LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 5, 10 May 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The sale of the Browning relics realised £28,000.

Steps are being taken to recognise the worth of the services tendered to the Wellington public by Mr 1). McLaren during the past twelve years.

The Eltham Golf Club opened their season on Thursday afternoon, when Mr C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., made a short address, and drove the first ball. The Club has secured good grounds on the Education Reserve close to town, and hopes to make good links. It is a nine hole'course.

Hearty laughter was provoked at the meeting of the Mackenzie County Council last week, when the council was dealing with the tenders for the lease of a certain plantation. The tender of an ex-member of the council was responsible for the amusement, lie being known as the silent councillor at the time. He tendered 30s. A footnote to his tender read thus: “If this is the only tender in, I will reduce my tender to one pound.”

We have got back into the “ten per cent days.” A business man on Wednesday informed the Argus that ten per cent is now commonly given in the district for I'oaus up to £IOO for ia Itermyof twelve months. He added that this percentage is asked even where the' security is freehold with: a good margin. ■ 'Now is l the time for those who have'a little loose cash to reap a harvest I '' : ,v) ■“

A novel request came before a recent meeting of the Campbell Street School Committee, Palmerston North, when it was mentioned that a sweets vendor had asked permission to place a chocolate-vending machine in the ■school, grounds, he to pay £2 for the privilege. The request, however, did not meet with the approval of the committee, and it was passed out very quickly. Establishing such a precedent, it, was agreed, was a very'bad thing, and might tend to encouiage children to obtain pennies in a wrong manner.

Considering the large annual turnover in both money and cattle at the Eltharn and Stratford sale-yards it is surprising (says the Argus) "hat wretched accommodation is provided for the farmers. The sale-yards in each town are about as primitive as it is possible for them to be, and are no credit to anyone. It would probably be a paying proposition to improve the yards and make them at least a little up-to-date. How the farmers who attend the Burnside and Addington sale-yards would laugh if they saw the year-one sort of sale-yards that are made to do duty in Eltham and Stratford.

The Stratford Gymnastic Club’s classes are now in full swing, ano last night, despite bad weather, there was a very fair attendance. Much interest is being taken in the boxing classes, Mr Alan Maxwell proving an

excellent and popular instructor. The gymnasium instructors are both expert®, and the quality of their .work cannot fail to arouse enthusiasm. Mr Sparwath’s free gymnastic exercises are qualified to remove superfluous tissue in a minimum of time, while Mr Murray Urquhart, who is probaoly one of the best gymnasts in New Zealand at the present time, has the knack of teaching what he knows. Both tin- gymnastic instructors will be present at the Old Masonic Hall on Monday,

Rather n peculiar coincidence occurred at the first meeting of the Parihaka Road Hoard on Thursday. The Hoard comprises six members, each representing a particular ward. One of the wards (Warea) at the recent election failed to return a member. At the first meeting only three members were present, and as under the provisions of the Act three members have to retire each year, it was necessary to ballot to decide who should retire at the end of the first year. In order that all should he above suspicion (states the News) the two reporters present were appointed to do the balloting, and by a peculiar fate the ballot fell on the three absent members, who will duly retire in twelve months time. “It will look very suspicions in the paper,” remarked one of the members present.

Jewellery and Silverplate Annual Sale quotation at 4s in the £1 discount. Charles E. James, Broadway.

The first stop in connection with Sydney’s underground railway scheme is now being taken. The city is being “souyded.” At all the points where the railway tunnels will have to run, bores are being put down, and cores of the rock through which the choppers will have to out are being taken out and filed away for reference. The object is to obtain some idea of the cost of the project. The hardness and character of the rock is what will decide the cost.

An “asphyxiating revolver” was used for the first time recently by the Paris police in arresting a mad negro who had barricaded himself in a flat in the Rue de la Muette, whence he was firing at all comers. Two inspectors pointed their asphyxiating revolvers through the broken shutter and fired three times. A thick and acrid smoke immediately filled the place. After a few minutes the negro began to sneeze, and, weeping and half-suffocated, thought no more of using his own weapon. The moment he opened the window to get air two policemen broke open the door and seized him from behind. The negro was beyond the power to injure anybody and was easily arrested.

The quesion whether or not the song “On the Ranks of Allan Water” is a Scottish song was the subject of a short discussion at the annual meeting of the Scottish Society in Christchurch,- says the “Press,” the matter being brought up by a reference to Herr Sauer’s remark at the competitions to the effect that the song is not a Scottish one. One speaker rather warmly expressed the, opinion that it was an insult for one who was not a Scotsman to say that the song was not Scottish. Another speaker contended that the song was not Scottish and was not written by a Scotsman. He cited “Within a Mile of Edinburgh Town’ as another song usually described, and was, written by a Frenchman. Still another speaker gave the author of ‘The Banks of Allan Water’ as Monk Lewis, and said that it was included in an old volume of Scottish songs. A defender of Herr Sauer* stated that he believed that he was correct in describing the song as not being a Scottish one, as he was a deep student of folk songs

Concerning the big new intercolonial steamer, Wiloohra, the Dunedin Even- / mg Stav says ;—Away up on the. towering navigating bridge you can sep the. smoke from flip galley fife coming out of the foremast above the # 'll 1 i H. • H . eyes of thd rigging. ■ On the bridge itself are many objects of interest. Inside the flag room is an instrument; that records ite stability of the ship ■on principles of leverage, and .in the room 'beliimh is . the , master-clock, . which keeps all the clocks in the ship toi accurate: time, ..This master-dock is a boxful of wheels. None of the other docks in the ship have any ■ ivheels —they are merely face ,and hands. Their hands do not travel slowly round in the ordinary way. The minute hand makes a leap forward each minute, and 60 such leaps , ■ enable: the hour hand to record ono leap. Electricity is the motive power. | The interesting things are not restricted to .the navigating bridge. Away, down below sea level may be wit- <; nessed the unusual appearance, of the stokehold i and engine room department, where- watertuhe boilers are installed in place of the usual boilers* whose old method of having the flame inside the tubes and the water outsick; has been reversed by the new development in generating steam.

A good deal, of talk has been heard lately of England and her slowness in aviation matters—to speak plainly, that she is the last in the race of nations in this line of defence of Empire—and a story*- old by a recent arrival in the Dominion sheds some light on the why and wherefore of the rumor. “When in Yorkshire not long before I came out here,” said the aforementioned Englishman to a Stratford friend with whom he was discussing the great question of the conquest of the air, “ I got an insight into Britain’s methods that opened my eyes, and incidentally sent me about my business in a right-about turn. Strolling along the Yorkshire moors one day shooting, I was challenged by a man who wanted to know what I was doing. ‘Oh, just having a shot,’ I.replied. ‘Well, you can’t shoot here, anyway, and that’s all about it.’ ‘But why,’ I asked. The sentry (for such he was) would give me no explanation of his peremptory order for some time, until, after a good deal of persuasion and with the application of some palm oil, he told me that I was encroaching on an area of ten miles of country that was held sacred to workmen in the employ of the Aviation Department of the Government; in fact, that there was a big aerodrome in the enclosure, the circumference of which was studded by sentries, whose duty it was to keep the prying eye® of outsiders, and maybe foreign spies, from seeing more than was good for them.”.

“See that man over there,” said the man in a tramcar, pointing to a wan faced fellow traveller, young yet bent almost double. “Well, I was like that only a year ago—-bent up with Rheumatism and racked with Sciatica. Xow look at me—l’ve not a trace of the old trouble. I’m quite hale and hearty—thanks to RHEUMO. I tried scores of things before RHEUMO, but they did mo no good. If ner you get Rheumatism, Gout or Lumbago, RHEUMO will cure you. Thousands testify to the wonderful oualities of RHEUMO. It removes the cause of the trouble; drives the uric acid from the system, and brings relief and cure.” Of all chemists and stores, 2s 6d and 4s Gd. 49

It is notified in the Gazette that after December next the present issue of duty and postage stamps will be replaced by new issues of all denominations.

“For men may come and men may go, but women’s tongues gf) on for eYex ”—paraphrase of Tennyson’s lines *by a Roman Catholic priest at the of a sermon delivered m ■Wellington on Sunday on the sin of scandal-mon ger ing .■

A cable has been received in New piymovGh that Mr J. D. Henry (petroleum expert), and Mr W. Craig, of a refining plant-manufacturing firm, together with an analytical chemist, have left London for New Plymouth by the Corintbic, and are due next month. —I*. A.

The working bee which was to have been held last Thursday by the members of the Stratford A. and 1 • Association did not eventuate owing to the had weather. The committee have decided to wait for more settled weather before doing anything further.

' ♦ The Otago Daily Times states that well known Dunedin citizen who has occupied a responsible position in a local shippng office for many years past, finding the weight of private debts incurred by him too burdensome, left surreptitiously a day or two ago for Australia. It is further said that the creditors whom he has left in the lurch are taking steps, by medium of wireless telegraphy, to have him stopped and brought back to Dunedin to answer certain pertinent questions.

The Domain Board met yesterday afternoon, when Mr G. N. Curtis presided over an attendance of the following members:—Messrs W. P. Kirkwood, T. H. Penn, R. McK. Morison, and P. Thomson. Routine business

was transacted, and it was decided to grant the Association Football Club the use of Victoria Park, pro-' vided a satisfactory arrangement could be made with” the Club, the schoolboys, and others already using the ground. At the close of the meeting the members inspected King Edward Park, with the view of deciding the trees that should come out.

10 A reminder is given of the anniversary; services to be held in the Presbyterian Church to-morrow (Sunday), when the Rev. T. H. Roseveare, of New Plymouth, will preach morning and evening, and at Toko in the afternoon. The attendance at each of the service© is expected to be large. The tea meeting be held in the schoolroom on Monday night, and the ladies of the congregation can be relied on to supply the wants of allcomers with their usual toothsome'delicacies. The programme for the concert has been prepared with the usual care, and no doubt will be appreciated' by those who attend. A | hearty invitation is given to all to attend the different services.