General News.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20215, 18 April 1931, Page 14

General News.

The. secretary of the North Canter* bury Acclimatisation Society has received the . following reports ,on the fishing conditions of the rivers:—Waimakariri: Clear and fishable. Hurunui: Slightly: cloudy, but all right for Rangitata: Clear and fishable. Rakaia: Clear and fishable. "Both parties in this case have given their evidence fairly and straightforwardly, which is a very rare thing in these- charges of negligent driving, 1 ' said Mr E. D, Moaley, S.M., in the Mali gistrate's Court yesterday. • The receipt is acknowledged ■of a copy of the Universal ' Business and Streets Directory of Christchurch and . suburbs. The directory meets a longfelt need as & handy classified 1 * business reference, and has been carefully compiled. There is a/n up-to-date map accompanying the. directory, and a system of map-indexing enables street points i to be located exactly.

To-morrow is the day fixed for special collections in the Church of England for the fund to help the' diocese ' of Waiapu in its difficulties caused by the earthquake. The immediate needs are so much larger than was, anticipated, that the Bishop has issued i special api peal ftor\ substantial assistance.. Contributions may also be 'sent to the Diocesan. Office, or to Mr E. H. S. Hamilton,' 82 Hereford street:

The Wellington, Horticultural Society is objecting to the Christchurch application for the lioder Cup competition to be held in the southern City next year. The , Director of the' Horticultural (Division of the Department of Agriculture has been advised that the Wellington Society opposes the Removal <of the competition from Wellington, as local growers are preparing for - the event, and a condition of the Competition is <that plants must be in the possesion of the grower for twelve months.—Pbesh Service.

Mr 'A. B, V. Morten, who died recently- at-his residence, ""Stonycroft," Mount 1 Pleasant, has bequeathed to the Canterbury Museum a f(n<j collection of arms. Thdlctacator - (Professor ®. Speight) states that the collection is one of value, and of i groat historical interest. It contains about, one hundred piecet find includes a number of different types of pijstols and other weapons, some of which are rare. Two pieces of special interest are a cannon which was mounted on.the Randolph <one of the First Tour Ships), and another ■ old. cannon 1 which v was reputed 1 to have been used in the sieire of ' Kaiapoi. v , , , 1 > j ' 1 ' 1 " * The Canterbury-branch of the Navy laeague will -celebrate St. George's-.Ddy and the anniversary of the Zeebrugge -raid, on Thursday, April 23rd, with a social gathering to l)e held in "the Nayy, League Hall., The general, has invited ex-RJT„ B.NJEt., \ t 8.N.V.8, nlen, who,served in.the Great War, to attend the. gathering. Mr J. J. Dougall, president of the branch, is to preside, and there' will be short, addresses, moving'pictures, reminiscences, and refreshments. Amongst'the--speakers Will be Commander TV. A. 0. Crutchley, V.C., of Wellington* who took part in the Zeebrugge and Ostend'raids. ■ '

The experiences ~-. of. a Ohristchurch man on his way to, England, via Australia, with bank notes and' jsilver coins, as narrated in a letter to a friend, make interesting reading. Before he left Christchurch he was*told that he would get £1 2s 3d for Bank of New, Zealand notes in Australia and? took a few with him. > In Sydney, he, tried to cash one of the notes, hut was unsuccessful. On going to the branch of the bank , in Sydney, he'got an Australian <£l note for it. At the Commonwealth"; Bank im Melbourne he got.2os ; 6d.for one,note; but did better at Hobart where he got 20s lOd. A Bank of England note produced £1 5s 9d. in Melbourne from the Commonwealth Bank. "Australian silver coins are' almost valueless once one leaves Australia, and on board steamers English money has greater purchasing power. You pay 4s in English silver joins for a deck chair,„but 5s 3d .in Australian silver coins; a bottle of Lemonade, 3d in English and 4d > in Australian coins.- The traveller gets rooked in every way. One lady had. to jay ,6s in the ■■A to get l»er money transferred to liondon; and a man who went So Australia on a three months' holiJay and -Who banked his English notes, when he withdrew the balance. received Australian pound notes, whiqh , were nrorth only 13s lOd each;to him. .We iave quite a numbe> of people on )oard have sold out in Australia' md are going to try their luck in'Engand. '■ * ' ''' " ;

•■ y ■ Confetti drifted in a light breeze at Manger© when a young airman and hiß bride set oft on the continuation of their honeymoon. The bridegroom flew from Dunedm to New Plymouth for the wedding. , He brought his bride by air to Auckland, and landed her safely at the Mangere Aerodrome. After visiting f " end s they made another start—the first hop towards their future home at Dunedin.' The programme is to include calls at places on the way.

Anomalies in the Home examination system are attacked in the April issue of "Canta," the official organ of the Students' Association of Canterbury University College, receipt of which is acknowledged. Another article complains about the "unexpected cut on students' bursaries." The publication contains, the usual"" reports of student activities, and of the inter-University Easter tournament. There is an amftislng contribution on allegedly modern journalism. An obituary notice refers to the deaths of Mr S. J. H. Sylvester, assistant-lecturer in geology at Canterbary College for three years, and Mr H. C. R. Hudson, an engineering student.

Two years ago some chukhor, commonly known as Indian partridge, were liberated in the Taringamotu Valley, and, according to the annual report of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, they can etill be seen. The Society's rangers have not been able to obtain any authentic information concerning their breeding, 'although one brooa has been seen. It is hoped that 400 chukhor, which have been on order for a year, will be liberated about December next. Some quail imported from India and liberated in tho Matamata County are doing well, and have increased their numbers. A curious coincidence has happened to an ex-Wellingtonian now on a visit to the city. Prior to his arrival (says the "Evening Post") he wrote to a friend asking that private lodgings should be sought for him and his wife. Chi arrival. they called on the, friend, and were recommended to apply at a particular house. Here they "clrew a blank," and yet again at another place to which they wejre referred. But this last householder pointed to a little shop, and proposed that an enquiry should be made there. The shopkeeper did know of a house in his neighbourhood the owner of which had rooms to let. The street he named was the one in which tho 'travellers themselves had lived for 20 years before their departure from Wellington. Further coincidence, the;, house to which they were referred'turned out to be their own former residence. When its present occupant was accosted, she' at once led them to a room which suited their purpose. And the main point in the coincidence is that they found themselves, in the very room in which they had spent the greater part of their married life. ■

An Auckland visitor who has just returned from a trip to the Far North had quite an exciting motor-, car ride from Te Paki down the steep hill to Spirits Bay. "Talk _ about 'Rolling down to Rio.' " he said. "It was nothing like sliding down to Spirits • Bay. It is a six-mile ■ run downhill, and in parts the play road is . very steep • and winding, with tricky turns. Heavy rain "had fallen, and the road very slippery, , At one stage we slid, with locked wheels, for a distance of 160 yards, *and just managed to skid in the right direction, round a bend, ■■■■.; Had we skidded the other way, we should have had * 60ft drop, over the edge of the cliff. The visitor i spoke enthusiastically or the wild beauty of the , north.. H» enjoyed some wonderful line-fishipg at Scott's point' "doubles . big schnapper being frequent,; vWdnders Nature he saw for tn® first time wore the "singing" sands of Ninety Mild Beach and the luminous fungi ■ growing at the roots of th<f .pohutukawaa, shining at ' night like great glowworms. Up near Spirits Bay the go®wits were assembling for their long flight to Siberia.

The carelessness shown by Dunedin people in handling large sums of nfeney war the subject of some strong comment by an employee of a large financial institution there. He atated that narns amounting to thousands of pbunds were carried about the. city streets every day by men who were quite with*, out protection.' He quoted as.an instance of carelessness the ease of a man : who drtw some thousands of pounds from a bank in expectation of the immediate completion of a business deal. ' The deal did not Eventuate, and the money, remained in the business man's possession fox 10 days before it was returned to the bank. It was rarely, he stated, 'that when inoney changed hands it was counted, by the recipient, and the possibility of an error . which might - cause a • great- deal of worry- was always open,

Again the Proprietor of the Gold Baud Taxis apologises to the large number of clients turned away, during the holidays, nn'd also thanks the. Inrge number who so patiently waited at our Garage opposite the Railway Station For -Gold, Band Taxis. Although we increased our , fleet by twelve nioro for Easter, , our fleet, is still too. small. 'Phone or 35-572/ . Thank you. —1

The bride and..bridegroom will look their best in aSteffano Webb Portrait, Unequalled results at moderate rates. Studio: 262 High street. (Petersen's Buildings). Phone 35-457. : f —■ 6 • Johnston's N.C.- Motor Co., Ltd.. representatives: W. C. Wilson and P. Meyer; manager, A. G. . Prestney, authorised Ford dealers. Travelling Rnngiora. - 'Phones 87 and 88. *—2 Farmers intending to top-dress this season should be sure to see in our yard the latest'pattern grid machine,.an English patent, made- in England. A substantially' built machine, a ' perfect spreader, which deals effectively with any quantities and all varieties. Demonstrated to anyone interested. Only a limited number of machines in stock We have two light slag sowers for hire to do, a few acres for those wishing to test their land. P. and D.- Duncan, Limited, 196 Tuam street, Christchurch, and at ABhburton. ■' —(j

; ... For another >week or two we are still giving an irresistible' discount on Doublp Drive Top Dressers until stocks are reduced! This, affords the chance of ge.tting a high-class machine at an attractive price! Get hi touch with us now; it. is to your advantage. Booth, Macdonald, and Co., Ltd. —O6