LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 January 1943, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

No Masterton Show. A statement published in a Wellington paper on Saturday that there was a possibility of a show being held at the Solway Showgrounds in February is quite misleading. There is no chance at all, states Mr R. H. Williams, secretary of the Masterton A. & P. Association, of a show being held. Mr Williams said there might have been some prospects six weeks ago, but those hopes had vanished. Out of Danger.

Miss Hazel Josephine Salmon, aged 19, who has been in the Wellington Hospital since Thursday morning with bullet wounds in her head, arm and neck, received at the same time as two American Marines were shot dead at 17 Terrace Gardens, is now off the dangerously ill list. Last night her condition was reported to be “quite satisfactory.”

Alleged Theft. Leonard Bowley Bolton-Moss, company director, aged 46, who was recently arrested in Sydney and brought back to New Zealand by Senior-Detective J. Thompson, appeared before Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, yesterday, to answer charges of, while managing director of Hamilton’s (Australia and New Zealand), Limited, stealing sums of money fsom the company. The charge involved £5O on or about September 24, 1939; £5OO on February 15, 1940; and £250 on February 19, lj)40. On the application of the police, a remand was granted till January 18. Postage on Soldiers’ Letters.

“There appears to be doubt as to the correct postage rate on letters addressed to members of the New Zealand Forces stationed in the Pacific,” said the Postmaster-General, Mr Webb, last night. “Some persons are under the impression that by paying a special rate letters will be forwarded by airmail. “Actually there is only one rate—the surface rate of 2d for the first ounce and Id for each additional half-ounce,” the Minister added. “This does not mean that all letters are forwarded by surface means. Whenever it is possible to do so, opportunity is taken to dispatch as much mail as possible by air, but as no guarantee of air dispatch can be given, the ordinary surface rate of postage applies.”

Labour for Flax Industry. Labour is urgently needed for the flax-milling industry and the War Cabinet has approved the release of soldiers from the Army for this work. Announcing this yesterday the Minister of Mr Jones, said that the types of labour required are cutters, mill hands, stripper helpers, scutchers, paddockers, classers, bench loaders, sorters, trimmers, and rouseabouts. “On a man tin camp volunteering,” added the Minister, “his unit commander will decide whether he can be spared by his unit, and if so the district manpower officer will interview him and decide whether he is suitable. Selected men will then be directed to their place of’ employment and will be released from camp on leave without pay. In view of the great importance of this industry and of the serious shortage of suitable labour it is hoped that soldiers who have had the necessary experience or possess the required qualifications will volunteer, but it must be pointed out that even if a man is suitable it may not be possible in the interests of the efficiency of his unit to release him.”

Committed for Trial. The two prisoners who escaped from the Auckland gaol on the morning of January 7 and who were captured at Orakei early the following morning appeared handcuffed together and clad in prison garb before Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., at Auckland yesterday. They were Stanley Thomas Port, labourer, aged 20, and Daniel McMullen, naval rating, a native of Ireland, aged 21. They faced joint charges of escaping from lawful custody and the theft of two lots of articles while they were af. liberty. ‘All the charges were admitted. They were committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. Meat Production.

The official figures of killings for the present 1 season at the Dominion’s freezing works from October 1 till December 19, as issued by the New Zealand Meat Producers Board, show that lamb killings now total 1,338,006 carcases, this being a decrease of 603,685 carcases over the killings to December 20 last. Wether mutton killings are 26,618 carcases, and ewe mutton killings 47,079 carcases, compared with 70,766 and 29,225 carcases respectively last season. Frozen beef production has reached 36,032 quarters compared with 24,189 quarters last) season. Porker killings total 7.751 carcases, a decrease of 20,038, whilst baconers total 30,964 carcases, a decrease of 63,407. Little Absenteeism.

Confirming the indication obtained last week, reports at Christchurch yesterday, when most factories had resumed work after the holidays, were that comparatively few complaints about absenteeism had been made in the Christchurch district. The district manpower officer, Mr Ross, said that complaints had been very few and he knew of no bad cases. Only one or two complaints have been received by the Canterbury Employers’ Association and one by the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association. Christchurch clothing factories generally have apparently not been much affected by absenteeism. The secretary of the Tailoring Trades Union, Mr J. Roberts, said yetserday that he had made a number of inquiries which showed only isolated cases of ilbsenteeism.

Soldiers Help Gather Crops. Soldiers have already started harvesting in Mid-Canterbury under the scheme whereby the Army will assist farmers to gather this season’s crops. This week more soldiers will start work in South Canterbury, and, as the grains ripens in North Canterbury, troops in this 'area will take their places beside the farmers in the fields. Since the Government announced that the Army would assist with the harvest, primary production organisations and Army officers have been busy working out a scheme that will ensure that every acre of crop in the country is garnered when it is ripe. That plan is now in operation, and it is as simple as it is efficient. Reduced to its elements, it is this: The farmer fixes a date for his harvesting, rings an Army officer in his district and gives the word,, and when he turns out to begin his work there is all the labour he wants waiting to get going.