LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 231, 13 July 1935, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The “Gazette” contains notification of the changing of a gravel, pit reservation at Westerfield to an addition to a reservation for a school-house site.

A Press Association telegram from Auckland states that two trams were returning to the depot yesterday, when one stopped! to lot a passenger alight, and the following tram crashed into it. Both were considerably damaged, and Mr J. E. Knowles, a motorman, was taken to hospital with an injured leg.

The New Zealand Rugby team on its tour of Great Britain this year will carry two New Zealand ensigns, which will'float proudly on the grounds where they will play and the hotels at which they will stay. This decision was come to at the meeting of the management committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union this week.

The active campaign in the destruction of rabbits in the Mount Sutt district is. still being carried on by men employed under the No. 11 rabbit scheme. Some 1000 rabbits have been poisoned and the men are now going over the ground again. Two men under the control of the Ashburton County Council working on a piece of land that had been poisoned only a. month ago, destroyed 250 rabbits in a week.

The extent of the responsibility of hospital boards for itinerant unemployed men was indicated by Sir Alexander Young (Minister of Health) when he met the Hawera Hospital Board recently. While there was a moral responsibility to see that these men did not starve, the Minister pointed out that they should be given every incentive to find work and should register as unemployed.

A substantial grant for the construction of a new technical college at Papanui, designed to supplement the work of the Christchurch Technical College in Mooniouse Avenue, was approved yesterday by Cabinet. It is estimated (says a Press Association telegram from Christchurch) that the school will cost more than £25,000, and the Technical College Board hopes to have some of the classrooms open for the beginning of the 1936' school year. The plans provide for the construction of a modern single storey structure in wood containing 16 classrooms and laboratories and rooms for practical work, and providing accommodation eventually for about 400 pupils.

An amusing and characteristic letter from Mr Bernard Shaw is in the possession of Mr Colin Lamb, the New Zealand architect who lias recently returned from abroad. ,Soon after Mr Shaw had come back from Russia, Mr Lamb was offered a position by the Soviet Government as an: industrial architect in Moscow. He wrote to Mr Shaw saying that lie was anxious to get on when in Russia, and asking for letters of introduction which might enable him to get out of the rut as a mere assistant and gain a better position. The following reply was received from Mr Shaw’s secretary :* —“In reply to your letter of the 23rd inst., Mr Bernard Shaw asks me to say that men who are determined to get on are shot in Russia, and that introductions are considered bourgeois. Better leave all that behind in England.”

A case of meningitis at Flemihgton, and one of scarlet fever at Allenton, were reported in Ashburton County this week. There were no cases of infectious disease in Ashburton Borough.

Considerable interest is being evinced by sawmillers all over the Dominion in the tenders called by the Ashburton County Council for the purchase of pinus insignus trees and inquiries have been received from every province in New Zealand. Tire Council proposes to sell approximately 3£ million super feet of timber, but the tenders will not be dealt with until after July 23.

Originally procured for the use of the men who went to the Wilberforce district in search of gold, the wireless set subscribed for by the Ashburton public has since been used in relief .camps in all parts of the County, and has proved a great boon to the men during the winter months. It is now- worn out, however, and steps are being taken to replace it. A battery set is required.

The Napier Thirty Thousand Club is writing to the late postmaster of Napier, Mr Mclsaac, now at Invercargill, seeking information as to whether penguins can be purchased. The club has received a suggestion that a penguin pool be incorporated in the Napier Marine Parade' scheme, and will exploit the possibilities. Penguin pools in other parts of the world, where the climate is not unlike that of Napier, have proved to be very popular (says the “Napier Telegraph”).

When, the consignment of 200 brace of cock pheasants ordered by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society from the Canterbury Society arrived in Auckland it was found that in the 200 brace were 17 hens. The birds cost 14s 6d a brace, and arrived in excellent condition, and in deciding to compliment the Canterbury Society upon the condition of the birds the Auckland Society also decided to ask that in future the birds be supplied true to order.

“New Zealand butter and lamb are very popular in London so far as I can see,” writes a Wanganui resident at present in England. “Several people ,1 have met have remarked of their own accord : ‘ You produce excellent butter in New Zealand.’ I made a point of talking to a butcher and asking him whether New Zealand lamb was popular. He was emphatic in saying it was excellent meat and that the majority of his customers asked for it or expected it, even though they might not ask.”

“An (almost) Antipodean menu was offered to us on the ‘Flying Scotsman’ the other day, when we were in company with a number of Australians and New Zealanders,” says the “Syren and Shipping Illustrated.” “The items included Australian turtle soup, New Zealand lamb, Australian fruit salad, and New Zealand cheddar. We noticed, however, that among these delicacies, which should, surely, have appealed to our Dominion , friends, the appearance of hot roast Surrey chicken as an alternative to cold New Zealand lamb, was by no means resented as a geographical intrusion.”

Representations made by the Napier Borough Council over a year ago asking the British Admiralty for the hell of H.M.S. Veronica as an earthquake souvenir, have at last borne fruit. The council is in receipt of advice from the commodore commanding the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy to the effect that the bell and the name plate of the vessel will be presented by the commanding officer of H.M.S. Leith when that vessel visits Napier next November. The council’s Reserves Committee will decide where the souvenir will be placed.

Ashburton prize-winners at the fiftyfirst annual show of the Oamaru Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Society were: White Leghorns —Cockerel: .Mrs A. Allred (Methven) 1. Pullet: Mrs A. Allred 1. Black MinorcanCockerel : Mrs Allred 1. Black Orpington —Cock: Mrs Allred 1. Cockerel: Mrs Allred 1. Pullet: Mrs Allred 1 and 2. Buff or Cinnamon Orpington— Cockerel: Mrs Allred 1. Pullet: Mrs Allred 1. Rhode Island Reds —Cock: Mrs Allred 1. Sussex —Cock : Mrs Allred 1. Hen: iD. Smith 2. Cockerel: D. Smith 2.

It is the intention of the Transport Department to organise a campaign against defective motor vehicle brakes and incorrectly-adjusted headlights. The campaign will be similar to that of last year, and will open on or about August 1. The department is arranging for the co-operation of local authorities and motor associations throughout New Zealand. The campaign is being planned on thorough lines, and will be as intensive as possible. No pains will be spared in an effort to minimise the danger of vehicles which cannot come to a standstill within reasonably short distance ) and to remove from the road the glare and dazzle of headlamps. Two factors have been responsible for the department’s decision —first, the success of last year’s campaign, which was responsible for weeding out a large number of offenders; and, secondly, the comparatively large number of vehicular accidents in recent months. It is believed, as a result of past experience, that the average number of accidents can be greatly reduced by concentration on the mechanical efficiency of vehicles using the roads.

The fact that many Maoris are growing ufp without learning their own language was deplored in a speech made by Archdeacon Hori Haiti in the Waikato Diocesan Synod on Monday evening, states the “New Zealand Herald.” fie said that Viscount Bledisloo at all Maori gatherings he addressed urged his hearers to preserve their arts and crafts, and above all their beautiful language. Archdeacon Raiti attributed the fault to the parents, who invariably addressed their children in English. Young Maoris seemed to be ashamed to' be heard speaking in the Native tongue, and yet a Maori of high rangatira blood was considered to be of no account by his own people unless he could speak Maori. Referring to secondary education for Maoris, Archdeacon Haiti said lie regretted the fact that there was little scope for educated Maoris after leaving school unless they took up farming. The discussion arose from a motion by the Rev. W. T. F. Skey to ask the Board of Governors of St. Stephen’s College to arrange to teach the Maori boys attending the college the liturgy of the Church of England in Maori. Mr C. R. Stead instances the case of a Maori typist whom he employed. She could not speak Maori, and, although he offered l her every inducement to become a licensed interpreter, she would not learn, the language. Mr Skey’s motion was carried.

The Hon. J. Bitchener (Minister for Public Works) said yesterday that the time was opportune to start such a work as the completion of Parliament Buildings. Nothing of a definite nature had been decided on by the Cabinet, but it is considered probable that a preliminary move will soon be made.

It is an ill heat wave, likewise an ill blizzard, that blows no “sand” into somebody’s pocket (declares the “Marlborough Express”). During the recent extraordinarily hot summer there was a high mortality among watch mainsprings, and the watchmakers profited accordingly. The recent cold snap has also- had its effect on the mainsprings, and the same branch of industry rejoices.

/ A remarkable crop of lemons of a soft-skin variety has been grown this year by Mr T. King, Okaiawa. One tree about 3ft. 6in. ini height is bearing a crop of several hundred, and on small limbs there are up to 40 lemons, while the tree is also heavily in flower. This particular tree has been hearing all the year round for the past four or five years, and except for protection from frosts, has been given no special attention.

Although the damage done by the recent hurricane in Rarotonga and the Cook Islands was considerable, it is expected: that a further 20,000 or 30,000 cases of oranges will he imported into New Zealand by the end of the season, said an official of the Cook Island's Department at Wellington on Wednesday. Trees at Rarotonga and in the belt hardest hit by the storm were denuded of fruit, but many of the outlying islands escaped comparatively lightly, and the fruit has matured satisfactorily. The first crop was heavy, and the second is coming on well. There has, > however, been a heavy drop in the export of oianges from the Cook Islands; it is estimated that only 50,000 cases will be shipped instead of the usual 140,000 cases.