LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7817, 9 June 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The trend of population as affected by land tenures was a subject that crept into Tuesday morning's meeting of the Christchurch Presbytery, when a call was being considered from the charge of Opotiki, m the Auckland province, to the minister at Cust. The prospects of Opotiki m the north were painted m glowing terms, while fithe charge of Cust was saidi to be going back and contracting, as the result of removals from the district.. "We are suffering," said one speaker, "from the fault of a once closely-settled dis<trict being collared by one farmer. He buys his neighbour's land, an,d instead of forty or fifty families once we are now restricted to fifteen or twenty." Then, why allow one man to gratify his fad or passion of adding acre to acre, \o the prejudice of the public interest? Insist on closer settlement on the one hand, and, prevent reaggregation on the o^her; without the last as an inevitable contingency, the first may prove practically useless, The exports from New Zealand for May amounted to £1,953,186, against £1,231,375 m May of last year, According to the statement of a number of farmers who were m town yesterday, more than half of the crops have already been sown throughout the county. The value of the filter through whi«h the water flows into the swimming baths at the Domain is fully shown by the clearness of the water m the baths as compared with the thick, muddy condition of that m the lakes, which are fed from the unfiltered stream,":' At a meeting of the Opposition party m Wellington last night, Mr F. M. B. Fisher (Wellington Central) announced his intention of working for the party m future. Mr C. A. C. Hardy was appointed Whip. A Wellington Press Association telegram states that the Native Health Department is to bo abolished. Dr Pomare will retire, and ten inspectors will shortly receive notice. The New South Wales Department of Agriculture holds the view that fumigated fruit, even though covered wijiti dead scale, cannot infect other fruits,' , and should therefore be admitted. ' ! At a meeting of. the G^iristchurch Presbytery on Tuesday a report on the visitation to Springburn was read.' It recommended that "' the ' moderator, should be instructed to form a provisional session; that the su^n of Ji)lM should'be lent: from the century fund to pay pff the phiirch debt;'and that the minister should bo commended for. his work m the district. The recoinmondation was adopted^

The severest frost of the season was recorded last night, when 12 degrees and a-half were registered at the Domain weather station. , • Mr Bates telegraphed to-day aa follows: Westerly moderate to strong winds and cool but changeable weather; there will probably be frost to-night; the glass shows little movement. An epidemic of measles has broken out in the infant room at the Timaru School. A football team representing Lincoln College arrived in Ashburton by the first express this morning, and subsequently journeyed to Longbeach. where they played a match with a team representing the estate employees. ; Our correspondent reports that' the rainfall at Mayfidd, last Friday, •as registered by the guage at the schoolhouse, was 3 inches and 1 point. A giant savoy cabbage weighing no less than 34*lbs was one of the features of the "A. and P. show at Winton. This particular vegetable was produced by Mrs Laken, of Fern Hills, and it was the object of considerable interest from the largo assemblage. It is estimated that there is in stock at-Bluff and in the various freezers at the present moment about 2000 case's of blue' cod, which represents a total weight of close on 100 tons; The quantity will not be used' locally, but kept in stock. awaiting a more favourable market in Australia, where the demand at present is not too keen. Mr F. Young, town clerk, Gore, has received the following letter from Mr Carnegie's private secretary. '"Mr Carnegie has 'now. authorised/ his cashier,'. Mr R. A. Franks,-' Home Trust Company, Hoboken, New Jersey, to arrange payments on library building'at Gore as work progresses to the extent of £2000 sterling."' Referring last night to the discovery in Auckland of pitch-blende, from which radium is made, Mr Wragge put all his hearers in a good .humour by saying that should the report of the discovery prove to be true, the presentation of a Dreadnought or two Dreadnoughts to the Imperial Government would be nothing to New Zealand, so rich would the country become. • ; A representative of the Blenheim Express was recently shown a'paddock of lucerne, comprising about 16 'acres, which is carrying on an average 18 sheep to the acre, and still there,is an abundance of feed in it. ■''■■ '' , The memorial stone of the .Boys' Home now'being erected by 1 Envoy Jenkins as a gift to the Salvation Army, at a cost of about £400.0, was laid at Elth'am on Monday by the Mayor of that ebullient hamlet.: The South Canterbury Education Board on Tuesday took a definite step with regard to agricultural instruction, and resolved to offer the. post: of'instructor to Dr Hilgendorf, now at Lincoln College, at a salary of £400 a year. ; ■ . . ■ ;. . :.;■ •■.-■' A speaker at the meeting ' of.: the Christchurch Presbytery on Tuesday urged that an appeal for funds on behalf of a distressed city parish'should be made in the covintry districts. He estimated that the value of the; church property in the country was £100,000,' and in the town only. £14,000, yet the I town 'parishes paid much larger'stipends than the country. , ■-;•■'.:. I Germany has a wider acreage under notatoes than any other country in Europe. More than 8,000,000 acres are annually devoted to the crop, and the production, according to the . season, varies from 40,000,000 to 45,000,006 tons. "■.■■'■■'■.. ■■'■■■..' A Methven farmer who was in town on Tuesday said, in reply to questions put to him, that there was still a fair" amount of grain unthreshed ' in the i Methven and i surrounding districts, and the lateness ■of this ; work had been occasioned •by the shortage of corn sacks earlier in the season..-''De-spite; the lateness of the; grain-carting season, ploughing and sowing work is well advanced, and agricultural. prospects generally are encouragingly ! bright," added. the speaker.", Sergeant Gough, of the Christchurch police force, died on Tuesday; after a, short illness. He ,had been suffering from ulceration of the stomach; and,a few days ago his condition -, became serious and he had; tq retire from'duty. Sergeant Gough joined the police in 1887, and in February of thia year he promoted from • constable at Winton to bo sergeant at Christchurchi He was forty-seven years of age. He leaves a widow and three children. Judging by the entries received for the boxing tournament to be held in the Oddfellows' Hall on Friday evening, those who are interested; in thjs form of recreation can confidently anticipate an excellent evening's tainment. The past performance of a number of the entrants, should[ r'esuty in the events being keenly contested: Arrangements for the " accommodation of competitors, a.n.d patrons? have been well attended to, and the, effor-tsi.of the Association to revive amateur foxing, in Ashburton will no doubt receive full recognition on Friday evening.; The programme will commence at 8 o'clock. ! ' •' . ' v '• '■' ' ■ Palmerston North is likely "to pay heavily for the gift of guns frpm the Defence Department. The railway freight on, the came from, Wellington totalled £50. The Borough Council has expressed the opinion that it was an exorbitant chftpg*, and has decided to make.application for a refund of part of it. Altogether, with, the.work of mounting being, done in the square, the guns will cost the municipaliijy' fully i/luU. ' ■ ■ The successful candidate for the medal presented by his Excellency Lor,d. Plunket for the best all-round boy on the New" Zealand Government trainjing ship Amokura has be,en awarded to Petty Officer George Woods, under sixteen years, of age, of Aoroa, Kaipara, in ij\\Q Auckland"' province.. Wood's,'who. has serve^ one year and eight, ttiaoljb,3 on the Amokura, has attained the 1 highest award . for general Efficiency amon^j t boys who l^ave served, over twelve mpnths on. the ship. The "rim. n_er-,up" for the medal is Blair Qullon, sixteen years of age, of Gore, who secures this position owing to his exemplary coqduet, added to general efficiency, iCullen has been on the Amokura fop seventeen months. Woll done, lads—th,e whole of you who have done your best; and not only those who have dono the best, though these are first in honour. Cheap Motor Cycles.—G. H. Carlsons stock-taking sale commences on Friday June 11th. There are, among other bargains, several good Inotbr cycles at prices to suit all. buyers, One "I™°^% ' m, triumph, 2 h-p., £10; CJement-Garrard, 2 h-p.,-"£10-Almorva, 2 h-p., £20; Minerva 23 ft?"'£?? 10s; Bichrono, 2 h-p., J£27 ,1Os'; |.N 4-cyl., 4^ h-p., £57 10s (cpst £75). See the new N.S.U 3 h-p latest model, £65. We have also an old style Benz Car, £25, with really good engine, 5 h.p., water' copied; suitable for portable for drivingfshearmg machines, c\ c. Come, ini'early' arid see these b.r-Kaiv.^.^^n.g G arage Tancred Strty^, ~ v ' ' : ;s 6 fl6 A meeting of women interested in Penguin stewardesses -memorial was held at Wellington on. Tuesday, fh I viT ' Luk. e > **° Prided, said -hat the subscriptions amounted to a little over. £8% I* had been the' object or the. promoters to found andmain;s,m a b.ed in the Wellington Hospital but thei funds available would.no^ admit ot that. It was, therefor^, decided that the money should, bei equally divided . _ b.etwoen the Home of Oom- . passion %h^ Salvation Army Home, the, llja\»n Memorial Homeland St. Mai-y'a Children's Home. This will ins«i4 a bed at any time for children of stewardesses or- searae«, who will be given prefcTenpo he^ore others. Above oach h^cl *t proposed to hang a tablet ! setting- forth that the beds are in memory of the late Mrs Hope and Mrs Jaeobv '