LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 August 1943, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Earthquake at Invercargill. A sharp earthquake shock was experienced at Invercargill at 12.50 o’clock yesterday afternoon. It was of short duration and no damage was done.

Drunken Motorist Fined

For having been intoxicated while in charge of a motor-truck in Webb Street on Saturday afternoon last, Henry Otto Romani Rasmussen, painter and paperhanger, was fined £25 by Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrates’ Court, Wellington, yesterday. His driving licence was cancelled for a year.

Invited to Christchurch. Men of the Middle East forces at present on furlough in New Zealand are invited by the Union Jack Club to spend a week’s holiday in Christchurch as guests of the club. It is most important, however, that the date of the visit should be arranged before the men leave home, as there has been such a magnificent response to the club’s invitation that accommodation is over-taxed.

Sequel to Attack on Constable. As a sequel to an attack made on a constable by men in Pitt Street on Friday night while the constable was guarding a motor-car containing sly grog, Walter Samuel, a Maori, aged 25, appeared in the Auckland Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning charged with having sold liquor without a licence, having assaulted a constable in the execution of his duty, and having aided and assisted in the supply of liquor to a Native. Samuel admitted the charge of having sold unlicensed liquor but denied the other two charges. The magistrate sentenced Samuel to three months’ gaol for having assaulted the constable and to one month for having sold unlicensed liquor.

An Apology Refused. “The association feels that the council's charge, ‘inimical to the interests of the State,’ levelled at any or all of the officers of the W.E.A., must be substantiated specifically by naming the officers the council has in mind, and giving details of the activities objected to. Unless this detailed information can be supplied we must ask for a complete withdrawal and apology.” These were the terms of a letter received by the Wellington City Council yesterday from the Workers’ Educational Association. The council, without any discussion, decided to take no action. The city council recently informed the association that it would be prepared to consider the question of a grant in support of its activities “if and when the officers of the association whose activities, in the opinion of the council, have been inimical to the interests of the State, have been removed from office.”

Sly Grog Seller Sent to Gaol. Pleading guilty to a charge of having sold liquor without' having a licence to do so, Roy Baxter Caulton was sentenced to a month’s imprisonment by Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrates’ Court, Wellington. Accused sold six bottles of beer to service men at 3s a bottle.

New Whirokino Bridge. Work has commenced on the construction of a reinforced concrete bridge to replace the old wooden Whirokino bridge across the Manawatu River near Foxton. Announcng this, the Minister of Works, Mr Semple, said yesterday that he expected the bridge ''would be open for traffic in twelve months.

Transport Control Committees. At a meeting of the Wairarapa Provincial Executive of the Farmers’ Union, held in Masterton yesterday afternoon, it was decided to send a telegram to the Minister of Transport requesting equal representation with transport operators on the general transport control committees throughout the district.

Producers’ Conference. Referring to rehabilitation at yesterday afternoon’s meeting of the Wairarapa Provincial Executive of the Farmers’ Union, Mr A. Linton said that as a result of representations made by the Dairy Board, a conference of all sections of producers would be held in Wellington on Wednesday. The conference would consider the whole matter of rehabilitation. Fines and Imprisonment. Mr Justice Kennedy at Dunedin yesterday imposed fines of £75 on Harry Herbert Johnson and James Campbell Smith, partners in the butchery firm of Bartons, Limited, and sentenced Robert Samuel Kroon, chief clerk in the Army Department, to six months’ imprisonment. All three had admitted charges of having attempted to obtain money from the Government by false pretences. It was stated that Johnson and Smith, at Kroon’s request, made a claim on the Army for bacon which had not been delivered, and gave him a cheque for that amount to enable him to meet a shortage in his accounts. Art Union Winner Before Court. “This young woman won £2OOO in an art union in July of last year, and since then her attendance at work has been very irregular,” said an assistant-man-power officer at Auckland, giving evidence against Maisie Pilbrow, factory hand, aged 19, who was charged before la magistrate with having absented herself from work. Defendant, who pleaded guilty, was stated to have been given two weeks’ leave following her good fortune in the art union, after which she obtained further leave till December because of her mother’s illness. Her attendance had been very irregular since January. She was fined £1 and costs 10s.