ASHBURTON.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 827, 4 October 1916, Page 10

ASHBURTON.

NOTES AND NEWS. From Our Own Correspondtnt The monthly meeting of the High School Board was held yesterday, there being present: Messrs Joshua Tucker (chairman), W. H. Collins, W. B. Denshire, R. Galbraith, J. B. Christian, L. Reid, A. Drunmiond, W. T. Lill, and the Rev. G. Miller. The chairman reportod that the balance at the bank stood at £OOOO, and the amount to the credit of the general account was £137 5/10. The headmaster reported the roil number to be 107 —(>:! boys and 44 girls—while the average attendance had been 91 per cent. He had not succeeded in getting a temporary teacher in Miss Harton's place, and recommended that applications should be invited at the end of the year, making the place a permanent position. Inquiries had been fairly numerous from agricultural institutions who desired to apply for the proposed agricultural science-mastership. He suggested the board should confer jvith Mr Brown, Director of the Fields Division of the Agricultural Department, in the matter. The report was adopted, ami it was decided to act upon the suggestions in it. Accounts totalling £1.19 were passed for payment. Mr J. J. Virgo, the national secretary of the British Y.M.C.A., addressed a large gathering of the public at the Somerset Corner yesterday afternoon. The Mayor (Mr R. Galbraith) briefly introduced the speaker, and in doing so referred to the excellent work of the Y.M.C.A..

Mr Virgo, in the course of a very fine speech, stated that his object was to try to get Ashburton to erect and support a hutment. Oilier towns were taking the matter up, .and he wanted to see a branch formed locally. The speaker then referred to the Army and. Navy themselves, and graphically described the privations and dangers to which each was subject. The generals at the front much appreciated the Y.M.C.A,'s work, as the hutments were thrown open to all men of any creed. The hutments also provided homes away from home for the soldier on leave in a strange city. In thanking those present for a vote of thanks passed to him, Mr Virgo said he was much impressed with the beauty and prosperity of New Zealand, and people living in such a land should enjoy giving to those who are maintaining their comfort. The committee of the Fairfield-New-lands Fete has handed to the County War Relief Fund a cheque for £K!7 7/(5, being balance of proceeds of the fete held at Fairfield last December. The total amount paid over to the War Relief Fund by the committee amounts to £i:!;!7 7/(5, and, in addition, about £75 outstanding has still to come in.

The orchestral concert given last night by the local Orchestral Society was its finest, performance to date. To select any one item as being especially good would be a difficult task, but the rendering of the "Tauuhauser" selection will be remembered by all who heard it. The orchestra also contributed Chopin's "Polonaise Militaire," "Whispering of Flowers" (Van Blon), "Girofle-Girofla" (Lecaeq), and the "Anvil Chains" from "II Trovatore." A feature of the evening was "Carillon" (Elgar), and the lines of Caimnacrt's poem, "Sing, Belgians, Sing," wera ably given by Mr H. ,1. Chapman. The soloists were Mrs P. Rule, of Tiniaru, and Mr G. H. Andrews, also of Tiniaru. The former's numbers were "Bolero" (Dessour), "All in a Garden Green" (Lidgey), and "The Winds are Calling" (Ronald), while the latter'a wore "The Deleware's Farewell" and "Pagan" (Lohr). The

singers also gave two duets, "A Plight of Clouds" and "Nearest and Dearest. '' Both artists were enthusiastically encored. Mr A. Bunz (the conductor of the orchestra) played two piano solos, "Paatorala" (Scarlatti) and Alberniz'a "Spanish Dance." Miss Warren, of Timaru, played the accompaniments to the songs.