LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8312, 28 February 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There was a scarcity of harvesters in Ashburton last week, but a number ot gangs, having finished their contracts since then, there is how a . plentiful supply available. A , Traction engines are busy conveying the grain from the farms to the^ grain merchants, and business, which has been dull for the past few;' weeks,? is consequently- livening up; ;;;'';, t • Mr W. J. Dickie, M:P. for Selwyn, is urging" the- Government t<> purchase 'the; Mount Somers Estates; of 7,000 acres "of freehold and 12,000, acres iOrmvn leasehold, owned by Mrs Peache. ■He. hopes to induce ' the; of Lands to have a report made oil; it. ■" In addition to the stations formerly advised, cablegrams at deferred rates will be accepted from March 1 for Luxemburg, Spain, Canary Islands, and. all offices- in. Morocco except Casablanca, Mogador, and Rabat. ■ There has been a fair amount,of sickness in the town and district during the past month) Mumps have -been prevalent, and, in. cases where adults were affected, very sever©. In the town there liave not been, any cases of notifiable infectious diseases reported, 'but; a slight outbreak of scarlatina occurred in the country,: ";-.'....',':■ ;•. ; • " Tenders 1 for supplies to the Ashbur-. ton County' Hospital close to-morrow. It is understood that so far .very? few, tenders have been received, and grocers and others are seemingly not very eager, to tender for contracts where a large amount of troubje ; is involved in preparing a price '.lis/fc^.which, even if acceptable, allows for■] ah unusually small margin of profit, f v vi: A meeting of those interested in the forthcoming bazaar for the purpose of augmenting the uniform fund, of the Ashburton Municipal Brass Band, was held last evening. There was a good attendance, and it was decided to> establish, a sewing class for the .purpose of the manufacture 'of; goods for disposal at. the bazaar, and several competitions were arranged for. • Last week farmers had d little difficulty in obtaining harvester^ on the terms they were offering, nanielj, Is an. hour. Some of the more experienced men held out for Is 3d and Is 6d an hour, but as there was no dearth of labour and many were willing to accept the amount offered, the farmers soon gained their point. There'are many barriers to organisation on the part,, of harvesters, and that concerted action which is so much dreaded in connection with many industries is not possible with them. Some two years ago the gum trees throughout the district were badly affected with a species of blight-which was retarding their growth as well as killing some of the trees. With a view to combating' the evil a number of ladybirds were imported and liberated in the Ashburton' district, and since that time the disease referred to has appreciably "diminished, and some of the trees which were then in a poor state are now strong and healthy. A New Plymouth telegram states t { hat the Taranaki Petroleum.,. Company's No. 5 well, where another blowout occurred on Monday night, is now well under control. Several..tests made yesterday morning prove that the flow is at the rate of fully 75 barrels of pure oi] per day. Possibly this may not be maintained very long, but after six hours thelre .was no sign of.-diminution. The .flow is remarkably steady and the gas-pressure very great. : '" The period for which Territorials were exempted from drill on: account of the harvest closes to-morrow, and all recruits will fee expected to attend drills from (February '29. As the harvest is not' yet nearly over,- an extension oi time is greatly desired by agriculturists, and if the matter,was propertly represented to the authorities perhaps a, further concession' would be made. Farmers < find it necessary to work every available hour of daylight, and'even on Sundays, to gather the harvest in, and the compulsory attendance at drills of those assisting .will considerably delay operations, and, besides, it means additional expense to the landholders. But if anything is to be done in the matter it will need to be done quickly. In America railway carriages are .row being constructed of steel m\d concrete and are givnig very good results as compared.with wooden' carriages, which in time of collision, too often telescope and afterwards catch fire, causing heavy loss of life. The other day in New Jersey State a,train jumped off the track while running at the, rate of fifty miles an hour,, and instead of, the usual spectacle or wreckage and'jpss not a single passenger was' even^ badly shaken up. The steel concrete -cars stood every test perfectly, the rails yielding first to the enormous pressure; and being twisted a!part, while; the cokches stood firm: 'Steel ooafchete oertaljnly cost more than wooden ones, but think of the additional 'safety to those who travel. So satisfied -is '• the trade ■'with •-•the' 1 Victorian system ;of the control of the liquor traffic that (says the Sydney correspondent of the Wellington "Post) it is now pleading for the retention of the Licenses' Reduction Board as a licensing board clothed with the authority to say whicK hotels shall be opened^ as, well as when they shall be closed. Upon the initiation" of the Board, publicans looked with dismay upon a tribunal endowed with almost autocratic powers of suppression. It was feared that it might use its authority without discrimination, and might harass the trade beyond the limits of endurance. This anticipation has been, agreeably disappointed. The Board has fulfilled the duty entrusted to its charge of eliminating the excess in public-houses, but has been careful at the same time to proceed with discretion, and with a due regard to the circumstances and conditions in every instance. The publicans have not been slow to realise the advantages of just treatment. They have seen a number or houses closed, but these have been selected for extinction on just and sufficient grounds. Where the number in a district was in excess of the statutory limit those marked out were the ones least suited to meet the public necessity. The Victorian method has, it is claimed by the " Age," been found much superior to the haphazard operation of the local option system, which often leaves the worst places untouched, and exercises its unrestrained application in-districts where there has been little need for interference. A Warner's Rust-proof Corset will do more for a woman's figure than any , other Corset made. Every pair guaranteed by Local Drapers. 1 344

The Bth Regiment of Mounted Rifles^ will go into camp at Orari pn M&tch 23. The camp is to last eight days; and will break up on March 31. A new 'map of the borough; of Timaru just supplied by the Government to the Timaru Borough Council; is found to be incorrect'in several particulars. The Department is to be asked to call the map," in and correct them. The Auckland police are making ,an active crusade against cargo pillagers, and yesterday four firemen of the steamer Winiana were, brought before the Magistrate and charged with stealing rolls of cloth 'from' the vessel. They were remanded" for a, week. ■ A Timaru telegram states that a party of four young ladies motored to The "Hermitage' ; and back; one of them (Miss Budd )driving. They had no difficulty whatever, taking two days each way, with Tekapo -as a halting place. A Gisborne- telegram states that the long spell of dry weather has broken, f Yesterday heavy rains fell, and last night there were fears of a flood if it continued. From 0 a.m. to 6 p.m. yesterday the rainfall was registered at 2.26 in. ' There have passed south during the •past few days suveral of, the newlymanufactured and specially ventilated railway fruit vans, bound for Central Otago to bring down loads of the prolific fruit crops. 1 As a sequel of the Auckland kidnapping case, Svon Marius Xikkelsen and Richard James were charged at the Police Court yesterday with taking the child > Gladys Kipp away with intent to deprive the mother of the child's custody. A remand for eight days was gi anted aL dio request of the police. Pickpockets at Wirth's Circus, New Plymouth, relieved one man of £30. another, of £16, a third of r 'P and a fourth of 30s. There was also s t.;.w pocket-picking at the H.^wera i«« •s. Evidently the ligiit-:i ii^-fti pnlry aie following the crowds. The Golden Bay Cement Works, at Tarakohe, near Nelson, arc now turning out over 400 tons ot cement .per week. There is an inexhaustible supply of the iint,st material within easy reach, and the plant is of the most, up-to-date description. The protection has, by a " Gazette" notice, just been removed from the following birds indigenous to New Zealand : Kea or mountain parrot, hawks oi all species, black shag, white-throat-ed shag, and sea shag. As a matter of fact, these birds have not been protected for many years. The very best selection of Motor Car Tyres in Ashburton is to be found at R. D. Johnston's Garage. The stock includes all kinds of English, Dunlop, Michelin, and Continental Tyres. As 11. D. Johnston pays spot cash for all tyres, and the .considerable recent reduction in rubber, these tyres are to be sold at prices never be^ fore heard of in Ashburton. There is no charge" for fitting new Tyres purchased from the above Garage. 164