CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 19093, 28 January 1932, Page 5

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

IN AND ABOUT THE CITY. CHRISTCHURCH, January 27. Canterbury’s Heritage: :, The trip brought very forcibly to notice what a lot we have to be thankful for in Christchurch in respect of our cricket grounds, which are such a glorious heritage and which we are ape tc take for granted, and one much pay a tribute to those far-seeing men wno bequeathed to us such a heritage,” commented Mr C. S. Thompson, manager of the Canterbury cricket team in the course of a report on the team’s tour in the North Island. Overseas Tours:.. Keener interest has been shown lately in two trips overseas, one the New Zealand farmers’ tour c.f England and the Continent and the other the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. In Christchurch, several bookings for each trip have been made on recent days, and inquiries have been much more numerous and promising than hitherto. Pensioner’s Death: Believed to have fallen from a train William Walter Oliver, a pensioner, residing at Templeton, died beside the railway line at Stockburn late last night. Shortly after the train passed Oliver was found in an unconscious state on the line with injuries to his head. The St. John Free Ambulance was called, ; but the old man died before it arrived, i The police had difficulty in identifying | the body, as the only clue was a letter I addressed to Templeton. ; No evidence is yet available as to j how the accident happened, or as r , > ; whether Oliver travelled by the train j last evening. An inquest will be j opened to-day. An inquest was opened this morning i and adjourned after evidence of j identification had been heard. Use of Abandoned Farm Houses: ! The use of abandoned farm houses I for the accommodation of the men *s | one of the features of the Selwyn i County Council’s relief work under the ' No. 5 unemployment scheme. Many I homesteads have been taken over on | the understanding that they are left 1 in as good condition as they were m i before. j There are those who hold that there jis little of value accurring from the ; work of unemployed men on relief | engagements, but the authorities of the Council claim that they are providing work for city men and at the 1 same time reaping benefits which j could not come so rapidly in the j ordinary course of events. j Rationing Work: , Something definite about the pro- : posal to ration work among tramway 1 men may be announced shortly, the general manager of the Christchurch Tramways (Mr Frank Thompson) told a reporter to-day. i The proposal to institute rationing : has been discussed between the Christchurch Tramway Board and the Christchurch Tramway Employees’ Union for seme months, but no agreement was possible on the terms under which the scheme was to be carried : out. l One report given a report*'* to-day was that rationing would shor„. * be introduced, one man standing down . many days every three weeks in order . to save the dismissal of 14 men. ! The secretary to the Tramwaymen's Union (Mr E. Snow) said such a report was premature.: No finality had been reached so far. he said. The reporter gathered, however, that there is a greater probability now than !at any time of rationing being ap- ! proved by both sides and instituted shortly. “Nest of Robbers”: , j “I hope the tradesmen here are ; more honest than they are in Wel--1 lington. Wellington seems to oe a nest i of robbers.” So said Mr W. D’Aroy . Cress well, who has returned to ChristI church after an absence of several ; years in England. l “As soon as I arrived in Wellington i I was grossly overcharged for a taxi; . then I was grossly overcharged for a ! haircut,” he said. “I was deceived over 3 the price of a packet of cigarettes, and 3 all this because I am usually mistaken 3 for an Englishman.” _ i “Do you object to being mistaken for _ i an Englishman?” he was asked. , I “I think they are a great people,” he g said. “They have an ancient civilisa- ' tion of which, although we imitate it here, we have really no idea. We think them easy game for our laughter and . | fleecing, and that’s about all.” _ | “Well,” said Mr Cresswell, “not only “ had ,1 that experience in Wellington. " but all the ‘sharks’ fastened on to the people from the ship. I met one of the L ship’s company who had been charged J’ 2/- for a bottle of liquor that costs 7d in England. 0 “I am amazed that a God-fearing ® country like New Zealand goes in lor jj such practices.” e Netting of Salmon: r “Of course we are grateful for '.die concession given us by the Minister ® in prohibiting the netting of salmon ? from midnight Thursday until midbight Sunday of each week—24 houis e longer than last season—but so long “ as any neting at all is allowed in the i. I -

Waimakariri, the rod fishermen, practically all Christchurch men of limited mens who cannot reach other rivers, can say goodbye to any decent salmon-fishing.” So said a Christchurch angler who knows the Waimakariri thoroughly, to-day, when commenting on the announcement of the Minister of. Marine (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe) that i four salmon netting licences will be issued this season subject to certain restrictions. The Minister made this announcement after a deputation from the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, protesting against the issue of netting licences had waited on him in Wellington yesterday. “Naturally rod men are keenly disappointed with the Minister’s decision,’ said this Christchurch angler. “It certainly means that they will !jet .' 'Hit 12 hour’s fishing more, but with nett sanctioned from midnight Sunday - midnight Thursday it will be of littiL, c any, use to them, since the bulk of tr«. salmon will have been taken from the river.” He explained that when netting was prohibited in the Waimakariri through representations to Sir Francis Bell, rod men had taken record catches. He himself had taken 39 salmon in one season; yet the following year, despite the fact that he spent just as much time fishing, his total had been seven. His experience was that of hundreds of other rod men, and proved conclusively that netting was ruinous to rod men. Money for Temporary Loan: Despite the alleged scarcity of money, the Christchurch City Council, when it wants money on temporary loan, seldom has any difficulty in getting it. The council required several thousand pounds yesterday, and witnin a few minutes the money was & The bulk of the city rate payments do not come in till the latter end of March, and before that the council often wants some money to carry on with. By accepting money on temporary loan, at 4 per cent., it saves about 2 per cent, on the bank overdraft rate of interest. On February 1 the council will want a substantial sum of money on temporary loan, on account of withdrawals. Several debenture issues will come on . the market next week too; the periods i will vary from about six years to over 30 years, and the rate of interest will be 51 per cent. Some of these are for ' redemption loans, and the rest are for the £39,500 unemployment loan and the £220,000 roading loan. Some people in Christchurch are will : ing to place lump sums amounting to several thousand pounds with the council on temporary loan. Some of this money is lent only for about 10 days, but some the council may keep as long as it wants it. The council is informed of its balance at the bank every day. so that it knows exactly how much money it requires on temporary loan. Rate Collection: The experiences of Christchurch local bodies in the collection of their rates this year vary considerably; in some cases the money is coming in (quite satisfactorily in others the rate- | payers are being very slow with their i payments. The Christchurch City Council is in a slightly better position than it was at this time last year. The final date for payment of the City Council rates is March 22. Up to closing time yesterday, the council had collected £44,851/12/10, out of a total levy of a £333,729/2/4, leaving £288,877 9/6 still to come in. Past experience has proved that most city ratepayers do not begin to think about paying their dues until some time after the hoildays. The position in the Heathcote County is considered quite satisfactory by the officials. Up to closing time on Monday, the sum of £8364/15/3 had been paid out of a total levey of £IB,OOO. In Waimairi, on the other hand, payments are being made very slowly. To date, only about £6IOO has been collected out of a total of £45,000. In Riccarton the total levey this year was £17,641/5/5, and the amount collected up to January 15, the date of the last balance, was £1941/9/5. Last year at the same date, £3261 had been collected out of a total levy of £19,290 2/2. In Riccarton there is one ratepayer who contributes about £IOOO to the borough’s exchequer; last year this man had paid his rates by January 15, but this year he had not. The New Brighton Borough Council’s levy this year was about £16,000. Payments are being made very spasmodically, and so far only £4477 had been collected. Ratepayers in Brighton are being more dilatory than they were last year.