LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 23, 7 November 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Sbveral oi the lists containing the names of the Ashburton men drawn in the second ballot were torn down from several places where they had been posted last evening. Action of that kind showed little consideration for other people who might have been interested in the names.

“Publicity is a very powerful method of interesting the public in matters on which the public may be uninformed. There are, however, some things which are better left unsaid. One of these is the locality in which a species of birds or of plants nearing extinction is to be found,” says Mr E. V. Sanderson (president of the Forest and Bird Protection Society). “The broadcasting of such information is only too apt to be used by the collector as a means of acquiring rare specimens and thereby completing the extinction of the rare species.”

The question of holiday pay, in addition to military pay, for those teachers ■on war service who would: normally have been entitled to the holidays, has Ijiaeii taken up by the New Zealand Educational Institute on several occasions with the Education Department. The latest official, reply, according to “National Education,” is that the Director of Education has brought the matter before the Government uniformity committee, so fat without result. Further consideration is to be given to the matter.

Each Ashb'Ujrton Borough, airman, soldier and sailor who is on active service overseas is to receive a loose leaf notebook in the near future as a, New Year gift from Ashburton Entertainments, according to a decision of the committed last evening. The leather covers of the notebooks are to be inscribed in gold lettering: “Good wishes for 1941 from New Zealand, Ashburton Entertainments.” They will be parcelled in special envelopes and the committee is now busy obtaining the names and addresses of the men overseas. ,

The St. Stephen's Girls’ Club concluded thci season last evening with competitions, games and dancing in the iSft. Stephen’s Hall. Vocal solos Mere given by Mesdames R. Stephenson. and A. T. Smith), and Misses Merle Brown and Ida Nicholas. ; Miss A. Ruddock played a piano solo. The pianistes for the evening were Misses Ruddock, Betty Brown, and M. Clarkson. This programme was given by members and friends of the Club. .Presentations of bouquets were made to the president (Mrs C. L. Mountfort) and’ the vice-president (Mrs Sbeji'bcrne and Mrs A. T. Smith) at the clod?, of the evening.

An amusing story is told by Private Fred Fleming, 4th Field Ambulance, first echelon. * It relates to the finding of a thermos flask in the desert. “All hands had y been warned that the Italians were dropping time bombs which looked like thermos flasks. An officer was called. He went clown on hands and knees, examined the thing, and then asked for a rifle. An interested crowd of soldiers had gathered, and they were waved back as the officer, a crack shot, took careful aim from a safe distance. There was a breathless hush, and moments ticked by like hours as his trigger pressure increased. Then the shot. No great sheet of flame, no roar of a high-explosive blast, but merely the sound of shattered glass as someone’s morning tea container went west.”

“Our Methodist Church stands for the rights of conscience and insists on those rights being duly recognised, so long as the conscientious objections ave evidently sincere”, states a leading article in the “New Zealand Methodist Times” (official organ of the Church) of November 2. The Church, the article added, had to be thoroughly satisfied of the sincerity of objections, and felt strongly that those v r ho objected to undertaking military duty should be willing to render some form of alternative service to their country. All had obligations to the land which gave them protection and rights And privileges. It was to be hoped that those whom the Church defended in tlieir demand to have their appeal for exemption honoured would be ready to give that alternative national service.

One effect of the warm winter and spring has been the unusually ' early arrival of sharks off -, the Taranaki coast. A Ngamotu fisherman commented that bathers might well keep a look-out for sharks, though the danger of attack was not groat. A shark, lie considered, was “no more trustworthy than a bull,” Once it tasted blood, say, from a minor cut, it would get so excited that it would “give it a go.” It would do swimmers no harm to keep a. watchful eye open. The reason for the earlier appearance of the sharks was that warm currents were bringing snapper and terakihi in closer to the shore. The sharks followed them in. The blue shark, which could be quite savage, was the one most commonly found round the Taranaki coast. However, he caught a 6ft grey nurse sharklast week.

Some residents oiii the Lyall Bav waterfront, Wellington, were witnesses on Sunday of an incident which within an hour or two set all the bay talking. At about 7 ©’clock —an hour at which few are stirring on a Sunday morning—a, youngish man with dark hair and complexion was seen on one of the parade seats, apparently sketching the view across the bay toward the Heads. The stranger was observed by the 'beach custodian, a City Corporation employee, who, after a little quick thinking concluded that he had a duty to perform. Approaching- the visitor he questioned him about his artistic activities, and, being dissatisfied with the answers, insisted on the stranger accompanying him to the local police station. The beach custodian returned to tiis duties alone.

Inherent descriptive qualities are among the most striking features of letters from Otago boys at the front. This extract from, the letter of a. Dunedin R.N.V.R. rating at Home is a notable example of simplicity and directness: “We had an air raid on Saturday morning with a great fight right above us. It takes you all you know to be able to follow the planes once they get started. We could hear machine guns rattling, and it was not long before a: Jerry bomber came down. It was quite thrilling to watch him; the plane was twisting and turning all the time, and all of a, sudden one of bis engines fell out. Then things began to happen. Three of the crew baled out, and the plan); gathered speed and hit the water, heaving up a large cloud of spray. It. didn’t appear again and so there is another cf old Hitler’s machines at the bottom of the sea.”

As a result of a donation to the Borough School by the mother of a child who was in Form 1L last year, and other children who have been passed through the school, the headmaster (Mr M J. Leith) reported to the Committee last, evening that hooks to the, value of 12s had beien purchased. The Committee expressed pleasure at the generous action.

Beferring to medical benefits, the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) said at Auckland that since the Social Security Act camO into force, 37,000 babies had been born, which meant a payment of £5 5s for each, to the medical profession. The proposals were still under consideration in regard to medical benefits between the Government and the B.M.A.

The great interest taken in the publication of the names of the Ashburton men drawn in the second Military Service ballot last, evening was evident from the stream of people of all ages and both sexes who began to arrive outside the “Guardian” office about 0.45 o’clock to inspect the list whim* it had been stated would be posted about 7 o’clock. A few minutes after the hour the lists were ready and weue posted in trout of the office and on several shop windows, and at once there was a group around each, sheet, the people eagerly perusing the long list. Of the total of 573 names, 170 were from the Borough and 403 from the County.

Had an obstruction which was placed on the main railway line near Gore on Saturday not teen discovered and removed before the Dunedin express was due about 8 p.m., it is probable (says the “Southland Times”) that the express would have teen derailed. Little information, is available about the incident, but the police said that an obstaclo of some kind had been placed on, the line at East Gore on' the far side of the Mat-aura bridge, but it was discovered and removed on Sunday night. Investigations ate being made by detectives from Invercargill. The express from Dunedin would have been travelling at a considerable speed at the point at which thie obstacle, was placed. It is thought that the action was deliberate

When American citizens who are being evacuated from various Far Eastern countries reach Auckland by the Matson liner Monterey about November 18 on their way home to the United States, they are to be the guests of the city for the day. it is thought there will be over 500 Americans, and arrangements will be made to take them' on short motor drives about . the city and to entertain them at luncheon at the Ellerslie racecourse. “In view of the close relationship between the peoples of the British Empire and the United States, and in acknowledgment of the generous manner in which New Zealanders have been treated by citizens of the United States, including those resident in the Canal Zone, I feel it would be the desire of the eitizeps of < Auckland to extend to those travellers a true Auckland welcome,” said the Mayor of Auckland (Sir Ernest Davis) announcing these plans. (

The ship’s bell of the barque England’s Glory, which was wrecked at Lookout Point, Bluff, on November 7, 1869, was found by a boy named Graham Squires on Sunday in the vicinity of the scene of tho wreck. Toe bell is in a good state of preservation and the engraving “England's Glory, London, 1861,” is plainly discernible. It was on its third passage from England New Zealand that the barque was wrecked. She had a good passage to the Cape of Good Hope, but thereafter bad weather was encountered. After unloading part of her cargo at Mauritius and then later at Nelson she left for Bluff. Very bad weather was encountered on. the West Coast and eventually Stewart Island was reached. An, attempt was made to reach Bluff, but there was not sufficient wind to take her clear of the shore and she struck the rocks at Lookout Point. Afte,r about an hour and a-half she commenced to fill and rapidly sank. The officers and crew landed safely at Bluff by means of a ship’s boat.^