LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 49, 22 February 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Operatic Society held a more successful practice on Monday evenUp to the present the parts chosGii are Josephine (Mrs. Rciiiie-1), Sir Joseph Porter (Mr. F. Dunlop), Ralph Rack-straw (Mr. E.W. Lewis), Captain Cochrane (Mr. M • )’ Dick Dead-eye (Mr. F. Wilkie) Hie chorus numbers fifty voices, and the other parts of H.M.S. Pinafore will lie allotted shortly. The conductor, Mr T. G. Grubb, expresses lumselt as entirley satisfied with the progress made.

A singular gold discovery is reported from Gordon, near Ballarat, in Victoria. It appears that two men while crossing a paddock, stumbled upon a small round hole in the ground. A shaft was sunk ten feet and a reef was cut showing gold in the stone d’sh prospects showing nice gold. Tho reef Inis already been tested on the surface; and proved to be goldbearing for a length of over 150 ft. A lease 1 rfas applied for at once.

Few peoplehave any idea of what ‘‘tips” represent to some of the lucliy .recipient's., A \vgiter of Agtor j House retired a fortune, of £20,001) and the head 'waiter, pf tho.,WaJdorf Astoria owns a racing stable, a motor car and a steam yacht. In Vienna, again, the colours of another prominent head waiter are among the most prominent on the, racing field._ The head boots of a famous hotel in the Trossache is said to have amassed £17,000 in live years. ■ The over-crowding of tramcars in Auckland is becoming a grave peril. The traffic inspector in reporting upon the'matter, explained .that in • cars where under old conditions the stand ing was limited to 10 or 14, he found 28 standing inside and 23 on the platforms; He citied two incidents of accidents .through standing oh platforms. He further mentioned that owing to the unsatisfactory and incomplete condition of the Tramways acts and amendments he found it difficult to know how to act, as the trams were not licensed. Small birds are said ( to be unusually troublesome in the Hutt district this season. Blackbirds and thrushes are phenomenally plentiful and are causing great destruction of fruit. After tho cherries the plums are attacked, apples also suffering immediately they show any signs of ripening. Some farmers blame the season, being under the impression that everything is upside down this year. In defence of the thrush it may j be mentioned that it attacks snails, and in that direction it benefits gard-| oners, even if it is fond of fruit. There is a quaint reference to the! birth of the cotton trade in a London commercial petition of 1021, which mentions that “about 20 years before divers people of Lancaster found out tho trade of making of other fustians made of a kind of bombast or down, being a fruit of the earth, growing upon little' shrubs or bushes, brought into this Kingdom by the Turkey merchants from Smyrna, Cyrpus, Acra, and Sydon, but commonly called cot-: ton wool.” This fruit of tho earth”, found refreshing soil in Lancashire, j The present Federal Governor-Gen-eral and hie wife are making a decided name for themselves in the matter of floral decorations held at Federal Government House, Melbourne. During the Cup festivities, and at all the subsequent parties, floral display has been a special feature of the gatherings. Melbourne florists of course, welcome thesp unlimited orders for roses, or whatever flower can be procured in sufficient quantity, as Lady Denman likes if possible, to have the rooms done with one flower. It is not unusual for four or five persons to be employed for the entire day, before the entertainment, banking up window-sills and festooning walls and doorways and staircases with roses. An old man was picked up by the police on the roadside at Sunshine, near Melbourne recently. Ho was in a helpless condition, and the officers eonlcl find no papers about him which would-lead to his indontification, but, wrapped in small parcels, was found the sum of £llß Ss 2d. There were 118 sovereigns, which were sewn into the lining of the old man’s clothes, the cloth being rotten with ago. The majority of tho sovereigns were imbedded in cobbler’s wax and dirt, and had evidently been in his possession loi many years. Ho was exhausted from want of foot} and exposure, and the police had him removed to tho ivleJ bou rne II ospital. An interesting ease of appeal was brought against the decision of the Stipendiary Magistrate by tho county ranger at Dannovirke a few days ami Nie point involved was whether' when a stray horse was seized hy tho rangj' r on i> country road and Gie owner wanted to release under _ section two of the Impounding Act Amendment Act, 1908 l’° nu, sf pay driving fees to the nearest, pound or only for the actual d stiiuco the animal has been driven from wnero it was seized until released. The S.M. decided in favour of the latter contention, hence the appeal of the Dannevirko County Council, which the Judge allowed. /■>

Mr. A. Crooko has been appointed permanent Stipendiary Magistrate at New Plymouth. Lord Islington was on luesday m<riit initiated to membership of the Loyal Kilbirnio Lodge, Manchester Baity, Indepndcnt Order of Oddfellows. Mrs. E. Nix, of Apiti, was found dead in bed at the house of a friend ;»i Feilding yesterday morning. She had been suffering from heart disease, which was the cause of death. A meeting of the Toko branch of tI)A Farmers’ Union will be held in tho Coronafon Hall, Toko, on Monday evening at 8 o’clock, when entries toi the root-growing competitions will definitely close. The insurances in connection with the Inglewood fire are:—Building, New Zealand £650, United £600; stock, United £IOOO, Sun £IOOO. Northern £IOOO, State £7OO, Liverpool London and Globe £SOO. The Napier Harbour Board resolved to engage Mr. T. W. Kelle, Commissioner of the Sydney Harbour Trust, and Mr. E. A. Cullen, Brisbane, to report on the inner harbour proposal, and the maintenance of a channel. The Huntly School Committee, on the casting vote of the chairman, resolved: “This committee being opposed to militarism, declines to gyant the application of the Defence authorities for the use of the school for the training of Territorials. The Norwegian barque Thora arrived at Gisborne on Tuesday night. She was drawing 16ft 2in., and is the deepest draught vessel yet to enter tho harbour. She got stuck, but is expected to be able to come right up to tlie wharf on the morning tide. A young married man named Chas. Ryland, 22, was killed in a gravel pit at Wanganui yesterday morning. He was working with two others, when a fall of earth occurred, deceased s escape being blocked by a hand cart. ■ The others were unhurt. Ryland was a prominent amateur oarsman, and was-to have rowed‘in the regatta tomorrow. A man and woman now in Sydney are believed to be identical with two foreign escapees, alleged to have lert England in the latter part of last year after having obtained several thousamis of pounds for a Mexican gold mine. Tlie couple were traced bv Scotland Yard to various Continental cities, and finally to an Australian mail steamer, but too late to effect an arrest, as the couple had already landed in Sydney. They are supposed to have brought with them a large sum in Bank of England notes, which, it put into circulation would probably lead to an arrest. Four confederates wore arrested in Birmingham in connection with the flotation, which is supposed to have returned .a sum 0f£50,000. . - ; ‘ “ • Estimates have of late been a sope • point with members of the : Stratford ;;j ; „ County 1 Council.- At yesterday’s- meet- n ■ iug Councillor Walter got; up and tackled- Councillor Thomson-for stat- , , iug that he and the otherl members in, ids riding : had-.-neglected £heir.<Juty.in hot' preparing estimates > i of». the Aamount of' l work required to fix .ijheir •r.-riVcW. 1 He said-it was a great pityj, ], T'liete were not! half a dozen,: oifia dor p- ■ AqnV’little-Thomsons,; to goirpund: thef t . voifdsßand get estimates. -He jdid.npt fep.t tliiuk it was their duty to go round 1 A -v and interfere with the . workmen. A long discussion ensued (the Chairman called it a civil war), but members were not'-satisfied at the end Councillor Thomson remarking that he--*-bud been called a liar—indirectly. An unusual procedure had to be resorted to in the Supreme Court at Wellington one day recently to secure the services of b’fiTjyelygeflWft) v/.-i bad already been-,taken from-the pppel,.-.-.T; for anpther case', and ,-a-r nutahef, <?£■ ,e; others.' who had served at’ >tßp;.former, tviif of the accused were;/excluded*;T m When the panel. was - exhausted, ten ,(()] men had been chosen. A second'panel , .- t! f rf those who. had;.-been “stood aside’Lui:,. by the Crown Prosecutor , yielded,. another. It appeared 'that the jury would have to be discharged and a new : , n panel summoned, but the Crown Prosecutor (Mr. Ostler) suggested that the doors of the Court he closed and a talesman selected from among the persons behind the barrier. The JudgQ agreed to this, and the assistant-reg-istrar soon obtained the names of half a dozen spectators eligible for jury service. From these a twelth man was soon selected. A young lady who lived in Napier up till quite recently, and became fairly acquainted with the “high society” of Bluff Hill (states the Telegraph) was betrothed to a Sydney gentleman. The wedding day was fixed, and presents and good wishes received from various sources, many from Napier. Several local residents were even invited to the ceremony, and preparation had been made by them for ordering new dresses. Before leaving Sydney the bridegroom-elect was also the recipient of many good wishes and presents. On arrival at • Wellington, however, after an absence rf some two years from his finance, lie did not altogether meet her with approval, and was informed at the eleventh hour that “she would not marry him.” Telegrams were despatched to stop intending guests journeying to the capital city, and, it is stated the presents were returned. A short aside discussion relating to the improvidence of Maoris, arose during the hearing of a case at the Weihngtou Supreme Court. Mr. C. B. Morison, one of the counsel-in the case, said bis experience over a long period was that the percentage of Maori land purchase money that was not put to rational use was very small. Generally / the greater part of the money was banked and a “splash” made with the remainder. “I don’t know that the average of improvident Maoris is greater than among Europeans. Many Maoris Have large bank accounts and look after them well.” Mr. Justice Chapman was not quite of tho same view. In the South Island, ho said, where the natives were supposed to be somewhat more civilised, you would often find cases where a native owning land had leased it and forfeited the rent for three years ahead to procure stores. Two young men went out flat fishing on a recent night in the Manakau harbour above the Mangoro bridge, , 1 and at low water about 8 o’clock got on to a -small island jn the centre of tho harbour. They became so interested in catching fish (says tlie Auckland “Star”) that they did not, observe the rise,of the tide until about 10 o’clock when they suddenly discovered they were surrounded. Both young fellows attempted to wade ashore, but the water was too deep and they quickly found themselves up to the neck in ,i. rising tide. They immediately cried out for help, and were heard by Mr. Saunders, manager of the Union S.S. Co., at Onehunga, who, with others, got a boat and rescued tho young fellows from their perilous position. Had they rot done so tlie fisherman must have been drowned as the island is always covered by tlie ::de before :> is half ifi-A. As soon as they got ashore they cleared off without as much as thank- \ ing Mr. Saunders and his fellowhelpers for rescuing them, '

Mr. Charles Sanders intends leaving in the course of a week or two on an extensive tour of America. The certificates awarded prize winners at the Stratford A. and P. Association’s Show are available at the office, in Broadway. Mr. Les. Little, manager of the New Plymouth branch of Bellringer Bros., passed through Stratford by the mail train this morning en route for Hobart, where his parents reside.

, A local Celestial had some pears -•■ which he labelled “Sweet William ■Pears 3d lb.” They didn’t appear to sell very well, so are now labelled, “Very Sweet William Pears.” In his anxiety to go one better, the Chinaman is akin to an bid shoemaker, who, when his rival in trade put up the sign “Mens conscia recta,” affixed to his own window, the legend: “Men’s and women’s conscia recta.” Following are the latest additions, erasures, and alterations to the Stratford Telephone Exchange list:—New subscribers: No. 86, Messrs. Ward and Dunlop; No. 105, The Convent; No. 115, Davison, A. A.; No. 160, Messrs. Morey and Son; and No. 178, Egmont Club. Connections given up: No. 105, Priestley, H. S., and No. 160 Hudson, R. T. Connection No. 77, Commercial Hotel, has been transferred from Lovett W., to Sullivan, Mrs. N. His Worship the Mayor leaves next week for Auckland, where he will attend the annual conference of the Wesley Church, which takes place in the first week of March. The Rev. C. C. Harrison will also attend the con- , ference. Mr. Harrison’s' term of office will be one of the matters to be attended to by the conference. An American Consular report states that in Tacohow a correspondent saw some strange industries. One was the keeping of large stags as big as a fairsized horse, reared for the sake of their horns, which are cut off every summer and sold for as much as £7 for use as medicine. The horn is soft and the softer it is when removed the higher the price realised. The other was the raising of the machi, a sort of large pheasant, the tail feathers of which are very valuable, as they are needed for the dress hats of mandarins.

Are pledges made before the elections by politicans always observed? In the majority- of cases there is no doubt a strict observance, but it -is well known how frequently some men break their pledges. There are- often big promises made, and,as often these promises are broken. It is a different matter , with the Empire Tea Company’s Teas. Thei’e are five blends, the “Dragon,” “Elephant,” “New Cresy,cent,” “Crescent,” and the “Mikado,” and each: ;has a distinct flavour which never varies. Every package is exactly as, represented as regards full weight and full strength. A meeting of the committee of the Taranaki Provincial Scottish Society was held m Mr; D. Butchart’s shop last night; ll The principal business done was 'the drafting of the rules' for the society; These will be submitted to m ■meeting of members at a later date.'- A' crest < for the society, was also adopted. This may be de-. scribed as-a.. Shield halved laterally, in the uppet' half Mt.; Egmont,! in the lower a lion rampant, the whole surmounted bya-thistle. -It .was decided to admit lady members to the society, and a good deal of discussion was given to the ways and means of holding social evenings, literary readings, etc. It was definitely decided to hold, .a social and'danbfe in the near future, the exact date to be fixed later. Mr. W. L. Kennedy, the president of the society, was in the chair. Harvest thanksgiving services (Wesley Ghutch)’ are l advertised to-day for Stratlfbtd'j , Cardiff,: and-TCahouri Bridge, oh* Sunday next. Arrangements ard'hbihpletedbfor the jumble sale on TuesdaynextTopenS to o and 7 to ,10). \ l: About -£6o> worth of goods Will be offered for sale. Some ‘novel and amusing competitions will be‘ del. The youngmen and ai> tv >rovide afternobn tea i and supper. * A fish-pond and 1 bran-tub will ! be heady for the children. All the goods have been donated. They ax - © a miscellaneous lot. including two sheep, a pig, a 101 b cake, 12cwt potatoes, pictures, produce, fowls, frames, toys, dresses, jam, and drapery parcels. His Worship the Mayor will open the sale at 3 p.m. in the Old Masonic Hall, to which there will be free admission. An inquest was held yesterday afternoon at York Road, on the body of Rose Frances .Potroz, found drowned in a well the previous day, before Mr. Sidney Ward, acting-Goroner, and a jury. The first witness was the mother of the deceased, who stated that the child was playing in the front of the_ house while she was en-

gaged in her domestic duties. She had missed the child for five minutes, ’f and asked a lad, France Burkett, who was staying at her place, to have a look for .deceased. Burkett, in evidence, stated that he searched the drive and .other places, and then decided to look in the well, where, to his. astonishment, he found the deceased floating head downwards. He immediately informed Mrs. Potroz, and 'she_ instructed him to run to the schoolmistress, Miss Jomison, who tried artificial respiration till Dr. Steven arrived. He pronounced life to be extinct. A verdict of accidentally drowned, no blame being attachable to anyone, w ; as returned. The jury placed on record their appreciation of the services rendered by Miss Jemison in the unfortunate occurrence.