General News.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19986, 22 July 1930, Page 10

General News.

The City Council traffic inspectors, when in uniform, arc to be carried froe on Christchurch trams.

During June, tramoars were 0011corned in twenty-nine accidents. Of these, fourteen were collisions with motor-cars, while five aroso from passengers alighting while the trams wore in motion.

After an absence of six weeks from New Zealand the party of Dominion farmers, which has just finished its tour of Australia, will arrive at Bluff this morning and catch the second express from Invercargill to Christchurch, arriving here at 7.25 p.m.

The open-air meeting which was to have been held at Papanui last evening by Mr G. T. Thurston, Labour candidate for the City Council by-election, was abandoned. Steady rain was falling, and there were only two or three Papanui residents present. The Christchurch City Council was represented at the funeral of the late Mr William Bcece by the Mayor (Mr J. K. Archer) and the Town Clerk (Mr J. 8. Neville). Mr J. W. Beanland represented City Councillors and the Christchurch Drainage Board in addition to past 1 members of the Tramway Board.

Speaking at the Beekenham School last night, Mr A. A. MeLachlan, the Citizens' association candidate for the vacancy in the City Council, referred to the profits of the M.E.D. "I deprecate the building up of huge reserves," he said, "because the Government may come along and grab them for the Arapuni scandal, or something like that." A letter from the Canterbury Automobile Association thanking the Christchurch Tramway Board for placing blue lights on Bome of its tramcars was read at yesterday's Board meeting. "Our action has brought general commendation," remarked the chairman (Mr W, Hayward), "and we are going to put blue lights on all trams."

Copies of "Beminiscences of Arthur Dudley Dnbson, Engineer, 1841-1030," were available to the public yesterday. The volume consists of over two hundred pagetf, and in addition to portraits of the author at different ages, there are several illustrations, including a sketch of the Fran? Josef Glacier made in 1863, views of Nelson in 1807, of the gorge at Canyon creek, upper Mathias river, bridge over a branch of the upper Waimakariri, and of the harbour works at Warrnambool.

For the bridge to be erected over the Broken river, on the road to the West Coast, tenders are now being called by the Public Works Department. The structure will be built in hardwood supplied by the Government, and will have four spans, each 24 feet long, resting on two-pile piers. The roadway will be seven feet wide. As the site chosen is about three chains below the old ford, a short deviation of the road will bo necessary. Considerable work on the construction of approaches and protect tive groynes will be required. The appeal made by the Arthurs Pass National Parte Board to local bodies for contributions towards its fund# has resulted to date in about £ 230 being voted. The Christchurch City Council has undertaken to subsidise these grants, pound for pound, up to £SOO. It is anticipated that the Government also will subsidise the total amount, though it is not thought likely that the whole of the Government subsidy will be received this year. The Bojird intends to interview local bodies who have not yet been approached directly for a grant.

Regarding the dispute between the Christchureh Drainage Board and the Llicearton Borough Council, as to the commission payable to the Council for collect.ng the Board's rates, a letter was read nfc last night's meeting of the Council from the Under-Secretary of Interim! Affairs stating that Mr J. P. Rutherford. Audit Inspector, of the Christchureh Audit Office, had been appointed to decide the dispute. Crs. F. S. Wilding and C. G. McKellar were appointed to represent the Council.

The position of candidates endorsed by the Citizens' Association for seats on the City Council was made clear last night by Mr E. H. S. Hamilton, when speaking at the Beckenham School in favour of Mr A. A. McLachlan. rt l am vice-chairman of the executive of the Association," he sa.tl, "and we do not ask any candidate to give us any pledge other than that he will work for the good of the City and tho citizens. Any councillor who has been originally endorsed by us may vote how he likes as long as it, is for the good of the City and the people in it."'

That any City Council was primarily in existence to deal with such things as water supplies and electricity which could not be handled by individuals for a city, was the contention of Mr 11 G. Livingstone, when speaking at the Oddfellows' Hall, Lin wood, in favour of Mr A. A. McLachlan last night. "The operations of a Council should be confined to such things." he said '.State and municipal enterprises are extending to such an extent that soon there will l>e nothing left for a hoy or a girl to go into but the Civil Service—a state of affairs we do not want to see."

Tho Dallington Queen Carnival Committee has been granted permission to hold a Sunday niglit concert in the Civic Theatre, the proceeds to be devoted to CT;e parish funds. In reporting this to last night's meeting of the City Council, the By-laws, Finance, and Departmental Committee stated that in view of the numerous applications that had recently b?en received for Sunday evening concerts, it now recommended the Council to revert to its previous nrnctice to refuse applications for Sunday night concerts except where the -proceeds were to he devoted to charitable purposes. The report wa« adopted.

It was reported to tho City Council last night dv the Abattoir, Markets, and Reserves Committee that a start had been made to form a new football ground at Burwood Park. Approximately three acres had been cleared of lupins and the area was now being levelled with a scoop. The levelling and grading of Buckley's road Reserve was now almost completed, a full-sized football «ronnd having been formed and ton-dressed with soil so as to be readv for sowing down with grass seed early in spring. The trees along the Buckley's road frontage had been thinnetl out and nrnned. A row of trees would be nlanted along the "Council" road boundary at the first opportunity. Dr. Americo Mola, of Montevideo, tho president of the International Committee of Open-Air Schools, has written to tho president of the Open-Air Schools' League in Christchureh, and given hjm, and other members of tho League, a warm invitation to bo present at the second International Congress of Open-Air Schools, wli'.ch is to bo held in Brussels in April next. In his letter, which is in French, Dr. Mola says that, as it is hoped that all countries will be represented at the Congress, he trusts that the League will bo able to accept the official invitation which the League has a'lrcady received from Paris. W'th his letter Dr. Mola sent a pamphlet, "Escuelas A 1 Aire Libre do Montevideo" (tho Open-Air Schools of Montevideo), which describes tho three special open-air schools for delicate children in Montevideo.

In a constructive criticism of tho present syllabus of English in tho B.A. and M.A. degrees. Mr D. A. Carr at a meeting of the English Association last night spoke of the presupposition of too much knowledge of English literature Ixv students in their first year at the I'niversitv. The course was taken by many solely for one year, during which n period of forty or fifty years alone out of the whole range of English literature was studied. Auain it was impossible, with the present division of literature into five periods for detailed stvdy, the period changing each v ear. for a student carrving Enrlish to the Honours standard to rover more than four periods. Mr Carr gave a brief outline of an i>ltr>rnative course that would remedy these defects especially notewortl)" being the *uwe , e*tion that in the first "ear th°re should be no swcialist work in literature. but rather a general survev tpuchinrr on creat movements *nd salient events, *n commenting on sneaker's remarks. Profe«or Wall agreed tv»"t +,, e present syllabus was markedly faulty.

It is possible that the Council will appoint six more Traffic Cops to control the traffic to and from the Gold Band Taxis Depot, as it is so great now that something will have to be done. But keep on 'phoning 34075 and 35572. Thank you. —5

Babies will grow, and every 6tage of growth is charming. Have your baby photographed often at the Steffano Webb Studio. His baby pictures are the very personification of babyhood. 252 High street. —6 <rf.

Sleep in this morning! Nearly missed the car—left half your breakfast on the table. Then come along to Cooke's for morning tea—pot of delicious tea with scones, sandwiches, or biscuits 6d. Cooke's and Tudor Tearooms, High street. —0

Henrv Ford made his millions by manufacturing a large number of cars at a small profit, and that is what the proprietor of the Gold Band Taxis is doing in supplying taxis at very low rates. 'Phone 34075 and 35572.