LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 68, 2 January 1936, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Salvation Army picnic from Fairfield and Ashburton to Temuka this morning was attended by 158 people, who travelled on the morning train. The train will arrive back in Ashburton at 7.20 this evening. About 60 members of the Ashburton Baptist Church Young People’s Society and their friends went to the property of Mr C. Totty, Staveley, yesterday, for their annual picnic. The trip was made in bus and cars, and an enjoyable outing was spent. A record number of calls was received by the Dunedin Fire Brigade last year, the total being 535. Of the total, 140 calls were to actual fires, 161 to chimney fires, and false alarms accounted for 146 calls. Only a few fires fo any consequence occurred, the greatest damage by any fire amounting to £2OOO. The increase in actual fires was 33, compared with the previous year, while chimney fires decreased by nine, and false alarms increased by 36 cn the number received in the previous year.

Surprise at the number of people in Montreal, Canada, who did not speak the English language was expressed by }Dv. P. Stanley Foster in an address in Wellington on his recent trip abroad, to members of the Royal Empire Society. Dr. Foster stated that’ more than half the population of this town could not speak English, most of them adhering to the French dialect spoken by their ancestors. Even some of the traffic signals and signboards on the shops were written in French, he continued.

Speaking at the annual breaking-up ceremony of the Otorobanga (District High School, Mr 0. Hotson, the headmaster, said education was the only profession that did not make the fullest use of modern invention, thought, and achievement. Primary education was starved, and specialists in art, music, and physical culture were needed in every large school. It was true they had specialists in the profession, hut when they wore appointed to a school they had to he placed in charge of large classes and were not free to carry out the work in which they had specialised. Good libraries, moving picture plants, and wireless sets, could be used to broaden and enrich such, subjects as geography, history and music, said Mr Hotson. Teachers were willing to modernise the educational system, but were denied the equipment. Ulster, which followed closely along the lines adopted by Great Britain, lias not suffered very materially in the past economic depression, and is now progressing very favourably, said Dr. John Rusk, of Belfast, when interviewed in Wellington. Dr. Rusk attributed the industrial progress of Ulster in part to the fact that the •Government was a strong one, and composed largely of successful business men. The shipbuilding trade was showing considerable promise of improvement, and the tobacco industry was making great advances. “The linen industry has been under a cloud for many years, hut is beginning to show slow hut steady improvement,” said Dr. Rusk. “It is now meeting the requirements of the United States by manufacturing patterned cloths for table use in all colours and classes.” Dr. Rusk said that other Belfast industries, such as distilling and rope making, were also progressing favourably. Ho mentioned that at one time the city had the “quintuplets”— a ship-building yard, a distillery, a rope works, a tobacco factory and a linen factory—all then the largest in the world.

One hundred? and seven people from Ashburton travelled by .special train to the races at Christchurch yesterday, and 35 this morning. One hundred people from Ashburton travelled by the special train to the sports at T'imaru yesterday. ! The Opihi School, situated between Hanging Rock bridge and Pleasant Point, was destroyed by fire early yesterday afternoon, says a Press Association telegram from Timaru. The schoolhouse nearby was not touched. Opihi is a sole teacher school, and the teacher (Mr McNaughton) was absent at the time of the fire. One fish in the Aparima River near Otautau the other evening showed it was wise to the artificial fly of an angler who sat on the bank, but it only avoided one fate to be overtaken by another, states the “Southland Times.” The angler had l failed to get a rise and had abandoned hope when this obliging fish spotted a real fly, leaped out of the water to get it, and fell on the bank. It made for the stream again, but the angler was quicker, and he had the satisfaction of going home without an empty bag. Travelling by motor-car from Wellington, Mr F. W. Gilligan, the new headmaster of Wanganui Collegiate School, arrived at Wanganui last week. “I should think the view my youngest daughter and I had from Paekakariki Hill as wonderful as could be seen anywhere,” said Mr Gilligan, and the trip, he added, was a delightful one. “It is amazing that so much has been done in New Zealand in so short a time, considering that the country is only about 80 years old as we know it. I could see signs of progress everywhere.” The strong position of Presbyterianism in Otago was mentioned by the Rev. D. C. .Herron at the official welcome to delegates to the annual conference of Presbyterian youth workers. Mr Herron was referring to the growing opinion, particularly in the north, that .Dunedin was losing the position of influence that it once occupied. “There is inclined to be a belief,” he said, “that most of the important places in New Zealand are north of Waitaki, but I would like you to know that more than half of the total amount of money given to schemes of the Church in New Zealand for use hath at home and abroad is still subscribed from south of the Waitaki.” A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that a daring theft was perpetrated when a bag containing about £7O in notes and silver was stolen from the till of a business firm in Tutanekai Street. The money, which consisted chiefly of bundles of five and one pound notes, together with about £8 in silver, had been placed in the bag preparatory to being taken to the bank.* While the assistant in charge of the shop was absent from the counter for a few moments the bag was removed from the till without any sign of any persons having entered the shop.