NEWS IN BRIEF.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 884, 9 December 1916, Page 10

NEWS IN BRIEF.

The manager of the Industrial School, Burnham, desires to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of a donation "of £4 4/- towards the boys' Christmas Cheer Fund from the Jlvnian Z\[arks Trust. , Dr Blackmorc desires to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of £'■>*>/- from the flyman Marks Trustees, for .the purpose of providing Christinas cheer for the inmates of the Coronation Hospital.

The whole of the Christehurch City Council's municipal offices loan. £5250, has been subscribed locally. It has been taken up at par, without any charges for commission or exchange, etc. The garden fete at Merivale House (Mr A. V. Carey's residence), in aid of the YM.C.A. work at the front, takes place next Saturday. All sorts of useful articles will be on sale, and there will be the usual attractions.

T)r J, Henry Crawshaw. of Kaiapoi, will deliver a lecture in the new Masonic Hall, Gloucester Street, next Saturday evening at 8 o'clock on "The Anatomy of Poultry." The lecture will be illustrated with lantern slides. Admission is 1/-, and the proceeds are to be devoted to the Red Cross Funds.

The following students of Miss Digby's Commercial School have been successful in obtaining Pitman's first class speed certificates as the result of an examination held under the auspices of the Christehure.h Shorthand Writers' Association last October: —Misses Ellen Lanauze, Eita Price, and Gladys Walker, 110 words per minute; Miss Brinda Hodges, 100 words per minute; Miss Isabel Bain, Vera Garside, and Marjorie Little, 80 words per minute; Misses Selah M. Robinson and Ida M. Smart, 70 words per minute. Shearing is now in full swing on many of the North Canterbury sheep stations, but few, if any, are working with full boards. The supply of qualified men is woefully deficient, although a gentleman connected .with the procuring of labour states that many applicants are offering. In fact, in oiwa instance out of ten applications seven were turned down after the necessary inquiry into their qualifications had been made. A feature this season as compared with other years, he said, was the large number of classing themselves as shearers, whose sole qualification was their own definition of their occupation.

SECOND-HAND MOTOR CYCLES

Wo have in Stock at present several good Motors, tnken in part payment for Harley Davidsons, which wo aro prepared to sell at reasonable prices for quick sale. Call and inspect, or write for full particulars.—JONES BROS., Ltd., 122 Manchester Street. Sole Agents for King Lick and Ilarley Davidson Motor Cycles. If your electric light, lilt, motor, telephones, bells, ear lighting and starting set, or anything elso electrical, requires attention, ring up Turnbull and Jones, Ltd., 421, who will give you the best and prompt Bervice. 9187

To-day's river report states that all the Canterbury rivers are clear. The Lyttelton Red Cross Brandt opened :i produce stall and fair at the Drill Hall fill's afternoon. Flowers and pro-' <!uce were sent in from the surround-; ing districts. A sweets and fancy goods* stall was provided by the local ladies,: whose efforts should he successful in' raising a good amount of money. A generous Christehurch Methodist has promised to provide the salary of a ; deaconess for the President's pastoral work in the St. Albans Circuit. The, Rev. A. 1 C. Lawry has been fortunate' in securing the services of .Sister Constance, who will for the remainder of the, connexional year tul the position I of the president 'a deaconess. The anniversary services in coiinec-1 tion with St. Albans Methodist Sunday I School will be held to-morrow, December Id. and will be conducted by t*e | Rev. P. Battey in the morning, the Rev. A. X. Scotter. 8.A., in the afternoon, and the Rev. A. ('. Lawry (president of. the Conference i in the evening.

For some time past the Board of Agriculture has been engaged in obtain- , ii:g the opinions of local bodies as to which are the six most noxious weeds, anil the best method of eradication. A ' letter from the board to this effect was I read at the last meetiug of the Oxford County Cdbncil, but the council appar- : ently does not share the zeal of the 'board in exterminating weeds. "The ■council," states the report of the meeting, "considers all the weeds are bad, and that the Crown lands are as badly infected with them as the freehold, and their opinion is that a staff engaged in .compiling such statistics at the present I time might be much better employed at the battle front in place of some of our , farm hands, who are continually being 1 sent away. EMPIRE EXPRESS CO. The Empire Express Co. are experts in forwarding and removal by pantechnicon. The company have a staff of experts, and careful handling, aombined with quick delivery, is assured to patrols. Packing is a specialty, and 'satisfaction to customers will be given.