LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 52, Issue 205, 11 June 1932, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is reported that counterfeit florins have made their appearance in Timam and that a number of businessmen have discovered them in takings. The seventh consecutive frost li'as just been experienced at Waipukurau (Hawke's Bay) and, as on the previous days, the frost was very severe. Water pipes in many cases were frozen. At the height of a severe thunderstorm earl;] on Monday morning a flash of lightning caused the Pukekohe fire siren to sound. The fireman on duty, finding that the indicator switches, of all the alarm circuits had. fallen, realised the cause of the alarm and promptly stopped the siren, but many people were awakened. A warning to cyclists that they must keep rear mudguards painted white was issued in the Ghristchurch Magistrate's Court yesterday by Mr H. F. Lawry, S.M. "Many cyclists appear to think that once they have painted their mudguards then responsibility ends, said Mr Lawry. "They should know that the mudguards . must be kept white. It is one of the most useful by-laws over adopted in this city, and it must be observed." Recently a farmer in Wangamii district was fortunate enough to 'have a legacy left him, and one of his first acts on receiving the money, was to think of a tenant in a house he owned in the city, who was hard up against it. Tho tenant had paid his rent regularly until overtaken by times of adversity. The farmer paid a surprise visit the other day and made a present of the house and section to the tenant. The Tinwald branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union met on Wednesday, when the president (Mrs W. H. Robinson) presided, and conducted the devotional exercises. Votes of sympathy with Mrs A. Hight and family in their bereavement, and Mrs Clark in her illness, were passed. The president reported on the meeting or the executive in Timaru last month Mesdames Watt (Ashburton) and Morse and McMillan were appointed to take charge of the "Bring and Buv stall at next meeting, when the Ashburton branch will have charge of the programme. The speaker was Miss Arnold, of Lagnihor, who gave an interesting address on the hardship and poverty existing in India, where she spent some time as a missionary, bne was accorded a vote of thanks and the meeting closed with the Doxology.

Last month there were three bankruptcies in Wellington, compared with five during May last year. The bankrupts were a painter, a watch repairer, and a company. Theory examinations under the auspices of the Trinity College of Music (London) were held at the Ashburton Technical School this morning, there being 23 candidates. Miss A. E. Gates was the supervisor. Ma - Sydney Baker, who was admitted to the Ashburton Public Hospital some time ago suffering from a fractured skull and other injuries as a result or being knocked oft his bicycle by a motor car on the Main South Road, near Fan-ton, has made good progress toward recovery, and will be discharged to-mcrrow. Severe lacerated wounds on his face and neck were received by Colin Ibell, aged five, a son of Mr J. H. Ibell, junior, of 64 Eton Street, yesterday, when ne was bitten by a dog. The boy was admitted to the Ashburton Public Hospital, and is making satisfactory progress. While travelling up the Alford Forest Road on Wednesday night, a horse and cart driven by Mr Joseph Doherty, of Greenstreet, was struck violently from the rear by; a, motor car, the driver of which did not stop to investigate the damage.- The force of the impact hurled the cart across a fence. _Mr Doherty being thrown into a j neighbouring paddock. He was not injured, but the cart was badly damaged.

There was a good attendance at the meeting of the Ashburton branch iof the British Sailors' Society yesterday afternoon, when Mrs J. R, Wells presided. Mr Minty's report of the work at the Lyttelton Institute was received and the secretary of the executive committee (Miss Fryer) wrote thanking the branch for its gilt of a Christmas cake and ditty bags. Two new members were elected. Songs were sung by Misses Porter and Millichamp, and a recitation was given by Miss Jean Rattrayl Mrs Robertson was the accompaiiiste. , Afternoon tea was served by the committee and a vote of thanks accorded the performers. At a meeting of the Ashburton Plunket Society yesterday,' the president (Mrs F. W. Seldon), presided. Mrs E. Ruddock read the "Hygeia" notes sent out by the society's headquarters. It was decided to dispense with the telephone at the nurse's private home. The nurses' reports stated that during the month there had been 194 visits to homes in the town and 772 to the rooms. The figures for the country were 117 and 365. There were 24 new cases. The car mileage was: town 79, country -' The month was a> particularly heavy one for nurses and each nurse attended an average of 29 cases a day. A vote of sympathy with Miss Hi'ght in the loss of .her father was carried. Many evidences of opiumism were noted by a Taranaki man who has just returned from a visit to the Auckland province. In several of the smaller centres, he states, he met business men who declared that they had established a satisfactory equilibrium between income and expenditure and were looking hopefully to* the future. Both in the city of Auckland and in Hamilton he wa's in conversation with the'heads of bi"- undertakings who expressed the belief that the bottom of the depression had been reached and the spring would bring a marked improvement. His own. observation in Auckland indicated that shops were kept pretty busy and most people seemed to be spending freely, though perhaps a little more cautiously than a few years ago. The discontinuing of the deer tail bounty by the Government after next Saturday," is disappointing news to Stewart Islanders, some of whom augment their income by hunting deer when the sea is too rough for fishing. From the circular received the department evidently is considering the matter of substituting, a bonus for skins, but the bonus in that case would need to be fairly remunerative, as carrying three or lour green skins over rough country is no light task. If the Government has a market for skins it might pay it to pass it on to cullers. It is understood that the Virginian deer skin, which is very beautiful with a light pelt, is becoming valuable owing to its being found suitable for motor nigs and the lining of overcoats.

When the Mount Somers Road Board was abolished some time ago, there were a great many documents for County Council officials to deal with in the winding up of the affairs of the Board. Among some deposited at the bank was one in a heavily sealed important looking envelope, which caused some amusement when it was eventually opened after a great deal of formality had been gone through to obtain it. It proved" to be an agreement drawn up in 1906 undertaking to pay an employee of the board the munificent sum of £4O a year to act as clerk, overseer and returning officer. The document was written in a beautiful copperplate hand on heavy hand-made paper.

Im aid of the' Ashburton Citizens' Relief Fund, the Ashburton Silver Band will give a concert in His Majesty's Theatre to-morrow evening;, when, in addition to the band items, there will be several vocal and elocutionary items, the soloists being Mrs F. J. Chambers and Messrs K.: Norrish and Li. J. Laurenson. The programme is as ioilows:—Hymn ' 'fioliey," band; march, "Entry of the Gladiators,' band; tenor solo, "Like as the Hart," Mr K. Norrish; selection, "Chu Chin Oiiow," band; contralto sob, "Sun of My Soul," Mrs F. J. Chambers;; descriptive, "The Village Blacksmith, band; recitation, "The Glory ot o.he Garden," Master H. Baigent; selection, "Sabbath Memories," band; baritone solo, "Star of Eve," Mr R J. Laurenson; march, "The Conquest, band. "Cod Save the King."

A smart little motor-car broke most of the motor by-laws in Queen Street on Monday. night (says the "Auckland Herald"). It came.down the street without lights, and, although travelling slowlv, held the tram, tracks resolutely against an on-coming tramear, the driver of which expressed some indignation by Jhe way he sounded the gong. Opposite Wyndham Street, the car showed a tendency to move to the right, but without haste, and the tram had to come to a standstill. Some criticism came from the driving cabin as it did so. At this moment a constable appeared. He had seen the car half a block away. He /was surprised to find, that it stopped when lie placed his hand against it and made the rapid conjecture that the driver must be "dead or in a faint." He opened the door and flashed in his torch to find: that the vehicle contained no one and nothing inanimate except a woman's umbrella. The smiling vconstable pushed the car to the kerb and waited for a few minutes to see if anyone would come in pursuit of the truant, and no one claimed it. How it got away on the tram tracks, or how far it had travelled could not at the time be ascertained.

Three cases of pneumonia from the County and one of tuberculosis from the Borough were notified to the respective Health Inspectors this week. A feature of the autumn in Hawke's Bay this year has been the really excellent pumpkin cropping on the flats (states the "Napier Telegraph.") Some very heavy yields of this useful crop have been experienced and growers have had no reason to be anything else but thoroughly satisfied. The use of pumpkins for feeding out to stock is hardly necessary about the , Hawke's Bav flats this year, but several dairymen state that they regularly feed pumpkins to their pigs, with excellent results so far as fattening is concerned. A remarkable feat was recently performed by the staff of an Invercargill carrying company, when six of its men removed a safe weighing a ton and a half from the top floor of the Alexandra Buildings in Don Street to a cellar in the Government Buildings. It was a task which at first seemed well-nigh impossible (says the "Times.") The heavy safe, measuring sft. 6in. in height, bore no terrors for the men engaged, and by the use of ropes they brought'it safely down the staircase. Despite the fact that on either side they had a clearance only of inches, the men succeeded in removing the safe without damaging in any way walls or stairs. ' The opinion that Lord Bledisloe is well qualified to give advice to any farmer in the Dominion was expressed by Mr E. J. Howard. M.P., of Christehurch at the official opening of the Waikato Winter Show. The occasion was-the presentation of the Bledisloe medal to Mr J. M.. Ranstead, of Matangi, for the best contribution made to ao-iTculture during the year. Mr Howard, who made the presentation as a member of the Board of Governors ot Canterbury Agricultural College, briefly gave the history of the medal, and caid- "Our Governor is a very popular one. and he is wall qualified to rnve advice. And we can look upon our friend, Lord Bledisloe, as one from whom the advice could well be accepted " he said. It was mentioned that the first recipient of the medal was Mr Harry Knight, the well-known breeder. . v Mr P. Eckersley, an English wireless consulting engineer, who is visitins Australia at the request of Amalgai mated Wireless (Aus.) Ltd., to whom he will make a report on broadcasting, said that on his arrival that the days of rapid development in wireless were past. Rediffusion was the latest development in Europe. In essence "was supplying wireless service to housenoldiersirii much the same way as electric light gas, and water. Instead of every householder having a set, a huge receiver was erected in a central position, and the waves were picked up by a high-powered amplifier, which in turn delivered the programme to houses wired for the purpose. In Holland where the scheme originated, Ml Eckersley said, two programmes were supplied, a switch enabling the householder to go from one to the other. The cost to householders receiving rediffused programme in England was Is 6d a week. In Holland it was a little cheaper.