LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 46, 4 December 1945, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tyres and Tubes Applications for 82 tyres and 62 tubes were approved by the Ashburton Tyre and Tube Rationing Committee last evening. Building Permits Seven building permits valued at £3807 were issued by the Borough Council last month. Three for houses totalled £3035 and the value of the remainder, for additions, alterations and other structures, totalled £754. Patriotic Funds . Contributions toward the patriotic quota of the Ashburton County lately include £155 15s 7d from the concerts by Grade Fields, £74 3s as the district’s share of a donation by . the Lyttelton Harbour Board and £l2 10s 6d from the raffling of the Morris sports motor-car. Talk on Tasmania An interesting and informative address on Tasmania was given by the Rev. W. T. Blight, at the weekly meeting of the Ashburton branch of Toe H last evening. The chairman (Mr E. J. Wood) presided over a good attendance. November Was Dry Month November was the driest in Wellington since official records were established in 1862. The rainfall totalled ,60in. the maximum fail being .50m on November 22. The average for November is 3.13 in. The weather during November was mild and sunny, but windy, sunshine being 14.8 hours above normal, and the daily wind record 12 miles an hour above normal. P.A.

Removal of Culvert To enable a battery of four culvert pipes to be removed, a temporary bridge has been constructed over the Wheatstone drain on Graham’s Road. The bridge is complete and the approaches are being filled in. The culvert has been a source of annoyance during floods for years. A permanent bridge, the dimensions of which will be governed by the design of the South Canterbury Catchment Board for the Wheatstone drain, will be constructed later at the site of the culvert.

Dog’s Predicament A collie dog recently jumped onto a narrow ledge, below the side wall of the boat harbour at Wellington, and walked along to the end. Not being able to jump to the top of the wall or to turn round, he was forced to retreat backward from the end. However, a rope stretching from the bank to a moored boat, and which he had easily jumped when going forward, blocked his way. For over two hours the dog was trapped on the ledge and gave vent to his feelings by continual howling. At length a sympathetic person rowed across the harbour and, much to the dog’s evident relief, rescued him. “In Manchukuo” There was an attendance of about 250 in St. Andrew’s Hall on Sunday evening to hear an addressi by Mr Reginald W. Sturt, F.R.G.S., who was for 38 years a missionary in China. He dealt mainly with the fundamental principles of missionary work and briefly narrated experiences in Manchukuo, the scenes of repeated conflict for centuries past and the centre from, which the Manchurian dynasty had arisen. Tt was in the far north of Manchukuo that Mr Sturt was imprisoned and from there was repatriated via Japan.

Shortage of Halfpennies There has been a shortage of halfpennies among tobacconists in Ashburton for so long that it lias become almost a chronic state of affairs. The reason is that the price of a large proportion of the brands available includes a halfpenny, and as few purchasers have halfpennies on them, the retailers are constantly giving them in change' To ease the position, they sell a box of matches with a tin of tobacco wherever possible to bring the price of the purchase to ap even penny. Any hoarder of halfpennies who takes liis or her accumulation to a tobacconist is sure of a warm welcome. Glean Windscreens There was a tendency among motorists to forget that it was an offence to retain obsolete licence stickers and expired heavy traffic discs and Automobile Association transfers on the windscreens of their cars, said a Traffic Inspector at Ashburton to-day. Th@ regulation making this practice an offence aimed at giving motorists the maximum clear forward vision. Unfortunately some users of the road made a practice of “collecting” these stickers until their windscreens achieved a wallpaper effect. The Inspector issued a warning to> contractors who would shortly be taking harvesting equipment on the roads to attend to their over-dimension permits.

Emergency Regulations The duration of the Emergency Regulations Act, 1939, is extended to December 31, .1946, by the Emergency Regulations Amendment Bill, which was introduced and read a first time in the House of Representatives last night. The Bill also validates regulations made under the Act, and expends the power to modify any Act by regulation. The Minister of Supply (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) said many hundreds of orders and regulations had been withdrawn, and were being withdrawn as rapidly as possible, but there were certain regulations, particularly those in connection with rationing, that it was necessary to continue for some time. They derived their authority from the main Act, and it was necessary to continue that Act for the time being.—P.A.

Somebody has been writing to a London weekly to ask which is the least harmful form of smoking. The editor refused to commit himself. Perhaps lie isn’t a smoker, and really didn’t, know, although editors are supposed to know everything. Had he been a New Zealand editor, he’d have had no difficulty in answering that question. He’d simply have said —at any rate in effect—“ Smoke ‘toasted,’ because in that ease it doesn’t matter a button whether you puff pipe or cigarettes, or both, this tobacco’s 0.K.” And he’d have been dead right, because whether you smoke “the pipe of peace” or “roll your own,” toasted is so pure and comparatively free from nicotine (the toasting eliminates the stuff) that you can indulge in any number of pipes or cigarettes without fear or their letting you down. Yes, toasting does make a difference: in fact, it makes all the difference, whether you smoke Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead), Pocket Edition, Navy Cut No. 3 (Bulldog), Riverliead Gold, Desert Gold, or the tailormades. All toasted; no sore throat, and no cough! lx