GENERAL NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19374, 24 December 1932, Page 8

GENERAL NEWS

Miss C. Irving, of Albury, with Guide Bowie, this week made the first ascent of the season of Mt. Cook.

A total of 381 applications was received for the position of traffic inspector to the Southland and Wallace Counties.

A party of boys from the Salvation Army Home at Temuka visited Timaru yesterday, and sang hymns and choruses in Stafford Street.

It is reported that negotiations are in progress for the sale of the former Union Company’s steamer Waitemata to Japanese buyers. If the sale is completed the vessel will probably remain at Auckland until February to await the arrival of a crew from Japan.

The Christchurch Rotary Club made its annual street appeal yesterday to provide Christmas cheer for poor families. The total amount collected in the streets was £1126/1/11. and the total sum in hand including donations, is £1443/1/11, with more still to come. Last year the street collection realised £IOOB/15/6, and the total with donations was £I4OO. (Press Assn.)

When the position of the Ashburton County farmers with regard to the difficulty experienced in obtaining labour for harvesting work was placed before the Minister of Employment (the Hon. Adam Hamilton) he expressed considerable interest in the point and said that he would like to be supplied with details of the position, especially concerning the agitation which is growing in the County aiming at the suspension of the No. 5 scheme so that relief workers may be diverted to the harvest.

The new comet, the discovery of which was announced in the southern sky, is close to the bright star Fomalhaut. The cablegram gave the impression that the new body was in the constellation Pisces, whereas, from advice received from the Dominion Observatory, the comet was in the star group of Pisces Australis, nearly 60 degrees south of the position given previously. The comet is about as bright as was Geddes’ Comet when it was discovered, and is not visible without telescopic aid.

Stafford Street will be closed to vehicular traffic from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Christmas and New Year’s Eves, but the Traffic Department of the Borough Council have arranged that drivers of vehicles who wish to proceed to a garage in Stafford Street will be allowed to do so. providing they can satisfy the patrol officers that their intention is to garage their vehicles. Traffic for the Main South or Main North Roads will be allowed access to those roads, but will be diverted through other streets to allow of a minimum of congestion.

It is usual when an oversea liner is in port near Christmas and New Year to give the seamen a comfort bag containing writing block, envelopes, pencil, magazine and cake of soap. If a sailor is a deck hand he receives a woollen scarf as well, and these gifts are greatly appreciated by the men. As the “Canadian Leader” is in port this week, Mrs Norrie, president of the W.C.T.U. presented the gifts on Thursday night to twelve men who were at the Sailors’ Rest. The bags and scarves were made by W.C.T.U. ladies and friends of sailors. This season 46 bags, 45 scarves and four pairs of sox have been received besides gifts of magazines, etc.

The Christmas rush of traffic on the railways has commenced in earnest. Yesterday’s expresses carried large numbers of passengers and considerable quantities of mail. The late express from Invercargill was sixteen minutes behind time on arrival at Timaru, due to heavy traffic, and the train was so crowded that an extra carriage had to be added to the already lengthy line of cars. Two express locomotives wfere required to draw the train, and a shunter assisted it over the gradient round the Bay. There were four expresses each way yesterday, and there will be a similar number to-day, with the addition of night trains.

A special meeting of the Taranaki Education Board was held for the purpose of appointing teachers to 28 vacant positions in schools within its district. For the 28 vacant positions there were 1448 applications, some positions drawing over 100 applicants. It was stated that there were no indications yet of what probationary assistant appointments will be made, although it is known no probationers will be appointed. It is probable, however, that the ration system will be adopted, and in that case many more teachers can be given employment than would be the case were the scheme not adopted. The department has indicated that the Government does not propose to make any “profit” on the rationing scheme.

The Central Committee, representative of the New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Federation, held a meeting in Wellington on Tuesday and Wednesday, to discuss the position in the freezing works dispute, but on his return to Christchurch Mr H. C. Revell, secretary to the Canterbury Freezing Workers’ Union, who attended the meeting, had nothing to report on what took place. “The position was regarded as quite satisfactory from our point of view, and it is not anticipated that any further attempts to reach a settlement will be made until after the Christmas holidays,” he said. “The Minister of Labour (the Hon. Adam Hamilton) was expected to have brought about a conference between the two parties, but it did not come off.” Mr Revell asserted that the stock was banking up rapidly in the North Island, and there were signs of the feed going off in some districts.

Yesterday was an exceptionally busy day in town, with a large number of people completing their Christmas shopping. The majority of shops were crowded for the greater part of the afternoon, and all appeared to be doing good business. Taken generally, trade appears to be up to the standard of last year, and it is expected that this afternoon and evening will see record crowds in Stafford Street. Some attractive displays are to be seen, a greater number of business men having given more attention to their shop windows than was the case last Christmas. Perhaps the busiest part of the town during the last few days has been the Post Office. Both telegraphic and money order and savings departments have been working at high pitch, and the mailroom staff have come in for more than their share of work.

The same old thing again—Christmas gift-buying left until the last minute. We have heard it said that if people only knew the inexpensiveness of England, Mcßae’s new stocks of gifts every Christmas gift in Timaru would be secured to-morrow. Do any of these appeal to you as a gift-seeker: Stainless table knives 7/6 per i-doz; Stainless table forks 8/6 per i-doz; sets of teaspoons in cases at 7/6; pocket wallets from 5/6; shaving brushes from 2/-; brass candle-sticks from 8/9; 2cell electric torches 2/-; cigarette cases from 5/6; pearl-handled bread forks 4/6; butter dishes 9/6. Certainly England, Mcßae's is the place for gifts. ...

“The Timaru Herald” will not be published on Monday, December 26th.

No new school books will be introduced by the Education Department in the New Year, owing to the necessity for reducing the cost of books to parents, states the Director of Education (Mr T. B. Strong).

On Monday the annual W.E.A. summer school for the South Island will open at the Boys’ High School. Over 140 people are expected to arrive in Timaru over the week-end for the school and the majority of them will be quartered at the Rectory. A comprehensive programme of lectures has been arranged extending over ten days and the director will be Professor J. Shelley, of Canterbury College. Other prominent lecturers will include Dr. Beeby and Dr. Ha ward, of Canterbury College, and Mr Lloyd Ross, tutor of the Otago W.E.A. The principal subject for study is “The Clash of Cultures in the Pacific,” but other addresses will embrace various aspects of economics and psychology.

The district competition in export lambs which is conducted annually by the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board, is to be held on January 18. Entries are to close on January 13, and the sheep from this district are to be killed at the Smithfield works. Each individual pen is to consist of three lambs, not to exceed 401bs frozen weight, the allocation for each district to be fifteen pens. The prizes offered by the Board, for the best pen, are £ls, £lO and £5, and in addition there is a challenge shield for district competition for the best pen. The Timaru A. and P. Association is also offering prizes of £2 10s, £1 10s and £1 for the best carcases on the hooks at Smithfield. The sheep are to be killed at 10.30 a.m. on January 18, when it is hoped that there will be a good gathering of farmers.

Mr H. F. Nicoll. who has just returned from a trip to England, mainly in connection with the meat business, states that the Dominion expected a much smaller controlling interest in the meat markets of Great Britain than many New Zealanders realised. The main factor in competition in English markets was the Home supply, said Mr Nicoll. and the volume of this he illustrated by mentioning that there were over 20,000.000 sheep in England. With the decreased purchasing power of United Kingdom housewives, if they considered lamb beyond their means, they turned to beef or bacon. In an endeavour to maintain their turnover, a concern with a chain of stores in England had reduced the price of New Zealand lamb by 3d per lb spread in penny reductions over the months of August, September and October last. As an exporter, Mr Nicoll said he favoured the raising of the rate of exchange, but he found that this idea -was opposed in financial circles in London.