LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 29, 17 January 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Air A., G. Jones, of the National Bank, left by this morning’s mail 'train for Wellington to take up his new duties at the head office. Bankruptcies in Dannevirko appear to bo a tiling of the past, as neither last year nor the year previous wore there* any insolvencies in the town itself.

At least one of the boarding-house keepers in Stratford does not mean to have his lodgers depart without paying their board. This morning an amusing scene occurcd on the station platform. An. irate landlord, and an equally angry boarder were coming to blows over is Gd. due for a nignt’s lodging. Constable Bleascl saw that justice was done, and the absconder loft minus the Is 6d, and plus a great amount of unrighteous wrath and indignation.

, At last night’s meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, the matter of obtaining a -cinematograph film of Mt. logmon t, the dairy industry, and other local views of merit, was discussed. Several months ago tiie lion. T. Mackenzie. was approached in the matter, and lie promised that the Government cinematograph operator should visit Stratford . It was stated that the expert would arrive shortly. Mr. Richards and Mr. Kirkwood were deputed to wait on that gentleman should ho put in an appearance. On Monday evening a gathering of members of the Stratford Club was held, the occasion being a presentation to Mr. A. C. Jones, of the National Hank, who was recently transferred to Wellington. In the absence of the president (Mr A. W. Budge) Dr. Carbory,' vice-president, made the presentation,' which consisted of a, handsome travelling bagi and referred to the. many, friends Mr. Jones had .made during his''residence or four' and "a half ‘years in Stratford,. Mr Jones suitably acknowledged the gift, exj pressing If is regrei at leaving tlie town which ho had got to like very vrcll during his stay. Mr. P. C. Freeth is to assume the editorsiiip of tine ‘‘New Zealand Tunes,” says tlie Palmerston “Standard.” Mr. F. J. Kirby, who has occupied that position during the past twelve months, has been ordered a rest by Ills physicians. After a holiday he will rejoin .the. paper, as associate editor. Mr. Freeth previously field the .. position as editor oh the “Times,” and fine fact that after a year’s absence from the editorial chair his services have again been sought is striking testimony to the appreciation in which his services arc held by thedirectors. Mr. Freeth is a journalist of marked ability, and in the position he is about to take up ho should again render the paper good serveio. A well-known Auckland linn recently received tlie following letter from a Maori customer in tiie Waikato, which they have carefully hied away as a curiosity“Te madiiue 1 sold you, he eu mall rite, but what te use te machine when te shuttle be no liorc. Hcnare Tamigana he kum in and he say machine all rite, but what te good wid out te shuttle. Mr. Jones and Mr. Brown, 1 tink you too much te Hum bug. You te rogue. , J send you -to machine; te mouy you send Mr. Jones and Brown.—Your affectionate friend, .” P.S.—Hehare Tamigana he just kum my wharo; look in to draw of te machine, and he fin te shuttle. You no fool, Mr. Jones and Brown.” [

A visitor from the country, Louis Truyan, lias told the Sydney police how he was the victim of a comparatively novel form of confidence trick. On J uesday week he was sitting in Hyde Park, waiting to call at the appointed hour on a doctor whom he wished to consult for a gouty foot. Three welldressed, amiable men entered into conversation with him, and after a drink

persuaded Truyan to let himself ho examined by a fourth man, who was introduced as a doctor and a friend of the others. It was said that out of good fellowship this doctor would make no charge. All the men repaired to an hotel where in a private parlour Truyan undressed at the “doctor’s” direction and was examined. Then the man gave him something out ot i small bottle. Truyan remembered no .more till he found himself lying undressed in the hotel parlour next morning. His gold watch and chain, £2l in money, and a gold ring wore missing.

| “What appears to he one of the inexplicable features of the modern educational system, not only in Australia hut in England and in other countries as well,’ said Mr. I). S. Knox in an address before a western suburbs literary society, “is the comparative inattention given by scholars to the snltivation of thought. The subjects a child is taught have steadily increased In number during the last ten years unt'l now there is quite a formidable, array. Hut with all this there is a mental superficiaity, an absence of thought, and a marked inability to utilise to the full extent all that we have learned or are supposed to iiav • learned. Wo might with advantage take to heart the lesson afforded loan illiterate old saint, who lived in the distant east. He could not read,

but, anxious to learn he sought the assistance of a frond. A simple verse was read to him, “1 will take heed to my ways, that 1 offend not with my tongue,” and the saint went away satisfied. Asked a few months later why he did not, come to learn more he said, he had not yet thoroughly mastered the complete meaning of the few words read to him and many years afterwards, when questioned again, he answered that he had never been able to truly master the sentence after years of deep thought. We should imitate in a n ild way—(laughter) this old Saint Pamhos we should try to bring thought to bear on our reading.”

Mr. Lancelot Buchlor has been appointed assistant master at the Stratlord District High School, Miss Irene Dewhirst, third-year pupil-teacher, and Miss Amy Gernhoefer probationer. Mr. Waldcgrave, Under-Secretary !.!!• Justice and Commissioner of Police, passed through Stratford in the mad train tin’s morning. Mr, Waklcgrave attended the meeting of the * 1 risen Board at New Plymouth. No less than 31 Taranaki boys and girls passed the examination tor '.lie junior national scholarship. Schools within the Stratford County arc well represented, as rhev Hirgit-h no h tnan fourteen of those successful scholars . A remarkable coincidence at the Delhi Durbar, says an Indian officer in a letter to a member of Urn Wairarana ■‘Daily Times” staff, was that at the presentation of colours by ike Ling both the Brigade-Majors were New Zealanders, and both were educated at Nelson College, '.’hey wor» Major Davidson and Major Glasgow. A special meeting of the executive committee of the Stratford Horticultural Society was held last evening in the office of the. secretary, Mr. W. S. Cato, Mr. T. Reader, president, in the chair. It was decided to hold the next show on Thursday and Friday, 22nd and 23rd February, All necessary arrangements were made, and the secretary was requested to write to certain gentlemen asking them to act as judges and Stewards!, The monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held last night. Present: Messrs. Young, Kirkwood (in the chair), Munro, McMillan, and the secretary (Mr. J. B. Richards). Replies re universal half-holid ''y were received from the Eltham ai I Hawera Borough Councils. The for er decided that it was too late t. obtain-’a representative opinion on t;.e matter. The Hawera Council had not yet considered the question! Mr. Richards reviewed his actions with regard to the half-holiday, and said he regretted that his reply to Mr. Henry Wilson in the Taranaki “Daily ’Nsivs” had not been published in full. "Ho asked that the Chamber endorse his actions n the whole matter. Mr. Young moved; “That the Chamber places on record the fact that any action taken by the Secretary in connection with the universal half-holiday was taken at the instance of, and under instructions from, the Chamber.” This was -tarried unanimously.

The phenomenon of the imunijiycr.se which wlien photographed gives a portrait different from that which ’s painted on it is explained as being duo to tlie fact that the camera sees things which tlie eyes do not. This was illustrated in the case of a ship whose name had been painted over, but yet came out in the photo. This fact is well-known to photographers, and it is said that spots indicating a disease have come out in the photograph at a time when they were riot visible, on the face. The muramy-ca-se may have been painted -with one portrait, and then painted over with another. But people will not care to have a mystery explained in' this ‘ faphion,. besides it fails to explain why the visible face was not depicted,' and . the ~ latter! wan in, hold relief. 1 A writer on the subject asks,’whirl is“ ’• the use of relying on photographic - evidence about the' stars, if the cain’dra ’ icau lie .d.eceayed like this’.' | ' ! ‘■ , fhM 1 ;' 1 i Thedrecent election,: serious! though ,'j ’it) was in its consequences, >vas not’do- , r void of humorous incidents. “Civis,”.' ' in the Otago Daily Times, tells of an Oamaru candidate who was asked whether, if elected, ho .ypuld. move •in ' the direction of measures being taken to deal with the “Ne Temcre” matter. , One imagines that for the moment he was flabbergasted but --.then he rose to the occasion• “While. I,am pretty-well conversant,'”: he said,, “with the Mokau qriestjojij 1 , r ( the details of the acquisition of ,the ' other estate named has not conjo to”;' my knowledge;.but if the Government ' have been guilty of anything questionable in the “Ne .Temcre”. estate, I' would certainly have something to say about ’it.” * The audience 'are reported to have received this reply with “loud and prolonged applause,” which leaves us wondering whether they kneit as little of the matter as he did.