LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 84, 20 January 1942, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A striking sign of the times witnessed by residents of a country area was a patrol officer of the (Hawke’s Bay Automobile Association mounted on a horse and pursuing inquiries into E.P.S. evacuation matters as well as patrolling the roads.

“ The plea of undue hardship must be very serious indeed now for it to be upheld by the committee,” said Mr T. L. Seddon (chairman of the No. 6A Manpower Committee) at Palmerston North. “Undue hardship of yesterday is only ordinary hardship to-day.”

The list of men called up for home service in a new group, married men between the ages of 18 and 46, without children, will be published to-morrow. The Dominion total is approximately 27,000, of which 4211 iripn are in the Christchurch military district, including the Ashburton County.

A suggestion that hoarding by the public was the cause of restricted sugar supplies was made by an official of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company m Auckland, when complaints of a shortage were referred to him. He said that sugar was being allocated to distributors on the basis of their previous purchases at this time of the year, and the quantities should be sufficient for normal requirements.

The sum of £10,704 has been paid to the Ashburton Borough Council in rates for the current financial year. The total amount to be paid this year is £18,140, including £BBB representing Ashburton river rates for two years to be collected from the Allenton portion of the borough. About £40,000 is the total struck for the Ashburton County Council for rates, and £9013 has been paid to date.

The health camp at Methven is working well, and the health of the children there is very good. The organisation is working satisfactorily, and there have been no cases of sickness. All the children are putting on weight and showing benefit from their stay at the camp. The camp authorities are urgently in need of vegetables for the comp, as there has been a poor response from the public to the appeal for these.

“I lived in Japan for six months, and I want to impress on you that the Japanese are worse than the Germans as enemies. They have different standards from those of the white races, and the war in China lias shown that atrocious deeds can he done by them/’ said the Mayor of Hamilton, Mr H. D. Caro, ' at an E.P.S. meeting in the Frankton Town Hall. “They are an enemy we must oppose with "all the force and unity we can command, it is no idle suggestion that there might be an attempt to cripple New Zealand, and then land a force here. The surest safeguard is to bo prepared.”

A party of four Ashburton girls who made a cycling trip to Timaru had an unfortunate experience. Setting out on Saturday they had hopes of a pleasant journey, hut before they reached Temuka a strong south-east wind sprang up, and they were forced to walk the remainder of the distance. They hoped the wind would remain from this direction the following day, but when they set out for home it was a head wind again, and the journey was no pleasanter than the previous one.

A vicious-looking weapon, a combination dagger and knuckle-duster, was taken from a dead German’s equipment by a New Zealand soldier during the recent fighting in Libya, and has been, forwarded to a friend in Auckland for use as a paper-knife. The weapon was being carried as a sidearm by one ef the crew of a German tank. It hfis a stout steel blade, to which has been joined a knuckle-duster for a handle. The knuckle-duster is of brass, and has a series of sharp projections, and also a double grip for the fingers.

Two war bonds, cf £IOO each, have been bought by the Ashburton Returned Services Association. The money was yaised by a community sing and other efforts, which were greatly assisted by the Savage Club. A further purchase of war bonds will he made shortly, and will be used for the aftercare of soldiers of this district. This was reported at the monthly meeting of the executive of the Ashburton Returned Services Association last evening, when the president (Mr W. G. Welsh) presided. A message of cheer was sent to the secretary (Mr E. J. Daniel), who is ill.

How seriously the restrictions of rail travel and the' lack of petrol for private motoring have affected Rotorua is shown by the figures for bath, attendance from December 24 to January 7. The peak for the last five years was reached in the holiday period of 19381939, when 38,253 people patronised the Ward and Blue Baths. lor the same period this season the attendance was only one-sixth of that total, or 6516. For the first war Christmas period there was a decline to 31,649, and the following year to 25,940. The slump this year is the most serious ever experienced.

A sudden rise in the Rangitata river, caused by heavy north-west rain in the hack-country, resulted in some damage tO 1 the intake race at the headworks of the Public Works Department’s diversion scheme at Klondyke early on Sunday morning. The flooding was discovered before any extensive damage had been caused, only a bank being washed away by the watei. Work will ho hindered for about two weeks while repairs to this bank are carried out. The early discovery of the flood enabled w orkinen to remove the intake pumps before the water reached them. The flood, Which rose very rapidly, was at its peak about 3 o’clock on Sunday morning and has since subsided.

A lost ration card for which a London woman has, been searching has reached . Auckland among mail forwarded to her husband, the chief officer of a British ship. When he was last in England the officer brought his wife from London to stay at a hotel near his ship’s port of call. The hotel manager said he could not supply meals for the officer’s wife unless she produced a ration card, and a letter was sent to London asking a friend to post the card. Before the letter containing the card arrived, however, the officer had sailed. As the envelope was addressed to him, his wife, little knowing that it contained her ration card, forwarded it to her husband, and it reached' him in Auckland. Tlie officer is now wondering how his wife is obtaining food without the card.