LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 212, 20 June 1933, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

"There is ragwort in the country at the back of Stratford 14ft. high/ remarked Mr W. E. Carter at a .meeting of the Eltham County Council. Incredulous laughter followed, and Mr Carter added, "You can laugh, hut it is a fact. The man who told me measured it, and it was 14ft. high and coming up through the gorse.

A laro'e gathering of Maoris from various parts of Taranaki will take place next Tuesday at Manukonni pa, Waitara the occasion being the anniversary of the death of Sir Maui Pomare. It is understood that Latly Pomare will be present and that a memorial service will be conducted. Afterwards matters relative to the erection of the. memorial over the vault will be discussed.

An inspection of the Ashburton Traffic Bridge was made in the past two or three days by two Canterbury contractors who left immediately for Auckland with a view to making inquiries regarding sub-contracts for the proposed bridge over the Waitemata Harbour The contractors were specif,, interested in approaches, the under* structure and the detailed finish of tae Ashburton bridge.

A white heron, one of the rarest of New Zealand birds, has been making its home at Lake Pupuke, on the North Shore, Auckland. It has been definitely identified as a white heron and not'as a Royal spoonbill, which it resembles. Lake Pupuke is a sanctuary. A Blenheim telegram says: Curiously enough, in yiew of the Auckland message, a white heron, or kotoku, has made its home in Blenheim. It has been observed in the last few days from the High Street Bridge, and appears to be ouite tame.

In accordance with the Borough Council's decisoin to give effect to the report on reserves in Ashburton made recently by Mr James Young, of Christchurch, a start has been made with the removal of certain trees in the East Street reserves. The lower block, between Kermode and Moore Streets is the first to be attended to, and th* work will progress in a northerly direction till all the recommended cutting has been carried out. Attention will then he paid to the other reserves and tlie 'Domain

Court Ashburton, A.0.F., mot last evening, the €.ll. (Bro. D. G. Smith) occupying the chair. The Woodwards reported that there were eight members on the sick list and sick pay amounting to £l3 Is 8d was passed in their favour. Correspondence was received from the ££. Stephen's Literary and Social Club inviting members to a debate and card match on Tuesday, July 11. It was decided to suggest the following subject for the debate, "That the construction of a Christchurch canal would be beneficial to Canterbury." An invitation was received from the Druids' Lodge to the jubilet ball next Tuesday. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: C.H., Bro. W. H. Amos; S.C.R., Bro. L. J. Strange; S.W.. Bro. J. Caiman, J.W., Bro. C. J. Patterson; 5.8.. Bro. R. McCarrigan; J. 8., Bro. V. Niven. One candidate was proposed.

There were 18 cases of notifiable and infectious diseases in the CanterburyWest Coast health district last week. There were two deaths in Canterbury from tuberculosis. Particulars of the notifications are :—West Coast: Tuberculosis 1, puerperal sepsis 1. Canterbury : Scarlet fever 6, diphtheria 1, tuberculosis 5, erysipelas 2, hydatids 2.

New Zealanders appear to be upholding their reputation as globe trotters in spite of adverse conditions, for during the week ended May 13, no fewer than 127 New- Zealnad people called at New Zealand House, London. Of this number, 41 were from Auckland, 30 from Wellington, 18 from Christchurch, eight from Dunedin and the remaining 30 were from smaller* centres.

The effect of a comparatively recent decision of the Minister for Education to raise the admission age of children from five years to six has been remarked by Mr W. L. Dunn, secretary to the Hawke's Bay Education Board. In his report to the board he said that the total average attendance last term was 13,666, which was 1101 fewer than the average for the first term of 1932. His comment was that this return showed the effect of the exclusion of five-year-olds.

Returning mutton bird parties report one of the worst seasons on record, both in regard to weather and to quantity of birds secured (writes the Jiluff correspondent of the "Southland News"). At the beginning of the season the birds were in poor condition, but improved as time went on. One family states that the birds were so scarce that they secured enough for their own use only to have none for sale. One birder also states that the weather was the worst experienced during her annual visitations extending over 60 years.

A Press Association telegram states that negotiations between the New Zealand Government and the Master of the Royal Mint regarding a special New Zealand coinage have been concluded, and the Government is awaiting the report of the special committee recently < appointed to assist the Government in completing schemes for the issue of New Zealand coinage. The special committee may place before the Government proposals for making a change in the present monetary system.

A Christchuich telegram states that since the Tramway Board introduced one-man trams, there have been occasional complaints by motorists, and others of unreasonable delays at' busy intersections. A report presented to the Tramway Board yesterday showed that a long series of stop-watch readings of times were taken at stopping places by two-man and one-man trams, and one-man buses. These showed that one-man trams had the best results. The analysis showed: One-man trams, average 3.2 seconds per passenger ; two-men trams, 3.7 seconds; oneman trolley buses 5.2 seconds; one-man petrol buses, 5.4 seconds.

Considerable interest is being aroused in Sumner by the presence of tuis. These birds are reported to have been seen in, several parts of the borough. Scarborough, Richmond Hill, Clifton and portions of the flat have undoubtedly been visited. Their conspicuous white throat feathers have been identified and their musical bell-like tones have been clearly heard. One afternoon they ,were heard by visitors who were sitting in one of the afternoon tea shop,s and both surprise and pleasure was expressed at the rare tueat their presence afforded. One of the Scarborough Hill residents now makes < a practice of feeding the visitors with honey. At present the birds appear to frequent the gum trees and they pay frequent visits to the native trees now bearing berries. .

From inquiries made from Hamilton land agents it is evident that a greatlyincreased demand for farm lands in the Waikato has set in in the last few days, with cash offering in greater quantity than for many months (states the "Waikato Times"). The requirements are for farms up to 200 acres, •whereas until recently 80 acres was the limit. "There is certainly a considerable inquiry. for. places up to 200 acres," stated the manager of a farm which deals principally with larger properties. "It is seasonable, of course, to a certain extent, but the fact remains that it is much better than it was last year. For any cheap farms there are numerous inquiries; m one case I had 69 people wishing to buy. On the other hand,.as things are undoubtedly looking better, vendors are putting "their prices up. It is sound dealing at the" moment with a great many deposits of over four figures offering However, the really moneyed man is as cautious as ever, and there is not much movement in big properties."

The Star of Ashburton Lodge, U.A. 0.D., met last evening, the A.D. (tfro. A Garriock) presiding over a good attendance. A motion of sympathy with Bro J. L. Carter in the loss of his father was carried in silence An invitation from the Success of Ashburton Lodge to attend a social evening next vlonday was accepted. Bro. Solway, xi A.D., notified members of the annual meeting of the Royal Arch Chapter next Monday. The A.D. Bards reported on visits to sick brethren and sick pay was passed to those on the funds One member was admitted on clearance and a candidate was proposed for initiation. At the close of the lodge the members of the Hakatere Ledge, 1.0.0. F., were entertained at a card match, which was won by the visitors by 745 points to 721. The A.D. welcomed the members of the Hakatere Lodge and congratulated them on thenwin. Bro. Wakelin (N.G.), who responded on behalf of the Hakatere Lodge, thanked the 'Druids for an enjoyable evening and expressed the hope ■that a return match would be arranged for a later date.

Poverty Bay ryegrass seed was hardly ever mentioned during a visit Gisborne farmers made to the Plant Research Station at Palmerston North recently, according , to a statement made at a meeting of the Poverty Bay and East Coast Sheep Owners' Union. An inquiry into the lost identity of Poverty Rav in the ryegrass seed market was authorised at a previous meeting (says the "Poverty Bay Herald"), and a statement on the matter was made bv the president (Mr C. H. Williams). The president said that the seed research station officials were far too busy to be approached on any such matter during his visit, but he attended a demonstration at the plant research station, and Poverty Bay seed was hardly mentioned. Occasionally, when certain plots were indicated, the district would be mentioned as supplying the seed for that particular plot, but Poverty Bay mother seed was invariably included as Hawke's Bay. He considered that Poverty Bay should be known bv its own name, or as an j alternative, both Hawke's Bay audi Poverty Bay should be referred to as the Bay type. !

When playing football at Mayfield on Saturday afternoon, Mr G. d'Auvergne, a member of the Old Boys' team, had the small finger of his lett hand broken. He received attention at the Ashburton Hospital.

Since the search was made at Wellington on intercolonial steamers for silver coinage there has been a marked difference in the amount of half-crowns in circulation in Lyttelton. This fact was mentioned by a shopkeeper yesterday, who said that it was evident that half-crowns" were being released more frequently.

"I have come to the conclusion that where two parties employ the services of the same solicitor, and they fall out, then it should be the solicitor's duty to hand the whole transaction over to another solicitor," stated his Honor, Air Justice Ostler, in the Supreme Court at Napier recently (reports the "Hawke's Bay Herald"). Tuieso remarks were made when Mr Bumard asked the defendant in a civil action what transpired in a solicitor's office when the plaintiff was also . present. His Honor ruled such evidence to ->e inadmissible.

Comment by a passenger that the railway engines do not look as spick and span as they did in former years was referred to Mr H. Hi. Sterling (chairman of the Railways Board), at Auckland. "I am afraid that as far as general appearance is concerned, the passenger is correct, but he can rest assured that all the moving parts of the engines are as clean as ever they bave been," Mr Sterling said. "We must look after these to ensure perfect running,' but when it comes to nonessentials, financial considerations must rule, and the fact is that we have not got as much money as we would like to spend on cleaning. Very substantial savings have been made as a result of the curtailment of cleaning." , ;

The St. Stephen's Boy Scouts met last evening in St. Stephen's Hall when there were 44 scouts and cubs present under Scoutmaster A. M. Meredith and the two cub-mistresses. At the beginning of the evening the scouts practised bridgejbuilding, which is to be carried out together with other display work in connection with the scout and guide rally to be held in Ashburton in October. First-aid and signalling was also done during the evening, together with kimsgame for the second-class badge. The passes in second-class badge during the week are as follow : Signalling, R. Plunkett, G. Berry, G. Miles, R. Aitken and J. McCallum; fire lighting, L. Harper, R. Scammel, F. Saunders and G. Miles. At the court of honour, held after the meeting, it was decided .to hold the troop's birthday party on July 7.