LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 16, 16 May 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At the last meeting of the Stratford District Hospital Board Messrs .Hunter and Lyons were appointed dentists to the hospital.

The Xgaere dance committee will hold the first of its series of combined euchre parties and dances in the Xgaere Hall to-morrow evening, Friday tin 1 17th. inst.

A reminder is given of the _ Strat ford Horticultural Society’s social am dance to be held in the Foresters Hall this evening.

Owing to the inclement weather last night, the team from the Mount Fgmonfc Quarry, which was to have met a Stratford team at cribbage did not make the journey, and the half dozen local men who put in an appearance made the best of things with a friendly rubber.

A very refreshing remark fell from the lips of one of he Councillors at the County Council meeting yesterday. “The settlers,” lie said, “are highlv pleased, and have good reason to be.” The usual remark is “the settlors are highly indignant,” and anyone knowing what the roads and bridges in the hackbloeks are like would add, “and they have every good reason to be.”

Tin? friend,s of Mr Hubert Balfour, creamery manager at Skinner Road, will regret to learn that be died at Stratford Hospital this morning after a short illness. The late Mr Balfour leaves a widow and an adopted daughter, and much sympathy is

expressed with Mrs Balfour in her bereavement. Deceased came to Nea Zealand about twenty-five, years ago.

ami was for some time in Rangitikei. where he married a Miss Hartley. Two years ago, Mr Balfour took charge of the Skinner Road creamery, and was held in high esteem by all with whom he came in contact. The late Mr Balfour is understood to he a son of Major-,General Balfour, of the Imperial Service, and a cousin of Mr A. ,|. Balfour, late leader of the Unionist party in England.

How great a menace is the tsetse fly to the progress of certain regions of Africa is shown in the report of Sir William 11. Manning, Governor of Nvasalaml. The prevalence of the lly

lias made it necessary to close man; important roads against all kinds t> animal transport. One of the highway thus closed to animal-drawn vehicles i the road between Blantyre, the chic (emmereial centre ol the country, am

Zomha, the 1 administrative rapital hut 20 miles of it. or mere than half, has been macadamised in order that motor vehicles can use it ; the work on the remainder is going on rapidly. The ordinarv roads of the country are impass-

able for ox-waggons during the rainy season, which extends from November to May. For this reason a great increase of macadamised roads is desirable. Unless it is provided, the newly-developed agricultural settlements of the protectorate will suffer greatly.

The Xgaore dance committee are holding a series of dances in the Ngaere Hall, the first taking place on the 17th inst. The annual tea meeting and social in connection with St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church takes place on Thursday, May 30th. Yesterday there were three tins of benzine placed in the corner of the Stratford County Council’s Chambers. Is the Council trying to corner the market ? We understand that Mr 11. Barron, of Tututawa, has disposed of his farm of Sot) acres, to Mr F. G. Seymour, of Fielding, the sale he ng effected by .Messrs Ward and Dunlop. At last night’s special meeting of the Borough Council it was decided to put in hand the continuation of the footpath in Hamlet Street as far as tin' Opnnake Road, the estimated cost being £lO. The Manai.a correspondent of the Haw-era “Star” says: A robbery took place at Kanpokonni factory on Saturday night last. It appears that someone unknown! entered a room occupied by the butter-maker, and broke open his box and extracted from it the sum of £37.

As showing the quantity of stock that has been changing hands this sea-

son, says the “Manawatu Standard,” a well-known local firm has put through £20,000 worth of stock more each month this year than last year. Mr E. A. Drake, who has been connected with the proprietary of the Dreadnought Grocery since it was established some three years ago, lias, as from May Ist, become sole proprietor of the business, hie partners having retired. There will be a meeting of the General Committee of the Stratford A. and P. Association on Saturday next. ’! he business of the meeting will be tiie election of new members, the consideration of reports from tiie executive, and general.

1 lie Wellington correspondent of the

“Lyttelton Times” states:—One of the most interesting political portents in an eventful period is a change in the control of the “New Zealand Times.” 1 understand that this well-known morning paper, so long identified with the .Ministerial side of politics, is about to come under the diection of the United Labour Party, with Professor W. T. Mills as one of the active controlling heads. General Terrazas, whose ranch is 225 mdes long, is said to be the greatest live-stock baron in the world. It is estimated that his ranches (he has many of them) embrace an aggregate area of more than five million acres, and supply nourishment for one million head of cattle and as ‘ many horses

and mules. Ten thousand men are required to operate them, and the services of one thousand men are needed to “ride the fences.”

The German paper “Yorwaerts” reports a remarkable case before a Berlin Court, in which an hotelkeeper was sentenced to a year’s hard labour for bribing a workman to take his place in prison. The hotelkeeper had been sentenced to three weeks’ imprisonment for a small offence, and, as is usual, was allowed time to arrange his affairs before going to prison. He used the interval to persuade a workman to serve his sentence for him. The trick was successfully carried out, and was only discovered afterwards by the garrulity of the pretended convict. The workman received the same punishment as his employer. At a Southland gathering there was a weight-guessing competition, and an ingenious half-dozen got the prize by combination. They were all expert in judging weight, and they knew that the weight of a particular fat sheep was somewhere between, say, 701 b and 7511), so they all got tickets, some of them more than one ticket, and put in weights from 701 b to 751 b, going up to half pounds. By this method they were almost certain to strike the right weight, and they did, and scooped the pool, cutting up the prize-money afterwards.

An amusing letter was read at a meeting of the Dunslnxnghlin Rural District Council last month from an Irish girl resident in Derbyshire. “1 should not be an exile,” she wrote,

“if the councillors would only do their duty.” She complained that the occupants of the greater number of the labourers’ cottages in the district were bachelors and would not take good Irish wives to keep the houses in order. The necessity for frequent repairs to the houses she ascribed to the use by the occupants of paraffin cooking lamps, the “curse of the country.” She criticised the council for not forcing the occupants of these cottages tq marry. A return to the chairman showed that the occupants of nearly

all the houses were unmarried. After some discussion an order was made Lhat the tenants get married within three months or give up their houses.

The members of the Mothers’ Club at the University Settlement are going in for calisthenics and dancing this year, says a Sydney paper. Lady

Chelmsford, at the Settlement’s annual meeting, remarked that this was a very good thing. “We have passed the age.” she said, “in which a little after thirty-five women used to put on caps and spectacles and were almost old. Xow, after that age we dance, and play tennis, and do all sorts of other tilings. Nothing can be better for these settlement mothers,

whoso lives are full of business, than to be persuaded to do the same thing. Further, it would be a good thing if they could be persuaded to go out with, their girls to their dances and places of amusement. A great deal of difficulty might be overcome sometimes by their joining together with them in harmless amusement.”

A member of the “Cheap Jack” fraternity had complete possession of Vo-

ael street for over an hour on Saturlay evening, says the Woodville Exuninor. He was a big draw, and had

as an audience nearly everybody who happened to he in town. He was a cute gentleman, and Ids victims were many—absolute mugginses as they wore. The “Jack” started proceedings by offering a young man a pound note for 2s, which deal was quickly effected. Then lie offered certain wares at next to nothing prices, and when business got slack lie throw bundles of stuff amongst the crowd. These consisted of Brnmmagen spoons, brass rings, studs, sleeve links, etc. Then he would offer £2 for £l, and afterwards sold more stuff. He asked if anybody was game to give him a pound for a penny, and the youth who got a pound for 2s handed up his pound—which left him Is lid to the bad. About nine o’clock the “Jack” got off his perch, saying lie was going for more goods, but he did not return. and it was then the mugginses found out how they were victimised. One young fellow had only Is left out of four pound", and he had worked jolly hard for that money. Another victim spent about £7 and had very little to show for it. It was estimated the “Jack” had secured between £OO and CIO dnr’ng the hour he was at work. And the only man who had the laugh on his aide was a well-known blaeksnrth. He had secur'd four bundle!; for nothing and a ‘■.hilling besides to have a drink.