LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 185, 20 May 1941, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The inter-island steamer..was late in arriving at Lyttelton this morning and tho scuth-bound express did not arrive in Ashburton until well after 11 o’clock.

At tho Christchurch Competitions Society’s festival yesterday A vonne Wright, of Mayfield, was first in the song for girls, 12 and under 14, and in the tap or step dance, 12 and under 14, she was third.

The pilfering of reading matter from the public reading room in the Ashburton Borough Council buildings continues. All latest magazines placed on the tables on Friday were removed over a short period cf time last evening. The suggestion has been made that the room should be closed at six o’clock.

Two of the figures given yesterday in the table of votes cast at the Borough Council’ Chambers polling booths for Council candidates were incorrect. The total of 598 accredited to Mr E. Buchanan should have been 498, and the total of 571 for Mr ,T. Thompson should have been 471. These differences did not affect the totals that were shown.

The unsatisfactory position ruling through returned men joining Returned Soldiers’ Associations in districts other than those in which they live or work was discussed at the annual mooting of the R.S.A. in Ashburton last evening and it was decided that a remit should be sent to the 1942 annual conference in Wellington, urging that members should belong to Associations in their own districts.

Junior members of tho Ashburton Catholic Club took part in two debates at the weekly meeting of the club last evening. The subjects were: “That too much time is devoted to sport in Now Zealand,” and “That country dwellers have more advantages than town dwellers.” Father G- Daly and Mr J. Brown gave some useful advice to the speakers.

Throe Ashburton poultry breeders have gained honours in a competition recently completed, under the auspices of the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club. Mr J. Turner ' obtained third place in the three-bird test and also obtained two standard and three merit certificates. Mr E. Tilley gained one standard certificate and two merit certificates, while Mr 1. H. Penrose won two merit certificates.

Believed to be the first instance of its kind in. New Zealand, a returned sailor was last evening elected as president of tho Ashburton Returned Soldiers’ Association. * The office went to Mr W. G. Welsh, who served in the Royal Navy throughout the last war. He has been a member of the Ashburton Association for many years and was vice-president in tho last year, acting as president in the last few months during the absence of Mr E. M. Gabites.

Canadian newspapers which have been coming to hand lately have many references to the presence of New' Zealand airmen at the several training stations under tho Empire Air Train-, ing Scheme. “The St. Thomas TimesHerald,” published in Ontario, had on its front page of the issue of A Tar eh 28 a large photograph of two New Zealand airmen walking to their plane accompanied by an American instructor. One of tho New Zealanders is Leading-Aircraft man S. D. Porter, of Ashburton. In another part of tjie newspaper are several views of Dominion pilots in their training quarters.

Estates of a value of £402,125 w*erc reported and accepted for administration by the. Public Trustee during April. The total value of the estates and funds under administration by the Public Trustee on Alarch 31 was £64,430,092. Grants of administration made bv the Court in favour of the Public Trustee numbered 135 for the month. During tho month COS new wills appointing the Public Trustee executor were prepared on behalf of testators and lodged, for safe custody, and 33-4 existing wills wore revised to provide for changes desired by testators. The total number of wills nowheld in tho Public Trust- Office on behalf of living persons is 105,-189.

For many Ashburton people this morning there was only one topic of conversation—the sharpness of the frost. Speculation on tlio intensity of the frost was one of the first things friends discussed when they met, and it appears that so much interest in the frost reading has not been known for a long time. Most people wore sure that whatever the official reading, the actual frost was greater, and the figures given by tho weather station bore this out. The frost was stated to bo 4.5 degrees, under tho new system of reading, while there was a “grotrnd frost” of 30.9 degrees. Under tho old reading, Ashburton residents would have drawn some consolation from the fact that they had experienced a frest of 11.6 degrees.

The Ashburton public lending library has gained steadily in popularity since it was shifted from its old quarters in the Borough Council building to a shop in Burnett Street last year. Ever since the change was made there has been a- steady increase in the number of subscribers. Actual subscribers total about 550, while 30 or 40 others take advantage of the system by which a small deposit is made and a fee paid for each book taken out. With damage to publishing establishments in England and shipping difficulties resulting from the. war, it is being increasingly difficult to obtain books, nevertheless no fewer than 400 volumes have been added to the shelves since February. The library contains altogether about 5000 books. ‘i

The difficulties faced by people in Switzerland as a result, of tlio war are shown in a few examples given in a letter which Air Angus Alcßean has sent to his father, the Rev. A. Alcßean, oi Ashburton. Air Alcßean lias been in charge of the English section oi an international college near the German border for some time. He states that sugar has disappeared and butter is rationed to a very small pat morning and evening, while meat is also severely rationed. Dessert makes a small portion of a meal, and the writer says the people have to rely on ample supplies of soup and potatoes to give them “that.comfortable feeling of having eaten sufficient.” He adds that the ration of soap is such that even using it only once a day and for bathing purposes once a week he finds he is not able to live within his ration.

Before the-annual meeting of the Ashburton Returned Soldiers’ Association started last evening, the president (Mr W. G. Welsh) referred to losses suffered by the . New Zealand armed forces in recent wteeks, and on his motion members stood in silence to convey their sympathy to relatives who had lost relatives at the front.

The goods train which left Ashburton for Christchurch at 11.10 a.m. yesterday was delayed for an hour and 40 minutes through the derailment of a waggon between Chcrtsey and Rakaia. The. only damage was to the undercarriage of the waggon which was carrying sand. Other trains were not delayed by the mishap.

A proposal to change the name of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association to the New Zealand Returned Services Association or the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’,. Sailors’, Airmen’s, and Nurses’ Association will he discussed at the annual conference of the Association in Wellington next week. The proposal will be moved by the Association’s Dominion Executive.

Mr Bennett Williams, a member of an American interdenominational faith mission in Central Africa, gave a lantern lecture in the Ashburton Salvation Army Hall last evening before a fair attendance. Captain E. R. Elliot presided. Mr Williams showed a number of coloured slides dealing mainly with, the pigmy people of Central Africa. ' He also displayed a number of weapons used by the natives. Mr Beck proposed a vote of thanks to tho speaker.

“We have had a very hard wintersnow, hail, strong winds and a heavy rn inf nil —but tho black-out, I think, affects the nerves as much as anything,” stgtfes a letter received in Dunedin"l'rom a Manchester resident. “In spite of the bombs, the people go about their work very cheerfully. Thero is no real fear. ‘ Our newspapers are being cut. down, so that we read only scraps of President Roosevelt’s speech (wo read more from the papers you sent). They’re coming ift all right.

What is believed to 1)0 the largest agricultural plough ever to operate in this country, and perhaps, even south of the line, was seen at -work in Southland recently. About ■ 800 Southland farmers watched the plough, with a furrow 18in deep and 3ft wide, turn over bush stumps, rushes, gorse and submerged timber with ease. The plough, which was designed and built in Invercargill for contract work in breaking-in bush countyv, is pulled by a4O horse-power tractor. Giant discs are used to break the soil down to a good working surface.

The Frevberg Medal, which was won by Private B. Dow, of Wanganui, a member of the successful New Zealand Rugby * team which won the Freyberg Cup for competition among Expeditionary Force teams in tho Middle East, has been sent out to his parents, Air and Mrs J. Dow, of Wanganui East. Before the war Private Dow was a member of the Alarist senior Rugby team and representa-tive-hooker. He was also a Wanganui representative cricketer, being wicketkeeper for Wanganui for several seasons. He is a member of the Expeditionary Force cricKot team in Egypt.

Notwithstanding the very, wintry conditions which prevailed last evening, there was a. good attendance at the lantern lecture given by the Rev. G. I. Jpaprenson in the Baring Square Methodist Schoolroom. The lecture illustrated the beginnings and developrjient of the work of •' the Methodist Church in New Zealand, both qtnong the Maori and the- pakejia population. Mr H. Money, the circuit secretary for the Home and Maori Mission, reported that last year the Ashburton circuit raised a little over £l3O for the mission. The lecture will be given in the Wakanui Church this evening.

A Maori soldier in training at Papakura found a simple method: .of disposing of his property when invited by one of the solicitors who visit the camp to make his will, states the Auckland “Star.” .When asked to whom lie wished to leave his property, the Maori said : “If I die 1 leave it to my mother.”, “Perhaps your mother will die before you do,* what then?” asked the solicitor. “Then I leave it to my father,” was the reply. To this the solicitor, pointed out that there was a possibility of the father predeceasing the son. “Then I leave it to myself,” said the Maori with finality. .