CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19805, 22 May 1934, Page 7

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

ITEMS FROM THE CITY CHRISTCHURCH, May 21. Personal: The Hon. Mr Justice Johnston has returned to Christchurch from Wellington. The Rev. Kenneth Schollar, 8.A., L.Th., has been appointed priest-in-charge of St. Faith’s in the parish of New Brighton, as successor to the Rev. T. M. Curnow, who has been transferred to Lincoln. Brigadier-General H. E. Hart, Administrator of Western Samoa, who has spent the last month in New Zealand on holiday and on business, arrived in Christchurch yesterday morning to stay with his daughter, Mrs J. W. Ashwell, of Malvern Street. Brigadier-General Hart left this evening for Wellington to join the Maui Pomare on his return to Samoa. Wheat Payments: Within the next two days, the Wheat Purchase Board hopes to have forwarded to growers the final payments on the 1933 crop. The payment amounts to 6d a bushel, and the sum Involved is over £200,000. Popular Mystery “Hikes”: Mystery tramping seems to be becoming more popular than ever in Canterbury. Yesterday 470 persons travelled by the special train which the Railway Department ran to the Oxford district, a record number for any tramping excursion in the past three years. Infectious Disease: No cases of infectious disease were reported from the West Coast last week, but the Christchurch health authorities received notification of ten cases of infectious disease in Canterbury, comprising five cases of tuberculosis, three of septic abortion, one of diphtheria, and one of hydatids. Two deaths from tuberculosis were reported, , one from septic abortion, and one from hydatids. Heavy Goods Traffic: A brisk period has set in for the Railway Department, the goods traffic being particularly heavy to-day. Large quantities of grain are being railed from the Rakaia and Methven districts, and the West Coast traffic is also heavy. There is not a great deal doing on the waterfront, but several overseas steamers are expected shortly. Refresher Course for Clergy: About 45 Anglican clergy of the Christchurch diocese will attend a refresher course that started at College House this evening,, and continues until Friday morning. Thirty-five of the men will be in residence at College House. The Bishop of Christchurch officially welcomed the clergy after a service in the College House chapel this evening. Proposal Supported . Further replies to his circular letter have been received by the Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.) from the Mayors of New Plymouth, Waihi, Huntly and New Lynn agreeing to communicate with *he Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. J. A. Young) supporting the proposal that, during the winter months, entire net proceeds of the art unions should be devoted to the relief of distress. The Mayor of New Plymouth, in his letter, stated that nearly all the Mayors in the province of Taranaki were in accord with the proposals. Relief of Distress: A general want of supplies of warm clothing is making the task of the relief depots in the city very difficult, for the arrival of the cold weather has increased the number of applicants for clothes. The Rev. P. Revell, City Missioner, is finding that the recent stormy and cold weather is beginning to reveal a pitiable lack of warm clothing among his applicants, especially among the men. Boots for men and children presented another problem. Voting Systems: The Christchurch City Council will consider the matter of voting systems at elections at its meeting a month from to-day. The Labour Party conference this year decided to abandon proportional representation as one of the planks of the party platform. The City Council, it is considered almost certain, will have to consider reverting to the first-past-the-post system m consequence of this decision. The subject may be mentioned at the meeting of the council this evening, but a decision as to future policy will not be possible without the requisite notice of motion. Bid for Rainfall Record: A strong bid for the rainfall record is being made by the present month, for with still over a week to go it has succeeded in placing itself fourth on the list, the rainfall for the month up till to-day being 7.14 inches, the highest since June, 1911. It is 32 years since t'-.e rainfall record kept by the Chri church Magnetic Observatory began, and in that period there have been only three •otter months than the present. December, 1902, holds the record with 7.97in; July. 1908, is runner-up with 7.88in; and June, 1911, is third with 7.52in. Motor Registration: The volume of motor registration work in Christchurch is keeping up so well that Post Office officials are beginning to hope that the last-minute rush of the closing days of the month will not be so heavy as usual. On Saturday morning, 115 registrations were put through, bringing the total for May so far up to 2424. The number is still ahead of last year’s and that of the year before—on the corresponding Saturday in 1933, 1991 motor vehicles had been registered, and in 1932, 1938 vehicles. Stuck in Creek: Along the road followed by the mystery hikers yesterday, there is a ford, at Springbank, through which motorists looking for trouble, drive recklessly. The trampers crossed by the little bridge at the side of the stream, but a motorist, evidently in a hurry to get somewhere in the quickest manner possible, ignored the bridge trom which the hikers had scattered, jnd plunged into the stream, which has a depth of at least three feet. A miniature tidal wave swept up and enveloped the radiator. The car stuck and the driver called on the trampers to wade in and lend him a hand ro extricate his vehicle. This they seemed unwilling to do, and the problem was finally solved when someone “borrowed” a length of wire from a fence. The car was duly "rescued.” The incident was enjoyed by all with the possible exception of the driver. Repair of Flood Damage: The possibility of relief workers being employed on Banks Peninsula to repair flood-damaged roads was suggested by Mr W. E. Leadley at a meeting of the Christchurch Citizens' Unemployment Relief Committee this morning. He asked whether flood damage would be repaired by relief

work or at ordinary rate of pay. He noticed that Mr F. Langbein, district Public Works engineer, had estimr. 1 the damage at £9OOO, and this would mean that a considerable amount of money would be spent on wages. Mr R. T. Bc.iley, officer in charge of the local Labour Department, said that Mr H. S. S. Kyle, M.P. for Riccarton, had pointed out to the Unemployment Board the necessity for some assistance. The matter was now uncLr discussion. The chairman (Mr W. W. Scarff) said that in any case it would be some time before the Government reached a

decision, so thp matter had better be held over until something definite was known. There the subject was allowed to rest. Anti-War Propaganda: A proposal by the Ontario Department of Education to distribute 5000 copies of Beverley Nichols’s book “Cry Havoc” in the schools of Ontario because of its intense anti-war contents is favoured by head master of Christchurch schools. Whether the book is the best that could be selected for the purpose of advertising international

peace is considered to be questionable. In Christchurch, it was stated, something of a similar nature was proposed The League of Nations Union of Christchurch intended to distribute a booklet throughout the schools descriptive of the work of the league, and containing distinct propaganda in the interests of world peace. “We have to be careful,” said Mr A. R. Blank, head master of the Fendalton School, “that in teaching antimilitarist doctrines, we do not lose a sense of loyalty to the Empire. I think that there are other books of as high an educational value as ‘Cry Havoc,’

but I do not think its introduction would do any harm.” Mr Blank pointed out that the ideas given to the young to-day would be those that they would put into practice when they themselves were the country’s rulers. Propaganda of this kind was therefore sound in principle. Any movement to place in schools books with a bias toward international peace was a good one, said Mr L, F. de Berry, head master of the West Christchurch District High School. In Ontario the books would probably be placed In school libraries. Teachers would possibly be influenced and the

result could hardly be anything but beneficial. Books of the type of “Cry Havoc” could only be introduced in New Zealand as additional readers, said Mr V. J. Gamble, head master of the Riccarton School. At present history had to be taught largely on old lines and wars, of course, were naturally dealt with. To a great degree, Great Britain became what she is as the result of wars, but teachers were not to stress that fact.