LOCAL AND GENERAL

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20995, 23 December 1939, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Publication of Waikato Times The Waikato Times will not be published on Monday, Christmas Day. or on Monday week, New Year’s Day. The Waikato Times will be published on the other days over the holiday period, and readers who will be absent from their homes during the season are advised to make arrangements to obtain their copies from agents at the various resorts. Money For Butterfat A total payment of over £IIO,OOO for butterfat was made yesterday to suppliers of dairy factories operating in the middle north, says a message from Whangarei. Holiday Roads The Hamilton branch of the Automobile Association (Auckland) advises that the Napier-Taupo Road is in good order, but that the NapierTaihape Road is not recommended. Wages Increased Eighteen thousand blast furnace and coke workers in Britain and thousands of ironstone workers and quarrymen have been granted an increase of 8d a shift for adults and 4d for youths.

Russian Ballet in Auckland Members of the Russian Ballet passed through Auckland to-day on their way to Australia from America. Another passenger by the Mariposa was Miss Carrie Moore, the original “Merry Widow” in Australia and sister of Mrs E. Mcßeath, who produced “A Runaway Girl” for the Hamilton Operatic Society recently.

Christmas Day At Sea To avoid arriving at Sydney on Christmas Day, the Matson liner Mariposa, which arrived at Auckland from San Francisco yesterday morning, adopted the unusual course of remaining in port overnight. The liner resumed her voyage at noon today and will reach Sydney on Boxing Day. Full advantage of the long stay was taken by her passengers, many of whom travelled to Rotorua and other tourist resorts.

New Railway Carriages Four new first-class carriages on two of the trains for Wellington attracted considerable attention at the Frankton railway station last night. Air-conditioned to a temperature of 70 degrees, the carriages incorporate many of the latest ideas in train design and the seats are particularly comfortable. The new carriages, after the holiday rush period, will be used on the Main Trunk expresses. Ocean Yacht Races The ocean yacht race from Auckland to Whangaroa, a distance of 150 miles, started off King’s Wharf, Auckland, at 7 o’clock last evening. The competitors were lorangi, Tamatea, Little Jim, Marangi, Aramoana, Altair, Windward, Tainui and Matatua. In the event of the breeze holding, the boats should reach their destination to-morrow afternoon. The finishing line is outside the entrance to Whangaroa Heads. The annual yacht race from Auckland to Tauranga started prom King’s Wharf at 3 p.m. to-day. The first prize is the Colin Norris Memorial Gold Cup, a miniature, and £lO. Fishing Industry The decision of the Bureau of Industries dealing with more than 250 applications from all parts of the Dominion for industrial fishing licenses has been announced. This represents a wholesale cleaning up of the industry in the interests of those regularly engaged in fishing, protecting them from the competition of part-time fishermen, whose applications have been refused. It has long been a cause of complaint that the livelihood of regular fishermen was prejudiced by persons who sell occasional week-end catches at the market or on beaches. A Long Wait A Dunedin jeweller was not a little surprised the other day when a woman whom he could not remember having previously visited his shop came to the counter and, giving her name, asked casually for the watch she had left withlhe firm for repairs. Although believing that the woman had mistaken the shop, he went to see if he could find the watch she had’described, and, much to his surprise, he found it. But his surprise was greater still when he discovered that the watch had been waiting for its owner to return for nearly 10 years. New Cathedral Fund The Bishop of Wellington, the Rt Rev. H. St. Barbe Holland, in an interview made it clear that there was no question, because of the war, of abandoning the Centennial appeal for building an Anglican Cathedral in Wellington and for the establishment of a fighting fund. The Bishop said that the term of office of Canon Malcolm as organising secretary of the Centennial appeal ended on March 31, and he would be returning to the parish of Hawera. During the past three months over £I3OO had been received for the Centennial appeal, and on December 14 new money in cash promises totalled £72,091, of which £58,120 was earmarked for the cathedral. After payment for the site, £74,000, there was a balance in the old cathedral fund of £21,687, the bishop added, and, taking into account bequests, the value of the site occupied by St. Paul’s and the rebuilding fund, approximately £106,000 was still required for the cathedral. Effort to Prevent War The story of what he described as a remarkable attempt to prevent the outbreak of war, made at the Copenhagen gathering of Chambers of Commerce, was told by Mr R. J. F. Boyer, of Brisbane, one of the three Australian delegates to the Assembly of the League of Nations this year, who is returning to the Commonwealth by the Mariposa. Large delegations were sent by Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan, and, fostered by President Roosevelt, an endeavour was made to call a Six Power Economic Conference of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. “The move was a little late, as the Danzig trouble was then at its peak,” said Mr Boyer, ‘‘but there was remarkable unanimity at the conference. Each delegation urged its Government to assist. Britain expressed willingness, but nothing was heard from Germany.”