LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 10, 28 August 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Mayor expects to leave for ‘.Vellington in a day or .two in order to •o-operate witli Mr G. A. Ma reliant n making representations to the Rowe seillation Commissioners regardeg tire boundaries of the Stratford loctorate.

Margarine factories arc largely on ic increase in Great Britain. there re now somewhere about I’ortv in full

■working order, six new ones having been registered last year. The output is coming into favour more and more among consumers.

Air. A. Robertson, a resident of To Aroha, when digging in Ids garden, discovered a tin box, which, on being opened, was found to contain numerous articles of jewellery, which were subsequently identified as that stolen in May last from the residence of Mr. A. Wigg, who then occupied the property. Burglars had entered the premises during the absence of the family. Shortly afterwards a man and a woman named Campbell, living in a cottage in Lower Bridge Street, wore arrested on a charge of theft, committed at Thames, of which town they wore late residents. The charge was proved, and the prisoners were sent to gaol. After the Buko of Connaught, Grand Prior of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England, had held an investiture this week in the Chapter Hall of , the Order, lie presented the awards granted during the past year for saving, or attempting to save, life on land, and a large number of “service medals” to members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. A certificate ,'of honour was awarded to William Joseph Sleeth (police constable, Wellington, Now Zealand), who saved the life of a child at Wellington on November 6th last, by pulling it almost from under the wheels of a tramway car. The certificate is to bo presented by Lord Islington. The opprobrious description, “A -wire-whiskered old barbarian,” giver, in a letter from a Kaiti resident to the Cook County Council recently was the cause of an exciting -scene on Kaiti (Gisborne). It appears that two men took the epithet very much to heart, and each blamed the other for being the author thereof. The outcome of a heated argument was a onartor of an hour’s bout with bare fists. Tiie round was exceedingly willing while it lasted, and each combatant felt satisfied that lie had given the other his just deserts. And it so happens (adds the Gisborne “Herald”) that neither man was the writer of tiie letter nor the person referred to in the letter.

A curious point bearing on the scope of the Destitute Persons Act, 1910, cropped up in tho Magistrate’s Court at Wellington recently. Two men were proceeded against by their sister to contribute to the support of her child on the ground that they wore near relatives. They were the child’s uncles. Mr. F. P. Kelly, who appeared for the brothers, said that lie did

not think there was any power under the Act in make an undo support a nephew, whether the nephew was logi.dmato or illegitimate. In this case the child was illegitimate, he understood. Ho hold that the definition of “near relative” did not cover uncles: it applied to ascendants and descendants but not to “collaterals.” Ho submitted that there was no power unclor the Act to make the order. Mr. W. fl. Riddell, S.M., said he did not think the term was covered by the deunit ion, and dismissed the information. “When wo wore in the Shortland Islands,” said Professor Macmillan Brown, on his return to Sydney, “there came on hoard some, light-hair-ed Scandinavians. Near by stood a Mnlaita boy, with light-brown corn hair and a European face. One of the Scandinavians was a rich planter; he asked me where the Malaita boy came from. 1 said, “From Scandinavia.” file planter laughed at mo. Ho said, “You scientific Jennies!’” The professor was explaining the theory that there are traces in tlie Solomons of a Caucasian element that must have coins originally out of Europe, across Asi a. Even now, ho said, the hair of Polynesian and some Solomon Island babies is light-brown coloured, though it usually darkens as the native grows up. Scientists say that the colour of the hair on a baby’s head is a sign of the original stock from which the race is sprung. So at that rate the Polynesians and some of the Solomon Islanders are spiking from a light-brown haired people. On the same linos of theory, the original stock from which most English-speaking people sprinv should 1)0 flaxen or golden haired. Most English and Australian babies have hair as light as that, which generally darkens as they grow older.

Dr. Mjohorg, leader of the Swedish scientific expedition, which lias just returned to Fremantle, after exploring the hinterland of the groat NorthWest of Australia, said there was a great anthropological similarity between the Australian native and the Neanderthal race—-a race which is now extinct in Europe. There have been fossil remains found in some of the caves of Franco and other parts of Europe, and those very much resemble our natives. There is the same low, descending forehead, going straight bade, and there is the same volume of skull. r lhis is what Dr. M.joberg lias to say of our natives:— “It must be admitted by the members of this expedition that the Australian native is not so low as many pti jde imagine. For instance, the natives

at the various mission stations learn to read and write to their h sses in very quick fashion. Of course, their morals is considcralily lowered directly they come in touch with civilisation. That is usually the case with low races. History tells us that there is ;> near (lass of natives round about the mission stations of the Nor’-West, but you notice a dilference directly you roach the hack country. Then you come across a big, 'powerful race of men. Sonic of them I have seen standing as high as Oft Min, up in th Vi St. George flanges. Wo had no adventures with the natives. As long as you keep them away, you are all light. They won’t tackle you in broad daylight. ' At night time they ate airaid. They huddle together in a heap. ' They are frightened of .spirits. They arc altogether verv superstitious. .lust about daybreak you want to look out, and watch carefully, for it is thou that they attack. When you see nigger tracks, inTt yen cannot see any nigger, then that is tiie time to look* out for squalls. The natives amongst themselves arc very moral.

A first-offending drunkard who was arrested on the railway station at 7 p.m. on Saturday failed to appear at th i .Magistrate’s Court this morning, and was fined tiie amount of his bail (Lt.’s) by Air. C. i). Sole, J.P. "i he Eire Brigade has accepted, with thanks, an offer by Madame Bernard to close her theatre on the evening of the brigade's annual ball, and to supply an orchestra to render music for tiie dances at the ball. Sixty-two candidates will sit at the examination to he hold in Stratford on September 6th, 7th, and Stii by the examiner for Trinitv College. Five of the candidates will sit in the teachers’ class. Tiie ponmlkeepor reported at tiie last meeting of tiie Eltham Borough Council that a horse sold in tiie pound realised tiie magnificent sum of one shilling. “I guess hc< walked round the street corners,” remarked a councillor. Recently tiie A lay or set aside an afternoon for tlio purpose of swear-irg-in members of the fire police. Sixteen had expressed their willingness to serve in tiie corps, but onlysix turned up to be sworn in. The Mayor lias now set aside from 3 to 4 o’clock on September 12th for the purpose of swearing in the balance of members.

Last "Wednesday morning a serious accident befei Miss Leydon at her homo on Toko Hoad. She had harnessed a horse in the gig and tied it to a fence for a time. Before leaving tiro fence she took the blinkers off the horse, which at once became startled and pushed Miss Leydon against the fence, in which there was some Barbed wire. One of the shafts of the gig also struck Miss Leydon on the leg, inflicting a nasty gash. Miss Leydon is now progressing favourably, though at the time alarm was caused by the amount of blood sho was losing.

On Thursday afternoon tho Fire Brigade ran oft two events. The competition for the Burgess Cup resulted Fireman Boon, Imin 12sec, 1; Fireman Davies, Imin 14 3-osec, 2; Fireman Drake, Imin 21sec,*3; Foreman Wilson, Imin 26scc, 4. The conditions of the event were:—llun five yards; pick up hydrant, length of gear and branch; fix hydrant; run out length ; fix branch; run back to starting point; pick up another length and branch and fix to hydrant; finish five yards from end of branch. The twoman ladder event for Lieut. Rowson’s medals resulted:—Boon and Gorton, 2Gsec, 1; Burgess and Lane, 27see, 2; Wilson and Baton, 2Ssec, 3; Drake and Freeman, 29sec, 4. Davis and Davcy (26sec) were disqualified, the dum,ny being dropped.

A Maori named Pue Motunui, a farmer at Okawa, about seven milee from Waitara, died in tho hospital early yesterday from wounds in tho bead, which arc considered certain to have been self-inflicted with an axe,

■■■’vs the “Mews.” His head was cut open by a series of blows, and the weapon found yesterday in the bush by Detective-Sergeant Boddom, who went out to make full investigations. From Senior-Sergeant Dart wo learn that on Friday morning, after breakfast, the deceased Maori, who had been, depressed over business matters, wont out of tho house. Some time afterwards he was seen tottering from the direction of some bush towards the house, and saw him stagger and fall. Others were soon on tho scene, and it was found that his head had been very badly cut about. He was brought into the hospital on Friday, and died yesterday. Surgically, the case is considered an extremely interesting one.