LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIII, Issue 9786, 31 January 1923, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

In the Auckland Police Court, William Henry Sheffield was charged with having sold literature calculated to encourage violence and lawlessness, namely, the “A.B.C. of Communism.” He was fined £25 and costs, in default three months’ imprisonment.

It is understood that the running of the extra express train service on the main south line will be continued for some days yet. The double service was introduced to cope with the large amount of traffic during the Christmas and New Year holiday season. If the number of travellers shows no great decrease during the next month or so it js possible that the service will be maintained until Easter.

Better cars at lower prices.—Ashburton County residents will appreciate the efforts of the manufacturers to provide better cars at lower prices. Chief interest will be centred on the line of cars being; offered by G. EL Carson. These include Hudson. Essex, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Durant. Renault, and Vulcan Cars. This line covers the requirements of all buyers. The prices have been reduced to bedrock, and early deliveries will be made. Intending purchasers are invited to call or write for full particulars, which J will receive prompt attention.—Advt. j

The nine-year-old boy, Willie Johns, of Fairfield, who fell from the train at Dromore and fractured his skull some two weeks ago, is reported by the hospital authorities to be progressing favourably.

An Auckland message says that at 12.24 last night a sharp earthquake was felt through the Auckland district. The first shake awakened sleepers and rattled windows, and was followed by a series of slight tremors. So far no damage has been reported.

The stage lights at His Majesty’s Theatre last night failed during the vaudeville performance of Mr Cecil Verne. With prompt resourcefulness the management brought into play the strong light which projects the films on the screen, and the versatile entertainer was able to continue his performance without having been put to any undue inconvenience-.

The Ashburton Amateur Swimming Club will hold a 100 yards race in the Domain baths to-morrow evening. The following are the handicaps: —R. M. McGregor scr, S. McClymont scr, J. Ramsay 2sec, A. Dunlop 7, F. T. Ray 8, R. Frew 9, A. Byrom 10, J. Stoddart 12, H. Lewis 12, A. McClymont 12, J. M. Mcßae 14, W. Ritchie 15.

“If T were Minister for Health I would not recognise any conscientious objectors. I would put them in gaol. They are a danger to themselves and their families. There should be no such thing as a conscientious objector in a civilised country.” Dr. Adams, speaking to the Sanitary Inspectors’ Conference at Wanganui on the subject of conscientious objectors to vaccination against small-pox.

There -will be plenty to interest lovers of outdoor sports activity on Saturday. The bowlers will be defending the Bristol Challenge Cup, won from the Kia Ora Club a few weeks ago. The Timaru Club is in search of the Cup. The Ashburton Club has won the Cup on two occasions, each being on-the sixth day of the month. Saturday will be the third of the month, but as three is a factor of six the defenders are not altogether without hope. In the Domain swimming pool the Ashburton Amateur Swimming Club will hold its annual carnival. It is expected that a large number of swimmers from the New Zealand championships in Timaru will be_ present. The baths are to receive special attention. Cricket matches will also be in progress, while the rounds in the tennis clubs’ ordinary torunaments will be advanced.

The Borough School Committee evidently intends the Education Board and Hampstead .School Committee in the decision to aiter the boundaries of the Borough .Schools area. It had been decided th“t Ham stead’s area be increased te \Miiiam Street although the original request was that it should run to Cass Street. The Borough some two years ago had the Allenton district taken from it, and the increase in the Hampstead area will mean that from Cass Street to the railway is of little value, being mostly all business area. Furthermore, the Borough School in its present position cannot extend to the south on account of its being immediately bounded by the river. The membeis consider that the school area is being unjustly reduced. The Education Board has, according to advices, agreed to send a deputation to meet the Borough and Hampstead committees on February 12. The deputation will be comprised of Messrs G. W. Armitage (chairman), T. Hughes, and E. H. Andrews, ; , * r

Satisfactory arrangements have been arrived at between the Fairfield Freezing Works Picnic Committee and the Railway Department as regards facilities in connection with the picnic excursion to Timaru on Saturday. In view of an accident last year, and the great danger to women and children, the committee requested that the train be not shunted at Ashburton on the home journey. The Department has replied that in order to save the Fairfield and Dromore passengers changing at Ashburton sufficient cars would be clearly labelled at Timaru “ Fairfield and Dromore,” and passengers for those stations would be directed to them. The guard of the train would also advise any Fairfield and Dromore passengers in the wrong cars to change at Ashburton. Some of the cars of the train would be taken, off at Ashburton for the use of the Ashburton School on the following Thursday. Every care would be taken in the shunting of the cars at Ashburton. It will be remembered that in the past Dromore excursionists had to pay full and separate fares ,to Fairfield, from whence they would travel at the picnic rates. The protest of the committee has not been in vain in this connection, for the Department has agreed that on Saturday excursionists from Dromore may travel on Fairfield tickets. ;

p' ■ • - .'.si.. ■ ,A, Wellington lady.-. Allying a recent visit to New York went,, through the telephone exchange in that, city. “It was certainly most interesting,” writes the visitor, “as this exchange has all the ’phoned of the New York financial district, and is, I believe, the largest in the world- Some of these buildings have so many sub-exchanges. For in-' stance, a building like the Whitehall would have as many as 2000 ’phones, and you can guess, once seeing New York down-town, what a number of ’phones are in use. The girls work eight hours on day duty. They have their meals at a cafetaria on the premises. . They have a fine rest-room, with piano and graphaphone. On one floor there are dental rooms, hospital rooms, etc. They employ 14 doctors and eight nurses. The doctors do not actually treat the employees, hut give them advice; and in the dental division the teeth are cleaned free, and advice is given as to where the teeth

can be tested otherwise. The girls are only permitted to use set sentences over the wire; any other conversation means instant dismissal. At the end of each board there is a listener, who reports on each girl if necessary. In another room is a board which registers how many calls each girl receives a day. This register is not written down, but is photographed, and then there are no mistakes. They have some automatic ’phones in, 'but it would take years before they wore all installed where there are so many subscribers.”

Ir you have an old and valued photograph which is fading and deteriorating take it along to the Bunz Studio, who will be pleased to advise you on the best niethod of preserving it. We produce copies and enlargements which often outshine the original in point of clearness and faithful reproduction.— Studio. 116. Burnett Street, opposite Guardian.—Advfc,

i Sis years ago to-day the U-boat war against the Allies was commenced, Germany making great efforts to smash the British blockage and destroy mercantile shipping. The German tactics were successfully combated, although much loss of lives and tonnage was caused. Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the establishment of Soviet rule in Russia, the former regime having been completely vanquished from the offices of the nation*

A public meeting to discuss the proposed increase in telephone charges may be expected within a week or so. The Mayor (Mr R. Galbraith) stated this morning that it was a good move to have such a meeting, where representative opinion could be expressed. The Council had already expressed its protest against the proposal, and he would like to hear the opinions of the business men and townspeople generally.

Speaking of the difficulties of eradicating noxious weeds, a Gisborne farmer relates that some years ago he had cut down a gorse hedge that had been allowed to grow unchecked. He then cultivated the ground, which came up with thousands of gorse seedlings. The area was ploughed up and cultivated regularly for five years with the expressed object of eradicating the gorse. The property had since changed hands, and to-day gorse was to be seen in flower on this very place. The seeds remained dormant in the ground for years.

The welcome change from rain and dullness to bright sunshine yesterday was sustained to-day. Yeterday the heat was fairly oppressive, especially in the forenoon, and the thermometer registered 84 degrees in the shade. Today the heat, which at 2. o’clock was 79 degrees in the shade, is pleasantly tempered by a moderate northerly wind. No rain fell last night, though the dew was heavy. At this morning’s reading the barometer stood at 29.74in5., a substantial increase on the previous reading, which was 29.51.

The, Borough . School re-opened _this moraine- after the holidays. The attendance now warrants an additional two teachers, and the appointments will be announced shortly. Meanwhile, Mr R.' pisen of the Mayor, is relieving. Actual figures as to roll numbers are not available yet, as many of the children are not back from holidays, and it will he next week before matters are really at all settled. The school loses nearly 50 pupils frbm Staiidard 6 this year, these having passed and moved) on. It is expected the incoming infants will make up the numbers.

The local labour exchanges report ‘a shortage of men ready to take up harvest work. As a consequence of the very warm weather experienced during the last few days, harvesters have as a rule been engaged on the spot, and a goodly number have gone each day to the scene of their work. The local labour offering was reported this morning to have been almost entirely absorbed, and that the numerous enquiries for hands could not be satisfied. One or. two of the local threshing mills are being held up through lack of men. It is reported that quite a number of harvesters intended coming to-day from Christchurch in the hope of obtaining work.

Stock agents are busy searching the districts for farmers who have store lambs, to sell, The shortage of such lambs,.is really acute in the Ashburton County, this being due to the fact that great numbers were got away this yean almost direct. from the mothers, and, generally, the lambs were able to be got away much earlier than hitherto. The country has “feed to burn.” It is peculiar to see so much feed actually wasting, whereas in years gone by this time of the year has been known to be a critical period in this respect. The demand for rape lambs is to-day far in excess of the supply, and until the lambs from the fan back hill country, which were la-ter lambs, come down, the supply will probably continue to diminish.

Further details of the dual drown-; ing fatality in the Wilberforce Fiver are to the effect that the bodiy of Miss Elizabeth Irwin has been recovered by the police. It transpires that the age of George Good, the young man drowned, was 31 years, not 19, as formerly reported. An inquest on the bodies of the deceased was held at the iron shed on the bank of the Wilberforce this morning, before Mr Blackwell, J.P., and a jury of four. A verdict was returnedl that the deceased persons were accidentally drowned whilst attempting to cross the Wilberforce River while in flood. The bodies were removed from the scene to-day, the deceased woman <to receive burial in Christchurch, and the remains of George Good to be interred at Ashburton.

One or two courting couples whose habitat lastflight was beneath tjie accommodating trees at the Domain swimming pond received a surprise . shortly after 9 oJclock. The placid water, glistening invitingly under a bei witching moon, and more or less tepid from the hot sun of the day, was too much for four young men to resist. Suddenly heavy splashes in quick succession caused the couples to start and wonder, probably, what mad act was being committed. The moonlight bathers said sufficient about the “glorious” state of the water to indicate to the couples that nothing was amiss. However, unostentatious withdrawals were effected. While the good weather lasts, couples cannot be too sure of nestling in the precincts of the baths. That possession is nine points of the law does not hold well in this case.

A Wellington message says that the ballot recently conducted by the Alliance of Labour on the question of a general -strike as a protest against wages reduction resulted iu favour of a cessation of work. The president of the Alliance, Mr M. J. Mack, stated to-day that the ballot was the largest and most complete ever taken in the history of Labour in New Zealand. Ihe decision of the ballot had been haiided on to the National Executive, which would exercise its own judgment

as to what should be done in connect tion with the . matter. Affiliated workers had signified very definitely how far they were prepared to go in protesting against the reduction that had taken place. The railwaymen. in common with other organisations, had declared by a siibstantial majority in favour of a definite protest, but it was i-ffi i* by negotiation an industrial difficulty would be avoided.