The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1912. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 45, 17 February 1912, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1912. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Owing to tho very 'full; reptfft; published in this issue of the ' electric light meeting last night, correspondence , leading and other matter has had-to he held over,to-day.

Probably not many' farmers, are aware that a durable timber, for'fencing posts can be obtained by steeping p irns insignus in coal tar. The tar is used cold, and the timber is steeped in it for a fortnight and becomes thoroughly impregnated. it has been found-that the posts will last in the ground for years. Dunedin merchants are making enquiries from Southland dairy factories for cheese, but so far as is known the whole output to the end of April and in some eases May, lias been secured. Southern papers record that the local demand for cheese is good and any factory which had parcels to sell now would probably get 7d per lb. “Gisborne is absolutely lucky, and places like invcrcargill, which have thrown out the Edison storage battery cars will regret it because witiiout a d6ubt it is the coming motive power,” said Mr. Wifred Sandlant, who for many years carried on business as a coaclflmilder in Gisborne, when giving an account of his visit to the Edison-Reaeh Storage Battery works .in America.

The many friends of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Waite, of Uoxvan, will regret to learn of tiio death of their eldest daughter, Vera, which took place at Stratford yesterday. The little girl was only seven years of ago. She was taken i'll about a fortnight ago, the symptoms Indicating blood-poisoning, and was brought to Stratford to obta'n the best attention possible, which, however, proved of no avail. Local Chinese, states the Wellington Post, arc now sporting the Bepublican Hags. A local bunting artist has had a sudden and seemingly profitable accession to his business by tne turn of events in China, for ho has scarcely been able to keep pace with the demands for the new llag. Thor© will be a great meeting of the Hung League or so-called Chinese Masonic Society on Saturday, to discuss the present situation in the Flowery Land. Mr. A. P. Harper, of Christchurch, has just received cable advice from London that a company is being registered there, under the title of the Brunner Collieries, Ltd., for the purpose of taking over and working the two coal mines on the Brunner Held— Tyneside Proprietary and North Brunner Coal Companv. The formation of tin; Brunner Collieries is the result of negotiations begun by Mr. Harper about twelve months ago. He then recognised that the consolidation of the two mines on the Brunner held was desirable, the North Brunner Company' being in the position of requiring more capital, and reconstruction being inevitable. Having obtained an option over the Tyneside Proprietary’s mine, Mr. Harper went to England to lay his proposition before the hoard- of directors of the North Brunner Co. The board agreed to his proposals with certain modifications, which Mr. Harper was able to make upon his return to the Dominion a week or two ago. The formation of the Brunner Collieries, Ltd., will mean that the two mines will now he worked under one control. The North Brunner Company’s . mine was shut down in September last, hnt it is anticipated that operations will he resumed at the mine shortly.

The membership of the Masterton A. and P. Association now stands at over 1100. Twenty new mombus «eu elected at Saturday’s meeting.

The Swedish schools are very paiticula.- with resard to the com.. .on of the oliiUlion’s teeth, rocogjusn t! important the matter is. It older to lind out the effect of dental treatment sd,ool cliildrcn hi d.a.rent rceneeds a circular containing a sm-a, ‘of questions was sent out among the teachers in one of the schools in Stockholm, l«rmn the ie■nlics it appears that absence horn school on account of toothache h.n since the establishment of dental slurries been almost nil. A good many of the replies also state that the children are quicker and more attentive since the setting up of the surgeries, and various other improvements from a hygienic point of view has been experienced. The VVairarapa Egg Circle, with headquarters at Masterton is m a flourishing condition, the member - sbip totalling 101. During the las twelve months tlio circle disposed of 36,615 dozen eggs and received 6s Bd, being an average price or Is lifd per dozen. The expenses arao anted to lijd per dozen, leaving c net mice of Is per dozen for the year. During the past year the circle drs posed of 620 dozen eggs to clients o. the Wanganui circle. A motion will be submitted at the meeting this week to have the circle registered as a body under the incorporated Societies Act, 1908. This is thought necessary owing to the growing dimensions oi the circle.

Why should not cats be taxed? Tin question is seriously raised by thf Royal Canadian Cat Club, and it is raised in the interests of the cat itself. The' proposal set out for tin acceptance of the City Council of loronto is that every cat be licensed as dogs arc licensed in England and as cats are licensed in parts of Switzerland. There are, of course, hundreds of well-cared for cats m the homes of Toronto, but there arc also two thousand homeless cats and it is for their better, regulation that the new regime is proposed. They lead the well-regulated cats into disorderly ways by day and night, and they arc moreover germ-carriers. kor one thing the Toronto householder is represented as believing that with the tax system in vogue lie will no longer lose his shoe brush in a futile effort to disperse a feline chorus at night.

The Federal Minister for Home Affairs (Mr. O’Malley) 'intimated lasi week that work would shortly be commenced in connection with the transcontinental railway from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie. When asked if _hr would give preference, to unionists, Mr. O’Malley remarked. My experience has been that the non-unionist slows down the other workers. We receive very few .applications from, unionists, and;-when-1 go to Sydney 1 am absolutely hunted out of my office by npn-umonists. ,Tht;y are all looking for Government jobs, because they cannot get work anywhere else. The other dqy 1 was, walking past a Federal ,‘wprk, and I noticed a non-union-ist lifting a •/,,shovel. It . took, him jahout a’ .minute to get it from the ground ;toi the cart; ;The other, men, who ; were-uni’oui§tS( were doing abpjittin? sanfl>". strike,,l. ; to, onhol" them., /‘‘Pojypu ,consider r tiijs a jt -ff\iy deal ?” and he. replied;' “We all work at"the same speech” My experience is that the non-unionist is no class.”

- According to a recent issue of “La Franco Anstrale,” the anti-German feeling- is. very pfonbunc-sd amongst the natives of Soraoa. According to the New Caledonian journal, “A German planter of Samoa, on his return from, a trip to , Europe, had to seek the, protebtion of , the ' English, police in order to escape a number of infuriated, i women. , liy a brochnre, on' immigration to Polynesia of, which the- planter was the author, ho.had committed the crime of advising his compatriots who emigrated £c take German, wives with them., AngloGerman rivalry has been communicated to the natives, and the coloured population arc staunchly anti-German A club has been formed by the coloured ladies’ of Samoa, which is very exclusive, and few whites and no Germans are admitted. The language spoken is English, and members are pledged to read only English and Australian newspapers. These Amazon: have declared War on the German clement in the Samoan Islands, and intend to send their children to Australian schools. llepently the club held a lingo inaugural taumafataga (picnic) at the residence of Faumcrim. a high native chief of Lepea.” For .some time past the position of retail prices of tea, as compared with wholesale costs has been a matter engaging the attention of traders, state? the Melbourne, “ATrgus” owing to tin great advance which has taken place in the markets throughout the world. A beginning has been made in quoting a definite advance of Id per lb, one of the leading retail firms in Melbourne having raised its shilling tea to Is Id. With regard to the position abroad, it is to be noted that a heavy, increase in consumption luu taken place during the last few years while 'production has not increased in full proportion, and the pressure of ‘demand upon supplies has caused an advance in prices, to the benefit of tea planters in India, Ceylon, Java and other conn tries. The Indian crop for the ‘season now closing is practically the same as for the previous sea-

non, while Ceylon is only two or thru*, million pounds in excess. Tho world’s stocks during the past year ban shown a reduction to much below the normal level. The China crop is certain to -be short, and if the present troubles in China continue it is proliable that the shortage will be* 10,000,00011) to 15,000,0001 b, which may force the price of lower grader up to a still higher level than at present. London was the first to make the advance in selling prices, followed by the big blenders in South Africa and other places, and lastly by Aus tralasia. The pressure lias" been felt in the lower grades of tea, while the retail price for the higher grades remain as before.