LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 256, 10 August 1933, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Preparations for the coming bowling season are being made at the Ashburton Club's greens, where .the caretaker is engaged in top-dressing. The greens have presented a very ragged appearance during the winter months but should scon be restored to their summer neatness.

Hakatere Lodge, 1.0.0. F.. met last evening, when the N.G. (Bro. T. Wakelin) presided over a fair attendance. A motion of sympathy with Mrs K. Cowan in the death of her husband was passed in silence. A similar vote was passed to Bro'. J. Betts in the death of his father. Five members were reported on the sick list.

When parking his car in front of the buildings of the Ashburton Club and M.S.A. this morning, a motorist was surprised to find it mount the footpath and continue on its way even though he had applied the bra lies. The brakes failed to pull the car up and it jumped the channel and the kerb, landing on the footpath. The car appeared to be none the worse for its experience and was driven along the footpath to Cass Street, where it returned to the road.

An electrical disturbance near the hills to the south-west of Ashburton last evening was the cause of considerable lightning for some hours. The Hashes were frequent and very brilliant, lighting up the sky for several seconds once or twice. Some residents were of Mie opinion that weather conditions would be stormy and wet in Ashburton to-day, but such was not the case. However,'heavy clouds covered the hills all day.

At the meeting of the council of the Canterbury Automobile Association held in Christchurch on Monday evening, Mr W. C. J. Osrhan was requested to ascertain .the views of the Ashburton County Council ou the question cf taking over the Rangitata railway bridge and constructing a main highway to connect with it and so shorten the route to Timaru by about 10 miles. It is understood that the Council is in favour of this action being taken and the Automobile Association will support anything done in this direction.

The Tinwald branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union held its annual "Sailor's" Bay at the Tinwald manse yesterday afternoon,, by the kind invitation of Mrs W. Marshall. Mrs W. H. Robinson presided over a large attendance of members and visitors. Sister M._K. North, of the Church Army, gave a most interesting address. The programme was arranged by Mrs P. Frew, and was as follows:—Pianoforte solo, Miss P. Clark ; duet, Mesdames Constable and Frew; recitations, Misses Jackson and Robinson. Community singing was also indulged in. At the close of the meeting thanks were extended to Sister North, Mrs Marshall, the performers and Mr Moore for tlie use of his car: Afternoon tea was dispensed. A collection in aid of Sunday teas at the Sailors' Home, Timaru, resulted in 15s being raised.

{Speaking at, the annual gathering of members of the Post Office Pastimes Club at Wellington,, Mr G. MeNamara (Secretary to tJie Post and Telegraph Department) said he had been reluctantly compelled to cut out overtime, and that by so doing he had been able to keep some 300 or 400 men in employment. He could not see any prospect of an immediate improvement, but he hoped for better prospects next year.

The strong north-west wind last night did minor damage in various parts of the Borough. In several gardens, shrubs were uprooted and one or two lean-to sheds were somewhat knocked about. Light articles left outside houses last night took considerable locating this morning and at a number of homes the milkmen had difficulty in finding the lids of the milk billies.

Over a year ago a Wangamu resident left his camera, in a railway carriage and gave up all hope of -seeing it again. Noticing that a camera was advertised for sale among the artic.es listed as lost luggage by the Railways Department, he decided to, make inquiries. He discovered, however, that there was a little account of £3 tor storage against the camera. Of course, he would not pay that amount, so he decided to attend the sale and bought the camera hack again for 6s (says the "Herald").

Blenheim is experiencing a shortage of halfpennies (says the "Marlborough Express"). It is stated that mi the last couple of months two of the oca! banks have put £l3 worth of hallpennies into circulation, but neither they nor the tradespeople seem to be able to get any in again. Apparently an epidemic of ha'penny hoarding has broken out along the lines of the threepenny saving craze that is so often a nuisance to those in need of supplies of small change, and a good deal of inconvenience is being occasioned.

A very quiet day was experienced by retailers in Ashbiirton to-day, scarcely any business being done; Several shopkeepers expressed the opinion that the whole town might as well close for the' two days in Grand National Week observed as holidays by the grain merchants in West Street, for it seemed that large numbers of residents travelled to Christchurch for the races and Winter Show.' There were very few people in'the streets either this morning or this afternoon.

Droving cattle through town streets is sometimes a trial to drover and public. A cow which by some means got into a fowl run in Hose Street, Whangarei, recently proved a difficult proposition to eject (says the "Northern Advocate"). She walked round the run many times before she was persuaded to leave by the open gate without having caused any damage to the dozen or so fowls occupying the enclosure. After she had left the fowls she raced for a gap between two buildings, and the drover had to leave his horse to retrieve her.

When an old-established paper like the "Bulletin" goes in for new type, it is regarded as nuite an event in the newspaper world. This change-over took place in a recent issue of the "Bulletin" and will be a permanent feature. The new type, which is the same as that used in the "London Times*' is a great improvement on the old, making the "Bulletin" much easier reading. Added to this the popular national weekly has been permanently enlarged. The "Bulletin" now has a New Zealand office at 14 Panama Street, Wellington, with Mr Pat Lawlor as manager.

An inspection of the corner of the Ashburton Domain where Winter Street adjoins it was made by members of the Domain Board this morning with the abject of ascertaining the site for the no iv bridge which is to be erected over the pond, joining the Oval to the outer path. The bridge will be built or timber taken from the old traffic bridge, and it will give much easier access to the children's playing area from the west. The board fixed the site and decided that the bridge should be five feet wide (inside measurement). It was left to the Reserves Committee to draw up a design for the bridge and submit it to' the board at an early meeting.

. Various excuses are offered by jurors when applying for exemption from service, or explaining their tardiness in attending the Court at the proper time, but one man struck a new note when he arrived at the Wellington Supreme Court the l other morning some time after his name had been called. He said he was a member of a city undertaking firm and he had had a call that morning. "In the hurry and bustle I must have forgotten all about coming here for the jury," he explained to Mr Justice Reed. "We get calls at all hours, and I completely forgot that I was called for the jury to-day." The explanation was accepted.

According to its legal representative in the Magistrate's Court, the Franklin County Council was "surprised and hurt" when the Pukekohe Borough Council, through the letter's traffic inspector, prosecuted the County Council for operating, over borough roads, motor-trucks of a. greater gross weight than that allowed by the road classification. According to the legal representative of the Borough Council, the County Council may have been hurt, but it could hardly have been surprised, for it "had previously been warned, and had apparently ignored the warnings." From the proceedings it appeared, paradoxically enough, that the county motor-trucks, carrying over borough 'roads loads that those roads ought not to carry, were really carrying gravel to make county roads leading to the borough. This complex 01 inFerests, constructive and also destructive of roads, did not prevent the Magistrate (Mr F. H. Levien) from further hurting the County Council to the extent of a £2 fine.

Criticism of the New Zealand system of education was made by the Rev. H. K. Archdall (headmaster of King's College) at a largely-attended meeting of the Hamilton "Luncheon Club last week. Mr Archdall said his idea of education was to teach the. growing hoy the reason for his being alive, and to'teach him how to think. Education should be employed to develop human nature The speaker disagreed with the view that the object of education was to fit the boy lor a job. Too many mediocre minds were created by those who supported this view, he said. Premature speeilisation was a matter to be regretted, said Mr Archdall. Ninety per cent, of those students who obtained travelling scholarships did not .return to New Zealand. Very occasionally were such men taken into the public sevrice. It was absurd that administrative posts could not be found for soundly-educated youths. A sound general education should toach boys rctivity of thought, receptivity to ideas, and capacity to speak and write correctly in more than one language. "Our civilisation is top-heavy and illbalanced," said Mr Archdall in conclusion, "and until wo get some spiritual*purpose behind our education a great deal of what we are doing will be ambiguous."

Ln a letter sent to the - Ashburton Hospital Board yesterday a woman applied for assistance during the present week and set out a list of. goods her home was urgently in need of. Her husband, she said, was unable to obtain work and she concluded: "An honest man only asks for the right to work, but this is denied him in these days."

A second party of unemployed men from Ashburton will leave for the Cromwell district next Sunday week to take up gold prospecting on the area specially set aside for Ashburton men. have been a jriumber of inquiries at the Ashburton hospital Board office regarding the work in Otago Central and so far three men have been selected to go south, making a total of eight from Ashburton. It is hoped that at least 12 men will comprise the second party.

Members of the Tinwald Women's Institute visited Mr G. Clark's nursery at Tinwald 1 this afternoon and were given a demonstration on the pruning of fruit and - rose trees which proved very interesting. They were later entertained at afternoon tea by Mrs Clark. The president (Mrs H. Houston), on behalf of the institute, thanked Mr Clark ,for his demonstration and Mrs Clark for her hospitality.

The world's best fish story has been perpetrated by the Government Tourist Bureau. In . one of its Queen Street windows at Auckland, it includes among some of the "Marvels of New Zealand," a photograph of a record swordfish, stated in the caption underneathto have weighed 9761 b. Even if intended for America, the land of "tall stories," this enthusiastic but probably accidental over-statement would barely receive credence, for the removal of the final numeral would leave the weight still as a world's record.

Motorists generally seem to disregard the "School—Go Slow" notices near the Ashburton Borough School and make very little' attempt to decrease this speed past the Park Street corner. Children run out from behind the infant room without looking very carefully for motor traffic and on several occasions within the last day or two motor-car drivers have been obliged to swerve suddenly when they have had no chance of stopping on account of their excessive speed.

In spite of adverse propaganda there is not proof that the very best cheese cannot be made from Jersey milk," said Mr H. J. Kaye (president of the Stratford Jersey Cattle Olub) at the annual meeting of the club. "One aspect of high .testing milk for cheesemaking," continued Mr Kaye, "has as yet never been brought out. We in New Zealand are using the richest milk in the world for cheesemaking. Surely here is matter for advertisement of the very best nature, but instead of proclaiming the fact from the house tops as any other country would we read speeches deploring the fact in practically every newspaper. Then the press is blamed for 'running down' our own produce. The press would, I am certain, be only too pleased to advertise the fact that our dairy produce is made from the richest milk in the world."

"No photograph can give any idea of the 'atmosphere' of the , East," said Mr H. E. Vaile, in a travel lecture on India at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. "Every place has an entirely distinctive smell,, schemes of colour vary widely and so does the feeling of temperature in the air." The lecturer was showing at the time a photograph of the interior of a cara-van-serai in Peshawar, where, he said, camels and other livestock, men, women and children all herded together within the same four walls. Mr Vaile mentioned that at Benares the sacred River Ganges was unbelievably filthy, vet innumerable pilgrims not onlv 'sat in it regardless of the crocodiles, but drank the water and conveyed it all over India in bottles. The Indian Government had gone to srreat expense to provide a completely purled water supply drawn from the river, but the Hindus still preferred the unaltered kind.