THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16211, 14 May 1918, Page 3

THE COUNTRY.

NEWS AND NOTES. j

JOTTINGS FOR FAUMHRS. \

i here wore 434-3 acn's ot laud- opened j up for selection by the Crown ; •L>epartment during -VI ay. most of ; which ia in Auckland, iiav.kc s Bay, i and Southland provinces. It ii notified that there are also -1198 acres to be opened for selection in June, mainly in Nelson and Canterbury provinces.

The potato crop in the Eastern dis- ; tricfc 01 Southland is not turning out i nearly u» to expectations. most ol' tlio : crops dug showing signs oi biight and ( yielding much below the average. One (>uyer who canvassed the last week secured one line at £/ on trucks; but Gore merchants say that 110 far- ■ mers are offering any quantity, and present indications point to a thortage in this district. WAIAU. ; A meeting of the aiau branch of the ; Farmers' Lnion was held on Saturday ; afternoon. Present —Messrs K. Petti- . grew (president), H. T. Heaven. K. E. | Avrton, J. Higgins, -Jos. Lee, w. J. j Smith, J. Scanlan, and A. l>unbar. The J following remits for the Provincial Con- ; ference were passed:—"That, owing to . the increased "railway freights pressing j unduly heavily on tnose at a distance I from the centres, the Railways Depart- ; ment be asked that a universal terminal j charge per truck be substituted for the • -0 per cent, increase that has been ini- | posed during the past two years."' ; "That a committee be set up to serious- | ly consider the reorganisation of the j Farmers' Union, with a view to making j the platform more acceptable to the i whole farming; community."' "That j members of this Union, in purchasing j goods after the war. undertake to givo j preference as far as possible to the pro- ' ductions of those countries that lmvo [ j most loyally supported the Allies." Mr '< K. Pettigrew was appointed delegate j to the Provincial Conference. Before* commencing the business of the meet- > ing. the president moved a motion of ' sympathy with the relatives of tho late 1 Mr J. O'Halloran, and paid a tribute i to the splendid work he had performed i in tho interests of the Fanners' Union. The motion was carried in silence, members standing. j MO I"XT riOMEUS. j . The monthly meeting of tlie Mount Soiners Koad Board was held last week, when Air . I{. Turton presided. It was decided that tho members should I meet at the ereek crossing on the 1 Siaveley-Springburn roaci. and report ! to next meeting their opinion to j whether a bridge or culvert would be ! more .suitable, it was decided to assist i tho Aciy Zealand Eoueational Institute j in moving rh; Government to strong- j then the education system. A donation of £10 was voted to the Y.M.C.A. ! rund. The annual meeting was then helu, and the balr.nre-shect adopted suojeet to audit. AMBEHLEY. * j Kpijowing the example set in Chrit-t- j t'jiurch on ihnrydiiv last a .argo congregation assen:h£d in 'the i i arish Church to beseech tho special i -id of Almighty God in tho great war 1 uisis on the "Western front in Europe. ! At the invitation of the Vicar, the i l>evs. Bannerman (Presbyterian;, Gay and Jordan (Methodist) took part, and i.ianv members of their respective congregations joined with those of the Anglican Church ill a great service ■ of intercession that God would nown the righteous causo with victory. It was such a service as iuul never before been witnessed in the district, and evinced a spirit of unity most desirable. The desire is generally expressed for more services of a like nature during the continuance of the eonriict.

A mooting of tho general committee 01 tiie Aiiiberloy Rivoders' Association was held yesterday, tluv president (Mr J. H. Watson) presiding over ii large iittondauco. A vote of sympathy was. convoyed to 31 r D. Boyce, who recently lost a son at the front. The secretary was instructed to forward to members nomination papers for the general committee. The president and Mr F. H. Courage were appointed a deputation to interview Messrs Pync and' Co. regarding; the use of their yards and paddocks in anticipation of the show developing into an A. and P. show.

OXFORD. A public social was hold in the Oxford J'own Hall on Thursday, for the double purpose of welcoming 'home Private L. Anderson and farewelling Leicester Henderson (Aviation (. orps). There was a good attendance. 'Hie ltcv. D. Rankin gave an address, and made a presentation to the departing soldier. RAXGIORA. While a party of three were returning to Rangiora from iSefton 011 Sunday tho off wheel of the gig collapsed, throwing Mr A. Wiskor, of Wooiston, out. ' He received a sprained ankle anil several bad bruises. A passing motorcar brduglit the sufferer to Rangiora. LADBROOK*. The weather during the past week lias been suitable for the tanners, and they-have been very busy at all classes of work.

■ There now being plenty of railway j waggons available the chaffcuttors are 1 again at work. Large quantities of I chaff, potatoes, and grain ar» being sent forward. Tho potatoes are in first class order, the farmers here taking special pains to prevent any alfectcd with blight from being bagged. The yield of potatoes last week showed six tons to the acre for ijood table sorts —a big drop from .previous years. The bulk of tho grain has been threshed and sent awav, very little being left in the district. The fortnightly euchre tournaJiient i and dance was held in the public hall, which wns filled to overflowing. The results of the euchre tournament wore: —Ladies, first prize Miss Lorn a Pickering, eecond prize Mrs Larcombo: gentlemen's, first prize Mr L. Everest, second prize Mr Ji. 11 ayes. The music was supplied by Mr Harry Meyer, the duties of M.C. being carried out bv Mr A. Gabbitas. An excellent supper was. provided by the ladies. The annual meeting of the Public Hall Committee will be held in the hall on Friday evening next to receive the report and balance-sheet .and elect a management committee for the ensuing year. Mrs W. Hughes returned to her home at- Cheviot on Tuesday, after spending a very pleasant holiday with her relatives in Ladbrooks.

Some excellent bags were secured at Lako Ellosmere last week by our local sports.

'Mr M. Xolan is erecting a new residence on his recently acquired farm. ! The Linooln Young Men's Club has now been formed, and arrangements made for a suitable hall. A large membership has been secured from Lincoln and surrounding districts. A good strong committee, with Mr Fred Hilt, jtinr.. as secretary, are sparing no pains to make the club successful. A social evening will be held in the Druids' Hall on Friday evening to celebrate thi opening. Mrs Roscoe is awav spending a lengthy holiday in the North Island. Miss E. Roscoe and Miss C. C'olman left for the North Island Inst- week for a short holiday.

AKAROA. The Returned Soidieis' King Carnival, promoted in connexion with " rJo tie Fete, promises to turn out even better than anticipated. The Akaroa county has been divided into three districts, and each has selected its returned soldiers candidate. The names of the of the

oi their distinctive colours. arc:—, Akaroa. Private t\ Hemingway, ted: i Inside Hays,- i rcoper T. Warner, white; i Outside J!av>, '1 roopor G, Waj;'honi, i blue. ojy elaborate arrangements. ■ under the supervision of Air Sweenov! > of (.'hristchurch, have boon made for | tho Coronation ceremony. i ASHW'RTOX. • ! The forty-third anniversary of the 1 Ashburton Wills strcrl Methodist Sun- j day school was celebrated on Sunday, i when tho services throughout the day ! were conductor! by the Rev. S. I'.ailey. | of the Willowby circ-uit. Special hymns ! were snug Ivy the children, under i.'ie direction of .Mr 11. Watt.' A s|>oe:i:l j wss hold during the afternoon for chiluien.

The Mayor Olr R. Galbraith) heartily congratulated i'ie members of tho Ashburton Red Cross Society fit. it* annual meeting on Saturday last ou tho great amount of work accomplished during tin? past twelve- month-. He contended that Ashburton v.-onhl compare favourably with any other county in Xow Zealand. The women at tiic head of affairs wore loyal and onoraetie. and the country branches worked enthusiastically in the interests .-if the soldiers.

There was a large attendance at tho Asliburton ra thvay station yesterday afternoon, when a number of returned soldiers arrive:! by the express, and were welcomed homo by the Mayor and members of the Patriotic Committee. The returned men were: Privates •T, Ainswortb, A.shhurton (9th ReinT. M. Flutt, Alfor:J Forest (9th Reinforcements): J. M. Rutland, .Moling (Oth Reinforcements): .), Small, rinwald (loth Reinforcements); and H. K. Cretney, Lauriston (14th Reinforcements). Alotor-cars were provided to convey the men to their homes. . TEMURA. Tho i?2itd annual tir of the South Canterbury Aeelimnii.sition Society is to be hold this week. AftPr tho report aud balance-sheet for the year have been dealt with. Mr .1. li. Pigott will move an important motion relative- to membership. The motion proposes to rescind clauses -!, o. and 0 of "the society's rules, and to substitute others to the following effect: The holder of a £1 fishing or shooting license in any year ending March Olst. shall bo entitled to be enrolled as a member for ! tho following year, providing application for enrolment is made before' April loth, and ho shall remain a member as long as he is qualified by having hold a lie-ease the previn:i> year. Applicants for membership not thus qualified must bv> proposed and seconded in writing: lie application:; being sent to the secretary. who shall send a ropy to member of tin> council with a ballot paper returnable at the next meeting | of tiie council,, whose decision shall be absolutely final. The subscriptions of : members elected in this way shall be os per annum, nnd being in arrears i with subscription shall-debar the member from attending any meeting of the Society. Contributors at any one time of ,L' 2 and upward*. aud any person who has rendered .-oecial services to j the Society may he elected life members ! at any general meeting. Membership shall cear-o fai 011 resignation in writing, (b; on loss of qualification as a license holder the previous year, (c) if an elected member on the subscription being throe months in arrenr; also, it f. member is convicted of an offence under the Animals Protection Act, and 1 in such case &ny license held shall be j cancelled: and no person so convicted ■ shall bo eligible to receive a license or | to membership for five years, except at j the discretion of the council. No regii- j {rations shall be made within fourteen ! days immediately preceding the annual j meeting, or any special general meet- j ing of the Society. j WAIMATE. i At the annual meeting of the Waimate Pipe Band the election of officers resulted, as.follows: —President, .Mr J. Martin: vice-presidents, Messrs N. .Menzies, W. Menzies, 1' . Pollock, and

Carter; drum msjor, A. ciegar; pipe major, A. li. Cooper; sergeant, ii. Harris; secretary, .\lr A. K. Cooper; treasurer, Mr J. Bain; auditor, Mr O. Campbell; trustees, Messrs J. MaTtin and Cox.

The committee of the Waimate A. and P. Association has authorised a sub-committee to have new sheep yards erected, tho timber for which is on the ground. The meeting favoured the present sheep pen site for the new pens. The " re-letting of the show grounds wes dealt with, 51 r J. Dowthwaite's offer of £12 10s per year for three years, accepted. The annual meeting was fixed for the second •Saturday in June. Mr and Mrs Chapman and party, of Ashburton, ivili visit Waimate this week, and give a concert in aid of the Red Cross Fund.

Lieutenant 131adin, Captain Wilkinson, and Sergeant Kive returned yesterday from the Salvation Army conference in Christchurch. Harvest services were held at Knox Church on Sunday, the Rev. Alex. Watson preaching morning and evening. Quartermaster S. Evans and Private Jack Emmerson returned from tie front- by last night's train. The latter is minus an arm, bat plus an English wife.