LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3573, 6 October 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

' Three more men of the 40 mentioned on Wednesday as having been called up at! Ashburton under the Military Sendee Act, presented themselves for attestation to-day.

At the; County Gouncil meeting today fclie chairman reported that the council, from, April 1 to September 30,. had paid out ; £1002 8s lOd for birds' heads,, and £5 12s for rats' tails. The Ashburton branch of the^ New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative ' Association reports having sold, on behalf of Mr J. Brown, of Mayfield, the wool from 4000 hoggets this season, at a satisfactory figure. The wool ; was shipped immediately after the sale. The Building Committee iof the Canterbury Education Board; at yesterday's meeting, -reported that if the Tinwald School Committee' would provide 25 per cent, of the cost of purchase of a piece of land as an addition to the school site at Tinwald, tho board should subscribe the balance.' The report was adopted. At the Ashburton County Council meeting to-day, the chairman reported that tho council had donated £250 to. tho Belgian Fund, ,£250 to tho Hospital Ship. £200 i<y the Sailor Heroes' Fund, and had promised £250 for the Ashburton Sick and Wounded Fund. In addition, tho council was. contributing £114"per month to the Belgian Fund. '■- Tho' Ashburton High School Board recently wrote ,to the Canterbury Education Board protesting against • the establishment of district high schools at Rakaia and Methven, and at yesterday's meeting of the Educa r , tion Board it was agreed to.inform the High wSchool Board of the Department's decision that at least 20 proficiency certificate * holders must be available Ixrfore an application for the establishment of a district high school would be entertained. . . The semi-official Cologne '''Gazette" (August 5) prints ita weekly harvest report. It says: "As was to be expected, one crop ripens on top of the other, and with the scarcity of skilled workers and the helplessness of their assistants, it is not at all easy to get the work done. In view of these difficulties it..is inexplicable that no harvesting is done on Sundays. The authorities should not only allow but enforce Sunday labour on the fields during harvest time."

At the monthly-meeting'of the Canterbury Land Board yesterday the following applications to transfer and sub-lease were dealt with as under: — Section 22, Highbank Settlement, 100 acres 1 rood 18 perches —A. K. Callaghan to, W. J. Ledger wood. (Postponed till November meeting.) Section 23, Highbank Settlement, 82 acres 1 rood 32 poles—A. K. .Cfellaghan to W. ,J. Ledgorwood. ( (Postponed till November meeting.) ' Sections 9, 16, and 17, R. 1466, llakaia, 16 acres, 1 rood 21 poles—E. Babbago to P. Cronin. (Approved.) At the mooting of the Canterbury Education Board in Chrifitchurch yesterday the Building Committee reported that the board should favourably consider the purchase of five acres of latid. at Methven offered by Mr Macdonald' for £450, provided that the-board had a gimrantoe of the sale of its own sections at about the price mentioned by the school committee. The architect's report referred to the new school for Methven, which would contain three rooms, one of which was on the open-air principle. It was agreed to approve the plan, and that application should be made to the Department for ,a grant for the additional accommodation' to be provided. The reports wore adopted.

Lately there have been several instances of lads registering for the Expeditionary Force who are under the prescribed age, but have advanced themselves two or three years for the occasion. The spirit of this action is undoubtedly appreciated, but at the same time tho lads are very seldom successful, in hoodwinking the Defence authorities, and only cause tho Department a considerable amount of extra work, which is of no benefit to the forces. It is now notified for, general information that in future when a. lad presents himself for registration, and tlie Recruiting Officer has any reason to doubt his ag"e, the officer may requiro him to produce his birth certificate. ; ;. /.; .

.■; 'Suppose aid does not oomo in faster, and the' Belgian population,/ now on the edgo' of starvation; tips over; the. edge and actually does starvV; that one "in throe, orso, especially qf the children, either dies or .becomes permanently enfeebled through privation —what will th& world sa-y of us, and what shall we say of ourneives!'" writes tho author, John Galsworthy, on behalf of .Belgian relief funds ''Suppose, when peace comes iuy\ Belgium can pick up. her broken life, sho finds herself in that shocking state, because the richest country in 1 the world, the country which most benefited by her could not find her a matter of/ throe millions pounds a year for two or three years, cimply to keep her alive: Could .not find her two days' cost of a, war which is being waged, as'wo; say,'- to restore little Belgium—what a ghastly laugh will go up at the oxpense. of Great Britain!" ■' ..'"

Surprise was expressed by Mr Robert Burns, of Auckland, who returned from England by Tthe lonic on Monday, at the price being paid to New. Zealand farmers.by -the^mperinl. Government, for beef. Mr ' Burns visited several farming districts in Britain and conversed with graziers. He. ascertained that 'British farmers were receiving at the rate of Is per ]b jdead weight on the hooks for beef, I whereas the^price paid to New Zealand growers was, about half that amount. In Mr Burns's opinion this, difference .was far too great. He also heard when .at Home that the Argentine beef producers we.re receiving a greater- amount for their beef than the farmers of Australia and New ZeaJand. This in spite of the fact that the Imperial Government/hud control of practically the whole of the freezing apace in tho ships which could be used for conveying 'Argentine meat to Britain and; the Continent. There'had been a great decrease in stock on the Continent, but in" Britain the returns up .to last December showed a slight increase. Mr Burns said lie thought there was bound to be a very great, entry of frozen meat into Continental' countries after/the war. In conversations lie had had with representatives of the Governments of, and prominent people in, Belgium and France, they had stated that they would have to^ admit frozen meats into those couutriea.