The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMOUT SETTLER SATURDAY, APRIL 6,1912. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 84, 6 April 1912, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMOUT SETTLER SATURDAY, APRIL 6,1912. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

> Ypy< few/ are. surviving :of the ;old Jgog't boys who flourished in the iea?'ly paijt of last century. The Chatham "News" however has discovered one. His name is James Fox and he lives at Bush Street, Chatham, his age being ,90. In his early days he was a postboy, and his chief employment was to convey foreign despatches to "The Times" newspaper. Five postboys were employed in the various stages of the journey from Dover to London, and the' V2 i 'miles 'had'to. be completed on'horseback ih'six hours'. Fox took up the running' fjro'm : Dartfbrd'.'' ; He: subsequently became a postilion, and' Queen "Victoria, the' Prince Consort, King lildward (then a boy), and other Royal personages travelled by'coaches .which he worked." '■ !l

A member of the Stratford Gun Club shot a shag a few days ago over a pond olose to Stratford, which, on being opened, disclosed the presence of several fairly large' perch. The shag measured, from wing-tip to wingtip, 4ft Gin. As a devourer of perch, young trout and other fish, this gormandiser of fish-flesh is well known, and cases are on record where alarming numbers of young trout have been found in their stomachs. It may be mentioned that gunnists will ] do a great service to the Acclimatisation Society by, using their best endeavours towards the annihilation of these enemies of the piscatorial race; and it Is worthy of notice that the Acclimatisation Society pays a shilling for every head of a shag delivered.

With a view to improving the public taste in architecture the New South Wales Institute of Architects is moving in the direction'of securing registration only of those who prove themselves competent by examination to practice as architects. Alluding to the subject in his recent presidental address, Mr. G. Sydney Jones said that it was often forgotten by the public that an architect was in a position of J.rust. He had the handling and disposal in his client's interest of very Large sums of money, and it was one of the easiest things in the world for an architect to be unfaithful to his client's interests and to enrich himself by so doing. The registration of architects aimed at prevented this by compelling the unscrupulous architect to act honesty by his client. By mean;of such a measure the public welfare in matters of aesthetic construction would be fostered. He added that.'the most conservative body of architects in the Empire—The Royal Institute of British Architects—had lately decided in favour of registration. Dunedin folk are said to be slow, but it would seem that when they become owners of motor cars they arc only a little less than fiends for speed. They sometimes go so swiftly, indeed (so it is said), that policemen in country towns cannot "take" the car number. But it is said that policemen have no reason to complain about the excessive speed of motorcar drivers. Some time ago the good folk of Palmdrston were enlivened by a sight of a car which passed through their town like the wind. It held a party of detectives who were racing from Dunodin to overtake the express at Oamaru. They caught the express, and the fame of the car spread far and wide. A week later the same car was commissioned by a party of citizens who desired to do the detectives' trick. On this occasion a policeman by the wayside had great eyesight, and '"took" the number. The driver was summoned before a .Magistrate and fined for driving at an excessive speed.' This story was tol'J at a conference of motor-car owners and members of county bodies recently,'and it appeared to lie thought that the rate of speed had not been excessive, if the fact that the express: was overtaken were offered as proof, A motorist remarked that anybody could catch, the express at Oamaru.

The Stratford A. and P. Association arc arranging a visit to the Moumahalu State Farm at an cully date. All those desirous of atte-i iiog shoui-' give their names into thj secretary i s soon as possible.

The mail train passed the Vow Plymouth-Hawera train last n gtrr. at Eltham, instead of Str-itfjrJ, rnd war; consequently half-ati-liour ornae late. When it did arrive the leu'on was apparent; even the. two ong.nnß seemed incapable of hauling the crowded carriages.

At the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr. 0. .1). Sole, J.P., :i statutory first-offender, but a prohibited person, was fined 10s, on a charge of drunkenness. On the more serious charge of a breach of a prohibition order, he will appear before Mr. W. G. K. Kenrick, S.M., on Friday next.

The latest extravagance in footwear is seen in a London shop, where shoes made of the breast feathers of humming birds are exhibited, priced at £SOO the pair—the highest price known for shoes without diamond or jewel settings. The making of a rjaif of humming-bird shoes takes six months,

The old adage about looking before you leap is applicable to most things, as an old offender found out the other day when he asked a member ol the local police force for a mere threepen-ny-bit to make up the required sixpence. The sequel occurred this mornr when Charles Hewald, alias Charles Botchell, came up before Mr. 0. 1). Sole, J.P., on a charge of soliciting.' He was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon. There are more pleasant things for children to eat than cordite (says a Sydney paper). At the Ballarat school a boy banded round what he called iellv'bars, and his bench-mates ate them with avidity. After a few minutes thev were troubled like litwillow. having a pain in their little mf.ides, and finally a dozen of them became seriously indisposed. Then it was discovered that- the juvenile host had extracted a quantity of cordite from some cartridges he had found. Jelly bars will not find ready lakers at the Ballarat school for some little time. ■ There is a sneak thief in Maniototo who prowls about with a cart at nf'ght, backs it up to some farmery fence, and, rounding up the tanner s sheep, appropriates some of them to his own use by carting them away Hi his vehicle. The Mount Ida Chronicle" savs that the wheel marks can be plainly seen, and tufts of wool are in'evidence on the fence where the sheep have been lifted into the cart. A local resident is offering a substantial reward for the detection of the nocturnal marauder. A writer in the New York "Evenin o- Post" gives some remarkable figures, showing the vogue of golf m the United States. American golfers buy six million golf balls a year, at an averao-e cost of 75. cents (3s lid) each. The clubs employ at least 500 professionals. Some of them spend a large •amount on their permanent plant. At Nassau the club-house alone .cost about £20,000. The Lake Shore Comity Club at Chicago has spent £LjO,OOO oh its course, club-house., andTockerrooms. • In the whole country there are USO golf clubs proper, m addition to 760 summer; and'winter, resort 'pi'iibs. ; - ; <■■' - •' '.'■ '■'■' H The theory that eels at' [times mig- : i rate overland , was,' supposed 1 to ' have received'confirmation" the- ,other day, says the "Patea Press," when erley resident assured our representative that he bad been given a fourfoot eel which bad been found crossing the road, near the racecourse.',' some distance from water. Several papers have screamed at the idea, and have drawn marked attention to the fact that "there was no water in the locality.'! However, the sequel proves rather" disastrous to . the' theory, de;spitc the fact that'the eel';was ; found on' 1 the road', for an unsophisticated native has feome to light who affirms that on' the' morning in ' Question—"Py korryll lose the fine tuna, Out of, my cart, near the Waverlcy racecourse." , '■; ;,| Cable information has jusc ueen 'received of the appointment of (.Vmmissioner Richards ks Com miss, onc-r of the Salvation Army in New ?:< alahd. As a good many f,f "iir readeis know, the Salvation Army n New Zealand was attached to the Australian command. It has now been indurated, and Commissioner Richards is the first to command the reorganised New Zealand forces. The North and South Island have each been .iiviled into twqj d : visions. making four in i/il. I ■ I'liussioner Richards has been ;n charge oi: the Salvation forces in South Alri'.'a, but for the last year has Keen traveilhig in various parts of the wor d f.g a special plenipotentiary of tlie Army. The Salvation Army is to be congratulated on the appointment of so able an officer as its first Commissioner for Now Zealand.

On the long sandy beaches of the Far North (writes the Houhora correspondent of the "Auckland Herald"), a solitary figure may he seen closely scrutinising the strand as he walks along. Few would suspect that he was following his calling, hut he Is: he is looking for ambergris. Tins secretion of the sperm whale is often cast up on our northern coasts, and being*valued in perfumery, the lucky finder can always obtain a ready market for his spoils. Its value vanes with the quality; some species will fetch over £4 per ounce, while other;; will realise only a few shillings. Beachcombing for ambergris gives occupation to more than one in the Far North. Not so long ago a waggoner drove over a piece of ambergris, and had no idea what he had missed. Shortly afterwards another man came along,' recognised the substance, and realised over £I7OO on his find.