NORTH CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19769, 6 November 1929, Page 3

NORTH CANTERBURY.

RAN GI OR A. Following th« light f.v' of r»:n on Mondftv th*r« Wa* A JJor fi for »-«ut tn hour Aft» r th<* long »p*l! .)! dr> *e*th*r t'n.t rr * v.-ry am j w ,j[ % •"'i I *' uIIt on ih« drr land*, the oat rrapt were eomtng into flower. >atthoogn stunted.

About 11. 3*j ,vns; ye*terdjy, fire »..« discovered m an elevated hopper, * mrh »»* full of sha\mgt in tb« yard «-t the Kaiapoi Timber Company, m High *tr«?t The tire tjrsgude »». qunai y on the wnif. and a stream <>r »atcr *i* poured into the container and the flame* extinguished. The Hopper i* clc*e to the shipping i</iapany s planing milts, and take* the oliar>ngs irorii the :x>nche». It »a»> verv fortunate the fire discovered b*tor.? netting a good hold. oth-r» .»c a urge quantity ot valuable machinery would have been endangered TiiKaiapoi Shipping Company » tirnlter yards are owned by Mr J. H. B .< kwell ■ K"si »p«>k). The damage d'ne was verv •mall.

The annual fe<.t;val of the North (. atiterbtiry Choral Association was hel l ;n St. John'a Church on Monday night, when eTensong was sting to Stanford a setting. There »as a good ronirfgjtien. The seme* was cmducted by the Rer. J K. Feron. the Iftson* read by the Revs. H. 0, Hanby und C' L. Sparrow, and the preacher was the Rev. G. \V. Dent, of St. Luke's. Cliri-trh-;rrh. The in'.roit was "" Jerusalem," Mr A, J. Woodward taking the solo part, while the anthem waa ' Let ali the World in ererv Corner Sing."' The choirs taking part were those of the Rnngiora. Kaiapoi, and C'uit C'hurche*. and the organist *a« Mr R. C. Pollar. At the conclusion of the service the Association * annua! meeting waa held in the parish hall and a social hour wa« spent Order* for advertisements and for deliver? of Tbb P*»« may be telephoned to or left at our local ofik«. Hiah Btn*t. Rangiora. Tetophone ti5M —2 CHEVIOT. As a meant of adding to the funds in hand for the building of the proposed Beat and Flonket room, the lo«al branch of the Plonket Society held a cake and prod oca stall on Saturday. Generous gifta of cakes and produce were received and disposed of at satiafactory prices, the effort resulting in a sub •tantial addition to the tund. The annual meeting of the Cheviot branch of the W.L'.'i .1 . was held in the Presbyterian Hall, when there was a record attendance. Mrs Morgan presented a very interesting report of the proceedings at the convention held at Waicuate recently, whieh she had attended aa delegate. A donation of £2 was made to the Willard Home. The annual report and balance sheet, which showed the branch to be making satisfactory progress, were read and adopted. The membership was 29. The election of officers resulted as follows: President. Mrs S. Gordon; hon. secretary, Mrs Alex. Hyde; hon. treasurer, Mrs Morgan. At the conclusion of the business afternoon tea waa served. The monthly meeting of the Mackenzie School Committer was held on Monday. Mr J. Paton presided over a full attendance. The headmaster (Mr r. s. Gordon), who waa in attendance, reported that the roll number waa 1"»3 with an average attendance of 138. The Inspectors had visited the school that •lay. Correspondence was received from the Hon. Mr Forbes with reference to the grant for the additional accommodation which ia at present being pro ceeded with. The Canterbury Education Board wrote in connexion with the proposed consolidation of the Spotswood School, with Mackenaie, and also with reference to the proposed installation of a heating system at the school. In connexion with the latter, it was decided to ask tha Board to supply further par- ; ticulars. It waa reported that the water | supply to the septic tank was not sat-

isfaotory and it was derided to write to the Board pointing out the urgent necessity for an improved supply. It was agreed to apply for a male substitute assistant tear her to replace Mr E. Marks, whose appointment would expire shortly. TT># purchase of books for the referarce library and locks for the cupboards was left in th» hands of the headmaster. It was agreed that the school close oa November 13th, People's Day at the A. and P. Bhow, A vote of thanks was passed to the Christchurch concert |«rty, which visited the district recently, tad also to those who had assisted with the billeting of the party. Appreciation was expressed of the work of the headmaster and staff in connexion with the training of the children for the afternoon toneart presented recently, which had resulted in a substantial sum being realised for the Ipurehaa* of books for the reference library. LEITHFIELD. 1 The fortaighUy meeting of the Loyal Lodge of Oddfellows was held on Saturday, Brother F. MrOowaa presiding. A letter was received from Dr. Thompson reaifaiag aa medical officer. One maternity b«nua was granted. Brother H. J. W. Kaigbts was present and arrangementa for tha combined Church Parade f were complete-!. Lecture Master Brp. j W. Rojaell gave a d»grc«* lecture to 1 confer miaor degrees. At the close of [ fhe meeting sapper was handed round | by the So-rial Committee. AKAROA. A meeting of the Flonket !*®eiety was held cm Monday, Mr* T. Maaefield pretidiag. The ism's report «u t4»pt•d. showing that good progress had beta maintained during the moath, and that there had been an increased number of visits tiy the rooms. A letter waa receive*! from Lieut.-Commander Braadaoa, of H.M.B. Dantdin. thanking the branch for a donation of £■*> towards the ship's hand, sad stating that should the warship hj« at Akaroa any time in tha fatara. the theatrical party would b« perfectly willing to s'age another fanetloa ia aid of the branch's funds. The treasurer, Mrs W. IT. Taylor, reported that the ship's concert had shown I a profit of £.19, after paying all exj pen«/*s. iaclodiag the gift to the band J fond. Votes of thanks wrr*> passed to | M**iamea S. Pllkingto*. T. Masefield, it. U Bell, aad Miss M. Bell for their generics doaatioas. for the children's fancy dreas ball. Th»re was a welcome fall of rain for about two hoars oa Monday asght. and a;aia yesterday moraing. BPB2NGFISLD. A cower* and daac* M 4 in *b» K*n j («wtJ hiftbly iD«c«asfal The rooeeft. ' which wis gives by th* commercial trae«Um <Chria*elnuTk> in aid of tka I<**l SporU CltjH. was appreciated ®v a crowded audience. Mr FsuUnsr. preaxlent of the club, tbaaked tha co«JßKrcial travail en on behalf of th* SpKU Oub, as throach I tkwsr gauarmoty the elnb wald benel* I to +rmim* <* *l4.

SOUTH MALVERN.

I Welcome rain set in on Mondav after- I noon. 1? points falling ur> to 9 a.m. j yesterday. Af-er a short l-r-ak, ram set j m about half pas! ten and later keaw | ! showers fell. Much g r c.J w:; i re «•;:*. ! the grnur.d v. a« becoming verv drr, t ! • hearing wid be .i<*;a ( ■ i .. m. . i PREBBLETON. j Ait«-r ,i -hort chur< h wrri'.' ~ ondu' '• | •I I' * H• v H I). .!<>n« «. tii>; J monthly rr.-etin.; ot the l'».i! li ) lot tho M *.: .: ~ I'nion »,ii ht-ld ;n -Jw i Parish Ho u:. tin. ro tx-mg only ,-i nnxit:- | i.i:e ,iiten- uiice. Mr> ot < i.rivtf :i .: ■ is. <•» i- pii--' nt and gmr nn ;u • mint »t tho work tarried on at ti— I M .ion r;:i! ~" College. | j >»v.;ral u;n- in which the mcniK-r- of the Mother-' I'nion nuciit give valut ah> »*-i-taitri- to the college. A vote •of thank- «.!«• •>' •<-i dr d Mr- Joughm j for i adcire«-. Aftvrnoon tea was ui.«per!-t'd. In of AI! Saints' Day a *pe«.-ia. even»o:ig xttkv »a- held" m tfie rh'ir'h nn Friday eveninß. the Iter, ii li Jonas offi'iatinp. A >p'<iai feat we '■ as the sing.nj: ot .-.ntliems 1.-y the ct.oi! . Afterward- a vix-ial was held in the Parish Hall, where there wa-i q .nte a largo gathering. The vvenmz i'-T--<-d pleasar.-lv in j.'aine, and txnnpet 11 ions inter-per-ed with dancing. The winners ot the various eompemions were Mr? fi. Millar. Mi-- A. Pri e. Mr R. Cherry, ami l»Tune White. The prizes were the gift* of Mrs (i. WnHter and Mrs L. Harris. Mrs H. B. Jones and Mrs MrPher.-on played for th» danres nnd supper was provided hy the ladies. Refreahing showers of rain fell during Monday night and yesterday mornins. hut although very welcome were not suffici«nt to produce any real effect on tho parched countryside. A good soaking downpour of several hours' duration is urgently needed. On Saturday evening a successful danc« was held in the Public Hall under the auspices of the local Library Committee There was a large attendance and a pleasant evening enjoyed by all present. HORORATA. On Monday about 5 o'clock rain set in. 22 points l«ing recorded yesterday morning, with the weather still •bowery. The rain is very welcome as gra-ss is very backward owing to the drynevs of the season. Although crops are looking well th®y are very short. There is every indication of a late harvest. Mrs K A. Gray is visiting her daughter, Mrs R. Reeves, I/Cvin. LEESTON. A meeting of the Leeston School Committee waa held on Monday evening, Mr R. Grant presiding. The headmaster, Mr W. H. Cartwright, reported that the roll number was 121 and the average attendance 11-5. Vote** of thanks were passed to Messrs G. H. Ryde for voluntary work at the school, ami I>. H-. Reid for a gift of grass seed. The secretary reported upon the arrangements made for the schools' and friendly .sccietieV excursion to Timoru on November 23rd. A picture entertainment for the excursion fund had been arranged for next week. The committee congratulated the staff upon tho satisfactory report made on the work of the school bv Inspectors Bates and Haslam. The rainfall for Inst month, as registeied on Mr A. J Inwood's gauge, was only .15 inches, as against 1.76 inches for October last year. The W>tnl rainfall for the yvar up to Octiober 31st was -22.') l inches, and for the same period last year 18.78 inches. La*t month wn* the driest since August, ( lf>ls. whrn only .12 inches of rain fell. ! On Monday night the fall registered was .21 inch««.