LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 74, 23 March 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Rev. Colin C. Harrison will conduct a farewell service at Toko tomorrow at 2.30 u.m. Tire American Admiralty is just completing the building of a steel collier, which is stated to be the largest collier in the world. She is 542 ft. I (jug, 65H. 'broad, and 39ft. Gin. deep. The Toko settlers’ picnic and sports is to be hold in the Toko Domain on Thursday, the 28th March. An excellent programme has been arranged, providing races for old and yc .mg. A band will be in attendance and an enjoyable outing is promised. The Mission of Inspiration and Appeal, will commence to-morrow at Wesley Church. Townsfolk are specially asked to attend at 11 a.m. at the circuit gathering. Methodists arc expected from each place in the circuit. A musical evening, under the auspices of the Ladies’ Guild, will be held in St Andrew’s Hall, on Tuesday evening, the 26th inst. A first-class programme has been arranged, including pianoforte solos, violin solos, readings, recitations, etc. The Government have purchased Claremont Estate ,(3000 acres) for settlement. The homestead is a large mansion erected by Mr. J. H. Rhodes, and was once taken for a summer residence by Lord and Lady Ranfurly. The property is nine to eleven miles from Timaru. 1 A letter was posted in Auckland about ten days ago addressed simply “Mrs Bailey,” the writer having evidently omitted to affix the full address ior even- a portion of it. The’ post office 'officials, however, nothing daunted, quickly decided upon what should have -been the full, address, and! the. letter found its way''to tile rightful, recipient lat. Petone with Very little loss of time. l l! ' 1 1 The A. and P. Executive met last evening, when minor business in connection with the Gymkhana was gone through, and matters discussed in preparation for the meeting of the general committee this afternoon. 1 The chief business will be the election of a secretary for which office, we understand,’there are a goodly number of applicants.: . The gymkhana, also, .will 'he' freely discussed. ,i! 5 u.‘ ■ : ■ // •!( : b:t ' To have one’s bicycle get out of control, owing to excessive speed and to sail over an embankment into’a.creek fifteen feet below, is an experience which: would cause most people to shudder, even at the very thought of it. A cyclist on Brookes Road came out of this nerve-racking ordeal the other day with not even minor injuries. It was more than a fortunate escape^—it was a miraculous one. Those that are “in the know” are screaming with laughter over a little joke in which several of our most prominent citizen? figure. Mr. A. wished to send a telegram to Mr. 8., who is away on holiday in the north, but did not know the address. He made enquiries, but Mr. C., who was in a position to know, was in a hurry, and replied, “Oh, Pakatoa.” This address was given to Sir. A. and the telegram was duly despatched. Later a reply was sent by the Department: “Can’t find Mr. lb in any of the inebriates’ homes.” Farming at night is the innovation just introduced by E. W. Fowler, who lives 12 miles west ef Lodi, California. Fowler has two crews of six .men each and has been ploughing night and day. Immense searchlights are attached to the ploughs, and the labourers declare that they can see at night almost as well as during the day. An incongrous feature of the work is that when the night crew are eating breakfast at six at night, the day shift .is eating supper at the same table. Fowler is planting 2000 acres of barley, mid has resorted to the novel scheme ef working 24 hours a day in order that he- may get the grain in before the heavy rains. Alterations that are being made to the Lyttelton Post Office consequent upon the raising of the clock tower have brought to light letters that have been lost Tor over 20 years (says •i Press association telegram from Christchurch.) Leading from the clock tower to a room in which private boxes are situated there is a wooden tunnel about a foot square, for the accomodation of the weights suspended from the clock, and in a room on the first floor there is a window looking into the tunnel. When the workmen opened up the bottom of the tunnel recently to clear away some mortar that had fallen into it from the top, they were surprised to see several old letters and one or two ancient newspapers. Further investigation disclosed a bundle of letters tied up as if for delivery. The letters were nearly all post-mark-ed to show that they had been posted in April or May, 1889, and they were all addressed to people in Lyttelton. Some of . the addressees are still alive and residing in the port, and others (officers and men on hom’d ships), have left, hut their names are remembered. Others, again, have d’ed. It seems from the condition of this belated mail matter that -some letter-carrier or deliverer -of mails of twenty years ago has taken this means of disposing of a few troublesome letters and newspapers so ns to avoid the fatigue of delivering them. Poonlc who know the design nf the building scout the idea that the letters could have fallen accidentally into the tunnel. The letters teclnreially are “dead,” but it is probable that the Post Office authorities will do their best to deliver as much of the mail as possible.

In a very short time the Public Works Department will, we understand, !>e running their tram service ci ion an; uiiouioiuuSuui{A\. OI D M 3n °; u ll the Mangere Road. Before the dine .rocs through Whanga township there are some six or seven bridges to be constructed. Beyond that there is another tunnel, and the work on this is now being commenced. Extraordinary revelations regarding the methods adopted by rabbit trappers were made in the Police Court at Auckland the other day, when a rabbitor was charged, on the information of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with keeping live rabbits with broken leo-s. Defendant admitted the offence. Mr. Matthew said there were futures connected with the case that* •probably bis Worship had . never i dreamt'of. The defendant was a rabbiter at Karaka, which was almost uninhabited'. He caught rabbits, among other ways, in rat traps, and. in nine cases out of ten their_ legs were broken. The wounded animals were then placed in a cage until there were enough of them to send to town. The defendant stated that the custom was a usual one in Australia, and no notice was taken of-it. He had no desire, however, to disobey the New Zealand law. His Worship said that ilie act of catching rabbits in such a imanner was, of course, cruel, and must not ,be done. It bad ,however, been done more qr less thoughtlessly. For that reason he would convict him and order him to pay costs (325).