LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 110, 19 February 1935, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Only one building; permit was issued in Ashburton Borough in the last fortnight. This was for additions estitions estimated to cost £232-

Certificates won at the Canterbury athletic championship meeting were presented at a function held by the Canterbury Amateur Athletic Club in Christchurch last evening. Amol lS those who received awards was Miss 1? • Gudsell (Timvald).

An unusual natural phenomenon ,was witnessed in Wellington on a recent evening from Waiwetu when a band ot white light in the form of a perfect arc stretched from the Point Howard wharf to a point on the hills near the spot at which the Wainui Road crosses the saddle.

In a discussion at the meeting of the Ashburton Domain Board last night on the question of the parking of motor vehicles in prohibited areas, it was pointed out that there were many offenders in the evenings and on Saturday afternoons. The board decided to'write to the sports clubs which use Domain grounds pointing out that there is a parking area on the terrace and that the board expects the rules in regard to parking to be adhered to by members of clubs.

It is not often that counsel have occasion to challenge a. juryman "on cause." One such instance arose in the Supreme Court at Wanganui the other day, when one of the names of the common jurors called was that or a member of the Waitotara County Council. The accused happened to be an ex-employee of that body, who was charged with misconduct while under its control. Mr A. A. Barton challenged "on cause," and his .Honor upheld the point. Accordingly, the standing 'down of that juryman did not lessen the right of challenge held by accused's counsel. Mr N ? »■••»«»" (Crown Prosecutor) stated that if the point had not been raised it was the intention of the Crown to stand the juryman aside.

Court Ashburton, A.0.F., met last evening, the C.R. (Bro. C. J. Patterson) presiding. Sick pay amounting to £l4 15s was passed in favour of nine members. It was resolved on the recommendation of the management committee, to reinstate the optional Christmas levy of Gd per quarter as from next quarter. It was agreed ■to hold the Foresters' church parade on a. date to be arranged, the invitation of the Ven. Archdeacon A. J. Petrie that it be held at St. Stephen's Anglican church being accepted. Sister Dobson was presented with a goki medal donated by the district for proposing the most members throughout the district in 1933. Bro. L. J. Strange was presented with a past chief rangers certificate in appreciation of his work in that office. It was decided to invite Oourt Star of Rakaia to visit Ashburton on March 4, Bros. R. Barnett and J. Tenipleton to arrange the programme. At the conclusion of tire meeting, members of Court Pride of Ashburton (Juveniles) were entertained, musical items being contributed by Messrs G. d'Auvergne and J. H. Browne and members of the juvenile lodge.

The number of people in Ashburton Borough who hold licenses to drive motor vehicles is steadily increasing, the total being 879, 16 hating been added to the list in the past two weeks.

The Ashburton Silver Band will travel to Timaru this evening to take part in the first test selection at the Dominion contest. The piece is a selection by Wagner.

Good progress is being made with the building of the foundations for the new railway bridge over the Ashburton River. A large number of concrete piles have' already been driven into the sliingle, and several concrete buttresses constructed at both sides of the river.

Abandoned four years ago on account of the increasing lack or funds, the Kaiapoi Woollen Mills employees' annual picnics are to be resumed this summer, and the first will be held at Ashburton on Saturday, March 2, if the weather conditions are suitable. Permission to use the Ova Lon that day was last evening granted to the employees' picnic committee by the Asuburton .Domain Board. About 450 people will make the trip to Ashburton.

Eight cases of tuberculosis, seven in Canterbury and one on the West Coast, were notified to the Medical Urhcer of Health in the week ended at noon yesterday. There were also three deatns from tuberculosis, two in Canterbury and one on the West Coast. The full list of new notifications is as follows:—West Coast: tuberculosis 1. Canterbury: Scarlet fever 1,' diphtheria 1, tuberculosis 7, septic abortion 1, pneumonic influenza 1, erysipelas I. Total 13.

Though, they have been warned a number of times against parking their cars on the Oval portion of the Domain, several Ashburton residents who use the Oval frequently failed to heed the warnings, and on a recent occasion the Curator took the numbers of two motor-cars and one motor-cycle which were parked in the prohibited area, and he reported their presence to the Domain Board last night. One member urged that, as the owners had been warned so oftem they should be prosecuted, and the board agreed that there was some slackness creeping in regarding the observance of tne by-laws. It was agreed, however, to send a letter of final warning to each vehicle owner.

Looking for what he believed was a splinter that had lodged in his toe a Hamilton resident was surprised to find that the cause of the trouble was a small diamond (says the "Waikato limes"). He had spent the week-end at Raglan, and on his return home noticed that his big toe was very tender. He failed to see a splinter in his foot, but as the pain continued for several days he went to a St. John Ambulance worker. AVhile probing for a splinter the St. John Ambulance man extracted a small diamond from the toe. The Hamiltoniari was barefooted only while on the beach, and he considers that he trod on the diamond there. It is a small stone, and appears to have come from a small inset at the side of an engagement ring.

According to a well-known fields expert, Mr H. Woody ear-Smith, the Government has not granted sufficient funds for the Government Entomologist to carry on investigations concerning the control of the grass grub and the diamond-backed moth, says the "Auckland Star." A statement to this effect was made by Mr A. H. Dukeson at a meeting of the Putaruru Chamber of Commerce. Byi the expenditure of a few hundred pounds, hesaid, the country might be saved thousands. Without djisjcussion the Chamber decided to make representations to t,he Minister of Agriculture and to the Associated Chambers of Commerce, asking for an additional errant of £IOOO for use b~ the entomologist in the coining financial year.

The Ashburton Borough Council still has vivid memories of the results of a decision ofi many years ago to permit camping on the banks of the Ashburton River, and it is determined not to repeat the experiment. At its meeting last evening it received an application from a resident of Timaru for permission to camp beside the river, in a spot which he called "Bewlays' Walk," a name which did not convey anything to the council till someone recalled that a man named Bewlays had had a hut there for some years. The site is on the east of the traffic bridge. The applicant asked the fee charged for the use of the site. It was agreed to send a reply pointing out that the council did not favour camping in the locality mentioned, and that close by there was a motorists' camping area.

The quarterly summoned meeting of the Loyal Tinwald Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F was held last evening, when the N.G. (Bro. A. E. Tate) presided. •Sick pay amounting to £7 13s 4d was passed in favour of seven members. It was reported that the annual meeting of the United Friendly Societies' Association would be held on February 28. The District Secretary advised that a Purple Degree lecture would be given at Tinwald on March 1. Nominations for district officers were made as follows:—lD.G.M., Bro. H. Donaldson ; D.D:G.M., Bro. H, C. 'Patterson; D.S., Bro A. C. Hardy; Dis. Treas., Bro. F. W. Watt; D. Trustee, Bro, J. L. Soai; management committee, Bro. J. W. Lowery and Bro. R. S. Harkness; delegate to B.M.C. at Christ'church, Bro. H. D, Gunn. P.G. Bro. J. W. Lowery was appointed lodge trustee in place "of Bro. W. S.. Brady, who has left the district. The balance-sheet for the year 1934, which showed all funds to be in a satisfactory condition, was adopted. One candidate was initiated into the Order. The lecture master (Bro. R. S. Harkness) conferred past officers' degrees on two candidates.

"Banking without interest is not a new form of banking, as some would-be reformers suppose," said Mr Hugh C. Jenkins, when addressing a Rotary Club meeting at Wanganui. "In Fiji the Indians still practise the most primitive form of banking known to ancient times," he said. "With their savings they purchase gold and silver ornaments and adorn their wives with them. Thus it is no uncommon sight to sec an Indian woman with brooches in her ears and nostrils, rings on her fingers and toes, and bangles on her arms and ankles. Her neck is also pressed into service to carry more metal ornaments and chains. Sometimes the lobe of the ear gives way under the weight of ornaments, and the result is displeasing to our eyes. When the husband is hard up he takes some of his wife's jewellery and, sells it, and so provides himself with funds from his 'banks.' The use of the Post Office Savins* Bank account is growing among the Indians, but theyi are prone to put a pound in. at the beginning of the week and withdraw it a shilling at a time, exhausting the account at the end of the week. This phase of their education is fast disappearing, however, as is also the old method of putting money in a bottle and burying it in the ground."

The Ashburton High School's first cricket XL will play a match against the Timaru Boys' High School second XL on the Ashburton Domain Oval next Tuesday.

When fire broke out in the pit in the Domain recently, a number of railwaymen who were nearby assisted considerably to quell the outbreak pending the arrival of the Fire Brigade, and the Domain Board last evening decided to send to these men a letter expressing appreciation of< their action.

Results of the baby show held at Timaru on Saturday in connection with the annual picnic of the Fairfield freezing workers are: —Under six months: Mrs C: Jackson 1, Mrs Watkins 2. Under 12 months: Mrs Garforth and Mrs Wesley (equal) 1. Under two years A : Mrs M. Shea 1, Mrs Ford 2. The judges were Mesdames Ruddenklau and Rickman (Waimate).

That the cost of living in Italy, at any rate from an Englishman's point of view, has risen considerably, is evident from a letter received by an Invercargill resident from a friend living in Florence. "With the exchange so much against us," ran the letter, "it has become very expensive living here, and a great many English, and American people have had to go home. The prices went up with the drop in exchange, and when the exchange improved the prices remained the same. Cigarettes which used to cost 30 cents before the war now cost two lire. Servants' wages, which used to be 30 to 35 lire a month, are now 150 to 200. Rents have come down somewhat, but taxes have gone up."

The seagulls which have their home among the hulks in Auckland's "Rotten Row'' have recently been made the target for the crews of yachts and launches wishing to try their skill with the pea-rifle. Apart from the fact that it is illegal to destroy sea birds (says the Auckland "Star"), this practice endangers the lives of the hulk keepers and their families and anyone else who may happen to be in the vicinity. During the past week several of the hulk keepers have "heard the whine of bullets passing too close to Joe comfortable, and have officially complained about the matter. The fact that the waterfront police are interesting themselves on the side of the hulk keepers and the gulls should cause these harbour "sportsmen" to look for other targets in safer localities.

The remarkable progress in Japanese industry, in methods and in quality of production, was ' remarked on by Mr S. R. Norris, who returned to Auckland this week by the Marama from a three months' business tour of China and Japan. Japan, he said was manufacturing goods thht were worth while buying from the point of view 'of quality, but what the effect on world trade was going to be was hard to say. As far as commjerce ?was concerned, there was no unemployment in Japan, and factories were working full time. From tlie Japanese point of view operatives were well paid. A girl in Japan might get 30s a month, and would be better off than the English; worker who received, say, £1 a week. It did not matter, from the Japanese point of view, that there was a disparity in the nominal amounts. What did matter was the buying power. Conditions were not so bright in the farming community. In the region of the north oil Tokio many of the farmers were faced with starvation. The Government was giving aid, and voluntary subscriptions wetre being collected throughout the country. At present the Government was trying to launch a scheme whereby farmers in that particular area woidd be moved elsewhere.