LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 87, 22 January 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Small amounts in rates are still being paid in at the Borough Council office, and to date the sum paid is £11,314 7s 9d, leaving only £698 outstanding. This is equal to something over 94 percent. of the rates struck, which is considered to be excellent.

With large quantities of water coming down from the bills through seepage, following the heavy rains in December, the" Hinds River is running strongly and a number of motorists have found difficulty in negotiating Farrell’s Ford, on the Winslow Road. No fewer than four motor-cars were in difficulties at the ford yesterday.

A particularly foolish act was committed by someone near a pie cart in Ashburton last night. He threw an empty bottle over a fence • and it smashed to pieces on the footpath, quite near to where some people were standing round the pie-cart. Seme of the bystanders could easily have been injured by the missile.

The popularity of Lake Clearwater as a camping site for motorists is growing rapidly. Good roads lead into the reserve adjoining and numerous camping parties have enjoyed the quiet of the lakeside recently, Most of these campers, however, come from outside the County, the greater number from Timaru and Temuka,

■The new law of “one man, one vote” at the next municipal election in May will entaij, a good deal of work on the staff of the Ashburton Borough Council in the revision of the municipal roll. Those entitled to vote will be invited, as from Monday, to enrol as early as possible. Where the change of voting is effective, in cases of company managers and heads of companies, a special circular letter will be sent, placing the position plainly before them.

Returning home last week after a fortnight’s holiday at the beach, a resident of Frankton found that thieves had been busy in his absence. His entire crop of potatoes, three rows each of 40ft. had been dug and removed. Indications were that the thieves had operated on a Sunday evening, as a Saturday evening paper had been dug into the ground with the removal of the potatoes. The fowlhouse had been broken into and two fowls taken, the others over-running the property and playing havoc with a neighbour’s vegetable garden.

Coats off was the order at the meeting of the Mid-Canterbury executive of the Farmers’ Union yesterday. . The meeting took place in the heat of the afternoon and in not particularly congenial surroundings, so it was not surprising that early in the proceedings two or the members peeled off thencoats. Others were not slow to follow them and by the time all the business was transacted there were few who were not in shirt sleeves. The meeting was the longest for some time, lasting nearly three hours, and it was not surprising that those attending took advantage of al] the extra comfort • they could gain. ,i \

The popularity of Queenstown as a camping resort increases yearly, and. it is estimated that this year over 3000 campers took up their abode on the public camping ground and McKenzie’s property, states the “Southland News.” The peak was reached on New Year s Eve, when there were close on 2000 on the camping ground, which was one mass of tents, while below the cemetery many campers had stretched their canvas. In addition, there were several hundreds of campers in the district suirounding Queenstown. People from all parts of the Dominion have expressed the opinion that Queenstown has few peers as a camping ground.

An apparently full-grown penguin, over a foot in height, was extracted from the stomach, of a large groper caught by a Blenheim party fishing off the mouth of the Awatere River on Sunday (says the “Express”). The penguin, which was of the black and white species, had only recently been swallowed, and showed very few signs of mutilation. The party, which left the AVairau bar by launch early in the morning, enjoyed a splendid day’s sport. A large number of groper were included in the day’s catch and the largest of these tipped the scales at 651 b.

Children with an eye to profit are just now making a determined onslaught on the cocksfoot growing in and about Hastjngs. Euipped with anything from the kitchen scissors to rusty scythes, they are gathering impressive bundles of the grass which they hope will provide them with pocket money for the rest of the holidays. The usual devices are being used to extract the seed. A bag of cocksfoot is either hung from a clothes line and soundly beaten, or the cocksfoot is placed between two sacks and jumped on till it yields the last of its seed. The price the youngsters will receive for the seed depends on the quantity produced at Banks Peninsula, from where comes the big part of the Dominion supply, but whatever the sum it will be jingled with pride as something earned by personal labour.

The coal trade has shared in' the general enlargement of trade, remarks the annual report of the New Zealand Coal Mine Owners’ Association, but not proportionately to other industries because of the increasing encroachment of other sources of heat, power, and light into coal markets. use of coal in proportion to any given volume of trade in the Dominion is barely holding its own. The tendency is towards a shrinkage in New Zealand just as it is in other countries, because of the greater popularity of the rivals to coal on account of their /cleanliness, convenience, adaptability, and mobility. It is obvious that this tendency to shrinkage in the volume of coal consumption must be increased by any increase in the costs of coal production and marketing, and that if the coal trade is to gain ground—or even hold its own—some means must be devised for controlling production costs so as to keep them on a competitive basis with those of rival industries. Unfortunately, during the last two years, costs have been substantially increased.” The total consumption of coal, arrived at by adding output and imports together, shows an increase of 60,023 tons tor 1937_ over 1936. but the local total output is still approximately 400,000 tons below that of 1930. Figures show an increase in South Island production, but a decrease in the North Island.

Two cases of scarlet fever, both in the Eiffelton district, were notified to the Ashburton County Health Officer this week. There were no notifications of infectious diseases in Ashburton Borough.; ,

Fishing rivers in the Ashburton County are all reported to be fairly clear and in gcod order for week-end fishing, having subsided after the recent freshes. Many anglers are eagerly awaiting the run of salmon, which it is expected will begin in about two weeks.

A better payment ef rates is being made at the Ashburton County Council offices than for the same period last year. Of the total levied of £30,066, there has been paid to date £11,828. For the corresponding period last year the amount paid was £9063. The rates will incur the usual penalty at a date to be fixed for some time next month.

Some of the letters dispatched by the first New Zealand-America air mail by the Samoan Clipper on January 2 were returned to Auckland, yesterday by the Monterey, having been dropped by the clipper at Pago Pago, in American Samoa (says a Press Association telegram).\ They were dated January 1, the discrepancy in the date being caused by the fact that the clipper had crossed the international date line. The letters carried to America are expected to return' by the Niagara, which is due at Auckland on February 7.

Writing by air mail on January 1, the 'London correspondent of the “Otago Daily Times'’ states that Frank Murphy, the Dunback boy who arrived in England last September to undergo an operation for a tumour on the brain, has made such good progress that he has been attending a London secondary school. He stays at New June House, a Toe H branch, and is under medical supervision. At New Year the boy was spending a holiday with his mother at Deal, where they were the guests of Mrs Kirkaldy Willis. A date for returning to New Zealand has not been fixed.

Some consternation was caused at the meeting of the Mid-Canterbury executive of the Farmers’ Union yesterday afternoon when it was found that a remit had been rejected in Wellington, the reason for this being mainly that it had, not been sent forward in the form which the meeting desired. However, a search through correspondence and the minutes shewed that the remit had been sent forward in the form in which it had been copied locally. None of those present, however, was inclined tcv blame the secretary (Mr W. H. Amos) for failing to give the motion its exact interpretation. It was pointed out that in the course of discussion the remits often became considerably altered from their original form. In fact the president (Mr L. O. Oakley) admitted, amid laughter, that he was often at a loss to know what those present at meetings sometimes wanted in their motions and amendments.

Hamilton was enveloped in a thick mantle of. smoke on Wednesday. Fires had broken out in the Rukuhia swamp, and the strong westerly wind blew the smoke over the town and surrounding district. The principal outbreak oc-curx-ed in the scrub on a pi’ivate road between Rukuhia and Ngahinapouri, and a fire covering a space of over 300 yards in width swept over the swamp. The flames reached a height of four feet. Other fires occurred in the swamp near Ngahinapouri and Whatawhata, while smaller outbreaks were in evidence, at Eureka and Matahgi. Most of the fires were started by farmers, who are burning, stumps and rubbish, and they are being carefully watched. No damage to property has been reported.