LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 97, 19 December 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At a clearing sale at Croo.v -aon (Otago) two Clydesdale mares soil ai £l4l and £92 respectively.

The largest cheque received by - supplier to the Masterton Dairy Company’s Butter Factory, for the niontl of November, was £133 12s 9d. A Manawatu farmer stated lasi week that since the advent of tint weather—a matter of eight or mm days—his milk returns had increased 11,v 3001 b.

The Pensions Department is paying the Old-age, Widows’, ’and 1 ' Mihtan Pensions (under the new Act) on 31s. December, instead of on Ist Janu ary.—Press Association. A Wellington wire states that tin Mpourika, which had been hung u] there for 32 hours with a full loinple ment of passengers, got away at mid night, the necessary firemen Having been secured.

The Mangorei Dairy Company wd pay out for November the sum o £3(j|l 3s 7d to its suppliers; Mo a £5147; Maketawa, £1560; Lepperton £1023; Kaimata, £840; Tariki O- lo Tarata, £434; Oakura, £IOO3 4s 3d.

Something like a record numoei' m immigrants are on board the phaw. Savill liner-Mamari, which is duo at Dunedin from London on J)ecem hoi '/!■ Altogether there are 525 passengers, the northern portion of whom «ill oc transhipped to coastal steamers. The Education Board has giamed eight months’ leave of absence to jUss E. Pearce, assistant at Wauv.ra to enable her to visit England ana America. The following appointments were confirmed: Miss May Moir, sole teacher, Mangaehu; Miss W. Jernison, assistant, lariki; Misr p L Smith, head teacher, Kainnro; Mr E. C. Larsen, head teacher, Okato

The New Zealand Herald reports that such good progress has been mack with the erection of the new high power wireless station at Awanm that the telegraphic engineer (Mr E. M. Baird) stated that a commencement would ho made with the tests during the present week. They will be very comprehensive, and will extend .over a period of about three weeks.

The Wavcrlcy Co-operative Dairy Co. decided to pay Is Id per Ih for inittor-fat for the month of November, and milk cheques amounting to £1938 were passed for payment. The largest milk cheque passed was £237, foul others exceeding £IOO. The Motoroa Company paid lid per lb for butteifat for the November supply, the milk iccheqnes totalling £298 8s 7d.—Pater. Press.

Mr P. Skoglund, chairman of the Stratford School Committee, is in receipt of an invitation from Waitara to hold the annual picnic at the river port. A liberal offer of free launch trips, with milk and hot water gratis, and every effort being made for the convenience of the crowd, are embodied in the communication. M aitai'a s “boost” scheme missed the committee’s meeting by a few hours.

The Foxton paper says that the other day a local resident was making frantic' attempts with the aid of a stick land a kerosene tin l to induce a swarm ,of what he considered were honey bees to settle somewhere in the vicinity of (his residence and halt! a box ready in which to imprison the insects should they alight. 11 is efforts not being ■crowned with success, be obtained the '•assistance of a neighbour, who, on arriving at the scene, found that the •swarm in question was comprised of grass grubs. While Mr W. Thompson, road contractor, was engaged in cutting away a portion of road at Waitoa a feu days ago, he unearthed the skeleton of a full-grown human body. r i lie remains had evidently been roughlv interred close to the roadside. The hones wore found two feet from the surface. It is considered that the remains are those of a white man says die Nows). The skull contained a complete set oi teeth in an almost perfect state of preservation. An old resident stated Hurt many years age a man was missing and was last seen close to the Waitoa river.

Mrs God ley’s New Zealand cadet musketry prize fund now amounts to £I4OO lis Gd, plus a few cups as trophies. The Timaru Herald states that the decision of the Borough Council not to allow picture entertainments on Christinas night is causing a good deal of adverse comment in the town, many people expressing the' opinion that the action of the council is an unjust one. Although neat the end of the financial year, the Kketahmia County Council is in the happy position of not paying interest on an overdraft. The statement submitted at the meeting on Saturday showed that the county fund was £209 os 10d in credit. The receipts for the past month totalled £207 7s 7d. Accounts amounting to £207 os 7d were passed for payinq*.

The site of the training college which the. Salvation Army in New Zealand has decided to establish as a memorial to the late General Booth (says the Post) will be in Aro street, near the junction of that thoroughfare with Ohiro road, and within a stone’s throw of the Wellington Bowling Club’s grounds. The Army has purchased nearly an acre of land from the Richards estate, and two cottages standing thereon will be removed to make room for the college. The master bakers of Dunedin have added id to the price of the 41b loaf. The cause of the “rise” is attributed to the fact that the cost of production and distribution has been materially increased under the new award, which gives journeymen from 10s to 15s more than they received under old condithough they will put in three hours’ less time. It is said that in some bakehouses the wages sheet is greater by £lO. The Rev. Father Menard had a strange experience whilst on his way to attend the obsequies of the late Father Costello, Palmerston North. Somewhere between Kakramea and Patea the rev. gentleman’s (who was riding a motor) goggles got out of focus and in adjusting them the cycle got out of control and the rider was thrown, heavily on the road cutting his face and injuring his hands. On going to a neighbour near by he was surprised to find the inmates were in great need of a priest,to affieiate in sacred office.

“Who does the cargo pillaging?” asks a' Dunedin paper. iA. case of glassware was landed at Dunedin from New York recently, consigned to Temuka. The owner discovered on opening the package that some of the glassware had been replaced with bricks. The importer sent for one of the bricks, took it to a local expert, and had it positively identified as the make of a Hudson River firm. The evidence is fully satisactory that the pillaging was done in America. If all the truth were known perhaps it would be proved that very little pillaging is done in New Zealand. The Rotorua Times, feeling possibly as if it were awarding a Christmas present to New Zealand, exclaims in headlines:—“Monoplane for New Zealand. The Wimmera is Bringing It. A Treat in Store for New Zealanders. Sydney, Dec. 4.—The Wimmera has sailed for New Zealand with the monoplane Donquex on board.” Very curiously the sub-editorial imagination in all the other New Zealand papers saw no soaring airships in the cable skeleton, and so just headed the item : —“Horses for Auckland. Sydney, December 4.—Monoplane and Don Quex were shipped to Auckland by the s.s. Wimmera, which left to-day.” Which seems to fill the bill. It is a severe disappointment, however, that the .Rotorua Times’ par is not the true interpretation. A few airships wouldn’t be unwelcome even if there were fewer racehorses.—Exchange. “It so happened that he was the principal policeman of the Dominion,” ■said the Hon. A. L. Herdman, at the Civil Service Dinner at Christchurch on Saturday evening, “and he had recently spent some time in some gaols. In the Wellington Terrace gaol he had been told that the favourite hymn of the prisoners was the one commencing, ‘We love the place.’ (Laughter.) In the Lyttelton Gaol, which he had visited that day, he had been told that the favourite was the one ‘Open wide the gates.’ (Renewed laughter.) Speaking a little later, Mr (I. Laurenson, M.P., added another good story. Once when he was in the gaol on a visit lie had been shown a letter in which a prisoner complained about the Salvation Army coming and playing such hymns as, “Where the gentle shepherd guards his flock,” while the warder marched up and down on the wall with the men decorated with the butterfly design incarcerated below!

A small boy was the central figure in an interesting scene in the Central Police Court at Sydney last week. His mother, a young women, entered the court with a baby in her arms, and proceeded to make a statement concerning her husband, who was in the dock on a charge of wife-desertion. Tho little son clung to his mother’s skirts for a minute or two, then peeped round the witness-box and smiled at the constables standing by. Presently he looked ii]> at the dock, from which his father smiled in return. “Look, mummy, there’s daddy,” said the boy in glad surprise. The Magistrate made an order for a weekly contribution on the part of the husband, and the man did not pay much attention to it. The little boy had left the box, and, calling “Daddy,” was dragging his mother to where his father stood. The Court smiled indulgently at the scene. The father, having left the dock, walked out of court holding the boy’s hand, while Ins wife walked beside him carrying tho baby. There was a feeling all round the court that the child’s prattle had averted the breaking up of a home.

“An indignant Englishwoman,” writing to the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Mrs Holman’s views of Lon-

don at meals, says: “It was with mingled feelings of amusement and resentment that I read an article entitled ‘London at Meals’ in your excellent paper recently. The writer is on the whole fair to English food, but her remarks about English beef and mutton make an Englishwoman’s blood boil, when one thinks of the impossible meals set before' one in this country. 1 have only been here two months, but during that time have never once had either beef or , mutton fit to eat. The ‘roast beef of old Englanff is surely too noted all over the world to need any champion, yet Mis Holman says, ‘With a fish supply it ought not mtpter that meat in London is not only ■‘■bar but detestable.’ How anyone going from this country to Home can possibly have the effrontery to criticise ,English meat passes my comprehension.’ And, to add insult to injury, one is expected in Australia ,not only to oat unspeakably tough and flavourless beef and mutton, but to drink tea with it, a thing at all times inconceivable to anyone with a respect for his digestion. No, there are many things charming and delightful in this most beautiful country of yours, but beef and mutton are npt amongst them. 1 could not pass so glaring an injustice to what is really good in England without a protest,” - .. jA.

On Monday evening, weather permitting, the Stratford Municipal Band will play a number of selections in front of the Municipal Chambers. At a school examination for girls i'n France, a test in French composition required the candidates to write, ■an imaginary conversation between a 1 puckoo, a nightingale, and a donkey j -on the vocal qualities of each. During the Archbishop of CamterHmry’s recent holiday in the Italian '.fake district, he attended an English Church service near Lake Lugano, where the congregation numbered six persons. The resident chaplain preached,’ Or. Davidson’s chaplain read the p-ssons, and the Archbishop took the gJlection. Mr Marfell, chairman of the StratiflorcL Hospital and Charitable Aid JBoard, mentioned at the County Council meeting yesterday that a member of the Public" Works staff had collected jaibout 2s 6d a head from the thirty men employed on the railway works at Mt. Egmont. The Stratford committee has collected nearly £3u. The largest distribution of mone/' ever made by any mining company m| {Australia at one time is the 10s dm•deiul recently declared by the Broken ; Hill South Co., absorbs £IOO,-: 000. Broken Hill, a brown, barren,! scarred, and inhospitable-looking fea-| ture of the landscape, has paid over £l4 000,000 in dividends in the last (forty years, and it is still going strong, i

A gentleman connected with the leather trade informed a Dunedin Star , reporter that the manufactiue oi chrome leather is responsible for the 1 tanners developing eczema on arms and legs. The chemicals used in the pro-; cess of making the hides into leather are said to he the cause of the disease, j Several chrome leather tanners have, had to cease work during the past i lew weeks in Otago alone. The members of the Dunedin Aero; Club carried out some experiments at Corstorphine on Sunday, when some good results were accomplished (says the Otago Daily Times). Mr 0., Wood was successful in sending his model 450 ft, the machine remaining in the air for 16 seconds. Mr G. Hall’s ma-| 'chine flew 200 ft. The. club has now| ,16 members, but as a result of the i prominence given to the club’s affairs \ 4\t the recent Industrial Exhibition ’some 30 additional promises of membership have been received.

1A bad egg is annoying at any time,; ibnt when one gets thousands of tlo«-j Jems of bad eggs all at once there is ( (certainly complete justification ioi anger. The latter experience fell to ; a Dunedin grocery firm (says the Star). They obtained from the country through a Dunedin agent six cases of >®g s > but on inspection it was found necessary to destroy four of the cases, (representing a loss of many thousands jpf eggsA thrilling incident was witnessed at a lion-taming show in East Ham (states a London cablegram). Dueling the progress of the performance trae of the animals turned on the lady lion-tamer and started mauling her badly. The spectators thought it was all a part of the show until the lion seized the woman by the hip and made ioff with her towards his cage. A thrill of horror ran through the crowd

las it realised the victim’s peril, but the attendants finally beat off ,the beast 'and rescued the woman. To partially occupy the attention of Kawhia schoolboys during the summer (vacation, a lady resident offers a prize inf five shillings for a collection of the best grass-seed heads (named), and is (making the matter public in the hope that a'similar incentive will be forthfcoming in other school districts to induce industry and inculcate a knowledge of our principal grasses. The specimens are to be brought to the headmaster when the school re-opens (reports the Settler), and the Kawhia Horticultural Society offer a further prize for the best district collection, to be exhibited at the next Show. The wool auctions in Dunedin have caused a stir, the ripples of which are Reaching all over the Dominion (writes the Star). Never before in New Zealand has Lljfd been paid for wool. The highest previous record was 14)d. More important, the average price over the whole sale was high—very high consulering that much of the wool was farmerg’ wool, which as a rule is not so (carefully sorted as the large station frdips that .come to market in January. In. this connection, however, it is but fair to state that much of the fanners’ wool to hand was nicely classed. R sober estimate of the returns to-day (places the total transation at £llO,\p00!

Years ago a digger of the Waikaia district, who was in straitened circumstances, fell ill, and was for some time an inmate of the Southland Hospital. A balance of £2 remained unpaid on his hospital account, and at his request the Trust wiped the amount off the 'books. Recently the old fellow died, and, having prospered in the interven>ing years, he was able to leave an estate worth about £3OO. The beneficiary under the will, another old Waikaia digger, in going through the deceased’s papers (says the Southland •.News) came across the Trust’s communication, acceding to the request that the £2 be wiped off. He at once instituted inquiries, and finding that the amount had never been paid, sent a cheque in satisfaction thereof.

A fisherman at the Waitaki obtained an enormous haul the other day (says the North Otago Times), the weight being approximately between 7001 b and 8001 b. This is not an ordinary bag at the river, but the person went out armed with a rifle and hooks £nd lines of the required strength. ■He was fishing for sharks, and caught three from Bft. to 10ft. in length. The shark struggles hard for his freedom, and when caught in this fashion has to be shot before it is safe or prudent to land him. When the warm weather sets in sharks become numerous all along the coast, and some extra large ones are seen by the fishermen out at sea.

A New York paper tells tlie following story of what is known as the “bread line.” An Austrian established. a \ bakery and restaurant in New ''fork,! and was succeeding, when one might he happened to note outside his «hop a man who looked through the cellar windows hungrily where the linkers were busy. The baker spoke to the man, found he had eaten nothing Tor hours, and then taking him inside, <gave him a loaf of bread. The man disappeared, but next night several ■ (other men, accompanied by the first ione, appeared at the bakery door, and again:, the baker fed the hungry. Thus . he i&imous bread line was started, •ince that time no one who has asked mor bread has been turned awav by the baker or his employees. Every night in the week but one, all the year round, anyone who asks for it may have half A loaf of bread, “and no questions asked.” After the storm comes a calm. After a puff of a Regent Cigarette cornss contentment to the smoker. Try them and share in the Great Free Gift Scheme. x

All towns have some speciality. Stratford’s speciality is James’s huge Xmas Show and Carnival. Charles if. James.

“From the Manger to the the picture film which has excited sue! interest in the Old Country and whereever screened, has been secured b\ Madame Bernard, of His Majesty s Theatre, Stratford, for Christmas night. Rats! and a keen-nosed little white terrier! what a queer combination, some readers will think, to be associated with a friendly society meeting, but after all it was not so odd, | s in solemn conclave i hose who gathered together wore Oddfellows. Monday’s mooing of the local lodge w,.s drawing to a close when the aforesaid terrier, who had been shifting restlessly around the cupboards in the foresters’ Hall, spied his quarry running along the dado and immediately the excitement spread to the brethren while dismay paled the cheeks of the sisters present. But the N.G. kept a firm hand on the business of t tie Judge until the end, by winch time the rodent had found a hiding place. A general hunt ensued, however, though the sisters gathered up their hows and furbelows and stood up, womanlike, upon the chairs or on any other article of furniture affording a resting place off the floor! First one ipiano then another were shifted in the search—then all of a sudden, “The Rat!” Very shortly the terrier had )his reward. But this was not the 'rat first espied—it was a larger one—pnd no one was satisfied until the second rodent had succumbed. It met •i,t s doom at the boot of a cold-blooded {printer, who lifted it with a well directed “speculator” to the opposite end of the room. All this was had business for the rats, hut not for the owners of the pianos wherein the nests Jiao been made, or for the peace of mind of the femininity.