LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 196, 1 June 1945, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Operating in the Winslow and Windermere plantations, the Ashburton County Council’s rabbiter last month destroyed 453 rabbits.

The sum of £212 has been paid out by the Ashburton County Council during the last year for birds’ eggs and heads and rats’ tails* The figures were 43,550 eggs, 5719 heads, and 6246 tails.

With the prospect of many guns being out for the last week-end of the game season, and the birds consequently being on the move, a good week-end is anticipated by sportsmen in the County. The season closes an hour after sunset on Sunday.

“Good hunting” was found by a halfgrown black and white cat at tjie annual reunion of the Ashburton branch of the Returned Services’ Association last evening. It seemed at home amid the large gathering, and was not disturbed by the applause which followed items of entertainment. It was well looked after by the servicemen, and had a good square meal of the meat out of sausage rolls.

The number of miles graded last year by the County Council’s grader was 5575, acording to the annual review presented by the chairman (Mr H. C. B. Withell) at a meeting of the Council to-day. This figure included i 1996 miles of main highways, 1187 of main roads and 2392 of riding roads. Some 36,000 cubic yards of shingle were put through the crusher, an increase of 1361 on last year’s figure.

Sixty-four applications for assistance were dealt with at the meeting of the Canterbury Provincial Patriotic Council at Christchurch on Wednesday, at which Ashburton was- represented by Messrs G. Kelly and H. A. Harrison. Of those 51 were granted.at a cost of £155 (and a few blankets issued), two declined and six deferred for further information. An applica.lion from the Hanmer Springs Golf Club for a grant toward the upkeep of the links was favourably recommended to the National Board. The sum of £11,144 was raised by the Ashburton County last year, bringing the total since the war began to £43,666, most of which has been expended for i the benefit of the forces.

A large quantity of stock passed through the Tinwald and Ashburton saleyards during the month, the figures being 00,007 sheep and 59 cattle at Tinwald, and 29,010 sheep and 22 cattle, at Ashburton.

Only one block was planted in plantation by the County Council during the year, according to the annual review of the chairman (Mr H. C. B. Withell). The block was 190 acres puchased from the Mathewson Estate at Buccleugli. Land in Alford Forest had been prepared for planting, but the work was held over on account of the shortage of trees.

Recognition by the Returned Servicees’ Association of the sacrifice of wives and mothers whose husbands and sons had fallen in defence of their country was urged by a speaker at the annual reunion of the Ashburton branch last evening by a speaker who wished to remain anonymous. He suggested that the Association grant them the privilege of wearing the badges the fallen men would have worn had they returned. The suggestion was greeted with cheers.

Representations have been made to the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones) by the Mayor of Dunedin (Mr D. C. Cameron) that arrangements should be made' for one of the ships bringing a draft of servicemen home from overseas to come to Dunedin so that Otago men could disembark at either Port Chalmers or Dunedin. A reply has been received from the Minister stating that this procedure has so far not been possible, but that an attempt would be made in future to berth at Port Chalmers or Dunedin a ship bringing men for Otago and Southland.

The “New York Times” during the San Francisco Conference is achieving something' unique in newspaper his-tory—-its 2 a.m. edition is available in San Francisco, about 3000 miles away, on the morning of issue. Its main pages are sent across the continent by wire and reprinted by facsimile process in San Francisco. The pages are transmitted by Associated Press wirephoto service, each page requiring two plates. The wirepheto plant for the transmission was specially made, and is being developed to carry a full page to a plate. The issue in San Francisco, which is available within a few hours of the printing of the original in New York, is of four full-sized pages.

A correspondent recently wrote to an English 'paper: Two years ago Michael Coetzee, a farmer in the Caries district of Namaqualand, lost his wallet while shearing sheep. A few days ago the w&llet was returned to him —from Portugal! In it was £SO in notes and all his important papers. While Coetzee was working the wallet had slipped from his shirt pocket into a bundle of wool clippings. The wool was haled, sold to a Portuguese firm, and shipped to Lisbon. Workmen in a wool store at Torres Novas found the wallet while unpacking the hales. They sent it to the Portuguese Minister of Economy. He sent it to the South African Minister in Lisbon. Now it’s back in Namaqualand.

“The simple fact is that there is no coal, and the Minister of Mines should tell us why and when the position will be relieved,” said Mr H. H. Wylie (general manager of the Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board) in a statement yesterday on the .further curtailment of power supplies which, lie said, was brought about by an acute shortage of coal. Mr Wy]ie said the electrical and gas industries were compelled to give indifferent supply. North Island housewives were being put to the greatest inconvenience they had ever experiened, and industry and production were being retarded. Yet the Minister of Mines had not made one statement of what was being done to relieve the position, and no one seemed to know when coal would be available. —P.A.

A young lad, M. Gardiner, from Petone, called on Mr R. H. Nimmo, chairman of the 1945 Victory Loan campaign committee, with 251 b of lead with a request that it be sold and the proceeds given to the War Loan. The boy said he realised the responsibility of everyone to support the Loan and he was anxious to make some contribution. He mentioned that he has been collecting the lead for some months, and had bought a shilling’s worth of kerosene to melt it down with a blow-lamp. Mr Nimmo congratulated the lad on the fine spirit he had shown and said that it undoubtedly spoke well for the rising generation. He suggests that some public-spirited person may be prepared to buy the lead by the purchase of War Bonds and thus show appreciation of the boy’s action.