LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 August 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Zoning of Deliveries. Authority for the extension of zoning to wholesale as well as io retail deliveries is provided for in amending regulations gazetted last evening. New Potatoes on Market. New potatoes from Nelson are selling in Wellington at Is 5d per lb. It was explained yesterday that only a small quantity of these potatoes was available, and that was why they were bringing luxury prices. There is no price restriction on new potatoes till October 1. Farmer Found Dead.

A week ago Edward Hawken, a well-known farmer of Maungatapere, North Auckland, disappeared and an intense search was made every day by settlers and Home Guards till Wednesday, when his body was found alongside a stone wall on his farm. There was a wound in his throat and a butcher’s knife alongside him. Both his feet were tied to a tree. Sale of Grapefruit. Requests that the regulations governing the sale of grapefruit be carried through to the retailer to prohibit the sale of the fruit before the time allowed by the Department of Agriculture, and that the department should have artificially coloured grapefruit marked as such by the grower and retailer, were made by the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation at its annual conference in Wellington yesterday. Earthquake Repairs. Regulations gazetted last evening give power to a local authority to serve notice on an owner requiring him to repair earthquake damage or to remove any dangerous part of his premises. Any owner failing to comply will commit an offence and will be liable to a fine of £5O. Provision is made for a right of appeal within three days to a magistrate, who may confirm, modify, or cancel the notice. Potato Stocks. In answer to an inquiry last night as to whether supplies of potatoes would be available for civilian use, the Minister of Supply and Munitions, ’Mr Sullivan, explained that apart . from the stock held by retail fruiterers and grocers throughout the country, no further release of potatoes could be made for civilian use in the meantime. “I realise that the stocks held by the retail trade are very limited indeed,” said the Minister, “but the, position demands that this curtailment of consumption be instituted till such time as further supplies become available either from overseas, or from the new season’s production within the Dominion. I regret that efforts made to obtain supplies from overseas have so far been unavailing, as the same acute shortage obtains in those countries.”