LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 44, 15 October 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

■)L i i-oiff. ■,, *■ .. -.■* p noil,', i 1 ‘A ! MtiiCss; in' A case atj thd HargliVilie 'CpniT'sthtbd'thhtthe.pal'fciciilar l dc’casibh referred* to* lie 'drank ahoht Half ‘a cupful <ff whisky ahd some brandy and lemonade. He had drunk 27 liquors of all kinds in one day, and had not. been so bad as he was this time. It is somewhat of an anomaly tiityfc, to send any small amount down to one shilling to Australia, costs sixpence, while five shillings can be sent to England for the sum of twopence. It is stated that Australia alone in the British Empire will not accept New Zealand postal notes. A row in tho dress circle cf a London theatre was recently reserved for a remarkable family party. A Mrs. Cornfield, a native of Orkney, but now residing in Lincolnshire, attended with her twenty-one sons, eight of whom are in the army. This will remind students of Scottish domestic history of that lady of rank who in the time of James IV. had a family of thirty-four sons, many of whom had been born as twins. At the meeting of the Borough Council last night, Councillor McAlister formally handed over to the Council a framed group of photos of Councillors, encircling an enlarged' photograph of our ex-Mayor (Mr. J. Masters). The work is magnificently done, and the picture is possibly the most handsome of the series, which play such an important part in the decoration of the Council Chambers. The picture comes from the studio of Mr. j. McAllister. On the motion of tne Mayor a special vote of thanks was unanimously accorded Mr. Masters. A fortnight ago the Hobart wireless station received the following message sent by Mr. Sawyer, the wireless operator on Macquarie Island; “At two this morning received a faint signal from Adelie Station. I answered as soon as I could, and also called him for a considerable time, but he did not hear me. The only distinguishable words 1 received were; ‘Please tell Pennant Hills if working,’ and also tho words T cannot call to-night.’ I am keeping patient watch. Conditions arc extremely unfavourable.” This is the first message that has come from the wireless station established by Dc Mawson’s expedition in the Antarctic.

An amusing story printed in New York is that a certain municipal official casually remarked to a newspaper man that he wanted a good rac-trap with which to rid the Town Hall of its rodents. In a day or two, says the storv, this official had a room filled with rat-traps of every description, sent from every point of the limited States. The rat-traps., it is said, embrace every form of killing known to humanity. ' They kill hy electricity, by guillotining, hy ’drown in", by sneezing, and hv suicide. The scheme cf a genius, who declares that he can force the rats to take their own lives, is to sprinkle lye on the outside of the rat-holes. The rats get the Ive on their feet, and it will burn so much, he claims, that they will be glad to lick it off, and thereby poison themselves. Another trap, it is asserted bv the inventor, catches the rat in a vice-like grip and automatically flings the animal with terrific force against a wall fifteen feet a wav. The city official says he,is sorry he mentioned rat-traps now, as he has so much embarrassment of choice that lie cannot decide.

At the Court this morning a firstoffending inebriate, who had spent some eighteen hours in custody, was convicted and discharged. Mr. S. Ward, J.P., was on the Bench. The Minister of Internal Affairs has consented to turn tiro first sod in the work of the Eketalnina water supply, about the lirst week in November.— Press Association. A special general meeting of the Stratford Bowling Club will he hold at the Borough Council Chambers on Thursday evening at 8 o’clock. A special meeting of the Stratford Borough Council is to he held next Monday, loan proposals being the bu-; •siiioss. ' ▼ As the result of the offer of rewards for dead hies, some smart New York boys have devised breeding establishments, where they turn out flies by the thousands. The commencement of summer is being celebrated by the Borough Council in the holding of the monthly meeting at 8 p.m. instead of at 7.30 p.m. There was, in consequence, a great show of excessive punctuality on the part of Councillors. The Chinese prototype of the American Anti-Trust Law is -beautifully brief and simple. It contains but four paragraphs which are as ' follow Those who deal with merchants unfairly are to l)e beheaded. Those who interrupt commerce are to be beheaded. Those who attempt to close the markets are to he beheaded. Those who maintain tiie prosperity of commerce are to he rewarded.

A fire occurred last night in New Plymouth in a house owned by Mrs. B ram ley, of Fitzroy, and occupied by Mr. S. d’A. Grnt, of the Public Works Department. The building was practically gutted. The house, which contained six rooms, was insured for £325 in the United Company, while the furniture, very little of which was saved, was covered to the extent of £175 by a policy in tho State Office. The fire appeared to have originated in the children’s bedroom in the back of the building (says the ‘News’). No one was on the premises at the time. On a recent evening at Whatatutu, a very beautiful lunar rainbow was witnessed by a number of the residents (says the, ‘Gisborne Times’). Precisely at S p.m. a beautiful arch appeared right across tho valley from hill to liill, the colours of the spectrum being faintly visible. At 9 p.m. a second j rainbow appeared, showing the colours [ ns distinctly as in the solar rainbow. The phenomenon is a most remarkable one. The lunar rainbow is a rarity at any time, but with colours is opposed to all. scientific maxims. “I’d do the lot of it in half an hour, and yet it’s being allowed to go on for a twelve-month,” said Councillor Dingle last evening, in commenting on the lack of attention to detail on the part of the authority in attending to the disposal of storm water, and :,)ie consequent spoiling of footpaths. Councillor King remarked that the matter was difficult to deal with, and the, only satisfactory way would be ,by putting in culverts, gn expensive(matTer.. Councillor . King, .who is chairman of the Works Committee, added that.there was the same,trouble years ago, when f Councilor Dinglij occupied this,extaltetl .position, j, ’,j; r ', "j, .: Thei (Prime Minister, has announced in ; the House 1 that no, attempt wiljffie made To alter the constitution of. Iffie ;Arbitration. Court until/existing ip,<3usTfiial - disturbances- .Jiafe[ (been and it is iyepy.ppobahle ciml Labour Bill, of the session ' when j.t/Ts 'brought dbivn,/will ‘lie, 'foufid _to contain little more than a provision making it obligatory on unions to take a secret ballot of their members before declaring a strike. Other Labour Pills' in hand are those which ainvht regulating the housing conditions! of ffaxmill workers, and the Plumbers’ I Registration Bill, which has been in- | treduced by the Hon. R. H. Rhodes. I' Tt'Hs• Vhlobybl’A-■ tlltffj. atTbastr orte’/other Labbtlr .Bill 1 i will l lie ’sUbtiiSttied-td ! The Hoifsb ;thi's l<: ’feessibn/ The ‘Dorukribn’ , */At j .tii e, tjjjristejin re)'.^lagj^ijfas Court/p/.witnesjs toffi., a . stir rang^| ( q\’y of .'fast, driving on .the payt of, .cyclist. He bad a lady; in, car, a ip, ah standing, with .ope foot pu, ( the car and. one on the Imck of tljp py,cjie. 1 His Worship expressed surprise.^says the ‘Press’), and the Sub-Inspector laughed as he added “You’ll see 1 them in a different position presently’, siti” The witness went oh to say that the party approached the Shag Rock'Cavern at a rate of about thirty miles an hour, and nearly shot into the sea. The driver took a sudden pull and saved that; but the wheel of the side car collapsed, and they found themselves in the road, cut and bleeding. The incident closed with a fine. New York’s “human fly” has been •, “swatted” by the police. "While climbing up the outside of a Wall Street, skv-scraper for the benefit of a moving picture film company, Rodman Law, who earns his living by aerial deathdefying feats for the amusement of picture palace patrons, was arrested. The excited crowd of spectators who stepped to see the real thing, instead of being content to wait and pay threepence to view the picture of it, caused such a blockade that the police decided they must remove the cause of the blockade. The arrest was an unexpected tit-bit for the machine operator, who wept with real tears of joy at his good fortune in securing a thrilling film. Quite a unique meeting was held in the Hamilton Presbyterian Church on Tuesday affcernoop (says the ‘Waikato Times’). The church workers had visited all the known old people in the town and invited them to an afternoon service and afternoon tea. Motorears and buggies were provided to bring the old people to the meeting, and, notwithstanding the extremely wet afternoon, there was quite a largo gathering. Mr. Butler sang some touching songs and hymns that were very highly appreciated, and the Rev. A. A. Murray spoke on the 23rd Psalm. Mr. Murray made a very powerful and touching appeal that kindled fond memories of other days, and his kindly words will not he forgotten by many of the old folk who heard them. Tho ladies provide afternoon tea, after which the old people were again restored to their homes.

That coachbuilding is a fine art can easily he appreciated by a glance at a striking and comprehensive display of long-shaft gigs, short-shaft gigs, light milk dray, milk waggon, express and drag, on the premises of the Coach and Carriage Company. A representative of the “Stratford Evening Post,” who was conducted over fho workshops this morning, was asked to note the solid workmanship of the light gigs, so popular with the city man and farmer. Ileal Morocco leather trimmings and Collinge’s steel axles are features of these attractive little “turn-outs,” and, needless io say, they are features which are not ordinarily possessed hy such vehicles. The milk dray and milk waggon, which were under construction, appealed greatly to the eye, while there was no question of their ability to make good even on back-block reads. Alto >etber die display of vehicles is a noteworthy one, distinguished hy attractiveness of design, thoroughness of workmanship —'.oautv and durability combined.

The first private donation ever received by the Stratford troop of Boy Scouts was given to the Scoutmaster yesterday. The Boy Scouts do not solicit contributions to the funds of tho troop, but donations by those who recognise the good work being done and care to materially assist, are never refused. .

There is a persistent rumour getting abroad (says the Waitara Mail) that the butchers at the several meat works intend askin gfor a higher rate of pay, as soon as the slaughtermen’s agreement expires in February next. It was said during last year's strike by a number of butchers that they were only waiting for the expiration of present agreement to demand a v higher killing rate of pay. It will he of Interest to country clients to know that Mr. T. I. Lamason, the well-known auctioneer, intends establishing, in conjunction with his present Mart business, sales of stock; more particularly pigs, ni yards adjoining the Club Stables, the hrst tale will be held on Saturday next. The numerous requests that have been made to Mr. Lamason to start in this direction leads to the belief that the move is a popular, one, and one that will prove advantageous to clients, _