LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 26, 24 September 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is stated that many butter factories in the Waikato have refused to accept 12 J d for the season's output, and are demanding 13d. The Minister of Finance has received £ls, "unpaid income tax." sent to the Commissioner of Taxes as "conscience money" from some person unknown in Palmerston North. Over 100 deaf mutes were present at a marriage of two of their number at Christ Church, West Croydon, the other day, when the service was conducted by signs. The libel action in which F. E. A. Gordon claims £ISOO damages from the "Now Zealand Times" Company, Limited, is to be heard before a special jury. Two informations have been laid against sheepfarmors in the Waioawa district charging them with failing to comply with notices asking them to provide additional accommodation at

their shearing sheds. A bookkeeper and stableman, combined, was being questioned'yesterday by the D.0.A., at a meeting of creditors, and it was alleged that a lot of money was spent by the man in question at the Whangamomona Hotel. "I'll guarantee," he said, "it doesn't cost mo Is 6d a week," this when a creditor had said that those "trips across" woro innumerable. "They must be very liberal over there," rejoined another creditor. "Oh, thev are —they are," the man replied with a chuckle.

As high as £l2 per bulb was asked for a new variety ot bulb possessed by one of tiio exhibitors at the MiistOftou bull) snow yesterday. A foature of the Labour Day parade in Seattle was the inclusion of several f embers' of the Ministers' Union in the procession. Six of the clerical gentlemen walked, and four others occupied seats in motor-cays. i-his is tiie first occasion on which the clergymen's organisation has made its appearance in a Labour Day parade. There may bo observed at one spofcJ in the township of Wangauui a liar contrast of_ the apparent semicivilisation of tne European. On the western bank of the river is to _be found a well-established camp consisting of five or six tents inhabited by natives, while in close proximity are the pretty Moutoa 'Graredns, backed by the stately courthouse and other large buildings. The female inhabitants of the tents go about their daily duties with as much careless indifference of the inquisitive glances of the pakemi as though they were far removed from the usual bustle and hurry of town life.

It would seem that Nelson importers suffer in common with importers in other parts of the Dominion from the depredations of cargo pillagers. Last week Mr. W. Lock went to clear a shipment of 6000 cigars from India, and found that fifteen boxes, containing 900 cigars, were missingjrom the centre of the case. . The cigars ,were oacked m'a zinc-imed case, wrapped in three outer coverings, but this did not prevent the pillagers from.attaining their object. A large wholesale firm had a similar experience in regard to a box of tobacco. When about to jo carted away it was noticed to be

very light, and on examination jt was discovered that the whole of the concents had been removed; That mothers of modern days have small families is an assertion refuted to a large extent by the 'investigation now being carried out by the "Commonwealth Statistician says the' ''Sydney Morning Herald"). Mr. Knibbs is making an analysis of the pheuomsna of fecundity *in Australia, 'and, chough be has only recently begun bis work, he has revealed some extraoidinary facts. For the year 1908 a record was achieved by a mother who, in her 23rd year of marriage, gave birth to her, 26th child. In the same year one woman had her-16th child in her 17th year of marriage. Another, hor 17th child in her 21st year of marriage,, and a third her 17th child in her 24th year of marriage. Four mothers had each a 17th child in their 26th year of marriage, and one mother hel ,- 17th' child in her 28th year of marriage. Ih 1911

another remarkable record was achieved by a mother who, in her 26th year of marriage, bore twins, though she had 22 children previously. If a meteor falls on a man's land, is it his, or does it belong to the man who finds it? An Irish tenant found a meteorite one day, and, said Miss Proctor, in a_lecture .in Sydney last week, the owner of the land claimed it, on the ground that it. had. been agreed that all the minerals on- the farm were his. To this the tenant replied that the meteorite was not .there when that agreement was made,,Then the owner of the land claimed it as being flying game, but while he and the tenant were arguing, the Customs ! authorities seized the meteorite, as an j: article from a . foreign country on ! which no duty had, been paid. As a j matter of fact, the Courts in America i -had held that the 'largest meteorite in the world, Aveighing 15 tons, belonged to the man on whose land it was ~found. ' ',_ . ■ ,:■ ■ • Portions of Balmain were in a ' state of uproar late one night recently, owing to charges by a .wild bull, states the Sydney -'Daily Telegraph," The animal first made its appearance

in Mullens Street, shortly . after 10 ; o'clock. It was a magnificent roan, I with majestically proportioned horns. ! With lowered head and a roar of thunder its debut was made from a | side street. Its bellow of rage in- | stantly commanded attention. The , next minute the full import of the low- ; ered head and blazing eyes •were"realised by those in the thoroughfare. A scene of excitement ensued. The stampede was the signal for battle, and with lowered head the bull charged all and sundry who happened in its path. No one fortunately was hurt, and the bull sped on its way "without hindrance. It was next seen at about 11 o'clock in the vicinity of Stephen Street Wharf. Police, mounted and on foot, were now scouring the district determined to end its liberty. It is supposed to have escaped from the Glebe Island Abattoirs. A special mooting of creditors in the estate of McGuire and Anderson, plumbers, of Tauranga, was held last week to consider the report of Mr. Gome, the accountant employed by che creditors to investigate the books, Mr. \V. S. Fisher, the. OhiciaJ Assignee, presided. Neither of the bankrupt was present. The report was doomed to be unfavourable (states the Auckland "Star"), showing that the books did not disclose the bankrupts' financial position; that the profit and

loss accounts showed that there was a considerable sum of money unaccounted for; that McGuire had drawn sums heavier than the business warranted; that he had accepted £l4O from Anderson for the purchase of half the stock when ifc was virtually not his to still; and, further, that lie ha'd used partnership moneys to pay his private debts. The following resolution was unanimously carried: "That the Official Assignee be requested to lay the facts of the case before the Crown Solicitor, with a view to having the bankrupt McGuire prosecuted;" A case 'which had aroused a good cleal of interest was heard at the Magistrate's Court, Timaru, last week, when John llichard Owens was ; charged with having stolen a sack of Hour from the Belford Milling Company. _ The case for the prosecution

was that on August 29 a sack of flour J disappeared from a truck on the comI pany's siding. ' Two men were s-rm dragging what looked like ai sack of flour into a timber yard near the siding, and one witness said that ho -aw the accused and another man near the yard. On the morning of August oj the police searched accused's uouse and found a sack ■ containing flour winch they, alleged was the stolen sack Accused's wife, eaid she-.had been purchasing and 501 b bags from Mr. Miller, agrT cor, and had been stowing the Mir in the. sack m anticipation that her husband might be out of work. The police asked what the woman had doae with the 251 b and 501 b bags, aiitl sho said ho had made clothes "for ' -vsoif and the children. Accused said his wife s statement was quite correct, and a grocer gave evidence that ho sold 1251 b of flour to accused du-ing June and July. This evidence secured the dismissal of the case. An interesting feature was the evidence giv*n by a miller employed bv the Belford Company, who definitely identified a quantity of flour as having been milled b v that company, ,-nd stated that no two millers milled alike, andii man could tell his own flour.

A bad cold unfits a man and is dangerous Tonlrng's Linseed Emulsion positively cures all colds; Is 6d. 2s ckl, •Is 6c. ~

About eighty fanners lave expressed the intention of adopting cowtesting under the supervision cf the Agricultural Department. The Rahotu Dairy Factory has sold its output Of cheese for the coming season to Messrs. Nathan and Co. for 6 9-16 d, and will make cheese from the outset (states the Opimake "Times"). A correspondent writes stating that there was a very poor attendance at the Hawera horse parades on Saturday, and that only local stallions were on' parade. , Tho Eltham Dairy Company have consigned this season's output cf butter and cheese to Messrs. Clementr. and Son, of London. Feilding is jubilant over its recent victories in various fields of contest.. and a project is in hand to hold a social and, dance, at which trophies won in soyeral branches of spore will be presented.

; Thursday next, the day selected for the Daffodil Show, has proved just the right date for the flowers. Some of the best varieties have opened within the last few days, and should be in splendid form on the exhibition .day. Mr. Chas. Goodson, of Hawera, is to judge the exhibits. An unknown man who was found dead in the Thames was strangely tattoood. On his arm was the bust of a vouiig woman, underneath were the letters "L.K.H.," a tombstone and a heart with an arrow through it. At the inquest in London a doctor said it might be that the picture was that of the woman the. mart loved, and that the tombstone was added after she jilted him, The Coroner: 'Rather suggestive, because love often leads to suicide." It was stated that the man was about forty years of age, ami that' he had apparently been m the Navy, Nothing was found in his pocket except< a handkerchief. An open verdict was returned. A workman at the Lithgow blast furnace named Peter Peachey; had a narrow escape from a frightful deatu the,other day. He was engaged clean irig out one of the stoves, he and another workman taking only three nun? ■ut.e* .'shifts, owing to the heat of the stoves. The opening through which the men had to crawl in and out oi the stove wils just sufficient to allow of a man's body to pass through, crawling along On his elbows, and padded as a protection against the heat of the floor. Peachey had done three minutes' work inside the stove, and was passing a flare lamp through the "aperture, preparatory to leaving the, inside. By some means the flare lamp upset and burst into flames. Peachey was thus placed in a dangerous position. To stay inside was to be roirsted, and to try to get otr> of the stove 'he had to pass through the flames caused by the upturned lamp. He-decided to risk the latter, and in getting out had his hands and arms ;yery badly burned.

A correspondent signing himself, or herself, "Alpha," writes as follows to the "Wairarapa "Age" from Dunedin : "To all Mankind—l having■: the power to foresee events which must come to passy do prophecy before all men that before this generation shall pass away, the end of the world shall come, arid all the prophecies of Jesus Christ shall be- fulfilled. The will of God must bo done!" The "Age" adds J we fancy that "Alpha" will sooner or later make the acquaintance of Dr. Truby King, who specialises in such subjects.

. , r rhf?,,A.ustraliah i and. New Zealand Cadets'made' a clean sweep rilj hv the competitions for young soldiers at .Toronto', and at the opening review they were highly praised by the Duke of Connaught for their marching and discipline. New Zealand won the marching and manual drill contests, also the aWdrd for best appearance, securing the thr'ee trophies awarded by the Empire Club,' the Daughters of Empire, and Earl Grey. Australia was first m order of excellence for military accomplishments, New Zealand being second. ',■■...

M. D'Armand Console, the staff photographer of the "Daily Mirror," has just had an exciting balloon adventure. Accompanied by a friend, lie made a flight over the Alps, travelling a- distance of 250 miles in 14 hours!, at art altitude of 17,500 feet, and taking photographs as he went along/ M. Console and his companion 'suffered e. verely from the intense cold, and the former, as a result of the greater exposure to which he was subjected, had ooth hands frozen. The oalloonists landed in Germany, and were not a little taken aback when they suddenly found themselves placed under detentions as suspected spies.

'ln a letter just received from Mr. ■% R. McNab, who is now in Sydney, he states that in searching through the files of early Sydney papers in the Public Library of that city for information dealing with the early European colonisation of New Zealand, and moi'e particularly for the moment with the whaling industry in Cook Strait, ho unearthed a very lengthy "journal" letter giving a detail ac- ., count of the attack by the northern tribes on the Taranaki (Moturoa) pa. in January and February, 1833 (1832?). The account appears' to have been written by one of the ten Europeans constituting the shore whaling party at Moturoa, and who assisted in the defence of the pa, and gives details from day to day. There are five letters in all, so that we may anticipate some considerable light being thrown upon this most thrilling episode in early Taranaki's history. The freezing works stand just about in the centre of the old Otaka or Moturoa pa, which was successfully defended by the local natives, and the whalers against the Waikato invaders. Some ladies, accompanied by a dog, arrived in Napier late one night recently from Wairoa. Worn with the fatigue of their journey, the party wearily wended their way to a board- . ing establishment, where they secured ! accommodation, the faithful cr.nine being relegated to the back yard. Tne ladies were soon wrapped in peaceful slumber, but not so the dog, who proceeded to make*the night hideous by his howls. Finally, the irate proprietor of, the establishment aroused tne

ladies from the arms of Morpheus, and indignantly demanded the instant . cogoval of the offending hound. ReWkt was in vain, and perforce "the ladies rose from their retirement a»d sallied forth in the small-hours of the morning to seek a more convenient resting place for their fourfooted friend. In this quest they were eventually successful, mainly through ,- tile kindly offices of a constable, and a hotel porter, and the cause of the trouble Was deposited on a comfortable bed of-bags at the rear of one of the leading licensed premises. How the occupants of the hotel fared is not on record. . Thirtv thousand British troops were ' recently given a severe test. They had ■' to m'vottae in the cold and rain without fires, and then to march twenty miles along a single road. Wo wish we could get the ladies of this district to nut Crescent Tea. to a severe test. This Ten will come up to expectations because it,i* a good tea, and it is good all the time. , x

Last Saturday the Ngaire Co-opera-tive Dairy Company paid out to suppliers £289 13s od; Lowgarth paid out £1386 which included a j}d bonus from last year. Cardiff paid out £226 8s lid.

It is rumoured locally that the Midhirst Dairy Company is consigning till February and then selling. in. general practice is the exact roverse of this, but authoritative information on these matters is difficult to obtain.

Various county councils have decided to co-operate in approaching the Minister of Public Works witui the object of having prepared, for the use of those bodies, a standard set of bridge plans from, say, 10ft to 100 ft spans, adaptable for all classes ol bridge work.

The secrecy which i sobserved by directors and secretaries cf dairy companies as regards the disposal of their outputs is responsible for many rumours. This morning we were told in good faith that a well-known northern company had sold a good portion of bheir butter at is 3d. It is recognised that this year will see some high prices for butter, but Is 3d for any large quantity is too tall. About midnight last night the police found a youth aged fifteen years wandering on the streets, and after a few questions took the lad to the police station, where he was given a ''shake-down" in the oliice. 'ihe boy had Is in his pocket—enough to pay for a bed—but apparently did not look for shelter until it was too late. He told the police that he had come co Stratford to get work-in the neighbourhood, but had forgotten the name of the man to whom he was to apply for a job. He had spent four suiliings on the Pictures with a girl,.and tno rest of his money appeared to have gone on literature, as "Three i'ears with Thunderbolt," and two books on card tricks and coin manipulation were in his possession. The boy was restored to an anxious parent at, Hawera this morning.

The following story told by "Atticus" iii tile Melbourne Leader will oo appreciated in laranaki. He" writes; -,*curing Show week 1 met quite a huinoer of men from dilforent parts 01 Victoria who Had stones to tell of the curious incompetence of immigrants sent them as qualilied farm labourers. Mr Tudor speaks of such men, who admit tney never saw a cow until they landed in Australia. A Western district farmer and grazier had we iuck to get xvvo or tnree of.ibis sort. One iiacl; undertaken to milK the animal lie never saw beioro, and after ten minutes was found sitting watching then empty bucket under patient Strawberry. 'I don't think it's any gocu waiting any longer,' no said, 'l'll try another. This one must be dry.' fie tried another and anotner,' just putting the pail under them and waiting for the cow, to do the rest, the boss watching operations in silent amazement. Then the new chum made uis confession. 'Fact is, mister, I don't know much about cows. Is there something you turn onF " A man named Alfred Smythe, alias George Ashton, was arrested at Masterton on Friday on a charge of theft from the person, after an exciting chase by the police. A mate oi Smythe's reported to the local police at a late hour on Thursday night that he had been robbed of £l4. Enquiries made elicited' the statement that Smythe had hired a motor-car, and had gone to Carterton. Two con stables left at an early hour that morning, but on arrival at'Carterton, found "the bird had flown." They then proceeded to Greytown, and when about two miles on the Master ton tide of the latter township they overtook Smythe, who made a dasli for liberty. The constables went in pursuit, bur. Smythe was fleet,of foot, and gob clear of his pursuers. He made off in the direction of Papawai Maori pa. The constables followed to the pa, and warned the natives. A little later Smythe was discovered by the natives in a stable. He was immediately pounced on by a stalwart darkskin, and held'captive until the police, who had meanwhile left for Greytown, were recalled. Smythe, who had bad a mauling at the hands of, the natives, oppressed .pleasure at the arrival of the police. He pleaded guilty to the charge, and was committed to Wellington for sentence. For Children's Hacking Cough at night. Woods' Great Peppermint ouro, Is 6d. 2s 6d.