General News.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20172, 26 February 1931, Page 10

General News.

The foundation stone of the Nurses' Home will be laid on Wednesday, March 25th, by the chairman of the North Canterbury Hospital Board (Mr H. J. Otley). The leVel of Lake Coleridge on Sunder last-was at 1686.8 ft, or 5.2 ft below the overflow level (1672 ft); the previous Sunday the level was at 1666.6 ft. At the corresponding period ia 1880, the lake level was at 1672 ft, overflow level. A decision; of ite Committee th&t officers Who had attained the ages of 55 and 65 years respectively should retain their positions for the present yfcarf bfit be .subject tot review in each financial yetor was approved by the North Canterbury Hospital Board at its meeting yesterday.

'■ "You have* beaten my record. by just one minute," declared Mr W, P. Spenoer to the ihniftnatt of tike North Canterbury Hospital Board (Mr H. J.ptloy) when the Board ; adjourned • yesterday after a meeting of 25 minutes. Although reports' were received for two nfonths—December and January—there was of general business.' ' Although the Minister for Railways (the HJon. W. A. Veitoh) stated Wellington recently thstt the charge for meals served in railway refreshment rooms was to he reduced from, 2s 6d to 2s, the -ch6tttte id prifca has • not yet 'taken place at -the refreshment roomß l at the Chriatehurch Station. The Del partm^nt. is. waitihg for official word from Wellington before reducing the : charge* , _ v . • r The School of Forestry at Canterbury College, which was 'made' the -sale fjMPestr* school in New Zealand, absorbing the Auckland School, is at present earollihg students Kfr the eliding; year* new status, of the. school .there will for the present ibfl no change in the courses, or in the "statfi Whifch will bttth rem&in the same' artheywer© teat year. The effect of thechatfgeon the . number of Btudents yerttfdllilig cannot yet be determined, alSeveral ffotn> the Auckland school- h&Y6 signified their intention of, ooiUpleting their courses at Canter;btiryCfi>llege* .Mjrßdg&r F. Stead, having offered tho'tiie of the grounds stirrotlnding hie: residence, "Ham/' Ham. rofrd, Riccartott< to the Canterbury Pilgrims' Association for the purposes of an outdoor gathering, the committee of the ' Association at' its meeting yesterday accepted the offer with thanks. It was arranged •, that "the gathering should <p6 held on the afternoon of Saturday, ,M&rch 21st,. and, a committee consisting pf Mr ~Q. Hastings Bridge, ana tlie secretary (Mr <*, W. Hungerford) Was set,;up to arrange details. In case the', weatneir should be wet, i£ vras 1 decided,to pencil the reservation of the Art Salary for the same date. At the biimial meeting of the Ohriatehurch Optimists' . Club last | evening, Mr J. h. Kerr, Who has been I Selected as a.member of the New Zealand cricket team td> tour' England, j i was being initiated into the club; , Optimist-eherrifE H. ST. Baird ann'oun-1 teed that he was going to see if Mr | Kerr could- reullv play cricket, A, , chair Wafe, placed lengthwise on the Hoor for a -wicket, the bat was a pencil, and 1 the ball a circular ash tray j bowled oh its edge. The ball hit the batsnum on the leg before "he struck 1 it, -and present were in 1 dottbt as to whether it' was a 4'legbefore" or a "no-baiy Low prices for sheep are not un- , expected this season, but two sales at Aadington yesterday will go down in ,tho history of the market as remarki ;able.' One Was of nine aged cull ewes ! which were sold for "Is 3d the "lot" I ■Later a lino of 16& 4, 6, and 8-tooth h&lfbred • eWeS .were sold at lid. The sheep were from Bienlibiitt. They were •vety tottll-ftamjfd and itt poor condition and theif moutlfe were worn from feedittg on the high shingle countfy from which they cstmo. They had been on tlie road, for more 1 than two weeks. Similar sales to these are .not within the, recollections of those who have , visited Addington yards for over 30 years. , ,

Six HttWfce's fejty teachers hare been ofireMd 4 positiorts by t"he ' Canterbury fUtation Board as a result of the ucatidn: fit's request . that jteachers from the - 'earthquake aren should be ' considered when appoint--meats were being ttt&de. The secretary (All* C. ttf Kirk) staged yesterday , that three of the ( Hawke's Bay teachers Would h&v6 gained tbe- positionsJn any r ca6e, ait thbir grading. ,was better than th&t of th 6 Canterbnfy applicants, while trip other? were nearly equal in jpft&irig':ttf . the Canterbury, applicants. /OAly, on© p£f the Canterbury teachers ;Who. htto4l>pW<J was nob at present in 4 iLi .v •' *, <•:

When the directors of Now Zealand OHeket, Limited* entered the rooiha of the Ckristchurch Stock Exchange for their meeting last evening, they found on the board, among other quotations, the ■ following title: "Bank of New Smith Wails."

It ■Was, reported to yesterday's meeting of tlie North Canterbury executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union that an analysis had been made for 2$ years by the Department of Agriculture of all lime Bold in the South Island, and that if particulars were required they wero to be obtained on application to that Departihent.

A suggestion was _ made at the meetiiig of the Waimairi Council last evening that manufacturers of material and mixtures for killing weeds should be invited to make a demonstration, bo that an offectivo destruction could bo earned outi It was time to do something on a big scale, a councillor said. A committee was appointed to go into tho question. Telephone charges, particularly in rural areas, was a subject discussed lit yesterday's meeting of the North Canterbury executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union,* when a feinlt dealing With such charges came forward from tho Oxford branchy which suggested that a reduction of 50 per cent, ho made. Mr H. Gr. Parrish said that as many farmers had had their can's talten frOm them they would be prftdtictilly isolated if their telephones were also taken from them, a contingency not at all unlikely in the present circumstances. ... It Was decided that the secretary should wait on tho local authorities With regard to tho matter. • Arrangements have been made for the work of deepening tho Wilderness, drain to be done under the Unemployment Board's No. 0 Scheme, and it is to be put in hand almost immediately. The Drainage Board has been obtaining quotations for the supply of material, as! some portions of the drain Will require to bo timbered. It is estimated that tho work will give ; employment for from (30 to 80 mon for about two montliA. Soma time ago the Drainago Board had tho lower portion of tho drain deepened, and the work now to bo put in liana will start where that work stopped. The deepening of the di*ain will prevent tho flooding of the portions of Sydenham and SpreydoM' through which the drain flows. The first, nuniber of tho ew Zealand Bowls and Croquet Journal provides informative ar boles on various aspect a of play, together with results of tournaments and comment o« matters of interest to players genorally. In setting out, as its editorial states, to provide authoritative reference on matters pertaining to the games, and assisting their development With instructive articles, as well as«to foster tho spirit of holpful good*fellowship among players, it will be providing r for d seal need. The Bowling section of this issue includes notes on "The Full Bink," by MrN. W. Bell; "Psychology * n Bowls," by Dr. T. E. Mark's, and advice from Mr James Brackenrldge* < tChe Croquet section includes hitotu by Mr A. G. F. Boss, New Zealand Open Champion, Dominion notes, and fall result* of the Dominion tournament* The journal is to be published quarterly during the winter and monthly ill the summer.

The inscription otr tho stone erected in Hagley I*drk, in the vicinity of the Pilgrims' Well, to mark the site where a number of ' Canterbury Pilgrims erected their huts in 1350, having .become indistinct, tho question of .having tv bfatfs plate with the inscription on it prepared and attached to the stbne was discussed at yesterday's meeting of the committee of .the Canterbury Pilgrims' Association. The secretary was instructed to Ascertain , what would' be the, cost of a brass plate ' with the following' wording: —' This stone was erected' 16th December, *1909, by the Canterbury Old Colonists' Association to mark the spot where a number of Canterbury Pilgrims 'erected tlieir huts in 1850." The chairman (Mr E. R. Webb) said that he bad found the wording of the inscription in a newspaper report of the erection of tlje stone. i Claimed to be the biggest single-fur-row plough in the Hemisphere, the specially constructed New Zealand plough in use at B(jy(fV\ Flock House (Bulls) is proving «£n, effective and inexpensive method of bulging in scrub and gorse country (says the "Manawatu The plough,, which is drawn by a tractor, the latter being driven, by the apprentices in training at the institution, leaves a furriw three feet wido and 18 inches deep. It is claimed that by this mo&nr la«'l worth £5 an acre is being increased in value to £4O an acre. The cost, from standing- gorse to a seed bed, is only. £5 lOe per acre. During tho past two years 400 acres of river flat, previously covored with' standing' gorso and scrub, have 'come undor the plough. Thofre are still 1000 acres awaiting treatment. The gorso is first crushed by the tractor and harrows, and, after burning, is turned - over by.the swamp plbugh. None of the land So treated haß reverted to-gorse.

At tho session of the Methodist Conference at Dunedin the Be v. Dr. C. H. Laws, as custodian of the Trinity Theological College Library, Auckland, stated that Mr A. H, Bced, of Mornington, Duncdin,' had made a very Valuable contribution to the College library and museum. The contribution took tho form of a manuscript copy of portions of the Holy Scriptures datimg from tho ' fourteenth century; the Indunabulft Biblo of the library of Cardinal Francis XaVier Zelada, printed iu 148o; and an excellently illustrated and annotated hymn-book in a number of volumes, containing autographed letters of prpfninent contributors' to the hymn-book. Tho Conference (ferried a motion placing on record its gratitude to Mr and Mts A. H. Keed for their valuable A resolution * expressing appreciation of the many gifts to tho library and museum by various people throughout the Dominion was also carried. —Press Service.

'Some leading organisations which stipulated that borrowers should pay interest and principal, Wlieh due, in Australia aro now finding that it is easier to reinvest the- money in' Nfew Zealand) and al&o that the exchange rates are in favour of the borrowers repaying in Australia, and ■ they are therefore risking pllents to pay in New Zealand. Two of the organisations have inade this request to .the Lower Hutt Boroiigh .Council (says the "Evening Post';). When the request of the first lending body was made it appeared that tho Council would gaiii by the transaction, and the request was granted, attd op Monday evening the Council, though it now realises it would have been more profitable to pay in Australia, signed an agreement -agreeing to pay in New Zealand because it had already given its word to do so. The other lending body Was later in making its request, arid bv that time the exchange rate - was stronglv in favoyr of the Council continuing to pay m Australia. The request was therefore declined, unless the society was prepared td allow the Council the ruling rates of discount at thedates on which the amounts are due, Sanatorium visitors will find it is cheaper to 'phqne for a Gqld Band i laxi than to go m the tram and then by taxi from, the bottom of the hill: B0 mone y a nd 'phone 34-075 or So-572 for a Gold Band Taxi. Yon will not Thank 'you, 3 Brides ' arid 'Bridegrooms, wfe are waiting for j'oii to call and ericafee the most Bridal Catsta New Zealandj dnd tW demand is' so great that you should book up eafrly and avoid disappeitftmetvfc, as were dbmpelled to turn some away last" EasteiV •'Phbnes 34-075 and 35-572. . Thank yttu.