LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 278, 5 September 1936, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A feature that will be of interest and value to lady readers is commenced in this Issue of the “Guardian.” It is & weekly article on Home Science, written by a graduate in home science at the Otago University. Thus the information given will be authoritative. The article to-day appears on page 7.

The races at New Brighton did not attract a large number of Ashburton supporters to-day. Only 32 people made the trip from here by the morning train.

“I think the attention of the Minister of Employment should be called to this,” said Mr W. G. Gallagher at the meeting of the Ashburton County Council, yesterday, when no tenders were received for grubbing gorse and cutting broom along tho frontages or Council reserves.

As primary schools throughout New Zealand will begin their third term on Monday after a holiday of two weeks, rail traffic was heavy to-day. Two expresses, followed by relief trains, ran each way through Ashburton, and all were fairly well patronised.

A feature of the programme to be presented by the Ashburton Choral Society on October 21 will be tho items to be given by the Christchurch Boys’ High School ‘choir, which will also provide the soloist for the number, “Hear My Prayer.” Miss Bessie Pollard, the well-known pianiste, will play the Concerto. “The River,” the main offering by the Society’s choir, has been given only once in New Zealand.

With the first Saturday under the new working hours to-day, Ashburton workers were released from employment for the. -whole day. Under the new hours of business, brought about bv the 44-hour week for shop assistants, shops closed at noon. Some offices attached to factories, workshops and other places which closed, for the whole day were alsoi closed, but others remained open. The alteration in the hours, as was to be expected, brought about a little confusion among shoppers, but most of them appeared to be aware of the new arrangement. Many of those who had the day off took advantage of the opportunity to come to town. Others spent the day in the garden, taking advantage of the favourable weather.

Dealing, at a meeting of manufacturers in Napier, with the question of New Zealand-made goods, Mr I. Mathiescu (president of the Wellington Association), said that during the last three or four years there had been tremendous advances in the efficiency and service rendered by New Zealand factories. If at one time there was justification for the feeling by the public that articles made in England were necessarily of better quality than the New Zealand product, that was no longer the case, as New Zealand manufacturers had improved their quality, design and methods of marketing to such an extent that they had in many cases ousted the overseas brands purely on a question of superior quality, design and service. This improvement was being recognised more and more by the New Zealand public, which was showing a definite change of attitude toward articles manufactured in New Zealand. |

A ease of tuberculosis at Tinwaid was notified to the Ashburton County Health Inspector this week. There were no notifiable cases in the Borough.

The Ashburton Branch of the; Blanket Society met yesterday, the president (Mrs F. W. Seldon) presiding. The nurse’s report stated that the car mileage in the town was 105 and in the country' 605. Visits tu. homes in the town numbered 54, and to rooms 4/6. Seventy visits were made to homes in the country and 199 to rooms in the country. Final arrangements were made for Daffodil Day next Friday.

“A witness is not entitled to express an opinion unless he is an expert. lam still waiting to hear an expert on ‘miles an hour,’ but have not done so yet,” remarked his Honor, Mr Justice Blair, in the Palmerston North Supreme Court, when a witness was asked by counsel how fast a car was going, and the witness named a speed in miles an hour. “Everybody tries to tell us in miles an hour, but nobody knows anything about it,” his Honor interposed. “Nobody knows how long a mile is, or how long an hour is. they cannot tell in miles an hour how fast a car is going. 1 used to think, 1 could, but 1 gave that up.”

Headed by Great Chief A. C. Wilson, a party of about 30 members of the Ashburton Savage Club left this afternoon for Oamaru, where they will be the guests of the Oamaru Savage Club during the week-end. The party will visit the Waitaki dam with Oamaru members to-morrow, and will return through Waimate. . The Ashburton Rugby Union’s senior representative team left for Oamaru this morning to play its annual match against North Otago. The team will be guests this evening at a. function in which the Savage Clubs will take part.

A picture of the view from Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, showing Mount Egmont in the background, will be painted by Miss Melville, a Los Angeles artist. This scene, enlarged photographs of which have been on exhibition in the olfice of the New Zealand Trade and Tourist Commissioner at Los Angeles has aroused considerable interest, with the result that Miss Melville has been asked to make a painting frpm it lor a prominent citizen. The head olfice of the Tourist and Publicity Department at Wellington has been requested to send coloured pictures of tree ferns as a guide to the artist.

A sealed bottle was found on the Muriwai Beach recently, after floating approximately ICOO miles since being thrown overboard from the Orama in mid-ocean during a voyage from New Zealand to Australia on December 30 last. The bottle contained a picture of the Orama and the name and address of Mr Norman McLeod, commercial traveller, of Tamworth, New ,South Wales, who threw it into the sea. About three-sixteenths of an inch of water had seeped into the bottle, without damaging the contents, when it was located on an isolated part of the coast by Mr W. J. Cook, of W oodhill, while he was strolling along the beach. He dispatched advice of his find and has now received acknowledgment of it from Mr McLeod.

The Ashburton branch of the Baptist Women’s Missionary Union held its monthly meeting on Thursday, Mrs A. H. McLeman presiding i,n the absence of the president (Mrs L. P. Bryan). A motion' of sympathy was passed with Mrs Clifford Mitchell, wife of Pastor Mitchell, formerly stationed at the Ashburton Baptist Church, who was reported to have been killed by natives in Abyssinia. Scarves, stockings, and other clothing made by the Rope Holders in preparation for the 'Christmas parcel were displayed. Items were given by the following children belonging to the Rope Holders:—Lorna Wakeham, Joyce McEachen, and Peggoty Tucker '(recitations), and Betty and Caleb Tucker (piano items). Afternoon tea was served.

Stating that the rate of Maori mortality was four times greater than the European, at the monthly meeting of the Waikato Executive of the Farmers’ Union, Mrs D. Marshall alleged that the Maori race was in an appalling state through neglect (says a Press Association telegram from Hamilton). She stated that one district nurse had been attending to the impossible task of looking after 20,000 Maoris. Her duties involved as much as a journey of 300 miles a day. After a full dis : cussion on various aspects of Maori welfare, it was resolved to co-operate with the Minister of Native Affairs in improving conditions, including the native land question, and to urge the Health Department to make frequent inspections of mixed schools.

A remarkable change in the method of attacking tuberculosis, revealed at a recent congress of the PanJ’acific Surgeons’ Association, was strikingly testified to by Dr. J. Hardie Neil and Dr. W. Gilmour (pathologist at the Auckland Public Hospital), who returned to Auckland yesterday morning. The surgical aspect was the dominant one in the treatment of the disease, said Dr. Hardie Neil. Environment was of lesser importance. Some of the eminent medical men from America had said that they achieved better results in the dirty parts of Chicago than in sunny Arizona. Dr. Hardie Neil explained that the surgical treatment included the collapsing of the lung by an injection of gases between the lungs and the chest wall. Even the removal of ribs was resorted to in order to make a direct attack on the tubercle.

Knocked down by a Jersey hull and then tossed into the air several times, a farmer at Waerenga-a-hika, near Gisborne, Mr Robeit Grant, was rescued in an unconscious condition. He owed his escape from serious injury or death to the prompt action of a young woman, Miss Jean Ingram, who brought neighbours to Mr Giant’s assistance. The bull, which Mr Grant had owned for some time . and which had never previously been know to be vicious, attacked his owner while the; latter was bringing in the cows for the morning milking. Before MiGrant could do anything to defend himself, he was dazed by the animal’s rush and was tossed several times. MiGrant was still conscious when Miss Ingram came along the road on her bicycle on her way to work and saw the hull throw him into the air. Unnerved by the sight, Miss Ingram fell from her bicycle, and then ran for help. The nearest neighbour of Mr Grant was Mr IE Gram, and he quickly gathered assistance, and a party returned to the paddock, where the hull was still worrying Mr Grant, who was now unconscious. The bull was driven off hv men with hay forks and Mr Grant was taken to his home. He was later admitted to hospital, hut his injuries, though painful, proved to be superficial.

Tne number of unemployed in Ashburton to whom sustenance payment will, be given next week is 402. Payment was given to 393 men this week and last week.

Interrupting counsel in the course of a case at Palmerston North the other day, Mr Justice Blair said statistics showed that taxi drivers compared more than favourably in the matter of accidents with other drivers, and it had to bei remembered they were on the road more. The best drivers were service car drivers, who seldom seemed to have accidents. Taxi drivers were involved in few cases of fatal accidents. The record in that respect was held by motor cyclists.

When the Australian ltugby team visits Invercargill (states the “Southland Times’’) it will be given an opportunity ot seeing the potentialities of the province that few teams get. At the last, meeting of the Southland ltugby Football Union it was decided to take the team on a full day’s tour of the Western district. _ “We should jump at the opportunity of showing the Australians the wonderful country we have in Southland,’ said Mr A. J. Geddes in putting the suggestion forward. “A whole-da 1 ' trip can be arranged on the Tuesday, and j places of interest can oa shqwn to the visitors.” The idea was adopted whole-heartedly and arrangements made to map out a suitable itinerary.

A radio set was wrecked and other damage was done when, at the height of a thunderstorm, lightning struck the residence of Mr R. Whalley, at Otakiri, near Whakatane. Mr Whalley was sitting half asleep in an armchair listening to the wireless when soon after 8 o’clock a violent thunderstorm occurred, rousing the listener, who stood up with the intention of switching off the set. Before he could do so a violent explosion took place, completely wrecking the set, smashing the window and putting the telephone out of order. The other occupants of the house were completely overcome and Mr Whalley was rendered unconscious for some time. Describing the occurrence Mr Whalley. said the report was like the explosion of a shell. His hearing is still affected and he was unable to resume his duties for a few days.