LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8529, 8 April 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The special show, train for Methven will leave Rakaiaat 9,10 a.m. on Thursday next, arriving at Methven at 10.30 a.m. The return journey will be at 5 p.m. from Methven, arriving Eakaia at 6.15 p.m., connecting with the northward-bound express and the southward-bound slow train. A public demonstration of motor ploughing was he'ld'oh the farm of Mr R. McElhinney yesterday afternoon. The tractor was hitched on to two threefurrow ploughs, , set to, cut a 12-inch furrow, six! inches deep.' Owing to the greasy statfe of the ground., tho driving wheels slipped considerably at first, but when the wind had dried the surface 1 a bit tho two ploughs were hauled with ease, giving the onlookers the impression that another two furrows might hav.e been attached, and still have been well within the compass of tho motor. At the Magistrate's Court at Greymouth yesterday, Jack Anderson, a recent arrival from New South Wales, was committed for trial on a charge of assaulting Ernest Woods at-Black-ball. The two men had an altercation early on Saturday. In the afternoon Anderson entered an hotel bar, where Woods was standing, struck him on the jaw with a tumbler, and knocked him senseless. Tho wound required ten stitches. When searched, a revolver was found in Anderson's pocket (says a Press Association message). Bail was allowed. At Timaru' yesterday Michael Dempsey, an elderly individual not unknown in Ashburton County, who has' a list of previous convictions against him, was charged with having no lawful means of support, and with begging in the public streets. Sub-Inspector Cruiekshank explained tho circumstances for the prosr-cution. The vagrant, who was in a degraded condition, pleaded^ guilty, and said that he had been pro-' mised work to go to immediately. He would leavo the town straight away if permitted. His Worship said, in that case ho would enter a conviction and order defendant to come tfp for sentence when called upon. The adjourned annual meeting of the Ashburton Permanent Building and, Investment Society was held last] night. ,Mr Hugo Friedlander (Chairman of Directors), was unable to be I present owing to illness, and Mr Joshua Tucker was voted to the chair. Messrs JR. Friedlander, J. R. Hart, Robert Clark, J i Cow, and W. McAllister were also present. The only business was to declare the result of j the ballot regarding the distribution of the credit balance. At tho last meet- | ing the directors proposed that the' credit balance should be 'dealt with as' follows:—To the payment of a bonus o£ 1 per cent, on all shares, making in. all 8 per cent, for the year, £445 123 7d; to placing to the credit of the Fluctuation of Securities and Contin-, gencies Account the sum of £127 12s 2d, and to carry forward £239 5s lid. i An amendment was moved that a bonus of 1| per cent, be passed. The ballot resulted largely in favour of the directors' proposals; the voting being': For tho motion, 278; for tho amend-' ment, 59. The number eligible to ballot was 451. A serious feature concomitant with 1 the development of motor traffic, says "Engineering," has been the increase, in the number of .accidents, and in particular of fatal accidents. A Board of Trade , report -shows that whilst there are fewer accidents with omni-, buses than with trams, the number of fatal accidents' is very much higher... In the Greater London area motor- ' buses caused 1947 accidents, in which 107 persons'were kjlled, while tramoara wore directly responsible for 2330 accidents and 26 deaths. These comparative figures do not, however, the report points out, state the case quite fairly. A considerable number of accidents to other vehicles were directly attributable to the presence of tram-lines in the roadway, so that, according .to the police reports, the total number of accidents attributable to the trams was 5802 during the year 1911. The high, proportion of fatalities attending motor-bus accdents is, • however, a serious matter, and would undoubtedly be largely reduced could some practicable form of fender be devised and fitted. The reduction of speeds advovated by some would be a serious matter, as it would increase the congestion and possibly check the highly desirable migration of the population to the suburbs. It ia not very often that a congregation receives a lecture from the retiring minister, but it occurred at Mangaweka Anglican Church a few days ago. The Rev. Carew-Thomas, when delivering his farewell sermon, is reported by tho "Settler" as. follows:—"It would not be true if ho said h© was sorry to leave Mangaweka. He was very pleased to leave, and without regrets. When he arrived, two and a-half years ago, he was met by three gentlemen, who were very kind to him, one of them showing him round the district. He was very disappointed when he arrived to find, not a church, but" a' room' which had never been consecrated. The vicarage was only a "five-roamed cottage and in a bad position. There was no conveniences whatever. ; ' Cattle, sheep and horse 3 ivero "QriveTi' along the road every day, and the road was nothing but dust or mud. He was not speaking for himself, but for the next vicar' who was coming. He had to speak his mind bofore he left, so that perhaps things i would be made" easier for his successor. The district was very large and tiring. There was a band^ of women outside Manpaweka township who had joined together and decided ,not to discuss the doings of. their vicar or any other vicar in the Dominion, and it was a pity that the women of Mangaweka did not do the same instead of finding fault. H* Vifl-d said things during his &tay here which had not been approved of by Rom<* of the women and the consequence was £h<vy -would not attend'church. In conclusion, he said. 'Farewell, and («od bloss votiall!* There was a very largo congregation present." .

The Rakaia River is reported to be dirty to-day, the Ashburton clear and the Rangitata dirty. Tho total number of rams yarded at th© annual ram and owe fair on Friday last was 560, and only about 40, of these failed to find a purchaser. Tho iVlanawatu and Wanganui SlaughUrmon's U,nions, in reply to applications for registration, have been informed by the Labour Department that their members might conveniently belong to the Wellington Slaughtermen's Union. ,- • '" On a charge of .having failed to koep proper books of account, arising out of their bankruptcy, Herbort Montague Herdson and Francis Reginald Simmonds wero committed for trial at Auckland yesterday. The accused had. been trading as grocers at Pousonby. The Wellington Chamber of, Com r inerce yesterday discussed the proposed Association of Chambers. It was stated that Auckland and several other towns opposed the project, but the opinion was expressed that a beginning phould be made, and it was resolved that the assenting Chambers be asked if they still favoured action being taken, the Wellington Chamber being of opinion that the formation of. the Association should be proceeded with.

A small boy, ten yeatv. of ago, was brought before Mr Rawson, S.M., at Hamilton, charged with entering a dwelling and stealing one penny. After being severely cautioned V the Magistrate, he was discharged. His Wor- ' ship remarked that, it wnsi an unfortunate thing that the matter had been brought under the notice of the police, as had the boy's father been notified in the first place, the boy would probably have been chastised, and would thus have received sufficient correction. With a view to bringing the resources of Australia directly Ivr m- the young people en the United Kingdom, the publicity department attached t.i the High Conimiri&ioner's Office haa organised a system v,i school exhibitions. The educa'tifmr! authorities in the various parts have tVoely granted the necessary facilities, j.jid ia rr.cst of the schools in the" "United Kingdom a class room lias been made available for a display of wool, wheat, jam, fruit and other Australian products. Brief lectures to the bcya and girls on the .advantages-offered by ' the Commonwealth- are"' also delivered. Why cannot New Zealand do likewise P The Canadian Grain Growers' A«*>ciation has agents throughout the' United Kingdom searching for desirable farm hands. In accordance with a scheme adopted at a recent convention, the Western farmers -send a central office in Winnipeg a memorandum of the number of men wanted and the nature of the duties required, with £11 passage money per man, and the Grain Growers' Company deliver the men in Winnipeg. The annual wages proposed are £20 to start v:ith. Tho tightness of the munoy market is apparautly ict being experienced by New Zealand alone, to judge by the following: is in the tightest financial hole it has experienced since the days of the big fire, 1871. The metropolis of the west is bankrupt. The city is so hard pushed for funds that it is paying the municipal' employees only 80 per cent, of the .salaries, while as to other expenses, outside fixed charges, {it is paying only 70 cents in the dollar. The new public improvements, for which it was proposed to issue bonds, have been'temporarily abandoned. No money is available for new equipment for the fire department, x and consequently the firemen in some districts have to run to fires with engines so dilapidated that the men fear ,th© paratus will fall to pieces. The [police department is pressed for money, the health department has, been pared down, the street-cleaning department is cut to the marrow, and all the agencies for securing municipal cleanliness and protection are cramped for funds and impaired in service. Despite all this retrenchment, Chicago faces a. debt of £400,000, which must be pajd out of its corporate funds, unless relief is given through a bond issue. If the Legislature does not com© to the rescue by repealing one law and enacting a bond issue law, Chicago will- go into the hands of receivers. In & recent issue of the " Engineer " appeared an article describing a hew typo of destroyer which is being.'built by the German Admiralty in the confident be)ief that it will considerably improve Germany's chances* of success in naval warfare. The description of the new destroyer states that "it is speedier than any Dreadnought, that it lies low in the water, and that it fights bows on." As it is " not much more than awash, the only target it presents to the enemy's jive is a bow shield, sloping backwards, and of such shape and thickness as to i>e virtually impenetrable. It, serves as tho car-' riago of a single gun of maximum power, furnished with projectiles that play the part of aerial torpedoes, and the gun remains perpetually screened except at the moment of firing. The vessel can "keep the sea in all weathers,, and cjiH light effectively at the longest ranges. Twenty of these destroyed can be built for the cost of a single' super-Dreadnought,, and the German, exports hold, with .ample reason, that' a super-Dreadnought must inevitably succumb if attacked by oven five of such small craft." This new German destroyer represents another attempt to cope with the battleship by ',»' com- I parativoly inexpensive destructive ninohine. In the past all such endeavour-3 have failed, nnd it remains to he se«n whether Germany has, sti(i\v\l,od.' Thflwriter of the articfe'"'in the "Engineer" -states that -the design of tho new vessel was offered to the British Government in 1909, but nothing came of tho negotiations, and it was then ottered to Germany.

At Auckland yesterday two men wh.«r '' had stowed away on the steamer Maheno, from Sydney, were each sentenced to one month's imprisonment. ;" The Matron of the Ashburton County Hospital wishes to'acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of gifts of fruit and vegetables from the Timvald Anglican" Church harvest thanksgiving offerings. A farm labourer, with a wife and six . children, stated in tho Stratford' Court ; on Friday (says the Stratford "Post") ; that his, wages were 81s 'a week, with • house leiit irOo. He remarked thai '. lie could not keep a young family oilthese- w,ages, aaid the (our judgments obtained against him certainly bore out his contention. Mr Kenrick, S.M V . . commented on the loav wage«, and said that in the Hawora. Court, girl witnesses, who were good milkors, > stated that they wore paid as much as 35s a. v. ri:ok. and found. In little Belgium there are about 46ft , on -operative sucioties for the improve^rn<'iit of cattle, the members of which are mainly sniall holders, who ar© e»v coura^ed to imi>rove the breeding of thoir ' animals by prizes offered few every one which attaints a certain number of points in an official inspection, made once in a year. Similar associations exist 1" i'or the improvement of horses, goat* and pigs respectively. Federations in some' cases make sir-' raugemente for shows. Great improvement is reported t« have resulted from the work of. these associations: Thero wero over, 500 co-operative dairies in. , Belgium two.years ago. "Next year, if all goes well, the Panama Canal will be opened. Tlw> dream of four centuries will be realised, the greatest engineering task ot our time accomplished, and. the Pacific and Atlantic made one," says tbfc "Atlantic Monthly." "You can se» now the groat ships moving through— ffciga flying and bands playing—wher*yt:.»terdiiy the lonely traveller hurried across liv* treacherous jungle with h. shiver, :m<3 looked behind him for th»enemy lurking in -every shadow. You can almost hear the rumble and. hum of that mighty, spirit—our tremendous and baffling modern spiritr-whicb... with all its superficial hardness aad. 1 irreverence, works miracles for praefci- ! cal humanity that the old days neror knew or dreamed of." i Speaking "on the land question at- «i> i banquet- tendered to him at New Plymouth on Friday night the Prime Minister (the Hon. W. F. Massey) said tho Reform Party had, as pledged, changed' the land policy from leasehold to freehold. Tenants of Crown landshad been given the right ,to convert their leases to freehold. Next session" lessees of settlement" lands under lease-in-perpe-tuity would be given a similar opportunity. But the settlers under renewable. , lease could hsve no right to-'freehold, '. for land so 'occupied was ' ' land. , He had no' objection to people taking these renewable leases so long aft they knew what they were'doing. He complained thai the land.legislation of" the Government was heing misrepresented in the Opposition Press. The , intention of the law of New Zealand^ since 1873 was that the Crown had the right to take any mineral-bearing lands-. but he would not like to say that this w^s Ihe effect of the. law. His attention hacT been called to the fact that in some districts aggregation was going on. He had no objection to any man owning any amount of land so long as he was develping the land. But in some districts landowners had absorbed the surrounding farms, closing .creamery and school..; This. Government would.'-.; "not have, tliafc sort of thing." It wanted' kutvlivisibn. 'A. return was being pr«- ' pared to'show the amount of' snbdivi-*'-sioh going on. and its contents' wonltT " ' bo a surprise to many.