LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 8, 21 October 1941, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Driver’s licences issued by the Ashburton Borough Council in the last two weeks numbered 13, bringing the total to 1585 for the present motoring year.

“He and the cows don’t get on well together,’’ said a witness before the No. 3 Armed Forces Appeal Board in New Plymouth, in referring to his 20yea r-okt son.

Permanent employment for two labourers was found by the State Placement Officer in Ashburton last week. It is stated that the demand for shearers is still heavy.

Two town sections, one in Tailored Street and one in Moore Street, have become available for leasing and the Borough Council last evening decided to call tenders for them.

At the recent Trinity College ot Music, London, examinations held in Ashburton, Elizabeth Blue,- pupil ol Miss Hannah Jttoche, gained honours in the First Steps Division.

The analysis by (Government officials of samples of water taken in several parts ol Allen ton revealed that at present there was no indication of contamination., according to reports received by the Ashburton Borough Council last evening.

The annual meeting of the T imva Id branch of the Ladies Division of the National Party was held at limvald yesterday, when Mrs A. N. (Jrigg was re-elected president and Mrs S. Li. Lilt was elected secretary and treasure!. An address was given by Mr A. A. McDonald, of Ashburton.

Building in Ashburton continues to progress in a highly satistactory manner. in the last two weeks eignt peimits were issued by the Borough Engineer (Mr J. Jtt. Richardson). Ihe structures concerned were estimated to cost £6315 and included six dwellings.

Taxation by the Government was the subject of outspoken comment at the annual meeting of ,the Hawke’s Bay Automobile Association by the president, Mr J. H. Edmundson, Speaking on the annual report and balance sheet, Mr Edmundson said that in his opinion the Government had no conscience as far as taxation was concerned, and was after every shilling it could get.

Vandalism that has been committed in the Asliburton Domain during recent week-ends was referred to at the meeting of the Domain Board last evening, wnen, on the motion of Mr J. Thompson, it was agreed to offer a reward of Alo for information leading to the conviction ot the person or persons responsible ior damage that has been done and for the deatn of waterlowl.

The performance of the Ashburton Silver Hand in its broadcast from 3Y A last evening was the subject ol considerable comment in Asnburton this morning, and of the band and the Conductor (Mr Ji). rt. Hop wood) were the recipients of congratulations on the excellent playing of a very enjoyable programme. The broadcast was apparently listened to by a great many people in Ashburton.

A start has been made with the raising and plastering of the manholes on the Hampstead drainage scheme to eliminate danger of hooding and overhow such as tnat which caused a good deal of difficulty recently, in a report on the subject to the Borough Council last evening the Engineer stated that the locating of some of the manholes had caused some delay in the start ol the. work.

More mysterious explosions were heard in Dunedin late the other night. Some reports say that there were three distinct blasts,' with one particularly loud detonation, which shook houses in the South Dunedin area, where the explosions seemed to occur. Many persons were awakened by the reports, while other persons who were outside state that they observed flashes in the sky. Police incpiirics conducted yesterday failed to solve the origin of the explosions, and the military authorities, who explained the reasons for the other recent nocturnal explosions in Nbrth Dunedin, said those on Wednesday night were in no way associated with the, previous detonations, nor had they any knowledge of the latest occurrence.

Estates of a value of £462,927 were 'reported and accepted for administration by the Public Trustee during September. The total value of the estates and funds under administration by the Public Trustee on ’March 31 was £64,436,092 and the new business for the six months ended September 30 was £2,945,012. Grants of administration made by the Court in favour of the Public Trustee numbered 200 for the month. During the month 839 new wills appointing the Public Trustee executor were prepared on behalf ot testators a«d lodged for safe custody, and 403 existing wills were revised to provide for changes desired by testators. The total number ot wills now held in the Public Trust' Office on behalf of living persons is 108,651.

A war song, written by Miss Koura Chapman, of Ashburton, came on to the market this morning, under the title of “Home Again,” noted on the cover as a ballad-foxtrot. Miss Chapman is a proliiic writer of verse, much ol which has been heard over the air from the children’s hour at New Zealand radio stations, and she lias had verses published in periodicals. The present words were written some little time ago and were taken up by Mr Austin F. Sutherland, of Christchurch, who has set them to music and had the fjong published in a very attractive form. It is understood this is the first song for general use written by an Ashburton resident, and Miss Chapman was this morning' warmly congratulated on her work, even before she knew the song had been published, and at noon she still had not seen a copy. ,

. Some smart times were registered in tho various races at Washolyke on Saturday but none oftlie winners had anything on one man who disappeared from the pay-out window with a £1 note belonging to a successful investor before anyone had time to get his number, his colours or anything else (says the “Timaru Herald”). The investor had collected a' fair sum; and was in the act of placing all but £1 in his pocket when ho let the single note fall. The note had not had time to flutter to the ground before it was snatched and away went the second collector, on a zigzag course, raising a cloud ol dust and leaving the loser bewildered. “I made a few pounds,” remarked the owner ol tho note, “but that was tho easiest one I ever lost.” Two women standing nearby pointed out a man whom they thought possessed the ill-gotten gains, and the loser of the money approached him and asked if he had found anything. “What! Me?” was the reply, and the tone and look sent the inquirer on his way content to leave matters as they stood.

Tho two pumps for the Netherby drainage scheme extension have arrived m Ashburton and according to a report presented to the Borough Council last evening by the Engineer (Mr J. R. Richardson) they will be installed at an early date.

One of the features of the children’s playground in the Ashburton Domain has been tin' sand pit, which has been made great use of by children who go to the Aground. A new pit for the children’s use has been completed, according to a report to the Domain Board last evening by the Acting-Curator (Mr E. J. Spicer).

With Ashburton and Rakaia, Kaikoura was the only other town in Canterbury to reach its .National Savings campaign quota last week. Rakaia, which was the first to reach its total for the week, has reached its quota for this week, also one deposit of £525 being made yesterday. At Christchurch the quota for last week was £9319 and the amount received totalled £3591.

Infectious diseases notified to the Christchurch office of the Department of Health for the week ended yesterday total nine. Details are as lollow: Canterbury: Scarlet fever 1, tuberculosis 5, erysipelas 2, septic abortion 1. There was one death from erysipelas in Canterbury, and three from tuberculosis. There were no notifications of infectious diseases from the West Coast area and no deaths

Sympathy with some conscientious objectors for tho treatment they were receiving in the Police Courts was expressed by Dr. Alexander Hodge in an address to tho annual assembly of the Baptist Union of New Zealand. He said that not many endorsed the attitude of the conscientious objector, hut magisterial sarcasm voiced in Auckland had not been an adornment to the halls of justice. It was grotesquely unfair to equate conscience with ‘‘cold feet.”

Reporting to the Ashburton Borough Council last evening, the Ashburton Health Inspector (Mr J. G. Kirk) stated that the dwelling premises in East Street, against which a closing order was issued recently, had not yet been vacated, but an assurance had been given that the tenants would move out as soon as other suitable premises were found by .them.

The flag was flying at the Ashburton Post Office to-day to mark the 136th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, between the British and combined French and Spanish fleets, the former under Nielson’s command, and consisting of 27 vessels; the latter under the command of Admiral Villeneuve, comprising 18 French and 15 Spanish men-of-war. Tho British destroyed and captured 19 of the enemy ships and a complete victor gained, though at the cost of Nelson’s life.

A fine sea run trout, in the pink of condition, .measuring 29£in in length and 21in in girth, which was caught by Mr W. H. Huthnanee, of Lower Hutt recently, put up a great fight. Hocked at 10.30 p.m. on the bully, it was not landed until 11.15. It hafl to he played to a standstill, as the angler was without a net. Though this is his first fishing season for sixteen years, Mr Huthnanee has been lucky, as he has already' taken several fine fish since the season opened, the smallest weighing 91b.

On the recommendation of the Works Committee the Ashburton Borough Council last evening decided that tne nightsoil dump at Allenton should be closed as soon as the Netherby drainage scheme is functioning. At the suggestion of tho Health Department it was decided that further installations of septic tanks in the Allenton area* should be prohibited, but all applications so far in the hands of the Council should be granted provided the work is completed within three months.

“Two place names, now in the forefront of the news because of the West Coast tragedy, are the cause of many inquiries as to their meaning,” writes a correspondent of an exchange. “Our British habit of joining together several Maori words as one makes iheir translation difficult, as also the fact that many words have several meanings, according to the context. Separated as above they appear to indicate that each place was a gold-digging scene in the early days. This may also suggest that the* bush now covers hidden tunnels where the fugitive takes refuge. Ko Katahi may refer to “the first gold digger..” and Ko i t'e Kangi to “the day of the gold digger.’ ” Coloured moving pictures of the Ashburton Domain, taken on the occasion of the County schools sports meeting in the autumn, were shown in the Borough Council Chambers last' evening after the meeting of the Council. The films were taken for the Borough School and are part of the school’s fine film record of the activities of its pupils. The screening was carried out by Mr S. W. Cower, of the school staff, and besides members of the Council and the staff there were wives of several councillors present. The beauty of the Do-' main took on a new aspect in the films and the screening was greatly appreciated, as was that of other films. The Mayor (Dr. J. Connor) expressed thanks to Mr Cower for the entertainment. Supper was served at the close of the evening. The final of his series of talks to the Ashburton branch of tfie Workers' Educational Association was given last evening by Mr D. W. Oxnain, 8.A., Mr C. B. Brown (president) presided. The subject was “w'ar, its causes and effects: is there a remedy?” The lecturer pointed out that Ins statements were not wholly his own opinions, 'ihe question of the abolition of war was the greatest of mankind's present problems. .Nations generally should tackle it seriously, and in the past Britain had not approached the problem adequately. Tiie great losses of the last war should have made people think toward the end of outlawing war. There had been a strong anti-war campaign in some nations and the United States had appointed a commission which found there were 250 causes of war. He termed the present state of affairs as the law of the jungle, the strong sweeping the weak to one side. Tarilt barriers between the nations were one of the chief causes ol international strife and lie maintained that disarmament did not stop war. 'Mr Oxnam advocated the sotting up of a more stable League of Nations as a solution ol the problem, with the education of the nations on the futility of armed conflict. On the motion of Mr l' 1 . K. J. Cooper, the thanks of the branch were extended to Mr Oxnam lor his lectures, and to the officers, and refreshments were provided by Misses D. Maekie and Bayliss and Mrs Cookson.