LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 30, 4 February 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Southland Times states tha Mrs Lindsay, ®of Waianiwa, is the only lady in the dominion who conducts a dairy factory, from which slit turns out 25 tons of cheese.a season and cheese, too, that ranks high foi quality. The rainfall at “Riversdale,” Inglewood, for January, 1913, as supplied by Miss N. Trimble, was as follows: Ist 2.56, 2nd .11', 3rd .85, 4th .36, sth 1.47, 6th .67, 7th .11, Bth .03, 13th .04, 21st .63, 22nd .01, 26th .67, 27th .69, 23th .01, 30th .12, 31st .14. Total. 8.47 inches.

In commenting upon the condition: governing the liquor traffic in tli< King Country at Te Kuiti, Mr Rawson, the new magistrate for the die triot, particularly asked that attention he drawn to the fact that the notification to the clerk of the court as to supplying liquor for entrance tc the King Country'did not obviate the necessity of a label being distinct!;, attached to all parcels carried intc the district.

The week lias been a -wintry one (says the Whangamomona correspondent of the Herald, writing on the 29th ult.), and warm clothing, etc., was reverted to for a short while. On Sunday night the gales were very severe. A family living near Kohuratahi were startled to find the iron roof of their dwelling carried away some five chains. In their night clothe: they managed to take the children am' scramble to their neighbour’s for thei night. No damage was done at any rate, but a valuable £3 hat was found about half a mile away on the limbs of a huge tree.

A case of some importance to tintravelling public was heard in the Auckland Police Court recently, when a licensed carter was summoned for being late in the execution of a contract. A lady visitor arrived at the Auckland Railway Station in the early afternoon, and entrusted her luggage to a carrier with license No." 11 on bis hat. The luggage failed to turn up till the next day. Meanwhile (says the New Zealand Herald) inquiries , were made for No. 11, and it was then found that defendant had no right to be bearing that number, s it was the number of his last year’s license and not of his present one. Defendant’s excuse for his unpunctuality was that be had had an accident to the tyres of his vehicle, but Mr E. C. Cutten S M.. said that for the sake of the public carters must carry out their work punctually. Defendant had to pay a penalty of 20s and costs.

The following incident, which is vouched for as authentic, happened at a Christchurch teashop. A fashion-ably-attired woman advanced to the counter where was piled a multitude of cakes and other items of good fare. “I have just found a penny on the floor,” she said to the shop attendant, “and, you know, it might belong to a poor woman; in fact, I’m sure it must belong to a poor woman. Will you put it on one side and give it to the poor woman when she comes in?” The attendant said she would. The lady then bought a shilling’s worth of cakes. “Oh, good gracious,” she exclaimed, as she surveyed the contents of her purse, “I have only elevenpence; I must have spent the other penny.” “Why not put in the penny you found?” remarked the attended slyly. “Oh, just the very thing,” replied the lady enthusiastically, “why didn’t I think of it before.”

Longburn within the last ten or twelve days has had a run of hard luck (says the Times.) There were two motor smashes in the locality in quick succession, a six-year-old daughter of the proprietor of the Junction Hotel fell off the balcony and was badly shaken though, strange to say, not seriously hurt; a small house was burned down ; and the tablet man slept in and held the might mail up at, Palmerston for three-quarters af an hour

Bush missionaries come a erode amusing incidents sometimes. “A* you always travelling?” a little boy asked Missionary F. C. .Stevens, of the Australian Bush. Missionary Society, on one of his rounds out back. “Pretty well always,” Mr Stevens replied. “Well,” the boy remarked, “that’s a pretty rotten gamel” It was the missionary’s turn; he asked what the people there were like. “They’re a pretty flash lot,” was the reply. “The girls won’t dance with a chap!” The missionary, however, had some success in the district, adds the Daily Telegraph.

The property in Seddori Street,Kumara, known as the old Queen’s Hotel, owned by the late Mr R. J. Seddon, and also the residence of the late Prime Minister adjoining, has been disposed of to Mr F. Roberts, who has commenced to remove the buildings. Thus (says the Greymouth correspondent of the Otago Daily Times) another old landmark of the town/ will disappear. Since the late Prime Minister’s death the above-mentioned'build-ings have been the object of inquiry by ail visitors and tourists to Kumars, and many cameras have been snapped before them. Mrs Seddon retains the ownership of the ground.

The Stratford excursionists evidently were pleasantly surprised at the excellent arrangements placed at their disposal on Thursday by the East End Bathing Reserves Committee (says the Herald.) The secretary of the Stratford School Committee (Mr T. Harry Penn) has written to the secretary of the Reserve Committee (Mr W. H. Fletcher) in the following terms: — “1 beg to thank you and the East End Reserve Committee for the excellence of the arrangements for the school picnic on Thursday. The members of my committee were very pleaed indeed, and it wa evident that the children and their friends thoroughly enjoyed the day.” . .

A correspondent writes as follows to a contemporary: -It may he interesting to some of y.ur readers when reading about ilm uulrnky 13 i.> give No. / a look in. Four of the largest disasters a while back were to ships which each contained : even letters jn its name—namely, the Titanip, Waratah, Penguin, md i ongala. Messina, the scene of the awful earth. .rake, contains seven letters. . The Oceanic also was unfortunate m the Eijgjjsh Channel. 1 could mention other instances where 7 has been disastrous, if time permitted. It may lie ,(t co‘uic'Jencc, but ,«v .rr.lHess.it that ‘1913’ contains the unlucky 13; it also contains two 7’s, if the figures are added together.”

‘Frisco at present is busy getting ready its great Panama-Pacific International Exhibition (or Exposition) foi 1915, and of course no effort is being spared to make it as attractive as possible. Probably one of the most interesting of the sights that will be seen at the Exposition is the reproduction of the Panama Canal in all its intricate details and on a gigantic scale. The real canal zone covers 448 square miles and the canal itself covers fifty miles from deep water in the Caribbean Sea to deejf water in the Pacific. All the channels, locks, cuts and lakes will be shown in the miniature reproduction at the Exhibition. The canal will be built on a scale of ten feet to the mile. The engineer who has originated the attraction, plans to reproduce the canal and the surrounding country in a weatherproof building with a glass roof, and he intends importing trees, shrubs and palms from Panama 1 to aid in reproducing the surface features of the country 7 round the canal. Two thousand visitors will be able to make the trip over the canal every twenty-five minutes. A visitor will enter the model canal in the approach channel, take a seat on a moving platform and be given an instructive and realistic ride through the canal from Colon harbour to'the Pacific side, returning through the city of Panama. Concealed phonographs will deliver descriptive lectures. Compressed air and electricity will be used in sending the boats through the canal;

The restful quietude of Russell was broken for a brief spell the other day by some disturbing shark adventures (says the Auckland Star). Early morning bathers on the half-moon beach, around which the village snugly nestles, were warned that a big shark had been sighted in the vicinity of the wharf. Sitch an occurrence is exceedingly rare: The stationary population of Russell sallied forth in combat with the unwelcome visitor, even as though they deemed it their duty to preserve the safety of the harbour for the benefit of the rapidly-growing tourist traffic. Lines went out from the wharf and from the beach, . with the result that sharp bites ensued and sundry hooks were lost. in quick succession, two monster Sarks —one over nine feet in length and the other just under that measurement—were hauled ashore. In accordance with usual practice the sharks were cut open, and each was found to contain a large number of young ones, most of them capable of swimming about in the shallows. Youthful Russell waxed gleeful and the spectacle of many small boys with many small sharks, each attached to a string even like a sprightly poodle,' provided much entertainment for a large concourse of visitors: Thirty-two sharks in two hauls is an accomplishment likely to live long among Bay of Island memories.

Three cases of scarlet fever wore notified recently in the Whangamomona County.

The Fifth (Wellington) Regiment will go into camp at Trentham on the 14th instant for the annual seven days’ training.

In answer to a question the Mayor (Mr W. P. Kirkwood) said at the meeting of the Council last night that the loan would be put before the ratepayers in the shortest possible time, probably within five or six weeks. m

The Stratford Hospital and Charitable Aid Board this morning decided to obtain the services of an extra fully qualified nurse for the Hospital. The reason for their action is to be found in the largely increased number of patients now being admitted to the institution.

Mr Raphael Herman, a manufacturer of Detroit, who is now in New Zealand, says the United States is enjoying a period of prosperity at present. Last election did not so seriously interfere with business as usual, and the gloomy' predictions of captains of industry, who declared that if Mr Woodrow Wilson were elected the country would “go to the dogs” had been falsified.

Railway, works appear to be a mixed blessing. The Stratford Hospital Board this morning received yet another communication from an outside Board notifying t'liat a railway co-operative worker, aged 50, was in hospital and that the account would be forwarded to the Stratford Board in due course. Nearly every meeting brings a similar notification, and the letters come from all over the Dominion.

It is probable that Swansea. Road will be the locality in which some ol the Workmen’s Homes will be erected. Plans were approved at the special meeting of the Borough Council lasi night, subject to the overseer’s ap proval, but estimates have yet to be prepared of the cost of roading, etc. There is room for some thirteen oi fourteen houses in the sections under offer, and presumably as many house* as there are applications for will b( •rected.

The demand for unskilled workers in North Canterbury at present is verj brisk (says the "Press”). The Public Works Department require a large number of men, for the Bealey Flat works, and several men have been sent to employment there. Grass-seeders are more or less in demand, and a number have been engaged. Harvesters have not yet been asked for, foj although the very dry season bar brought bn the crops on the light land: harvesting has not become general- ir. ■ many districts.

iAt the Council meeting last evening some Slight concern was manifested b; councillors as to the rate to be pak for the loan in the event of it being carried by the ratepayers, but it war pointed out by His Worship that pro ■ vision' tfas ttiade in the Act for the rate not to exceed 5 per cent. Th( position,he assured the Council, wouk be put plainly before the ratepayer: on the ballot papers, and then in the event of the loan’s success, detaih would be entered into, such, for in stance, as making arrangements foi the money and the period over whicl the loan will be repayable. The Australian Postmaster-General said to a Southland News representa tive on the eve of his departure fron the Bluff: "New Zealand, generally impressed me as being a wonderful lit tie dominion. The country was liberally endowed by nature. Where there was no natural scenery the land wa: fertile and productive. What appeal ed to him as a West Australian was the blessing which nature had giver the entire? country in the shape o( prolific streams of pure water. ‘Dis tinguishing your people is an air ol confidence in their country. Indi cations of prosperity are abundant on every hand. Both myself and wife have been delighted with our trip. Members of the Government and th( large number of public and private people we have met have treated u: Well. To all our thanks are due and we can but wish you all and youi wonderful country the best of Inch for the future.’ ” An insight into the condition of affairs which too often prevails in the backblocks is obtained in an extract frbm the' Health Inspector’s report, furnished to the Stratford Hospital and Charitable Aid Board at theii meeting thiswnorning. After stating that he had the opinion of a local doc tor that a child "died from sheer neglect,” the Inspector goes on to des cribe another back-blocks house, where scarlet fever had been notified. "Isolation of the patients is impossibk in the small house. When I arrived the two convalescent patients were running about with their bare feet on the wet ground, with three healthy children. I warned the parents of the consequent dangers of a relapse, and advised them to keep the patients dry and warm, and isolate them as much as possible from the other children, and on no account to let them sleep in the same room as those who have not got the disease. Previous to my Visit patients were sleeping with children who had not got the fever. . . I advised the mother, who is nursing the patients, to use plenty of sheep they have in abundance, for ‘ bathing patients, and washing floors, and articles of clothing. "The Inspector added that the roads rendered it impossible to take the children to the Stratford Hospital. The journey would take two days, and no doctor had seen the children to certify that they could stand the journey. The doctor had not visited the patients because the cases were mild, and the people could not afford to pay the doctor’s fee, which was £ls 15s for one visit to this out-of-the-way place. Regent_ Cigarettes are famed for their purity apd quality. Smoke them and get particulars of the Free Gift Scheme Iron your tobacconist. x