LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 251, 4 August 1937, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The flag at the Ashburton Post Office was flown to-day to mark the tliiityseventh birthday of Queen Elizabeth. WilloAV trees in the Domain have shoAvn considerable movement in budding during the last Aveek, receiving some impetus.from the mild conditions, which have also caused bulbs and other early floAvering groups to make marked headway. Painted strips placed on the footpaths at the main intersections in Ashburton some time ago are showing signs of wear, and will be reneAved in the near future, Avhen a further group of paths Avill ,also be marked out, including the crossings of the main highway. Basketball as played in Australia is a seven-a-side game, a cross betAveen netball and the game as played in Ncav Zealand. It is possible that a New Zealand team may' be sent to Australia next season, and as the number of players a side will probably be discussed at the forthcoming NeAv Zealand Basketball Conference in Auckland, the Ashburton Association, at its meeting last evening, decided to support the retention of the nine-a-side game as at present played. A long-felt need for the Ashburton Church of Christ has recently been filled by a manse being made available for the pastor and his Avife. The churcn did not previously have this accommodation at its disposal; but one o? the members, Avho preferred to remain anonymous in the matter, placed a house at the disposal of the church on particularly easy terms, thus solving a problem Avhich has presented difficulty for some years. The manse is situated in Cameron Street East. Superstition dies hard at sea, as an incident on the voyage from Liverpool to Auckland of the Federal Line’s ucav motor-ship Essex shoAVS. Fog between Liverpool and Panama, and delays in the Canal Zone, convinced the ship’s complement that t\Ao cats carried by the Essex Avere casting a “hoodoo” on the journey. Both Avere therefore put ashore at Panama. One had the fortune to join immediately an American passenger liner; the other is uoav the property of jx Panama native. Dr. A. Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, in his address at Hamilton paid a Avarm tribute to the Chinese generalissimo, Avho he stated Ayas accomplishing great things. The immensity of his task Avas not generally recognised. Fgav in this country realised that China Avas a larger territory than the Avhole of Europe, and when this fact Avas grasped it Avould be admitted that the progress of reform during the last 20 years, could only be described as amazing.

The Ashburton Borough allocation toward the cost of the full lighting ot the traffic bridge will be £25 a year, not £3O as stated yesterday. A party of 30 Young People from the Ashburton Church or Christ attended the manse in Cameron Street on Monday evening for the purpose of welcoming Mrs M. Savage, the wife of the pastor. A social evening was spent, and Mrs Savage was presented with household giftg. In an address at Hamilton the other morning, Dr. A. Taylor (secretary or Scotland for the China Inland Mission) stated that China was immensely rich in minerals. In one province alone there was coal sufficient to meet the world’s demands for fully 3UO years. All metals, with the exception or platinum, were there awaiting exploitation. The Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) said in Wellington yesterday ho was satisfied that iNew Zealand’s credit in London stood as high as any of the Dominions. He said one could disagree with other people without in any way destroying New Zealand’s reputation or credit. He came away from England thoroughly satislied that New Zealand had gained ground, not lost any. The national flag of the Union of South Africa was seen flying at Eden Park, Auckland, for the opening game of the Springbok Rugby team’s tour of the Dominion. Its three broad horizontal stripes of orange, white, and blue, with the British and Dutch flags set in the middle, were displayed alongside the New Zealand flag on the grand stand mastheads, while a- pennant fashioned in the same national design was carried by the tourists’ linesmen. A decision, to include in the next New Zealand championships a six-mile flat race, as a special event in view of the British Empire Games in Australia in 1938, was made by the council of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association last night. The council declined to establish junior and women’s national championships, as most of the centres had expressed opposition to the pi’oposal. It was deeded that the New Zealand championships, to be held at Christchurch, be called also the jubilee meeting. Now that most of the scaffolding has been removed from the County Council’s new office block, the public have been able to gauge something of the size and design of the building. Interior work is making rapid progress, and it should be only a matter of weeks before the council changes over from the old offices to the new. It has been suggested that as soon as the change is effected the Power Board staff will move into the old offices to enable the reconstruction of the Power Board’s offices to be carried out. “The New Zealand basketball tournaments in future will be held not further north than Palmerston. North, and not further south than Timaru,” is a remit which will be presented to the annual conference of the New Zealand Basketball Association at Auckland, according to a decision reached at a meeting of the Ashburton Basketball Association last evening. The remit is designed to prevent some teams from /making long and costly trips to the tournament. Some amusement was caused in the Supreme Court at Auckland when a farmer from near Whangarei mentioned that on account of the weather the local “spring show” had been held in January. “So that in the North •when the season is wet you have a spring show in January?” said Mr V. R.. Meredith, who was examining. “Or February or March,” said the witness, with emphasis. “In the winterles north spring may come in the autumn,” commented Mr A. K. Turner, who was appearing in the case. “It is a moveable feast,” added Mr Meredith. The sound of sirens used by traffic inspectors in Hastings has on several occasions recently resulted in firemen hastening to the station when there was no need for them to do so, complained at a recent meeting of the Fire Board, states an exchange. “They have caused the brigade a lot of trouble, and I consider it is very wrong to use them in a place such as Hastings, where the brigade is voluntary.” He quoted instances where volunteer members of the brigade had heard the sirens and had left their work to rush to the fire station, believing the sound came from there. Members of the board expressed astonishment that such sirens should be permitted to be used It was decided to protest to the Fire Brigades’ Association and to send a copy of the protest to the Chief Inspector of Fire Brigades (Mr W. Girling-Butcher). When a man on horseback and a motor-car both commenced to cross u one-way bridge on the main Wha-ngarei-Auckland highway, near the Waipu wharf, neither would give way to the other. A heated argument took place, hut both remained adamant. As it was the middle of the day, when traffic is fairly considerable, it was not long before there was a line of vehicles held up on each side of the bridge. As there appeared to lie no sign of the argument terminating, or of either of the parties concerned taking notice of the entreaties of the increasing stream of waiting motorists for them to get off the bridge, one of the onlookers telephoned from a nearby house for police assistance. Constable A. R. Rimmer, of Waipu, arrived on the scene and ordered the motorist and horseman off the bridge, and thus allowed the traffic to proceed, with many black looks thrown at the offenders. A memento of the war years that should be of considerable local interest was displayed at the reunion held at Dunedin on Saturday evening of the N. Field Ambulance Corps. The exhibit was one of the familiar patchwork quilts comprised of embroidered squares of linen that used to be sent to' the hospitals at Home to remind the wounded soldiers that they were not forgotten. This particular quilt was sent to the Hornchurch Hospital, and after the Avar found its way to the Thames district in Auckland, whence it has been reclaimed and brought back to the town of its origin, Dunedin. In the centre is an embroidered map of New Zealand and the Royal Standard, along Avitli the inscription, “Greetings from the Women’s Patriotic Association, North-East Valley, Dunedin,” and round this centre-piece are grouped patches from different sources, each bearing the name of the sender or some original design or inscription. The names of several AvellknoAvn Dunedin residents appear, as Avell as that of a seven-weeks’-old baby, Avho by noAv Avill have grown into young AA-omanhood.

It is hoped that a better turf on the Oval will be the result of the top-dress-ing carried out by the Ashburton llugby Union, under the supervision of the Domain staff. The liming of the ground has been carried out, but this will not interfere to any extent to the use of the Oval for Rugby football matches. In the raid carried out yesterday afternoon by the traffic inspectors in an effort to see how many motorists had evaded their_ obligations in regard to their licenses, about 200 cars were stopped, making a total of 500 for the day. It was found that only about l per cent, of the drivers did not have their licenses with them. The south-bound express had an unusual passenger in the luggage van this morning. It was a calf, securely boxed, a necessary measure, as the animal showed itself capable of kicking vigorously. It is seldom that such large animals arc carried in the van, although poultry and dogs are part of the regular freight. The calf, as it waited on the station before beingloaded into the van, attracted a goou deal of attention. Mr F. Yeo, of Welcome Ray, Tauranga, arrived back the other day from a trip to the Orient (says the “Auckland Star”). In the course of the tour he called at Rabaul, five weeks after the eruption. The sea was still strewn with pumice, and the effect of the steamer ploughing its way through was rather strange. The boat would cleave a way through the floating lava debris, which would close immediately, and it looked for all the world as if the boat were on a field of sand all the time. “This is not cross-examination — argument with a witness is nor crossexamination” remarked the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, in the Supreme Court at Palmerston North recently, when counsel was pursuing a point. “You have secured an admission; anything that follows that is a matter for the jury. It is not for him to express an opinion—nor for you.” An unusual but efficacious method of calling the gathering to order was adopted at the reunion of* the New Zealand Rifle Brigade in Auckland recently by the president (Captain P. Salmon). When a speech or item was about to be given and some of the large assembly exhibited an inclination to continue conversing, tongues were instantly silenced by the electrifying shriek of a Klaxon siren through the microphone. “You heard the Klaxon in the old days as a warning of gas attacks,” said the president. “When you hear it to-night I want attention, so bite hard on your rubber tubes.” In some of the northern centres the small builder is experiencing a lean 1 time owing to the fact that, with the Government housing schemes being put under way, many people are refraining from building in the meantime (says the “Otago Daily Times”). That position does not obtain in Dunedin, however, possibly due to the City Council s housing scheme, tenders for which enable the “cottage” builder to compete with the larger firms. Small builders are being kept busy, and good carpenters are hard to obtain. In June 22 permits were given by the corporation, of which seven were for council houses. Nine of the permits issued this month are for council dwellings.

How the natives in some parts of the Pacific had triumphed over serious difficulties in the building of their graceful canoes was shewn in a lecture at the Auckland University College by Miss 0. M. ltutherford, a member of the staff of the museum. The speaker dealt particularly with the craftsmanship to be found in the Gilbert Island, Southern New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The Gilbert Islanders, she said, had shown considerable ingenuity. They had practically no wood suited to their purpose, nor was there stone suitable for the making of implements. They loved their canoes, and took such pride in their racing capabilities. Speaking of New Guinea, she described the hari, or annual trading expeditions to the Papuan Gulf, when the natives set out in their capacious and seaworthy craft, carrying cargoes of earthenware pots, and returning with the north-west monsoon three months later laden with sago. Though clumsy, the canoes could carry a crew of 30, and as much as 34 tons of sago. Miss Rutherford also described the elaborate ritual connected with the boat-building, and the ornamentation lavished on the canoes. * She showed a number of lantern slides to illustrate her remarks.