He did not know who would get these and would not like the job of distribution.

Farmers and Overtime. “That in view of the position which has arisen whereby certain workers have received excessive overtime payments, while soldiers in camp have worked similar hours at ordinary military pay, this conference urges that, for the duration of the war, all overtime rates be fixed at time and a quarter, Sundays and special holidays inclusive.” This remit was carried unanimously at the annual conference in Wellington yesterday of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union. Citing a recent case of soldiers being called on for wharf work, Mr J. S. Elliot, Middlemarch, said that the difference between the soldiers’ pay rate and the watersiders’ pay went to the War Expenses Account. As things were, there was a definite injustice to soldiers.