LOCAL GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 23, 24 May 1912, Page 4

LOCAL GENERAL.

T!i<> eolleetions at Holy Trinily C'hureh on Sunday will bo devoted to tin- ]\'l< lanosian Mission. The sitting of tlio Opiinako Pailwav r'onind.ssioii at Okato yesterday only ! i:;tad about an hour. Messrs. C. .Andi.'v.’s, Daily, and two others gave evi- :!( ilcc on the lines of that already ;i. ~;d by the Coininiss : on, in support >f a railway line from Opunake to New Plymouth.

Tim Maori miiuT sonns unfathomable. A native', charged willi lory;hij>; ami ntterini', enlivened the from Lin l police station to the Com thouse by mdulifing in a hop-skip-and-j uin ]). .Mis face was wreathed in smiles, yet ho must have known the seriousness of the charge, since lie had already been convicted, and laid done one year’s “time,” for a similar offence.

On Thursday week as Mrs. A. Bir.■ha", ni' Matapu, with her two chillrun and a young lady friend, were driving into Stratford, the horse took fright and bolted. The wheel struck a hank, on mitering a cutting, and turned the gig completely over, and threw the occupants violently on to tin- ground. Mrs. Ferguson received : fracture, to her shoulder, besides numerous bruises, but the others escaped unhurt. Dr. Paget was called out to attend her, and later ad-lc states that she is progressing favouraid v.

Xot even “Jack Die Kipper” nuirdels produced so much excitement ir. London as Hie sinstcr exploits of the motor bandits have occasioned in Paris, according to mail advices. In drawing rooms, clubs, and cafes, it was the one topic of conversation and so great was the nervousness engendered by the series of astounding crimes Dial no motor could approach a bank or any well known house of business without being immediately surrounded by a menacing crowd.

Someone lias said that “there are nr (facts in Ireland,” but where they <le exist they are stupendous. A Waterford man has just been charged with “having stolen and carried away foui dwelling-houses.” The case has broken down, which seems a pity, because ,ic might have thrown some light upon the difficult question of the construct cion of the Pyramids. It is not long since an Irish railway was found to have been bodily removed, the proprietors intervening just as a local inhabitant had arrived with his cart t( take away the last bridge. r l he musichall joke about the burglar coming downstairs with the billiard-table under his arm would seem pointless to an Irish audience.

Amundsen’s success at the Soutl: Pole lias created fresh interest in North Polar research. Dr. Nansen asks whether explorers would not line a valuable auxiliary in the white polar hear. The same idea had occurred to Amundsen, who consulted Mr. Hagonbock, of Hamburg, about the feasibility of training the bears for draught purposes in place of dogs. Nansen con riders the Polar bear would be an ideal beast of burthen if it wore possible to train him. And therein tin dilliculty lies. His strength and endurance arc incomparable. He could be nourished as easily as the dog. and he can exist for a long time without food,- without loss of strength. Put there is the danger of temper. The bear is not loving, although if ho showed a better nature he might be lovable.'

There were twenty members present last night at the meeting of the Egmoat Club Literary and Debating, Society. Mr. McAllister was voted to'the chair. It was decided that the matter of altering the form of Society tc a mock Parliament bo discussed at next meeting. Mr. H. Wilson' then gave the opening .address, .affirm,nip the principle of Free ’Trader 'tie' 'was replied to by Mr. Morison, Mr. Ward, Mr. Sole, Mr.' La mason (in tile.'affirmative), and Messrs. Masters, King McMahon, Bowditch, in the negative. .After Mr. Wilson had replied a shov, or hands was taken, resulting in favour of- Protection by one vote. Mr. Ward’s proposal that “Is Compulson Military Training of Use to New Zb a land?” be discussed at the next meeting, was carried, and Mr. Sole’s proposal that “Is the Working of tin Arbitration Act Successful . in Nov Zealand?” be discussed at the, meet ing after next, was also carried.. ,

Several of our local members of the North Taranaki Hunt att.mded a meet held at Lepporton yesterday. the Stratford members present. wcr< Messrs. A. J. Davey, J. Ijranigan, am K. Mason, who left Stratford by tin 8.50 a.m., and arrived at the Lep perton rendezvous at 11 a.m., where they wore hospitably entertained lrMr. Sampson, at whose farm the meet was held. Dogs and huntsmen havin; arrived from New Plymouth, togeche. with a good number of members o the Hunt, active operations were com mcnecd. Three hares were put up but no kill resulted. A good afternoon’s sport was enjoyed, uotwith standing, some very stiff country be ing negotiated. It is grafting t. know that all our local sport men kep their saddles although some of the oth ers were not so fortunate. The ncx meeting of the Taranaki Hunt will la held in Stratford on I .-uirsday ncx! when it is to be hoped that local mom bers will show up in good force, and uphold the credit of the district. Tims, wishing to join the North Taranak Hunt should apply to the local secre tary, Mr. A. J. Davy.

Princess Victor Napoleon, daugiue of the la l o King oi i.o .Belgians, :u.( wife of the Pieecn.ler to the I ret cl Imperial throne, gave birtli in March to a {laughter. bags of earth far heeu brought t.-om Prance to tin Brussels residence cn' the exiled Prince so that the child might ho bom on Prcnch soil. An heir had boon hoped for to secure the political inlientante., and it was even asserted that the ■Empress Eugenie would in that case settle a largo fortune on Prince Victor Napoleon’s child to help him support the Imperialist cause. • Princess Victor Napoleon, although a Belgian, certainly shares with her husband the dream of a Napoleonic restoration, and has accepted the presidency of a Preach Bonapartist ladies’ association. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, however, she bases her hopes on a spontaneous change in the disposition of the French nation, and not on llii' intrigues which are said to have been carried on of late between Paris and Brussels.

A Chicago lady lias introduced the new custom of wearing a plain gold ring on ihe little linger of her left hand to indicate that she has been successfully divorced. Which leads the New York “Sun” to remark;—“And v. hat a simple solution of all difficulties is the alimony hand of gold I In a. glance at the left hand all the facts lie as hare to the eye as if the gossip had been followed from rumour to decree. Only a dunce need blunder. Kven the most complicated adventures in matrimony can be adequately represented by the annular system! For that, fresh young thing just toddling out upon the threshold of life, the wife voice divorced, there will be the one modest badge of gold nestling upon r.he virginal little finger. For the twice-divorced, two bauds. Even tlio highest multiples can be accomodated by the use of the remaining fingers, and not the (lightest Chicago adventuress in the laws of combinations and permutations need lack the proper insingia. Of course during divorcehood the third linger of the left hand would ride, naked, upon the Chicago air; but with each fresh endowment of worldly goods, the quaint old-fashioned wedding ring _ would reappear upon the sacred digit.” For Chronic Chest Complaints, Woods’ Great Peppermint "Jure. 13d. 2s 3d.

Jlk> annual monthly meeting of the Joko branch «1 the Farmers’ Union will he held in the Coronation Hall, ’1 °ho, on Honday evening, at 8 o’clock.

Cio:-j<? finishes characterised the foothall matches in which the Stratford teams were engaged yesterday. In tiic senior game against Clifton the Stratford men were beaten by three to ml and the juniors drew with Tukapa, the score being three all, after a hard-tought game. The Inglewood juniors defeated Star to the tune of seventeen to nil.

.1 lio attendance was very good at the Coronation Skating Rink last night, when the Black and White evening was introduced for the first time in Stratford. Ladies were all prettily clad in white and gents in black suits. A full programme was gone through and a very enjoyable evening was spent. At 0.15 a hockey match took place and the teams were so well matched that it ended equal, each team getting one goal. At 10 o’clock .11 present were treated to a sit-down supper by the proprietor, which was greatly appreciated. The rink will be opened to-night at 7.30, when attendants will be present to help beginners.

“Can yon road both English and .Maori?” asked the interpreter, at tho Magistrate’' Court this morning, of a native charged witli forging and tP ler.ng. The Maori was supposed to be partly deaf and dumb, so the question "’as written in English on a pi .eo of paper, and handed to tho prisoner in die dock. Prisoner read the charge oyei’ slowly, and added: “Can’t read.’* ibis was rather disconcerting if a in.ie humorous. Finally accused admitU'd that ho could read Maori but not English. “Ask him,” said the Magistrate, after a consultation with the police, “how it was he was able to read the newspaper this morning.” ilns was done, but, cl course, prisonIT could no longer understand anything, and his written reply was quite unintelligible.