LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 227, 8 July 1941, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Permanent work for six labourers and one,teamster, and'temporary positions for three labourers were found by the Ashburton State Placement Service last week.

Severe frost occurred in South Auckland districts on Thursday. At Hamilton it was the heaviest lor 12 years, 14 degrees being registered. At R-ua-kura 12.3 degrees were recorded. This was the fourth successive frost in the Waikato. Ten degrees of frost wone recorded in Rotorua. Ice halt an. inch thick remained on the water in the tee boxes at the Arikikapakapa golf course until la tie in the afternoon.

Whether special parking privileges have been extended to ministerial oars was a source of speculation and comment among Ashburton residents today. When two Ministers of the Crown visited the town the two ears in which they and their party travelled were parked for several hours almost in the middle of Tailored Street, outside other cars parked close in to the side channel. One resident went so far as to obtain a permanent record of the breach of the traffic laws by photographing the cars.

Members of B Company of the Ashburton Home Guard have finished with squad drill and rifle exercises for the remainder of the winter months. Because of the low temperatures in the evenings the length oi the parades has been cut down and till the: summer comes the Guardsmen will carry out physical training, bayonet work and more advanced activities oh parade nights. They carried out bayonet work last evening for the first time, this being the start of a course which will last over eight weeks.

“In a city such as this, which requires for the betterment of its inhabitants innumerable, trees, it is strange to learn that many shrubs and young trees are stolen after each planting and that more are wantonly destroyed,” states the annual report of tlije’ Wellington Beautifying Society. “It would appear that many citizens do not appreciate wlmt is being done for them by others at great expense of time, labour and money. Members of the Beautifying Society would gladly address children >aiid assist teachers to inculcate a ‘tree sense’ in the rising generation.”

How large movements of population from cities to the Country have effected Britain’s internal food supply is discussed in a letter received from England. These changes, the writer states, had created a big distribution probern. In bis country town, for example, biscuits had been unobtainable for three weeks, but he could get all lie wanted in London. Apples were, strangely enough, only a memory in the country, but quite plentiful in London, though limited to 41b each purchase. 'Ham sandwiches were a rarity anywhere, and the old fashioned bath bun had gone “out” for the duration.

A supplementary Gazette issued yes-, terday cancels the calling up of 110 reservists whose names have been included in ballots for the armed forces between October, 1940, and May, 1941. The majority of these reservists were called up. for the Expeditionary Force, but there are a few who were called up for the Territorial Force, and in two instances the men concerned were called up for both flic Territorial and Expeditionary Forces. The reasons for .'the cancellation are that the reservists are not eligible, as they belong either to the second or third division, or are not members of the appropriate classes of the first division.

To create additional storage to cater for the growing needs of the district, a new freezing chamber to 1 accommodate 150,000 freght carcases of a nominal 601 b weight, or 240,000 to 260,000 running carcases, is to bo built as an addition to the insulated storage space of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company at Burnside. This new building has been approved by the Government. The chambers will be of 370,000 cubic feet in size, and will be oi four stories, in reinforced concrete. This new move on the part of the company is in line with similar construction throughout the Dominion to create more, npuce' for the storage of frozen produce.

The remarkable response to the appeal for bottles from the schools of the Wellington city and suburban area has now become embarrassing. There are piled mountains of sackfuls of bottles in the yard space next to St. James Theatre, Courtenay Place,, and. it is obvious that the task of sorting them out into marketable' divisions will be immense. On Thursday afternoon there was just room enough for two lorries to enter this large area; the rest of it was occupied by mounds of bottles, seemingly enough to go round' the whole population of New Zealand Though no count has been possible, it is estimated that there must be more than two million bottles and glass containers in the collection —and still they were cmning-

“Bef’ore many mono years have passed the Church might see ,that there is far more Christianity in this thing called Communism than we* have teen led to believe,” said the Rev. C. W. Chandler (Cambridge), when speaking at the Waikato Diocesan Synod 'in Hamilton. Mr Chandler said Ins was not speaking as a champion of Communism, but- he compared the retarding influences of conservatism in Christian countries with the progress that had been, shown in Russia. The country against which the British Em pi ns was preaching some time ago was the one alongside which it was glad to fight to-day. “Are we just going to use them until victory is won, or are wo going to continue by trying to find a common basis in two doctrines ?” asked tbs speaker.

“Their songs wore of war and love, birth and death, and they were such that it is impossible for the pakeha to render them as the Maori would cant them, and they are worthy of perpetuation,” said Mr W. W. Bird in an address on Maori songs to the Hastings Rotary Club. Mr Bird said that modern Maori songs were only half-caste songs and, in fact, when Mr Bernard Shaw visited .Rotorua lie fpiiiid that some of the modern Maori numbers were in nenlity German folk songs. He pointed out that the majority of the true Maori songs dealing with love wore written by women, but the ceremonial songs were the work of men. All, however, had a rhythm which suited the occasion and which it was impossible to copy, and all were a true reflection of the character of the iearly Maori people.

A further batch of parcels for Borough men overseas are to he packed in Ashburton on Wednesday, July 16. These parcels are to be made up at the Lady Galway Guild rooms in the Borough Council Chambers, and parents wishing to include small articles are requested to leave them at the rooms.

Panic was caused in the railway refreshment room at Taumarunui recently. some minutes before a through excursion train was due to leave, by a humourist bawling “All scats, please!” He* was so pleased with the success of his joke that he accepted air invitation from a taxi driver to have a drink in his ear. and while he was enjoying this the train pulled out without him.

Parent's of children attending the Boring Square Methodist Sunday School were last evening entertained at a social in the schoolroom. There was a good attendance, the Superinten dent (Mr N. J. Hosking) presiding. Solos were sung by Messrs Hosking and W. C. Bishop and there was an elocutionary item by Miss R. Watts. Games and competitions were conducted and supper was served.

Forty men drawn in the Territorial ballot for those between the ages of 18 and 19 were medically examined in Ashburton to-day. Thirty-four were classed as fit, two fit for home service, one fit for temporary service only, one permanently unfit mul two deferred, 'the men were examined by Drs. J. Connor, H. S. Billcliff, W. R. Ryburn and N.. E. H. Fulton, and X-rayed at the Public Hospital.

The hope that physical training for young people would be extensively undertaken in the future was expressed by Mr F. A. Snell at the Auckland Education Board meeting the other day, when urging that the Board be empowered to give subsidies for the provision of equipment at schools. “I hope that after the war it will be compulsory for pupils after leaving secondary schools to undertake five years’ physical training,” he stated. “One is impressed with the necessity for it when one looks round to-day.”

The Ashburton County Debating Union’s season was opened last evening, when a debate between the Ashburton Catholic Club and the Ashburton, High School Club, on the subject “That conscription" should he introduced in recruiting for the Home Guard” was held. The Catholic Club, which took the negative, won by 226 points to 218. Mr W. B. Elwood was the. judge. The teams were: —High School, Messrs E. Moore, B. Furby, and R. Milne; Catholic Club, Messrs M. Brennan, J. McDonald, and L. Fox.

“The Patriotic Fund Board is betraying its own cause,” states the “Outlook,” official paper of the IPyesbyterian: Church of New Zealand, in an attack on the system of raising money lor patriotic purposes by gambling. “The board’s very existence is to establish funds for the welfare of the men. Every citizen agrees on the necessity for such a purpose, and every citizen should ho. expected to give freely for it. We believe that they can be trust ed so to give. If not, the moral fibre of our people has reached a parlous state. But the Patriotic Fund Board will not believe, it. It has made no attempt to tap the patriotic fervour of the New Zealand, people. If the board will not itself take the necessary action to sot this matter right, then an appeal should be made direct to the Government, whose ultimate responsibility it- is. The board is the servant of the people, and is appointed by the Government, which is responsible to the people.”

About 20 cases of diphtheria among children attending the Papakura School have been admitted to the Auckland Hospital in the last two months, and swabs from all attending the school were taken by a Health Department official last week. The medical officer of health at Auckland (Dr. T. J. Hughes) stated that so far the- tests have not disclosed any carriers, but they have not yet been completed. Although it will not- bo necessary to close the school, dull precautions are being taken and the buildings will, be thoroughly disinfected. Dr. Hughes stated that there was usually an increase in diphtheria during the winter months, but the increase at the Prfpaluira.School was marked. The outbreak had not extended to any other school in the area, oj’ to the Papakura military camp. The routine inoeualtion against diphtheria had been carried out recently, but, as some time was required before an inoculation gave permanent immunity, it was decided to take swabs.