LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 28, 13 November 1947, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Post Office Hours The usual hours of attendance will be observed in all branches of the Ashburton Post Office to-morrow, with the exception of the evening' counter attendance, which will not be observed. No postmen’s deliveries will be made to-morrow, but there will be a full delivery on Saturday.

Cycle Track Topdressed After being patched last week the cycle track in the Domain was topdressed to-day. The Borough Engineer (Mr G. A. MacFarlane) in a statement to the “Guardian” this afternoon, appealed to the public to keep off the track altogether during the week-end. After a little more treatment next week it would be ready for cycle traffic only, he said.

Just Over £l4O Produced The street day had produced net proceeds amounting to just over £l4O, disclosed the financial statement of the treasurer (Mrs A. Lane) presented at the monthly meeting of the council cf the Ashburton Free Kindergarten Association yesterday when the president (Mrs E. C. Bathurst) presided. Delegates of the Ashburton East local committee were present and their secretary (Mrs J. Dickinson) presented their report. The report of the director (Miss D. J. Love) was also heard.

Aid For Britain Effort

The Hampstead Red Cross held a successful community sing and auction in the Hampstead Memorial Hall last evening, in aid of the Food for Britain campaign. Mr N. Corbett led the community singing and Mrs J. C. Whyte was at the piano. The items wdre as follow: —Sketch, Misses Kerr, Rooke and Robinson; Irish Jig. Molly Harrison; elocution items, Miss J. Kerr; vocal solos, Miss D. Rooke and Mr B. Gainsford. Special donations were contributed toward food parcels and also one complete food parcel was received. Mrs Robinson thanked the performers and all who had helped. There was a good auction, and the parcel fund should benefit considerably.

Exhausting Day Exactly at midnight, after 1 lie House had spent a solid evening’s discussion on the Supplementary Estimates, the first of two new and important Bills was presented in the House of Representatives last night. The first was the Finance. Bill No. 2, a Bill of 40 clauses, and' the second the Superannuation Bill, which deals with, among other things, superannuation for members of Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) complained at the short notice the House was given before it had the opportunity to discuss the Bills. The House finally adjourned after an exhausting, and not always happy, day, at 12.20 this morning. The afternoon was spent on a discussion of the trade and employment conference at Geneva.

Tractors Diverted to New Zealand

Licences for the importation from Britain of 1200 farm tractors in 1948 and 1500 in 1949 were granted by the Customs Department yesterday. Three hundred are available for immediate shipment to New Zealand, and should arrive in January. Mr R. G. Buckleton, chairman of the Aid for Britain Committee of Federated Farmers, said a Wellington firm made application yesterday morning for a licence to import the tractors, and by afternoon the department had issued the licence. Federated Farmers was gratified by this quick action. Britain had arranged for the diversion of tractors to the New Zealand market to assist the Dominion’s drive for increased food production. It was now up to farmers to rise to the occasion. Some of the tractors would arrive in time for autumn ploughing.—P.A.

Invitation to Combined Meeting An invitation from the Baring Square Women’s Missionary Auxiliary to attend a combined meeting on Thursday, December 4, which will be addressed by the Rev. F. Bateup, was received by the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union at its monthly meeting yesterday. In view of this invitation, the union will not hold its ordinary meeting next month. Mrs G. B. Brown (vice-presi-dent) presided over a good attendance. It was decided to send a letter of sympathy to Mrs B. Shaw. A missionary letter was read from • Mrs C. K. Crump, of the NeAV Hebrides. Miss L. Tucker reported on the recent annual conference of the Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Unions of New Zealand and Mrs J. S. Murray reported on the meeting of the Presbyterial Association held in Ashburton recently. The half-yearly mission box opening was attended by a very satisfactory result. Ashburton Reticulation “We have been left with our reconstruction work piled up in f heap, and Ashburton do not have to face that,” said the manager (Mr J. M. Bishop), replying to a question by Mr J. T. Sliand, at a meeting of the South Canterbury Power Board, as to why the Ashburton Power Board had been able to carry out extensions on a scale that could not be undertaken in South Canterbury. Mr Bishop said that in Ashburton they had had a higher tariff for some time, and that had assisted them, but their tariff had been reduced. “It may be,” said the chariman (Mr. George Dash) “that Ashburton lias been able to finance some extensions through the assistance given from the rural reticulation fund, which was contributed by the electric supply authorities of New Zealand.” “We’ve paid something like £4OO into the fund,” explained the chairman, “but we have not received a penny by way of assistance for any schemes we have put forward for rural reticulation.”