LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 93, 23 August 1913, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In Southsea, down Portsmouth way, some wag has inscribed on a pavingstone: "This monolith was iaid by his Majestey Harry Lauder, King o. Scotland, on June 11, 1913." The following will comprise the Ngaere team to meet Stratford hi their final' cribbage match next Tuesday night:—Messrs Sims, Morrison, Scannell, Willis, Orr (3), Wisnewski (2), Thomas (2), Taylor, Staverly, and Tecofsky.

A resident of Chiselhurst (Eltljara) yesterday showed the local newspaper man a freak in the shape of a duck's egg than can only he described .as enormous. As we had no tape measure handy we cannot give the dimension's, hut the egg turned the scale |at no less than five ounces. From enquiries we learnt that the bird which laid this egg is in the best of health and condition and has repeated the performance an average of three times a week for the last three weeks. A rather unusual spectacle of one man horsewhipping another was witnessed in Main street, Gore, on Friday of last week (says the Mataura Ensign), very few people being about at the time.. The man at the wrongend of the lash was lying in the watertable while his opponent applied the lash with vigour. A separation was soon effected, the chastised individual beating a hasty retreat without saying a word, while the man with the whip could be heard calling out "I'll teach you not to interfere with my daughter!"

A new industry is apparently opening up in the Bluff to supplant oyster canning. It has been carried on with more or less success during the past throe year®. A Bluff firm has received orders for three thousand dozen opened oysters frozen, and the order is being executed. To do so has entailed keen competition in the work of opening them. A man named Lee has been declared champion, with a record of -14,000—six sacks—in eight hours. This works out at 550 per hour, nine per minute, and one every six and a half seconds.

lii view of the fact that Taranaki holds the Ranfurlj Shield great interost is being taken in the match being played at Wellington to-day between Taranaki and Wellington. The Taranaki team is much stronger than the one which previously met Wellington, and no calculation of it s strength can be made on the recent match against Manawatu, as several players were held out of that game, in order that they might have a good spell in view of to-day's match.

Although not yet 21 years of age, Miss Lambert, of Leicester, weighs 40 stone (5601 b). She is said to be a descendant of the famous Daniel Lambert, of Leicester, who weighed 52st 1111). Mr W. Hatha way, of Strafford, stated at the Counties' Conference (says the N.Z. Times) that in his county there were no fewer than 152 special rating areas, and tn respect of the loans they had to pay £6OOO a year in interest. During the hearing of a case at the Fltham court on Wednesday counsel remarked to a lady witness that she did not appear to have been interested in a certain conversation, but that she appeared to have been extremely interested in her husband's evidence. "Yes," she answered, "I was just thinking what a fool he 'was making of himself." "Silence!" A remarkable and successful operation has been performed upon an American railway brakesman, who broke his nose in February last by striking it against an iron bridge. At a hospital at Baltimore two pieces of bone were cut from the third rib on his right side and fitted in the pjace of the broken nasal bones.

A cording to a recent official return, 2588 newspapers and periodicals are now published in Paris and 3829 in the departments. Of the Paris papers, only 80 are dailies for the general reader, while there are 196 finan-cial-papers and as many as 206 medical journals. "Are we," asks Les Xottvelles. "then so ill as all that?"

"I would like to refer to the banking' scheme," said the Mayor at the last meeting of the Gisborne Borough Council. "Our overdraft is £19,028, and of that amount we are only paying interest at 5| per cent, on £750; all the rest we are getting at I per cent." "Very good indeed," said several Councillors. . The three pure-bred Shropshire wethers sold for Mr Bull, lit the record price of £l4 10s per head have been killed by Messrs Dixon Bros, '(says the Christchurch Press), and their weights are respectively 2271 b, 2081 b, and 1861 b. The three Bomney -Shropshire wethers from the same breeder, whicb made £9 10s per head, have dressed out respectively at 2091 b, 200:1), mid 2001 b. One of Mr W. F. Clinton's' Wensleydale cross wethers weighed 2231 b. - ■- • •:.

A petition to the King, emanating from the Empire Patriotic Ijeague, whose hedguarters are .at Perth, Western Australia/has 1 reached Christ- •'• church for signature.. It petitions their Majesties to. make, a "Royal progress" through the overseas dominions. The Mayor and' town clerk have signed' it, and will pass',it 1 on' ' io other local bodies, as requested. A Tongaporutu correspondent says: "A young daughter of Mr Crude's bad a very narrow escape from serious injury, if not sudden death, on hci; way home from school on Saturday last. On going round the Hutu'wai Road, just past the bridge,- her horse slipped and fell over the cliff into the river-bed,-a distance of about 60 feet, and was killed instantly. The little girl fell off the horse and over the ciff, but managed to grasp the edge of the road, and assisted by some gigi growing out of the cliff,, struggled back on to the road unharmed."

The M to Z Parliamentary' Petitions Committee (of which Mr Okey is chairman) has recommended to the Government for fvourable consideration the petition of Mrs Smith (widow of the late Mr E.'M. Smith, M.P.) for an allowance in respect of the death of her late husband. Several members on both sides of the House spoke in support of the recommendation of the committee, and eulogised the services of the late member for Taranaki. Two or three members advocated a system of pensions for members' widows and the deduction of a portion of members' honorarium to be applied towards a fund for that purpose.

Writing on August 20th, a Wellington corerspondent says:—The political sky is decidedly clearer. Save for passing squalls, emanating from Opposition waters, the .'Government ship is experiencing a smooth passage. With a good captain on board, ably officered, fully manned, and well looked after, she "Should make port in gnod style at the end of the session, and find anchorage in well-sheltered quarters. The storm clouds that seemed to be threatening the Government existence a week or ten days ago have vanished. There has been a good deal of wind. Imt it appears to have largely spent itself, and, to-day, with a clear sky overhead and a happy and rontented erpyr, the Government is more than holding its own. "There is absolutely no.rift in the lute," was the statement made by the Senior Government Whip today. ''Our party." Mr Guthrie proceeded, "was never more united, nor have we ever been surer of our men; or of our majority. If the Opposition wants to test our strength (which, by the way. T do not think they do), they can do so; we are ready for them "

The following wireless message was received by the Wellington Government Post Office wireless station at 10.20 to-night from the Tutanekai:— "Expect to arrive at Auckland Islands to-morrow morning. Experiencing a M. very strong south-easterly gale, with heavy seas." A singular discovery has been made on board the Antarctic ship, Terra Nova, which is at present on show at ■ Cardiff dockr, (says Lloyds Weekly \>ws of July 13). Tinned provisions j i abundance have been found on the yi'i-u-l in a secret hold, the discovery '; . being quite accidental, a loose board Jf in Captain Scott's cabin having led to a closer inspection.