LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 69, 2 January 1941, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A sum of 24s wias stolen from the collection box of the Waitoa Methodist Church, near Te Aroha. It was in a school, the money being mostly in pennies subsci’ibed by the children for the overseas mission funds. The box was forced open.

For those who did not venture out of Ashburton, yesterday the Domain was a cool spot for a. few nestful hours.* There were several picnic parties there, although not as many as on Boxing Day. The paddling pool was popular with the children.

The 52-year-old Sunday School building alongside Christ Chrjrch, Taita, was burned down early on a recent morning, the Lower 1 Hutt Volunteer Fire Brigade being able to do no more,, because of there being no water supply, than save the chiurch itself, which is 95 years old.

Rationing of water in races in the Seafield and Wakamii districts is to take place, the County Council’s Engineer (Mr H. A. Vezey) told a, “Guardian” reporter this morning. The reason, is that the Ashburton: river is dry at the mill creek intake, so supplies' for the iWakanui and! Seafield districts and also the Borough/will be much reduced.

While the Bench was considering a case in private at the Ashburton Police Station, this morning, the accused, who had been detained at the station all yesterday, produced a sixpenny bit from his pocket. This piece of silver, still bearing the remains of pudding, he explained to those in the room, had come from the last mouthful of “duff” served to him at the station yesterday.

There has. been considerable support for a proposal made that the North Island lodges of the United Ancient Order of Druids should make a contribution of £20,000 from the Grand Lodge funds to assist with relief in Great Britain. The matter was first brought forward by Bro. T. G. Botterill, P.D.P., of the Resldll Lodge, Auckland, ancl has received the unanimous support of several other lodges in the district.

A volunteer from the West Otago district who enlisted at the outbreak of war and who was held back because he was in a reserved occupation, made a plea to the Southland ManPower Committee at its sitting at Gore last Tuesday afternoon to give, leniency when his case again came up fur consideration. “My home in the Old Country has been bombed,” he stated. “My brother failed to return from Dunkirk, and I would like to have a go at them.” Members of the committee promised that he would be given every consideration.

It is scarcely credible that in so short a period the grass in, some country districts has so dried up that it is almost white. Only a week ago, on Christmas Five, a light fall of rain was experienced generally, but the continued extreme heat, accompanied by north-west winds, has caused a change. Although, crops generally ai|a well advanced,. and many oats have been cut, a farmer expressed the opinion yesterday that the grain might yet-be pinched or shrivelled if the heat continued.

Continued loyalty to the causss of Free France among the people of New Caledonia was reported by Mr G. Step (managing director of Messrs O.Sullivan, Ltd., of Sydney) when he arrived at Auckland by the American Clipper afteir a business trip to Noumea. He said that about 98 per cent, of the people supported Free France. Shortage of credits overseas was one of the problems facing New Caledonia., Mr Step added. This was reflected in the shortage of some imported lines, notably clothing. There was not an acute shortage as yet, however, and foodstuffs and other essentials wfere plentiful.

Sales tax receipts during November were practically on a par with those of October and slightly above the comparable figure for November, 1939. The yield' from the tax during November was £595,578, comprising £297,61.7 for ordinary revenue purposes and £297,961 for war pui-poses, compared with £595,813 (ordinary revenue, £298,098; war purposes, £297,715) in October. The £297,617 collected in November for ordinary revenue purposes compares with the receipt of £291,844 in the corresponding month of 1939. The war expenses portion of the tax did not come into operation until the end of June, 1940. From the date of its introduction to the end of November this tax has yielded £1,161,304 to the War Expenses Account.

An instance of wild ducklings being hatched and reared by a domestic lien has been reported by a Wbkari (Otago) resident on whose property ducks have been nesting. Concerned at the toll taken'by hedgehogs, cats and other enemies of the ducklings hatched by their mother on a small island in the pond where thetf swim, the resident removed two unhatched eggs from the nest and placed them under a hen which happened to be clucking at the time. Consequently the hen has nowtwo wild grey ducklings, which have their daily swim and will be carefully looked after until they are.able to fend for themselves. It should be emphasised, however, that instances -of this kind are by no means uncommon.

Many Americans were enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force, said Mr Edmund Anscombe, F.N.Z.1.A., who has returned from the United States. Thirty-five men from, Tbxas drifted north to enlist. At the enrolling office in Ottawa, where they said they were from Texas, they were told that they could not enlist, Texas being outside Canada. Sb they wipnt away and studied an atlas, then returned to the office. “Where do you come from?” “Vancouver,” said every man. “What address?” they were asked. This completely flabbergasted them for the moment, but they were smart enough to say they belonged to the country and had no fixed address. They were enlisted.

The opinion that there is need fov the churches to draw closer together and to co-operate in doing their work efficiently in this country is expressed by the “Outlook”’ the organ, of the Presbyterian Church, in an article discussing the proposals for union of the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational Churches. “The churches ought to get together,” it says, “because it is part of the Christian faith that God’s family is one family. Not only would it set a good example in war time, hut it would be a benefit to all the churches from the point of view of efficiency and economy. Now, having been publicly asked to converse and negotiate about union:, v-e have to return an answer.”

A first-offending inebriate who was found in William Street yesterday, was convicted and discharged when he appeared before Messrs E. H. Orr and E. C. Bathurst, Justices of the Peace, at the Ashburton Police Station th*s> morning. Senior-Sergeant J. F. Clear .' said that the man was in a very drun • ken state. His total financial asset was a halfpenny.

A window-blind caught fire in an, unusual way in: a Residence in Rochdale Street, Fendalton, on Monday morning. The occupant of the house noticed a small patch of a blind burst into flame. Immediately afterwards another patch hurst into flame. On investigation it was found that the sun shining through the bevelled centre of a leadlight window had caused 1 the blind to catch fine. The occupant considers himself lucky, as it is the custom of the household to he away at this time of the year. On making inquiries from the Fire Brigade, he found: that a crystal vase could have the same effect as th|e bevelled window had, in causing fire.

A large, modern sedan ear fell into Picton harbour yesterday morning. O'ne passengers, an elderly lady, was seated in the rear of the car when it commenced its run down the sloping embankment at the rear of the .launch jetties, but fortunately shq was able to scramble out and was pulled to safety before the car reached the edge of the sea wall. The car came to rest on its wheels in 10 feet of water and at low tide was secured to a punt. At full tide it was towed across the harbour and dragged back to dry land. The only damage it suffered was a complete soaking. The car ntfas 'owned by Mr Frank Pigott, of . 'Wellington. The doors of the car were shut when it struck the water and those who saw the occurrence were presented w ith the peculiar spectacle of a car floating on the surface of the sea.