LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 826, 3 October 1916, Page 10

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The River report to-day states that the Waimakariri North, Waimakariri South, Rakaia, Rangitata, o|»ilii, and Waitaki Rivers are clear.

lii connection with the Salvation j Army's annua] self-denial appeal, a! Cherry Blossom Fair will be opened by j Major Newby in the Victoria Street l Citadel this evening, when a short programme will be given by the Linwood | choristers. Stalls of various kinds will; be opened for business, and the fair will be continued each evening till Thursday. Iu Colombo Street South lives there j a man with a motor cycle. He has improvised a garage for its housing. Out of his front fence he cut a gap, whereinl he fitted an empty motor car case. The, lid forms the door and is detached when the stable is empty. When the machine: is inside the 1i• 1 is nailed on. In the, morning the nails are drawn and the lid ' laid against the fence. This form of garage is undoubtedly a convenient one,! though it is hardly likely to find commendation in thoso advocating the a>s-! thetic in street architecture. The secretary of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board acknowledges the | receipt of a cheque for £24 from the Chinese residents of Christehurch towards the upkeep of the institution.' Of that sum £lO 10/- has been donated : by the Christehurch Chinese Associa-j tion, while the remaining £l3 10/- was contributed by the following:—Lou Gum £1 10/-, Jim Lee £1 5/, Chew Singmin ! £1 1/-, G. Chew £1 1/-, Lee Sung £1 1/-.J Wong Sov £l, Ting Lee £l, Wong Fou I £l, Joe Lee 10/G, Sue Pack 10/6, Wing Lee 10/6, Mar Chang 10/6, Yee Bui 10/-, Lee Sing 10/-, Wong Kan 10/-, Kong Lee 10/-, Sun Lee 10/-. "It seems to me," said Dr Thaeker, j M.P., to a "New Zealand Times" reporter, "that since the session the new j Parliamentary Buildings have hardly i moved a stone, ami the serious part of | it is that the pace at which this building is proceeding is setting the pace to ; Wellington as a whole. This is evi- . denced by the time that the Mararoa j took to come in this morning. She ! slowed her speed off Lyall Bay at 8.30 j a.m., and she was not tied up at the wharf till 10.15. My taxi-cab man told ; me that last Friday the boat was quite | two hours coming alongside iu Wellington, an up-to-date harbour! At Lyttel-! ton last night she left the wharf and slewed, or turned, in the harbour, by means of hawsers. One of two things is the matter with the Mararoa —either j she is incapably handled or her steer-1 ing gear is wrong. If the latter, it j would be a very serious thing if she I got into a gale with a bad sea, ami it j is a thing that passengers and the pub- I lie generally should not tolerate.' -

At a recent sale of house property the bidding eventually resolved itself into an endurance contest between a middle-aged lady and a man. The price went rapidly up, as the result of spirited endeavours to obtain ownership by bids of £lO rises. The lady, who was showing signs of mental strain, shouted out "£56!5," and then collapsed in a faint. Her rival bill another £!0, and, as there was no further advance announced, he was duly declared the purchaser. With a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes and alacrity in his step, he made for the door; but, before he got outside the lady recovered, and vehemently demanded that the. sale proceed. The auctioneer had no recourse but to recall the lately-pronounced purchaser, who by this time had reached the pavement, and put the property up ngaiu. This time the lady did not faint, and the price was ultimately "boosted" up to £BOO before the man secured it. The lady's recovery cost him £225.

At the quarterly meeting of the Cambridge Terrace Methodist Church, held last evening, the following resolution was carried: —"That a letter be sent to the editor of The Sun, expressing appreciation of the support he has given to the movement in favour of fi o'clock closing of hotel bars, and of the attitude of the paper to the enforcement of the anti-shouting law." A new record for a motor cycle and side car run to Hanmer Springs was established yesterday by Mr 11. Jones, on a 7 h.p. Harley-Davidson motor. Mr W. Jones was a passenger in the side car. The total length of the journey is over 170 miles, and in parts the roads are at present very badly cut up. This isj particularly so north of Culverden. High water-races had also to be contended with. The weather was, however, perfect for the run, there being very little mud, while the air in the morning was bracing. The journey there was performed, without accident of any kind, in 2hr l.'lmin. Mr Jones remained at Hanmer only three minutes, and then he commenced the return trip. A slight mishap occurred at a spot about a mile north of White's Bridge, where the outfit * ~-v ■• rounding a corner at a fairly high .-.peed, when it jumped into a ditch. About 15 minutes were required to place the machine on the road, there being practically no damage. Ohristehurc.h was reached without further trouble. The whole trip occupied only 4hr 44inin, whi.di works : out. at an average speed of just over i»6 miles an hour.