LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 194, 30 May 1945, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The registration of motor vehicles for 1945-46 will commence at Ashburton next week, according to a statement by a postal official to-day. They must be completed by the end of June.

As a result of a large slip coming down on the Manawatu Gorge railway late on Monday night the line is now blocked, passengers between Palmerston North and Woodville being transported by bus. Perishable goods and parcels are being taken by lorry between the two towns. —P.A.

Payments of Social Security registration fees at the Masonic Hall since the depot was opened there for that purpose last Monday week have averaged just under 500 a day, about 4500 having beeii dealt with altogether. About 1500 people have paid the tax on income other than salary or wages during the same period. These payments must be made on or before Friday to escape the penalty for late payment.

The New' Zealand Government has acceded to two international health conventions-—the International Sanitary Convention, 1944, and the International Sanitary Convention for Aerial Navigation, 1944. This was announced on Monday by the ActingPrime Minister (the Hon. W. Nash). Both. w r ere drafted by UNRRA after a resolution adopted by the UNRRA Council, recommending that governments and recognised authorities should co-operate fully with UNRRA in establishing regional and other emergency agreements, and arrangements for notification of diseases likely to become epidemic, uniformity in quarantine regulations, and other measures of prevention. Mr Nash said that in furthering this main object, the new conventions provided for the temporary transfer to UNRRA of the duties and functions of the former International Office of Public Health at Paris, and for modification of existing conventions in the light of presentday conditions. Unless superseded meantime by new conventions, they would remain in force for 18 months. —P.A.

Due to the late arrival at Lyttelton of the steamer express, the southbound express was an hour late in reaching Ashburton this morning. It passed through at 11.25.

A debate that “the modern Press has a pernicious influence,” held by the Ashburton Catholic Club at its weekly meeting last evening, resulted in a draw. The' affirmative was taken by Messrs B. and H. L. Hyland, and the negative by Messrs F. X. McDonell and J. O’Grady. The president (Mr McDonnell) presided over a good attendance.

‘‘l feel that any attention to centralised control will not be of advantage to the working of Waimate County,” said Mr J. Kitchener (chairman), in his report to the annual meeting of the Waimate County Council on Monday, after referring to the activities of the Parliamentary Committee set up to investigate local body reform, and the formation of the South Island Local Bodies’ Association and the South Canterbury Regional Planning Council. “The future of local government would appear to be in a state of uncertainty,” he added.

The half-yearly meeting of the Success of Ashburton Lodge, U.A.0.D., was held on Monday night. Sister E. M. Beach presided over a good attendance of members. One candidate was initiated and two proposed. Bards’ report was received and sick pay passed in favour of one sister. The election of officers resulted: J.P.A., Sister E. Beach; A.D., Sister L. Meaclem; V.A., Sister E. Parrish; secretary, Sister L. Smith; treasurer,- Sister ,F. Parrish; minute secretary, Sister P. Pauli; A.D.B.’s, Sisters C. Eyles and A. Hawkes; 1.C., Sister N. Baker; 0.G., Sister C. Glossop; V.A.B.’s, Sisters C. Tait and J. Cox; pianist, Sister Cox. It was decided to hold a knitting circle at the close of the next meeting.

Seeking from one end of the country to the other for something he could have bought in the shop next door was the experience of an Ashburton tobacconist lately. With the demands of war on rubber, the pressure bulbs for toilet accessories in hairdressing saloons became scarce, and the tobacconist tried fruitlessly to secure them from all the well-known distributing agents in the big centres. He was telling his troubles to the proprietor of the establishment next door, when the latter mentioned that he had some in stock. A transaction in which the bulbs changed hands was speedily effected.

With frosts increasing in severity, motorists forced by circumstances to leave their cars outdoors at night, remembering the large number of cracked cylinder blocks and burst radiators which followed the exceptionally heavy frosts of two years ago,, are either using anti-freeze solutions in their radiators or draining them when frosts seem likely. Some do not take kindly to the inconvenience of filling their radiators every morning, but they prefer it to running the risk, of a cracked cylinder block, which, owing to the difficulty of securing replacements, puts the car off the road for up to two years and involves considerable expense. A motorist of the Ashburton district, whose car suffered a cracked cylinder block in the heavy frosts in July, 1943, got it back only a few weeks ago.

Tn the Auckland Supreme Court yesterday morning when the hearing of a damages claim was about to be resumed, Mr Justice Fair announced that it had been reported to him. that on Monday night a man who said he was a juryman in the case had acted improperly by ringing up one of the counsel engaged in the case and intimating that he wished to communicate with him about the case. Counsel concerned had very properly said he could not listen and rang off, and later had informed other counsel and his Honor of what had taken place. The registrar had interviewed the jurymen, all of whom had said they had not telephoned counsel. In the circumstances the position was unsatisfactory, and without reflecting on any member of the jury, it seemed that the jury should be discharged and the case submitted to a fresh jury in another trial. The jury was accordingly discharged. The case was a claim by a carpenter for £2OOO damages for injury to a knee when knocked down by a bus.—P.A.