CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18441, 6 December 1929, Page 8

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

(From Our Own Corrrxpondent.) IN AND ABOUT THE CITY. CHRISTCHURCH, December 5. Petrol Prices. From to-morrow, petrol stations proprietors propose to charge 19 for second grade spirit, but first grade will remain at 1/10. Gift to School. A gift of £SOO has been made by Mr Thomas Chapman, of Fendalton, to the fund that is being raised for development of agricultural education at the Rangiora High School. Body Identified. After exhaustive inquiries which looked to be unavailing, the police succeeded in learning the identity of the man found dead at Burnham on Saturday evening. Yesterday afternoon the Christchurch police were informed that the dead man, -was Baden Powell Humphies, labourer, of Broadfield. It was intended, failing Identification, that the burial yesterday afternoon should be a charge on charity, but that course was rendered unnecessary, almost at the eleventh hour.

Royal Show Stock. Fairly heavy bookings are being made from North Canterbury on trucks on the special stock train which will leave Addington on Saturday for . Invercargill, where the Royal Show will be held next Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday. The train will take | from Addington the stock which will arrive from the North Island by the ferry steamer that morning, and will pick Up other trucks at stations between here and Invercargill. All stock from North Canterbury and the Bouthbridge line will be. taken to Addington, and, with the North Island exhibits, will be conveyed by special train to Invercargill. The train will leave Christchurch on Saturday at 1 11.25 a.m., Addington at 11.41 a.m.. and will arrive at Dunedin at 10.17 p.m., j and Invercargill at 6.20 a.m. on Sunday. Stock will be picked up by the train also at Timaru, Morven and , Palmerston. The animate will be fed j and watered at Oamanu Arrangements have been made for suitable carriage accommodation and supply of refreshments for attendants. The return special stock train will leave Invercargill about 9 p.m. next Thursday, arriving at Christchurch about 2.30 p.m. on the following day. Summer Heat. There was a sharp rise in temperature to-day, the thermometer recording 77.7 degrees—the highest this season since winter. The skies were cloudy and the heat was really oppressive. Crops Saved By Rain. “Reports received from all parts indicate that the recent rains have saved the situation throughout Canterbury,” said Mr R. McGillivray, Fields Superintendent for the Department of Agriculture. "I anticipate that the yield will show a considerable decrease. Last year the average for C was about 345 bushels per .e. but as far as I can see it will hardly reach 30 bushels this season. This is due entirely to adverse weather conditions. The late spring was cold and dry, and growth was very much retarded. The rainfall was patchy, and although it was bountiful in some districts, there are still considerable areas that have not had anything like enough rain. The bareness of the crops, too, prevents the moisture being conserved as it is in a normal year, when the tops completely hide the ground. Oat crops have in many cases, been more severely hit, and those sown in autumn have come on prematurely in many places. The spring sewn crops, on the other hand, have in most districts not made very good growth. The mangold crops have suffered worse than any of the others. They were sown in plenty of time, but did not germinate until the recent rain came. There will be only a moderate yield this year, instead of the very heavy crops that Canterbury has produced. Potatoes* in many parts, especially in North Canterbury were badly frost-bitten on at least two occasions, and they were slow in recovering, partly because of the dryness of the soil. Sin the rainfall, however, they have made quite a wonderful recovery. Incidentally, there seems to be considerable increase this year in the area under potatoes.

Councillor Aggrieved. Strong resentment is felt by Councillor J. W. Beanland concerning a statement made by Mr J. Lorimer at a meeting of the Canterbury Builders’ Association on Tuesday evening that “there is not a man on the Works Committee of the City Council worth a dump—not a single one of them.” Councillor Beanland is a member of the Works Committee, and also an old member of the Builder’s Association. He has taken exception to Mr Lorimer’s statement as being a grave reflection on himself, and early on Wednesday morning he rang up the secretary of the Association threatening to resign if an apology and withdrawal were not 1 forthcoming immediately. | It is understood that an explanation | has been made to Councillor Beanland ; to the effect that it was not known ! that he was a member of the committee. Councillor W. H. Williamson, the president of the New Zealand Builder’s Federation, is also a member of the Works Committee. Mr Williamson is ' at present in Wellington, and it is not known what his attitude is concerning j the statement.