MID-CANTERBURY

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20420, 15 December 1931, Page 8

MID-CANTERBURY

ASHBURTON. supply of radium. 9 The recommendation of the special sub-committee set up by the Ashburton Hospital Board, to the effect that the scheme for procuring radium whereby the local committee procures the radium and gives it to the hospital be adopted, was carried at the Board meeting yesterday, two members voting against it. The special committee which considered three ■ schemes • placed before the Directpr-General of Health by Dr. H. S. Billcliff, further recommended that the members of the local executive and of the Christchurch branch of the Cancer Campaign Society be written to asking for their support and help to acquire radium for the Ashburton Hospital. Mr G. S. Hardy moved the . adoption of the report, this being seconded by Mr W. T. Lill. Dr. J'. B. Wells said he wished to enquire what was the constitution of the lo§al executive. Mr A. Prentice said he wjts secretary of the local executive, which was set up to raise money for the central fund. Dr. Wells said after that object was accomplished the executive had no status. Mr W. T. Lill said the Board should be thankful for the assistance of anybody to help its purpose. Mr W. G. Gallagher: I think weshould know who is going to handle this position. Dr. H. S. Billcliff said they would be just following in the lines of the South Canterbury Hospital Board, which was seeking the help of its local committee and the Central Committee in Christchurch. The Ashburton Committee consisted of Messrs W. A. Fleming, E. W. M. Cole, F. W. Watt, and himself. In reply to Mr W. Bryant, Dr. Billcliff said that the Christchurch Central Committee had power to allocate the money for radium. Dr. Wells said the Health Department opposed placing radium in the Hospital. He could not agree that it had been admitted that radium was a feasible proposition for the Ashburton Hospital. . It seemed to be desired in some quarters locally. He could not disregard the advice of world-wide authorities in the matter. The names mentioned were only a sub-executive set up by a committee of about 50, and they could not decide any matter of policy. The motion was carried, Dr. Wells and Mr Gallagher voting against it. Application for Refund. An application for the refund, of a donation of £3O given to the Ashburton Public Hospital by Mr C. Chapman, chairman of the old Newlands School Committee, was made by Messrs A. C. Cameron, F. Clemens, .and L. Bobertson to the Ashburton Hospital Board yesterday. The applicants wrote stating that Mr Chapman had no authority to make the donation, as the money was insurance on the school piano, which was burnt, and as the money to purchase the piano was subscribed in- the district it should.be,»sed for the benefit of the children in'the district; At-a-meet-ing of residents in ;the district they-had' been appointed trustees of the piano, fund. , • ' • ■ : •. ■ ' The acting-chairman (Mr F. Framp- ' Iqu) said the NeWlands School • Committee had divided the insurance money fOr the piano between the hospital and another body because thersfehool' was not rebuilt. As far as the Hospital' Board was concerned the applicants had no status. . ' The, secretary (Mr, A. Prentice) stated thiat under the Education Board's regulations money raised for school purposes which/was no longer required for that purpose must be disposed of for charitable purposes. That had influenced the cpmmittee in making the donation. It was generally agreed that the Board had no desire to retain the donation if it was required in the Newlands district; but it Was a legal question as to what was the proper procedure in making the refund. It was decided to refer the letter to Mr Chapman and also to ask for the ruling of the Audit Department. Fishing. 1 Very poor results were obtained by local anglers in any of the Ashburton County rivers over the week-end. The Bangitata 1 and Bakaia rivers were in good order; but owing to the heavy sea the fish" were not running in the streams at .the mouth. Very few fish were caught. There were about 12 rods out at Bakaia, where a few trout up to 41b were landed. Fishing at Hakatere, the mouth of the Ashburton river, has been disappointing this season, and the river is now too' low at the mouth for good fishing. Hospital Board.; At the monthly meeting of the Hospital Board yesterday there were present: Messrs F. Frampton (acting-chair-man), W. T. Lill, G. S. Hardy, W. Bryant, C. A. Campion, W. G. Gallagher, and Dr. j. B. Wells, In accordance with notice, Dr. Wells moved that they appoint a deputychairman. He said it was essential that they make provision for a deputy-chair-man. It seemed wrong to him that the chairman of the Hospital Committee should automatically step into the chairmanship in the absence of the chairman. He did not wish to' hurt anybody's feelings, but it so happened that they had men who had been on the Board for a much longer period than the chairman of the Hospital Committee. He nominated Mr Gallagher for the position. Mr Lill said according to statute they had no power to appoint a deputychairman. . The County Council existed for 50 years and never had a deputychairman yet. Mr Hardy said their Standing Orders stated that in the absence of the chairman the members should appoint one of their number to act as chairman. The notice of motion could not take effect until that was annulled. The motion lapsed in the absence of a seconder. On the motion of Messrs Lill and Hardy, Mr Frampton (chairman of the Hospital Committee) was elected chairman for the meeting. It was decided to send a remit to the Hospital Boards' Association Conference at Timaru in February to the effect that steps be taken to make provision for the appointment of a deputychairman of Hospital Boards. Mr Bryant, chairman of the Charitable Belief Committee, which was set lip at laßt meeting, reported that all applications fbr relief would be dealt with on Monday afternoons. The committee had followed the lead of the North Canterbury and other Boards in deciding that in .every case where relief was given to an able-bodied man the person concerned should work for what he received. It was found that the men concerned were willing to do this. During the past three weeks there had been 61 applications for charitable relief, 45 being granted casual assistance, ten being declined, and one held over. In five cases the circumstances were such that grants of relief for periods of up to two months were approved. | Further to his report Mr Bryant said the Board had provided £750 on its

estimates for charitable relief up to March 31st, 1932, but £778 2s 2d had been spent already. The report of Dr. H. S. Billcliff (medical superintendent) stated that 53 patients remained in hospital at the beginning of November, during "which month 77 patients were admitted, 130 treated,- and 65 discharged, leaving 65 in the institution at the end of November. The report of the spcretary-treasurer (Mr A. Prentice) stated that there was a credit balance of £268 lis Id, on November 30th. The Board's financial position was still satisfactory.- During last month three cases of diphtheria and one case of tuberculosis were admitted from the borough, while there were twa cases of diphtheria from Allenton and another case of- tuberculosis from Mayfield. The chairman of the Hospital Committee (Mr P. Frampton) repotted that members of the staff were desirous of continuing -their contributions to' the superannuation fund at the rate which obtained prior to the reduction . of salaries. ' It was decided by the committee that the Board continue to pay at the higher rate for twelve months, when the matter would be . reviewed again. The Director-General of Health advised that the Minister was willing to extend the scope of the Friendly Societies' agreement to include lodge patients admitted to maternity hospitals for ante-natal care. In connexion with the renewal of the present agreement, a reply had been received from the Director-General of Health in which he requests either an increased daily rate, or half fees charged for operations. Dr. Wells said they should point out to the Friendly Societies that the liability of the Societies would not be increased but the extension provided for treatment of the kind of case referred to and also continuity of medical attention. He thought the position had been misunderstood. It was decided to write to the Friendly Societies' Association on the lines suggested by Dr. Wells. The secretary reported that the Director-General had forwarded a further letter agreeing to the agreement being renewed for one year. It was decided to write thanking the Women's Institute at Hinds for gifts of jam, preserves, and produce for distribution among necessitous families. A vote of thanks was also passed to Mrs H. S. Billcliff and other ladies who had assisted with the street appeal on Friday. The secretary reported that £93 0s 6d had been collected. Farmers' Failure. . The fall in prices of produce and stock was the ehief reason advanced for the bankruptcy of Samuel Allen and Thomas James Hanthorne, farmers, of Methven, to their, meeting of creditors; yjesterday. The Official Assignee (Mr A. J. Ching) presided. The financial statement showed a deficiency of £146 4s 7d. The assets were valued at £ 15,515 to meet debts •- totalling £15,6.61 4s 7d. The secured creditors were:—Greenwood's Trust.. (Christchurch), £8950, for a debt of £6539; State Advances Department, £5465, for a' debt of £3992; J. McLean • (Cairnbrae),. £ 1472 18s 6d, for a'debt of £1035 10s; Commissioner of Taxes, debt of £34 18s 4d; Ashburton County Council, debt of £57 Is; Mt. Hutt Eoad Board, debt of £3l; W. H. Marshall (Methven), £2411, for a debt of The principal unsecured creditors, were:—Collins and Co., Ltd. (Ashburton), £213; Ashburton Power Board, £6 lSs 4d: Methven Service Station, | £2O; W. H. Marshall, £234, and £956 la 5d- W. Cook (Lyndhurst), £9 6s 4d ; , John Chambers and. Sons ' (Christchurch), £493 10s 3d; Atlantic Oil ; Co.. (Christchurch),. £44 14s 3d; Vacuum OSI Co. (Christchur.ch), ' fcl6 15s 6d; Otago . Farmers' Insurance, Company,: '£>lo- 'Bs;' :,Th& -Jfcs&igHe'e to. lip for auction,' tte property; f the 'upset purchase price to be left to his discretion. Bankrupts were permitted to retain their furniture, which was valued at £IOO. ' ' Borough Council. The fortnightly meeting of the Ashburton Borough Council was held last evening, when the Mayor (Mr W. ±i. Woods) presided. There were also present Crs. F. Z. D. Fernman, W. H. ltundle, J. Watson, E. H. Orr, Jt. A. Collins, and R. Kerr. It was reported that the amounts received since the previous meeting totalled £638 10s, while , there was a credit of £l7 10s lOd in the cemetery account. . Mr R. B. -Cotton, of Christchurch, who had been entrusted with tlie» work of reporting on the borough water supply, wrote stating that as there were a number of possible methods of augmenting the water supply, the report would take some time and care to prepare, but he would try and let the Council have it for the first meeting in January. The Hawke's Bay and East Coast Aero Club forwarded its third annual leport and balance-sheet. The Ashburton County Council drew attention to the danger which threatened the Allenton district and the borough by the erosion of the Ashburton river in the vicinity of Rawle's Ford. As an inspection of the dangerous place was to be made on Friday, December 18th, the, Borough Council, pas asked to appoint a representative to accompany the County Council on its inspection. —Cr. Ferriman was appointed to represent* the Council. Stating that it was finding it increasingly, difficult to deal with the financial aspect of the society's evergrowing work, the committee of the Ashburton Plunket Society appealed to the Council for a donation, and at the same time thanked the Council for its courtesy and generosity in previous years.—The sum of £5 5s was voted. The Deputy-Controller and AuditorGeneral of the Audit Office. (Mr J. H. Fowler), writing with regard to the Council's sinking fund general loan of £7500, advised that as the sinking funds at present in the hands of the Commissioners, together with the interest accumulation to January Ist, 1935, should be more than sufficient to repay the loan of £7500 maturing on that date, the Audit . Office would raise no objection to the Council's proposal to cease paying the sinking fund contribution of £IOO per annum to the Commissioners for the balance of the term of the loan. It was stated that the only ioans the Council now had were drainage and water-supply loans. The New Zealand Park Superintendents' Association advised that the next conference of chairmen of Reserve Committees and Park Superintendents would be held in Christchurch on January 26th, 1932, when papers would be read and subjects of special interest to those in charge of reserves, gardens, and playing areas would be discussed. line Association hoped that the Council would be represented by the chairman of the Reserves Committee and the superintendent of reserves or head gardener. Cr. Collins, chairman of the. Reserves Committee, was appointed to represent the Council. It was decided to impose the 10 per cent, penalty on all rates unpaid after January 19 th. The inspector reported that one l uilding permit amounting to £350 had been issued. • Charitable Belief. The Charitable Belief Committee of the Hospital Board met yesterday. Twenty-one applications for relief were dealt with, including ten on the permanent list. Of the latter one was considered and declined on. ae-

count of the earning capacity of the applicant's family. One was reduced, and another continued until after Christmas. Eleven cases of a temporary nature were approved. It was resolved that in cases of itinerant men relief should comprise a ration order for 2s 6d per man and that no order for tea, bed, and breakfast would be given, except in exceptional circumstances. The position of applicants who were known to be wasting their earnings by attendance at races and other places of entertainment, or spending their wageß on liquor, was considered, v. It was decided that wherever enquiries showed that such wastefulness obtained no relief would be given in future. ■:/ Swimming Centre. Vyhe: Ashburton Swimming Centrg met. ■Mat evening, tb<T chairman (Mr J." C. C. McLachlan) presiding. -The South Canterbury' Centre advised that the New Zealand senior championsliips \ftmld be held at Timaru on February 13th. The Methven Swimming Club's application for permission to hold its annual carnival on January 30th was granted. Centre championships were advocated as follows:—Methven Club, 50yds ladies'; Ruapuna Club, 100 yds intermediate boys'; East Ashburton, Friedlander Cup relay and 100 yds men's; Ashburton Chib, 50yds intermediate girls'. ! It was decided to notify all clubs that Centre officials would take charge of all championship events.^ Mr C.. Day was appointed the Centre's starter steward. Cricket Association. The Management Committee of the Cricket Association met last evening, Mr F. Pritchard presiding. The West Coast Association wrote accepting an invitation for a match and suggested that it be played on January Ist and 2nd. It was agreed to play the match on those dates. The South Canterbury Cricket Association wrote expressing regret that it was unable to accept December 19th as the date for the Annual representative matches on account of the first v round of the competition matches being completed on that date. It was suggested that arrangements be made for a team to play a two-day match during the holidays. It 'was agreed to reply regretting that the Association could not arrange a match for the date suggested,, but that the matter would be considered later. The New Zealand Cricket Council intimated that negotiations were being ! made with the South African cricket team now in Australia to pay a visit to ,New Zealand, and that there was every prospect of satisfactory arrangements being made. The Kia Ora Cricket Club applied to have D. Little and H. Frew reduced from juniors to third grade, also to have G. Cartwright regraded to third grade. The application was 'granted. The following have been selected to assemble on the Oval on Wednesday and Thursday in view of forthcoming representative matches with a Wellington team and a West Coast eleven:—T. Hooper, J. Behrns, ' T. Harper, W. O'Grady, R. Drennan, S. Willis, C. Willis, C. Brady, I. Watson, H. Fryer, P. Watson, J. P. Hanratty, B. Jordan, J. Brown, C. G. Harper, K. Nicoll, W. Brady, J. Pritchard, T. Lee, M. Keeleyj Y. McNicoll, C. Penrose, F. Grenfell, J. Varcoe, E. Watson, D. Stewart, and A. E. Harvey. The draw for December 19th and January 9th is as follows:—Senior: Rakaia v. Ashburtpn A, at Rakaia; Technical v. Fairfield, Technical grounds; Ashburton B v. Methven, on Oval. Junior—Kia Ora v. Technical, on Kia Ora ground; Celtic v. Lauriston, at I Lauriston; High School, a bye. Third Grade (December 19th) —Kia Ora v. High School, at High School; Rakaia v. Technical, Celtic grounds. January 9th—High School v. Technical, at High School; Kia Ora v. Rakaia, Celtic grounds. METHVEN. To mark the close of work for the year, the Methven Rangers and Guides troop held a successful afternoon in the Anglican Hall on Saturday. A garden party had been arranged at the residence of Mr and Mrs Wm. Morgan, "The Towers," Methven, but owing to the weather, an adjournment was made to the Anglican Hall. The afternoon was spent in games and competitions, which proved most enjoyable.

A feature of the afternoon was a display of hand-made toys made by the Rangers for the orphans, which are being packed and forwarded on to the proper quarter. Fifteen proficiency badges were presented to the various winners, by Miss Grubb.ln recognition of the work done by Miss Grubb, on behalf of the Rangers, a small presentation was -made to her. A light: drizzling rain fell at Methven during Saturday, and hopes were entertained that the long dry spell had come to an end. However, farmers were again disappointed, as only 13 points of. rain were recorded for 48 hours, ending at 9 a.m. on Monday. There was a north-west wind in evidence then, knd the weather conditions were again hot and dry. LAURISTON. A very large number of residents and visitors attended the morning service at the Lauriston Presbyterian ChUreh on Sunday, when the Rev. A. S. Morrison conducted a special service to the memory of Mrs W. W. Goodwin. In the course of his remarks, Mr Morrison referred to the sterling Christian qualities of Mrs Goodwin. . She. had laboured right through her life for the advancement of the Church, the district in which she lived, and the people with whom she lived. Her life had been so full of goodness, that she had set an example which' the younger generation may very profitably follow. The service was appropriately concluded with the singing of "This is My Task," by Mr A. Oakley, of Eakaia. Miss A. Parquhar was organist. ' . MT. SOMERS. The monthly meeting of the Mount Somers sub-branch of the Plunket Society was held in the library, - when there were present Mesdames A. N. Grigg (president), J, W. Comyns, G. Robinsoix, L. Prebble, and Miss K. Bland (hon. secretary). A new member, Mrs J. Hix, was appointed to the committee. Final arrangements were made for the dance and Christinas tree, to bo held on Friday, December 18tli. On Saturday a welcome rain fell | from the south-east, 42 points being recorded on Sunday morning. The rain will be very beneficial to both cereal and turnip crops, as well as pastures, which were becoming parched up with the continuous dry spell. With the dry conditions prevailing, good progress is being made with shearing. RAKAIA. ® On Saturday a light drizzling ram fell at Rakaia. but it did 'not continue long and only three points were registered. The afternoon was fine and on Sunday a north-east wind blew all day. On Monday a hot and dusty nor'-wester made conditions unpleasant. Many of the grain crops have been quite destroyed by the drought and the whole district- presents a parched appearance. | On Saturday evening in St. Mark's I Schoolroom a very enjoyable social was

held in aid of the funds of theltakaia School Committee. There was a good attendance. . Competitions were won by Mrs F. Behrnes and Mr G. Morland. and a consolation prize was awarded to Mr T. Moore. Music for the dancing was supplied by Messrs T. Lawler and L. Keane, and extras were played by Miss E. Houghton, Miss - P. Cornelius, and Mr J. Lawler. Mr R. Douglas was M.C.