LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 145, 1 April 1948, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

National Savings National savings investments at the Ashburton Post Office during the past month amounted to £2305.

Rotary Club Luncheon Taking as his subject “Preventive Dentistry,” Mr K. L. Anderson gave an interesting address at the weekly luncheon of the Ashburton Rotary Club to-day. j

Ashburton Abattoir Killings Stock killed at the Ashburton abattoirs during the month ended yesterday totalled 117 head more than in March, 1947. The figures for last month, with 1947 figures in parentheses, were: Cattle 135 (131), vealers 0 (5), sheep 992 (927), lambs 108 (84), pigs 35 (6)—total 1270 (1153).

Ashburton Vital Statistics Vital statistics for Ashburton show that last month, compared with March, 1947, births declined by four to 25, and marriages by six to 13, while deaths increased by six to 17. For the first quarter of this year, with last year’s figures .in parentheses, the totals were: Births (86) 85, marriages 38 (46), deaths 42 (35).

Loan Collection

A loan collection from the National Library is available to borrowers at the Ashburton Public Library. The books deal with various branches of modern science, plastics, architecture, building, penicillin, etc. Pamphlets and books dealing with the Otago Centenary are displayed on another stand.

Empire Games Venue The New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association has tentatively decided, according to advice received in Auckland, to make application for the 1950 Empire Games to be held in New Zealand.- Its decision as to venue will not be made until it has received information of the proposals being made by Christchurch for the holding of the games in that city.—P.A.

£3,000,000 in Income Tax The electrical supply 'account was contributing £3,000,000 a year to the Consolidated Fund in income tax, said the retiring'general manager of the State Hydro-electric Department (Mr F. T. M. Kissel) at a farewell tea party in Wellington yesterday. One of his last recommendations in his post had been that this should be abolished. He hoped his successor would be able to see that recommendation adopted. —P.A.

Invitation to Silver Band ah invitation has been extended to the Ashburton Silver Band to take part in the annual massed bands’ festival at Christchurch next Sunday. As well 'as participating in- the massed band events the hand will give a demonstration of the quickstep, an event which it won at. the Dominion contest. The programme includes marching displays and selections, both by individual bands and by massed bands.

Short of Sugar Sugar will be in short supply in Southland until the arrival about the middle of this month of the Waimarino with a shipment of 400 tons. From that consignment Invercargill merchants will be able to repay to New Zealand Milk Products, Ltd., 165 tons they have borrowed, leaving 235 tons to be distributed among grocers. The arrival of the Waimarino will relieve the position considerably. The Waiana is now at Auckland discharging southern cargo and when that has been done she will load sugar for the return trip. The date of her arrival at Bluff is uncertain.—P.A.

Prize in Consultation Two married women will share the first prize of £IO,OOO in an Australian consultation, the results of which were received yesterday. They are Mrs R. J. Scott, of. Stonelaw Terrace, Maori Hill, Dunedin, and Mrs L. A Bleach, of Ranfurly, joint holders of the winning ticket, says a Dunedin Press A ssociat.ion message. They bought the ticket from a shop during centennial carnival week. Mrs Bleach, who was visiting the city, suggested ,to her, friend, Mrs Scott, that they should share the cost of a ticket. Mrs Bleach had about a fortnight before won 2s 6d at a game of housey, and they agreed to use the nom de plume “Housey Syndicate,” Maori Hill. ;

Island Customs Some of the customs of the Solomon Islanders were revolting to European minds, and others were merely entertaining, said Mr Stuart Mill, a former New Zealander and a member of the South Sea Evangelical Mission, dn an address to the Travel Club at Invercargill. The marriage ceremony on one island was very simple. If a man and a woman ate from’ the same food bowl they were married in the eyes of the community. The women had been regarded as beasts of burden before the coming of the white men, but now natives were accepting them on a more Christian basis, although they were very diffident about being seen giving any assistance to the “weaker vessel.” The children of the islands had a high mortality rate. One man he knew had had eight children, six of whom had died, not from wilful neglect, but because they had been allowed to remain damp after the frequent rains and had conti'acted pneumonia. ,