THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16166, 21 March 1918, Page 3

THE COUNTRY.

NEWS AND NOTES. AMBKRLKY. Bishop Julius ht'iil a conlinnation service ;tt the Church cl the Holy Innocent.* o>> Sunday morning last, the vica" uiVM'tuing tour !ad» ant! ?lx young women. There wa* ;i large eonUiViiiuion. o bi>iiop f-noke upon the bc»i".riiijj; of tiit"* Cro-s in it-; application to spiritual condition? evoked l>y tne war. Tlio Amberley an<l North Kowai Patriotic Ceniiniitei' uu't on .Monday. Mr G. Ti. Holton presiding:. The ports of collectors for tin- .M.C.A. War Work Fund were presented. Mrs Courage reported Amberlev contributions as .€ 16'2 !)=, including two amounts of £-20, previously paid. Mr Jt. Hunter reported Urounilield's amount as £134 f 3 -; <*!. and Brackenliekl was reported by Mr .1. "Watson subscribing 'J - 2S(i -1,..* making a total of £'oBH Is lid. It was decided to «*k the bank manager to audit the lists. UUKWOOI). In the Burwood Hall on '1 uesdav a welcome home social was given by the Bur wood Patriotic Committee to Privates Seli'e and Wilson, and to Q.M.S. Goodrich. In spite oi' the inclement weather there was a splendid attendance, and a most enjoyable evening was spent. Mr Davidson, headmaster of tho ]3tirwood School, extended a hearty welcome home on behalf of the residents oi' Burwood and district. Private Wilson responded. Q.M.S. Goodrich sent an apology lor absence. During the evening, musical items were given liv Miss »Sheila Tobin and Messrs J. and" CI. Tobin. A party from the Openi House, consi/ting of McKay and Graham, and Sergeant Copeland and Kid, aiso nrov ided most. enjoyable items. Dancing was indulged in until a late hour. TAI TAPI". In the last draft of returned soldiers were Sergts. Geo. Lowe (Mam Body.) and K- i-ewis. T bo former has returned on duty, and the latter invalided. They will bo accorded a public welcome to-morrow evening, as will Corporal L. C. Anderson, who returned with the previous draft . In connexion with the lied lrianglo appeal the local collecting was dono bv Captain Macartney and Messrs Jones and Morten, members oi tne Patriotic Committee, and resulted i» £430 being raised hi two days.

raotiora. ( The popular "Pom-Pom I'ien'ots," Mrs H. H. Smith's clever concert party, motored out to lliii'.iiiora Hist night pavo their first entertainment ot tlie season to a large ;<inl very appreciative audience. An. entirely new and - lent programme had been rehearsed 101 the occasion, and all of the items went, with a ii'-'c swing. The choruses smd concerted pieces by the Pierrots wore a feature of the conccrfc. and songs grave and gav were given by Claud Moss, Grace Jones, Pom Watson. Ixuiise Hannav. Robert Kirk, A\ alter Koaile, and Jean Adam*. The programme "was concluded with a roaring farce. "Jewish Justice." which caused roars oi' laughter. During the performance Mrs H. RSmith made a special plea on behalf of the Lady Liverpool Fund, and Miss Grace Jones's Gipsy Dance brought in £3 lis Gd, this being subsidised £ for £ by Mr H. C. D. van Asch. The total proceeds of tho concert will be over £25. Before the performance the Rangiora Brass Band.played selections, and at its close Mr van Asch heartily thanked the performers. SPRINGSTON. On Friday evening, while out in his j motor-car, Mr. J. W. Kime met -with a rather severe accident. After leaving his homo tho lights of the car went almost out, and his son, who was driving at the time, was in the act of pulling up the car when his father stepped 1 out before the car had stopped, and was thrown heavily to the ground. Ho "was rendered unconscious for the greater part of the night, and was severely bruised on the head and body. He was taken to his home and attended by Dr. Cooke, of' Lincoln. On. Tuesday evening, in the Public Hall, a social evening on behalf of the Lady Liverpool Fund was held. Mr I. Andrew occupied the chair. During the evening Mrs Holland, Mayoress of Christchurch, gave a very interesting account of the working of thp Lady Liverpool Fund, and Mr O. Burnet (a returned soldier) gave an account of tho work of women in connexion with the war. A very lino programme was contributed by the following:—Misses Holland (2), C. Ryan, Messrs W. Salkeld, Holland, O. Burnet, and L. Blakemore. The accompaniments were played by Misses Henry, Holland, and Chamberlain. At the conclusion, Mrs W. B. Scott, president of the local branch, proposed a very hearty vote of thanks to'all who had helped, and also took the opportunity of appealing for more •workers. RAKAIA. St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in Rakaia by a social in the Oddfellows' Hall, organised by the parishioners of St. Ita's Church. There was a very large gathering, and a most enjoyable time was spent, dancing being kept up to closo on three o'clock. Splendid music was provided by Messrs Marshall and 3lrs Marshall, and a few extras were also played. Songs wero contributed by Misses Quiirn, Hardy, Lloyd, and Brown. Miss Monica McNamara ployed a pianoforte selection during supper-time. In the big store of the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company a largo stack of bags of chaff became unstable and collapsed against tho front wall, completely shattering the big six-paned window and breaking out the sash.

ELLE3MERE. The Southbridge District High School Committee met on Monday evening, the Rev. H. G. Hawkins presiding. The Board of Education notified the appointment of Mr Harold Hookway as pupil teacher. The chairman brought up the question of children -who had not a proficiency or competency certificate attending the secondary department, and it was decided to write tho Board for a ruling in the matter. The headmaster gave the average attendances as follows: Primary 140.4, secondary 23.2. Mr E. P. Burbery, agricultural adviser to the National Efficiency Commissioner for Canterbury, spent Monday in Southbridge on efficiency matters.

The Rev. Howard Elliott, organiser for the Protestant Political Association, addressed a gathering of 300 people at tho Leeston Town Hall on Monday evening. Mr W. T. Fulton presided, and the speaker was accorded a good hearing. It was unanimously decided to form a branch of the Association, and Mr Elliott was thanked for his address. A meeting of those interested in technical education was held at the. Leeston School, Mr A. Werner presiding. There were representatives < present from Doyloston, Lakeside, Killinchy, and Leeston. Jt was decided to make an effort to start classes in woodwork, and to protest against the Board of Education removing a shed formerly used by the technical classes to Southbridge. It was also decided to start dressmaking classes on April 4th. A new committee w«« elected, with Mr F. B. Clausen as chairman, and Mr A. W. Green as secretary. A framed photograph of tlte late Mr John Barnett, founder of the Doyleston Sunday school, and for 31 years its superintendent, was unveiled last Sunday, on tho occasion of the anniversary and harvest thanksgiving service, by the Ret. W. Layoock,

ASHBURTON. The mixed train, d»o to leave Ashburton at 7.15 a.m., was closo 'on an hour behind time in starting yesterday morning, the, delay being caused through having to wait the arrival of a special stock t.'ain from Christchurch. Tho monthly meeting of the Ashburton Borough School Committee was held on Tuesday, when Mr W. G. Hillicr presided. Permission was granted Mr F. H. Broom to hold a meeting of householders in the Allenton School. The headmaster reported that the averago attendance at the Borough School was 399, and at Allenton 12(3, the present roll being 422 and 138 respectively. The committee favourably commented on the children's success at the recent agricultural show. Permission was given to close tho school for the Easter holidays. Harvest festival services were held on Sunday in the Wills street Methodist Church, Ashburton, when suitable sermons were preached by the Revs. W. Millar (Presbyterian) and J. Belshaw to large congregations. The festival was continued on Tuesday evening, when an entertainment was given by the _Armv friends, under the very able presidency of the Rev. J. Belshaw. Tho collections and donations exceeded the expectations of the officials. TEMTIIvA. The following men were welcomed home* on Tuesday:—L. Boulter, Staff Sergt.-Major H. T. Hobbs. L. Heap, 1). G. Henry, S. D. King, G. G. McGillan, C. Mackenzie, J. P. O'Connell, R. J. Wallace, O. Wareing, S. I>. Webb, J. Moran, Sergt.-Major Storey, and Captain Kay. Thero were a great many people at the station, headed by Mr T. Gunnion, and tho men were received with hearty cheers. They were conveyed to the Post Office in cars, headed by the Temuka Brass Band, where short speeches of welcome were made. GERALDINE. Following the war practicc, the Geraldine St. Patrick's Sports Association again abandoned sports this year, but arranged a concert for the celebration of the day, tho proceeds to benefit the Red Cross Funds. The concert was organised by Mr Rex Harrison, of Christchurch, and those who took part were Misses -Marie Pearce Irene Morris, Ethel Lisack, Lilian Harper, and Messrs Harry Gill and_ Rex Harrison. The local orchestral society contributed selections. On Tuesday all the rivers and streams were in flood. ■ Some damage was reported at Four Peaks, but the rain ceased on Tuesday night, just as damage was threatened in several places. Messrs J. Bennett, A. J. Hopping, Fifield, Pye, and Tail, with Mr W. J. Clark, of Orari, returned homo on Tuesday afternoon, and many friends gathered to greet them.