NEWS IN BRIEF.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 46, 31 March 1914, Page 10

NEWS IN BRIEF.

rivers of the district are reported to be all clear to-day. To-day is the end of the Tramway feoard's financial year. The Works and Traffic Committee of the Tramway Board Will meet on Friday.

The amount of the tenders accepted by the City Oduncil last evening, in connection with the electrical scheme, was £28,242. A further batch will probably be presented at next meeting. Mr J. R. Webb, Mayor of Lyttelton, at last night's meeting of the Council, laid special stress on the achievements of the local Boy Scouts and the high honours attained by them. These able performances, including their win in Australia, have already been narrated through these columns. As an indication of the high values at present ruling fo'r sheep, Dalgety and Co. report having sold last Week at a , clearing sale oh account of Mr E. Gates, Mount Brown, 8100 sheep, including 2900 lambs, at an average of 22/7 per head, which surely constitutes almost a record Xfor Canterbury. , Before proceeding with the ordinary business .at the meeting of the Woolston Borough Council last evening the Mayor moved that a vote of sympathy and condolence be passed with the late Mayor, Mr M'Gregor Wright, on the death of his mother. The motion was carried, all members standing. The St Martin's Burgesses' Association is celebrating the opening of the new tram line on Saturday } apd has invited the Mayor and other public men to participate. A special tram leaves the Square at 2.45 p.m. The company will be entertained at afternoon tea at the residence of Mr G. J. Smith/

A drunken man who last evening talked between the tram rails on Riccarton Road instead of on the footpath, was overtaken by. a tram, - with the result' tKat he was admitted to the Hospital at 7.45 a.m., suffering from minor injuries. He at first refused to give his name, stating that he was a Russian Finn, but he has since owned to the name of M'Nulty. ' . * ,The oft-time repeated complaint about the inadequate railway service between Lyttelton and Christchurch, and the mu6h_-needed adjustment of the times of departure was again before the Lyttelton Borough Council last night. A letter was received from the Railway Department to the effect that

improvement on the present service about 5 p.m. would be carried out.

j A large meeting of Riccarton ratepayers was held last evening, Mr A. Langie occupying the chair. A deputation waited on Mr Gudsell with a request that he. would al,low himself to be

nominated for the vacant -seiat on the

Borough Council. After a discussion, - in,which most of those present participated, Mr Gudsell consented to become a candidate.

The other day one of the Tramway Board's inspectors discovered a small boy perched on the arm of a tram standard at the corner of Bealey Avenue and Sherbourne Street. He ordered the small boy not,, to fall, and to climb .down, alowly, both of which injunctions the small' boy obeyed, and got a severg Wigging, from the inspector on his arat' the bottom, and hid his name arid address noted down, to his tearful terror. There ifc a special providence looking after small for the wonder is that the boy was not killed by contact with the wires. As it happened, the greatest shock wag received by the inspector, and -he passed it on to the juvenile acrobat in reduced voltage.

\ Fifteen delegates of the Independient Order of Rechabites met on Saturday evening at the; Y.M.C.A. to hear reports from the tents regarding the membership campaign. Excellent prospects of a considerable accession of members were reported, and an announcement was made that a new tent had been recently opened. After some discussion it was decided jthat on certain conditions it should be allowed to enter the contest. .

At the Lyttelton Borough Council last night a deputation from the Te Whaka Hockey Club, pointed, out, the seiareiity of recreation grounds at the pOrt. The ground at West Lyttelton* was present unfit for recreation purposes, there beipg a number of piles scattered over the playing area. "The'matter of having, the piles removed from the "ground would be brought under the '•» notice of the Harbour Board, who were the owners of the property. *• The ' Mayor in his reply stated that by next season it was hoped that, two playing grounds would be . ready -at Diamond Harbour.

The congregation and adherents of the I>urham Street Methodist Church assembled in large numbers in the schoolroom last evening to fod : farewell to their popular pastof, the R6v. C. H. Laws, who has accepted.^a> call to Auckland. The chairman, the* Hon. G. J. Smith, said that they would have liked to keep Mr Laws in their midst for a longer term, but the conference had decided otherwise. He was sure Mr Laws's departure would be; a loss to Methodism in Canterbury. 'Mrs Laws, too, had ably seconded her' husband's efforts. On behalf of the congregation he presented Mr Laws with a purse of sovereigns. Mrs Laws received a lady's handbag from the Ladies' Guild, and Miss Laws a set of books from-the Sunday School. Addresses' in appreciation of Mr Laws's wofk were,?also given, by the Revs. J. J. North and ;W.. A. Sinclair. Mr Laws, thanks for the gifts he and. his family had received, said that lie much regretted leaving the Durham Street. * circuit, where he. had spent a, very happy time.

He hoped the same consideration would .be shown his successor as had fallen to his lot. Mr Laws leaves for the north to-aight.

It. has been decided to form a New Zealand Natives' Association, with the wider object of preserving and cementing the national character, and with the more immediate purpose of promoting the interests and furthering the welfare of its members. The association will consist of natives of New Zealand, or those who have resided in the Dominion for a period of 25 years. The Wellington branch of the Seamen's Union will send a deputation to the Minister of Marine shortly to ask him to have the law so amended that men will be paid in port instead of at sea. In the case of the Moa, which blew up near Wanganui, it is stated that the men were paid at sea and consequently they lost the whole of their month's wages. If the payment had to be made at ports, the money would have been available for their families.

At various times on Sunday Wellington was enveloped in a thick fog, and often it was impossible to see, fiom the esplanade at Thorndon, the hulks anchored an - the stream. There was'a peculiar phenomenon in the evening, says the "Post." At 9.30 the atmosphere appeared to be as clear as crystal and the harbour lights shone brightly. Five minutes later it was impossible to see a light a thousand yards ahead. The haze came over the city with unusual rapidity, and the fog was much thicker than that experienced in Wellington for some considerable time. Naturally it was much worse in Cook Strait. The Star of Scotland (Captain West) arrived off the Heads at 5 o 'clock on Sunday afternoon, but found it impossible to make port. The captain brought his vessel in on Monday morning, and stated that the fog was '' as thick as a hedge.'' The Hawke's Bay was also delayed at the entrance. The Westralia was amongst the boats which safely entered the harbour. The vessel came up the stream very cautiously, and took some time in berthing. Other boats remained outside until the weather had cleared. The boom of the fog signal at Pencarrow could be heard distinctly in the city.

Since the recent publication of articles dealing with medicinal value of paraffin oil, local chemists have been doing a thriving trade in "the new medicine." One chemist who was consulted on Saturday .by a "Dominion" reporter stated that he had sold right out of paraffin oil, and what was rather aggravating was that none could be obtained at once in town, the wholesale houses having been cleaned out of stocks by the sudden demand. There was no mistaking the" fact that the public were testing the virtues of paraffin oil. The oil, as sold to the public, is highly refined, and is quite devoid of taste or odour. Evidently the refining process is not a cheap one, as one chemist was asking 3/6 for a bottle containing about a pint, and another, was purveying a six-ounce bottle for 2/6: A butcher's cart driven at a smart pace was turning from Oxford Terrace to cross the Hereford Street bridge .on the wrong side of the road when it collided/with a boy on a bicycle. The boy- was . keeping well to the left to avoid a motor-car, and evidently did not espy the cart until it was on him. He had a miraculous escape from serious injury, for he was knocked down and one. of the wheels , passed right over his leg. The cycle was bent and twisted, but" the rider escaped practically unhurt. lie was taken to the Y.M.C.A. building, where it was discovered that, his only injury was a slight abrasion on the leg. Last evening there was a large muster of those interested in the success of the Grand Fancy Fair to be held under the auspices of the St. Albans School Committee in. aid of the fund for school improvement. The various committees

reported that matters were well' advanced, and that the undertaking was assured of general support. A small, well-dressed, bare-footed youngster, between two and four years of age, was to-day discovered regu|ating the traffic at the Bank of New' Zealand corner. Being unable to give a Satisfactory account of his movements, he was taken to the Police Station, and later claimed by a much worried parent.

The enterprise of the fruitgrowers in Nelson was the subject of some very favourable comment by Mr G. A. Green, the organiser for the New Zealand Nurserymen's Association, who is now in Christchurch. He remarked that Nelson was going ahead on sound lines, and very large areas had been cut up and put into orchards. A large export trade had already been developed, and the growers were now busy packing and grading for the American market. The. work was being done in a very creditable manner, and the fruit would be a goodadvertiseihent for the Dominion. In Auckland also there was a wonderful development of the fruit industry, and he believed that in the near future that province would exceed the other districts in its fruit return. The gum lands were being most successfully cultivated by orchardists. At the Y.M.C.A. men's meetijig on Sunday afternoon, the Rev. J. Mackenzie delivered an "instructive address on "The Bible and Modern Life." In an interesting manner Mr Mackenzie drew from various periods of history and demonstrated that true national greatness is largely conditioned fby a compliance with the fundamental?principles laid down in the Bible. Jffc instanced the condition of England prior to the Reformation, and showed how gieat a part the Bible played iii lifting the life and ,though,t of the people at that time. Translating his remarks to the position the Bible should occupy in modern national and individlijjJ.pife, Mr Mackenzie spoke of the, necessity there was of giving the Bible rightful place in modern life, and he emphasised the fact that we would be ignoring the lessons of history if the Bible snd the principles for which it stands were neglected. Mr Mackenzie also spoke of the remarkable way the Bible is being translated into every language,

and aptly illustrated his remarks by stating that the output of the British Bible Society was five million volumes, or 4£ tons of Bibles, in one year.