LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 129, 14 March 1939, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The footpaths in the; business area of .Burnett Street were topdmsed today. The pavemejits wore sprayed with tar, over which sand, was spread. When it was reported to the Ashburton Borough Council last evening that local body clerical workers were seeking a new award with considerably increased wages, the Council decided to be represented at a meeting of local bodies to be held in Christchurch to discuss the proposals. The Town Cle\rk (Mr R. C. Major) was appointed as the Council’s delegate. The vendor of a pen of 113 soundmouth halfbred ewes at the Tinwald fair yesterday could have found little satisfaction in the sale of this particular entry, for the complete line was knocked down at 255, or less than 3d each. This price would hardly cover the expenses entailed in entering the sheep in the fair. Cars used by Sir Harry Batterbeo, the newly-appointed British High Commissioner in New Zealand, will have distinctive plates, according to advice received by the Makara County Council yesterday from the Commissioner of Transport, Mr G. L. Laurenson. Cars regularly used by the High, Commissioner will have the letters U.K.H. C. in gold on,a black background, and the council, was Asked to inform traffic inspectors in the county accordingly. / No fewer than 75,000 daffodils and narcissi have been planted in the Domain recently and, more remarkable sti’l, 51,000' of them have been donated to the Domain, a gift for'whien the Borough authorities have expressed gratitude. Several small lots oi particularly choice bulbs have mso been presented to the .Domain and other lots have been promisea, according to a report presented to the Domain Board by the Curator (Mr D. H. Leigh) last evening. A feature of this year’s annual meeting of the Pukekohe branch of the Farmers’ Union was a vote, endorsing the principle! of compulsory unionism for farmers, states a Pukekohe correspondent. The ’meeting was wtell attended,, and the question was discussed at length. Several. members spoke against the principle of compulsion, but a greater number gave it their support. On the vote being taken no one recorded dissent, and the claim, is made that the proposal for compulsory unionism received the unanimous approval ,of the meeting. I A suggestion that instead of buying three wreaths, at a cost of three guineas, for placing on war memorials on Anzac Day, the money should be used to purchase poppies from the Returned Soldiers’ Association was made to the Ashburton Borough Council last evening by Mr H. W. Smallbone. It would be doing Returned soldiers a good tiu n if poppies were purchased and made into wreaths. The suggestion was adopted. The right of Soviet electorates to recall their representatives in the Russian Parliament and to hold by-elec-tions to replace them with more efficient- deputies was referred to by Mr T. McGillick in an address at Fraiikton (Hamilton) last week. Under a Constitution- providing for such right of recall, said the speaker, a bureaucracy could not come into existence. Since 1937, 17 deputies in'the Soviet House of Parliament had been recalled in this way. The Ashburton Tennis Club having suggested'that the Domain staff should take over the maintenance of its courts, the Curator last evening reported- to the Domain Board that it would cost £4C a. year to look alter the courts and a charge of £2O would have to be made for top-dressing. It was agreed to top-dress the area at the end of the playing season and to request the Club to confer with the Sports Association in regard to assistance in connection with geneial maintenance work. .“Just before you go, I have one request to make, and that is that you do not ask me to sign autographs,” remarked Lord Nuffield, at conclu-’ sion of the civic reception tendered him in the Hastings Borough Council Chambers last week. “It is not that I do not want to give you my autograph but unfortunately time will not permit my doing so, and I would not like to sign autographs for a- few and then disappoint. the rest.” Lord Nuffield’s request was observed without exception, although it was noticeable that one or two of the younger persons present, who had with them their autograph books, were greatly disappointed. Although the Tongariro River is still very low there has been ample evidence dHiring the past few days that fishing conditions have improved, some very fine fish having been caught in various pools in the river. Mr Bartlett, of Feilding, caught a brown trout weighing 131 b 14oz. This fish was secured above Major Jones’s pool, and is one of the largest trout taken at Turangi for some years. Mr Neilson, on March 8, fishing at Major Jones’s pool, caught seven .rainbow trout, the heaviest fish weighing 71b. Messrs Howell and Armitage, fishing the Hut pool and the Stump pool, each caught three fish in excellent condition, and several other anglers from. Taylor’s Camp obtained nice fish.

Weighing 16^'tons each, two of the three transformers xinloaded in Wellington recently by the Napier Star were transported by road to Khandallah, where they will be installed at the sub-station. The third transformer is to be hauled from the . railway wharf to Khandallali later. Because of their hulk and weight, the transformers present a difficult haulage problem. Each transformer is lifted by crane on to a trailer, and the combined efforts of three six-ton motor lorries are required to haul the trailer to Khandallah via Onslow' Road. Each transformer is 14ft 6in high, 9ft 2in long, and 6ft 2in wide.

Another instance of the smart way in which Post Office officials solve the mystery of mutilated addresses on envelopes is reported. A letter posted in Invercargill had the address, “Mrs S. J. Buchler, 215 Cameron Street, Invercargill.” The date and time stamps on the letter show that it was only a few' hours before the southern officials had sent' the envelope north, marked “Try Ashburton,” and it was safely delivered. Some addresses are wrongly written because of geographical ignorance on the part of typists. One such case, a, letter from a big radio station headquarters in the North Island, was received the other day, and the address conchuled: “Ashburton, Christchurch.”

Though six building permits were issued by the Ashburton Borough Council in the last two weeks, the structures represented a total cost of only £241. Norma Marsh* of Mayfield, has been awarded second prize in the class for pet lambs in the school section at the Mayfield Show. The entry originally placed second was afterwards found to be ineligible. The sum of £l2 was raised by collection when the Ashburton Silver Band visited Timaru on Sunday and gave a concert on Caroline Bay. This just covers expenses, for 58 bandsmen and friends made the trip by train. Record entries have been received for this year’s Trinity College theory examinations in music and elocution, reported the secretary (Mr A. C. Wilson) to-day. The examinations will be conducted in Ashburton on June 10. Traffic Inspector ;S. Summers, of New Plymouth, is now in hospital suffering from concussion received when a passing car threw up a stone through the open window of his car. Had the stone not struck his cap he would have been seriously injured. He was able to control his car after the accident. The use of a. section next to the Silver Band’s room in Burnett Street, at a rental of £1 a year, for the building of a hall, was last evening granted to the Ashburton Sub-Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association, which wrote stating that it c6ntemplated building in the near future and asking for the section. The Ashburton Silver Band having arranged that the proprietor of amusement park appliances visit Ashburton and conduct side shows in conjunction, asked the Borough Council last- evening if it would reduce the ground rental. The Band would take a per centage of the proceeds, it Avas stated. The Council decided to give tine area required, in East Street, free of charge, one member stating it was an opportunity for the Council to show practical sympathy with the Band. A telephone call to Melbourne Avas put through by an Ashburton businessman last evening and later he was loud in praise of the service. He asked at 6.25 p.m. for a call to an acquaintance in Melbourne and gave three or four addresses at Avhich he might be located. Shortly aftonvards, the Wellington exchange asked him to speak to Melbourne so that his voice could be checked. This took only half a minute. The call, which concerned a matter that could not be handled by a cablegram in tijie, came through at 7.50 p.m., and the conversation, every word of Avhich came through very distinctly, lasted five minutes, the exchange breaking in at three minutes and at minute intervals after that. The Melbourne exchange failed to locate the man Avanted at three of the addresses given and eventually located him in a suburb 12 miles, out of Melbourne. *4 The change in wages tax payments with the levying of the social security charge on April 1 aa'tll require some extra work on the part of cashiers and other pay clerks in big businesses in NeAV Zealand. Explaining! the requirements of the Social Security Act in this regard, a memorandum from the Income Tax Department points out that it is provided that with respect to the charger on. salaries and wages earned up to " and including March isl of this year, the old employment tax of 8d Avill be payable. Salary and Avages paid after April 1, but in respect to a period prior to that date, will be apportionnble, Avith the amount prior to that date chargeable at 8d in the £ and thereafter at the social security rate of Is in the £. Income other than salary or wages derived during the year ended 'March 31, 1939, will, of course, be liable at the social security* rate' of Is iu the £, payable in quarterly instalments. ‘ V It is reliably stated that the Government has decided to take control of the , marketing of the whole of the NeAA Zealand lemon crop. The move has folloAved long standing applications by groAvers for assistance. Widespread inquiries from growers over the Aveekend revealed that from May 1 they expect their fruit to be bought by the Internal Marketing Department nt an average price of 6s 6d a case. Under the purchasing system Avhich has been arranged, lemons will be classified into three grades and the price of 6s 6d represents the approximate aA'erage for these grades. It does not mean that growers producing the highest quality lemons Avill receive no more than 6s 6d, nor that the loAvest quality will be bought at this price. For lemons of the former type groAAWs believe that they Avill be paid up to about 2s 6d a case more than, the average price, Avhile fruit of poorer quality is expected to yield under 6s. The groAvers have also asked for assistance with their grape fruit and sAA'eet orange crops, but it is stated that these fruits have not yet been made the subject of detailed and exhaustive negotiation.