LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVI, Issue 10474, 13 August 1925, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Nearly all the stock and station firms in the town are closed to-day, on account of the Grand National race meeting in Christchurch.

At the. Tiraaru Supreme Court yesterday, W. H. Denley (Ashburton) was granted a discharge in bankruptcy. Probate was granted in the estate of the late Mr Robert Campbell (Ashburton).

Two Ashburton boxing enthusiasts have been appointed officials at the New Zealand boxing championships to be held at Christchurch on August 25, 26, and 27. Mr W. Page has been selected as referee, and Mr A. N. Grigg (Longbeach) as a judge.

"The more doctors we have in the town the better, because there will be less chance of our dying from some disease we haven't got,'' said Councillor J. \V. Sliiitliff, amid laughter, at a. meeting of the Awatere County Council (reports the "Marlborough Express"). A further marked decrease in the number of registrations at the Labour Department at Christchurch was recorded during the week ended Monday when the total was less by 80 than that for the previous week. Over 50 per cent, of the decrease is shown by the lesser number of labourers on the register. The, respective figures wcra 110 and 190.

The Works Committee of the Ashburton County Council yesterday inspected the Traffic Bridge to consider ways and means of protecting the road from flood water. It was decided to call tenders immediately for the construction of a 12ft. culvert under the approach, this being considered the most practical means of dealing with the trouble.

The claim that Ashburton County is the home of tiie ploughman, and that the team work done here, and in other parts of wheat-growing Canterbury, is superior to that in any other province of the Dominion, is substantiated by a large landowner of Hawke's Bay. He obtains all his teamsters from Canterbury, firmly believing them to be good ploughmen, who give special care to the horses. His employees are obtained through an Ashburton iabour exchange.

At the meeting in connection with the Gala last evening, Mr H. R. C. McElrea mentioned the matter of the control of sideshows, stating that at last year's Gala the amateurs in control of the sideshows were rather disheartened at' the lack of interest displayed in them, while the merry-go-round, which was under professional control, was a veritable goldmine. It was worth considering whether all sideshows should be under professional control, the A.A.A. to collect a percentage.

Mr R. Jarden, who resides at Hill's Road, near Heathcote Valley, with the members of his family, had his rest violently disturbed early on Monday morning by a large stone crashing through a shed at the back of the premises. The house is situated under the hill, and the arrival of the stone was the preliminary to the falling of a large slip, which burst 'in the back door and sovered two of the rooms with slushy clay a foot deep. The spoil has been removed, several drays having been on the job.

A ploughman employed on a Hatuma (Hawke's Bay) farm, recently had an unenviable experience. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon, while fixing a plough, the horse jumped forward, with the result that the ploughman became pinned down between the horses and the implement. With great presence of mind the unfortunate man grasped the reins and kept the horses from moving any further. For two hours the; man hung on to the horses with death threatening him if the horses moved a few inches. He was found, by a search party an hour after darkness set in.

Thirty-two fat sheep were killed in a railway accident at Burnside on Tuesday night. A line of sheep-laden waggons was being shunted in for next day's sale. Through a mistake at the points, three trucks left the rails and fell on their sides. That was about 10.30 p.m. Immediately the railway staff, assisted by stockmen, commenced tike work of separating the dead sheep from the living. It was a difficult job. Using crowbars, the men knocked the ends out of the waggons and liberated the terrified animals Thirty-two of the sheep were dead. Ihe trucks are more or less damaged.

Mr Northcroft, officer in charge of the investigational plot of 40 acres at Wairoa, on which experiments in connection with eradication of blackberry a/re being carried out, in a statement on the work done up to the present, said that so far none of the specifics tried out had {riven results which would indicate that a solution of the problem had been found. Any mixtures sent to the Department in connection with the bonus of offered by the Government are tried out at Wairoa, but none had been satisfactory. A surprising feature of the work so far had been the small number of solutions sent forward for test"JS- 1 * 1 , addition to the testing work, Mr Northcroft is carrying out experiments with various solutions of, arsenic and sulphuric acid, and also working on the hfe history of the blackberry. It- is considered that the complete work of investigation will take at least two years, and it is hoped that by that time the best method of handling the pest will have been decided upon, even if no specific has been discovered for complete eradication. Mr Northcroft said he was very impressed with the work that bad been done by goats and believed that the eventual" solution might possibly be found in spraying with some solution, burning the dead blackberry and handling the country thereafter with goats. Various methods of cutting and burning will be tried out during the coming summer, and any further solutions sent forward will be tested.

Intending buyers for new cars will be interested to learn that Chevrolet Cars are reduced in price. The new prices are as follows: Tourer and Roadster, with fabric tyres £2l9j with cord tyres £225; with balloon tyres £229; with disc wheels £239; Coach, with balloon tyres £325; Sedan, with disc Wheels and balloon tyres £350; i Chevrolet One Ton Truck Chassis £l96:' Half Ton Light Delivery Chassis "£IBO J These prices includo full equipment. Catalogue with pleasure fr<*tn G. H. Carson, Tancred Street.—Advt*

The Magistrate (Mr E. D. Mosley) will not visit Ashburton to-morrow, there being no business at the Court.

The strike of men employed on tunnel work at the Arapuni dam work is settled. The men resumed work after being idle three days. The terms of the settlement are not disclosed. '

A fair demand exists in the County for teamsters, but owing to Carnival Week being in full swing men for work with horses are difficult to obtain. The ruling wage for a driver of a six-horse team is 45s a week and found. Several have been engaged lately at 455.

The Ashburton Basketball Association's last meeting was" attended by Mr R. J. Thompsou (chairman), Misses R. Marshall and I. King, and Messrs McCormick, senr., and junr. The holding of a seven-a-side open tournament on September 5 was decided upon, and rules to govern it were discussed.

A concert organised by Mrs H. J. Chapman, in,aid of the fund for the purchase of a new playground for the school, was held in the Hampstead Memorial Hall, to a large and appreciative audience last evening.. As a result the funds should be considerably augmented.

Ashburton's street lighting system frequently comes in for praise from visitors to the town, but there are one or two places where an extra light would be a good investment. One such {dace is the Railway Station, where a ittle more illumination at the south end would minimise the risk of accidents which exist at present when trains are arriving or leaving.

For assaulting the acting-station-master at Rakaia on Tuesday evening, by striking him on the jaw with his fcst v Gordon Stoddart was fined £2 and costs, in default seven days' imprisonment at the Rakaia Courthouse yesterday afternoon. Messrs C. Tucker and B. MclNamara, J.P.'s, were on the Bench.

Memorial services for the late Bro. William Reid (Dunedin), who was Past Grand Secretary of Grand Lodge, 1.0.0. F., will be held throughout the Dominion by direction of the Grand Lodge. Fitting tribute to the, memory of Mr Reid will be paid by the Hakatere and Daphne Lodges in Ashburton on Sunday, August 23. The Edith Cavell Loage, Rakaia, will also pay its respects.

Hares are becoming numerous in the Maheno district, in North Otago, and are causing considerable loss among the root and green crops. One farmer reports that in a paddock of seven acres of swedes an area' of an acre had been attacked, and gave the appearance as if some sheep had teen fed upon them. They have also shown a very strong liking for green fed crops. Many farmers in the locality would welcome an organised hare drive as a means of reducing the trouble.

The sporting fraternity was well represented on the express from Christchurch this morning. In addition to several well-known racehorse owners and a big contingent of followers of the sport, the Wellington team to compete in the . cross-country championships at Dunedin this week was travelling, while another carriage was reserved for basketball teams from the Christchurch Technical School, on their way to visit the Invercargill Technical College.

The fishing trawlers Black Cat, ylo-cally-owned, and Kohinoor, belonging to Mr William Currie, of Timaru, collided in the Otago lower harbour yesterday, the latter sinking. The crew were rescued by a third fishing boat. Arrangements have been made to remove the sunken trawler, which is valued at about £I,OOO, says a Dunedin telegram.

Tlie committee of the Methven.Lawn Tennis Club met last evening. There were present:—Messrs A. Baxter (president), E. Hawkhead (hon. sec), W. A. Haden, Mrs A. Orchard and Miss Stone. Mr Alfred Nickolls wrote tendering his resignation owing to being absent from the district. The resignation was accepted with regret. Accounts amounting to £ll 2s were 1 parsed for payment. It was decided to hold the annual social and dance for members only at an early date, when the prizes won during the season will be presented. The date of the annual meeting and of the social were left for the president and secretary to arrange.

The efforts of the Immigration Department on behalf of immigrants newly arrived here are apparently not always appreciated by those whom they are designed 'to benefit. An immigrant was supplied with a railway ticket from Christchurch to Ashburton the other day, and was given full instructions where his future employer, a farmer, was located. He failed to put in an appearance. The employer waited for several days, and finally decided to have nothing more to do with overseas men. He thereupon engaged an experienced Colonial. On the other hand, a fair number of the new arrivals have been placed in Ashburton and - district, -and -have filled their positions with credit. i