GENERAL NEWS.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15245, 6 April 1915, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

Tho Citizens' Defence Band will hold a practice this evening. Trains for the racecourse will leave the Christchurch railway station at 11 a.m., 11.1 a.m., 11.25 a.m., and 12.10 p.m. There will be no rehearsal for the chorus of tho Christchurch Musical Society to-night. On Monday next a practice* will be hold for tho full orchestra. There was a record attendance at the Art Society's Exhibition in the Art Gallery yesterday. The exhibition will be open at the usual hours to-day. This evening tho scholars of St. Mary's Convent School will visit the exhibition. Other schools have signified their acceptance of the Society's invitation to visit the 'exhibition during the present week. A cow met with an untimely death yesterday on the Burwood tramline. "About seven o'clock in tho eyoning tho animal strayed on to tho line almost contemporaneously with tho arrival at that particular spot of a car. The car was on time, and tho cow was so eoverely injured as the result of its encounter with the car that it was found necessary to destroy it. , In connexion with the races at Riccarton to-day, a special service of trams will bo run from. Cathedral square, commencing from 10.30 a.m. C.J.C. members' tickets, concession tickets, and tramway passes are not available on special car s to racecourse, and children will bo charged full adult faro on raco specials. The 11.10 a.m. and 12.5 p.m. and 1.0 p.m. time.trile cars from the Square will run oufvia Yaldhurst road and Coach Corner, and return via Sockburn : and tho 4.45 p.m. trip from the Square will run out via Sockburn and return via Coach Corner. The ordinary week-day time-table will be observed on all other lines. Cheap excursion tickets to and from the seaside will not bo issued to-day. Tho possibility of shooting at tho butts without the services of a marker, aud of seeing one's hits instantly recorded on an indicator set a foot or two away from tho marksman is a muchdesired consummation that is duo to the industry and ingenuity of an Australian inventor th» Melbourne "Argus"). After 10 years of experimental work a full-sized model of an electrically operated target, which does all this has he3n constructed, and some interesting developments may bo expected before long. Tho target is made up of 17 steel-plate sections, and the impact of tho bullet on ono of these drives it forward about {in. This establishes an electrical connexion, and the value of the hit is recorded on the indicator referred to. The segments are brought back to their position by coil springs. In addition to showing the scores the indicator is provided with an attachment that records tho scores on a tape. The wires connecting tho target and the indicator can bo laid for any range. Usually two or three ranges would be provided, and at each of thessc a "terminal" box would be permanently fixed. Tho indicator can be placed in any terminal by simply lifting the lid off the box..

There was heavy snow at Clinton oi Friday evening. Spvakiug to a station manairt.r in North Otago. a '"Southland Nous renresentative was informed thai in nearly thirty years'_experience ]k> had never seen snow lying so low down country in April before This break in the weather will seriously iiinder harvesting operations in the Clinton-Gore districts, where most of the crops ar.» now being cut.

A Cheviot correspondent writes: — Now that Mr Massey has promised to attend the Cheviot Show on April Stir it is to be hoped that the public will attend in large numbers. The Cheviot ladies are giving luncheon and afternoon tea, half tho proceeds to go towards the Anglican Church, and half to ihe Bo.giuru Fund. In the evening there will be a social aud dance, which will be opened by Mr Massey. who will give a short 'non-political address.

The sixth annual camp of the South Island Baptist Bible Ckifs I'nio.i was held at Dunsandel during .Raster. About sixty mon were in camp. About sixteen per cent, of tho Bible, el aPS n-.embe-s ire now serving nt the front, and a resolution was passed by the Union expressing appreciation or th?ir action. The T. B. Taylor Cud for oratory ua,. won by Mr Hendry (DunedinI*,1*, and the gold medal presented by "Mr P. L. Pine, and the impromptu speech prize by M" K. Archor (lnvercargiil). Devotional meetings and pervice-.s were conducted by Mr Young (Dunedin). tli« Rev. "Sir Bnshfieid (Sydenham), and Mr Velvin (Christchurch).

A statement emanating from Maitland was published recent"y to the effect that Dr. Booth Clarkson. tho health officer at that centre, could not proceed with vaccinations booatise of the delay in receiving supplies of Ivmnh from Now Zealand (says the Melbourne "Age" of March 20t_i\ Mr Tudor, the Minister controlling qua'--antine. stated in explanation that the Commonwealth Quarantine department had am pi? {supplies of lymph, which was available to any Stat* requiring it. Tho health authorities in New South Wales however, preferred to proem c their requirements from Now Zealand, and in consequence it was no fault of tlie Quarantine department that vaccinations had been hold up at Maitkind.

So far tho tramway traffic during the Easter holidays ha« been gratifyiugly large. On Saturday tho traffic was very heavy to tho trotting meeting at" Addington. and was much heavier than la.st year. Tho basis of comparison is not. however, tho same, a s last year tho trotting meeting was held on different days than was the case this year. On the two days' trotting there is, however, an increase of twenty car-loads as compared with tho corresponding two days last year. In addition, last Saturday there was a loading of thirty car.s to the band contest on the Show Grounds. Yesterday the tramway traffic wa<s heavy all round, the seaside resorts (especially iSumner), Cashmere Hills, and Riccarton line« all being well patronised. The traffic to the races was much heavier than on the corresponding day last year, the loading being aliout 90" car-loads, as compared with 8-5.

Amongs. the many references to the war made at the Foresters' conference tit its sitting in Dunedin on Saturday was the reading of a letter from tho North Holland District of the Anciont Order of Foresters. Tho letter embodied an appeal for help. Tho war had made .extraordinary demands on the Order. In the City of Amsterdam 90 per cent, of tho Foresters were diamond workers, and that business was absolutely at a standstill, and the efforts to assist thc resulting distress had exhausted tho benefit funds of tho Order locally. Refugee members of the Order had come from Antwerp, nnd as it was impossible to deal with that distress, the appeal contained in the lot--ter was sent to Forester.-, throughout tho world. Tho Foresters throughout Otago and Southland responded by £70, which the National Bank of New Zealand transmitted free of charge. More money is yet to come in.

The fourteenth annual conference and competition of the Federated Catholic Clubs of New Zealand wore commenced at Timaru on Saturday, and brought to a conclusion yesterday. On the motion of Mr M. J. Doyle, a resolution was passed expressive of profound regret at the death of his Lordship Bishop Grimes, and deep appreciation of his pioneer work in founding tbo now flourishing diocese It was decided that the executive offico of tho Society bo continued in Wellington, and that the next annual conferenco be held there. It was reported that tho clubs had suffered severely in membership by the largo number of members who had gone to the front to defend their country. The election of officers resulted as under:—President-General, his GraceArchbishop Redwood; presidont, Mr J. L. Loydon; vice-president. Mr G. Geo; hon. sccretarv. Mr T. H. Forster; lion, treasurer, Mr E. B. Reade; exocutivo, Messi-s O'Kane, F. Galvin, J. Fagan (all of Wellington). Timaru won the competitions, Christchurch being second, and Wellington third. Tho tramway facilities on tho Sumner line »ero sadly over-taxed at certain periods yesterday, duo to exceptionally heavy traffic to the seaside resort, and tho Tact that most of t-h-o cars, available wero required at tho Riccarton racecourse. Throughout tho morning and well on in the afternoon, the cars to Sumner were packed with thousands of holiday-makors going to the seaside, and cars had to be requisitioned which wore originally intended for the racecourse traffic. Naturally, when tho evening arrived_. and tho homeward rush commenced, just about the time the' extra care wero being fully occupied in coping with the traffic from tho races, many hundreds of p?oplo had a long wait, at the seaside till the congestion at the Sumner end was relieved. Competitors and others interested in tlie rifle shooting at Redcliffs were perhaps the greatest sufferers. The" shooting was over at 5 p.m., but every car and trailer coming from Sumner was packed from floor to roof, people even sitting on tho steps. A very few lucky individuals managed to find a footing on one or two, but dozens had to wait till after 7 3o'before they had a chance of getting aboard. A taxi-driver going citywards pulled up and called out "A bob a *]iead to town," and needless to add lio was rushed with fares. The long tedious wait was ended by th? return of several racecourse cans, which had been sent out to relieve the congestion a t- Sumner. It was (stated that some cars had been held up nearer the city owing to a car boing derailed. Electric Light Fittings.—We have just landed a shipment of artistic fittincs, which are quite exclusive.-—Turn-ed! and J ones, Ltd. G Your portrait will be natural, artistic, and inexpensive if taken by Steffan'o Webb. Petersen's Buildings. High street. Telephone 1959. W9722-3242 The new 'Toric" or curved lenses greatly enlarge the field of vision. They } lft vo "many other advantages, whicn Walter J. Watson, D.8.0.A., London, export optician, Colombo street (near Kincaid's), will bo pleased to explain. 6 The man who uses Ballin Bros Three-Star Sodawater never complains. He orders the best and gets it. When ordering just ring telephone 93. Ballin Bros.' Manufactory, 9 Byron street, Sydenham. G Get in touch with J. M. iieyvvoott and Co., Ltd., directly you decide to move. They will handle your furniture carefully, pack it securely, brean nothing, and deliver it unscratched to your new residence. h

If you are deaf, call at John R Proctor's, optician. 200 Higu street. Christchurch. who will demonstrate the Aurist can ar.d Auris instruments to you. They are the perfection of all neanng devices, and the best instrument* 7or relieving deafness. Call today. or writo for full particulars. A largo assortment of trumpets and tnbas in stock 8