LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 January 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At a special meeting last night the Borough Council decided that Thursday shall continue to he observed as the weekly half-holiday in Stratford.

Several Education Reserves will he offered for lease at the Commissioner of Crown Lands Office, Xew Plymouth, on 18tli February. Particulars appear in our advertising columns.

It is stated that the Socialist Part? intends to put up a candidate fo: every seat in Otago as uell as, u* doubt, other constituencies through

out the dominion. Mr G. S. Tiiomsou is the candidate mentioned lot Clutha.

It is reported that there are 40 cases of smallpox in the Maori pas near Te Toko (says the Wlmkatane Press of Wednesday). It is stated that one child has died from the dread effects of the disease. ihe Health authorities are maintaining

complete reticence over tne matter hut it is rumoured chat some 2<

Tesh cases of the epidemic nave jeen discovered within the past two >r three days.

The number of baby bonuses granted in the Commonwealth up to December 31 has been 149,229. There have been 973 rejected, and 923 are under consideration. Of the total paid, 56,342 are from New South Yv ales. The number of rejections in New South Wales lias been 452, while for the whole of the other States put together the claims disallowed have amounted to only 521.

An American who has just “done’ New Zealand lias written a book Here is Ins description of Rotorua

“This violent, vaporous land is ulcer-j ous with turbulent, nauseous mudholes, and scabby with the white sterility of silica. Earthquake tremors freqeuntly shake it, and it throbs with the pulsation of subterranean boilers, j It has steaming lakes, pools andj streams, healing baths and springs, j acidulous basins of emerald, opal andj orange, and tinted terraces of sinter. | From smoking craters come deadly gases and on mountain-top is heated turmoil amidst snow and ice. Hero are thermal islands in the sea and burned villages ashore. llore in this warming pan, tins out-door kitchen, are roaring steam vents, simmering shallows and sweating sulphur. in

populous centres, in untenanted swamp and Manuka waste are plutonic vap-j ours, infuriate mud and spouting j water. In this realm of hidden fires; are clear cold lakes in the shades of j lovely forests.” The hull of the wrecked Tyrone is j gradually being broken up by the | ceaseless smash of the sea. She is now j in two pieces. Forward of the navi-: gating bridge, where she broke her; back in foundering, there is a gaping! fissure, fully a foot wide. The forward portion is sinking more quickly than the after portion, and her deck at the bows is awash at high tide., But still the salvaging operations go ahead. Down in the lower hold is a sandbank that has silted in through) a gap in her side. Underneath that j submerged sandbank many tons ofj valuable cargo lie,buried. The diver) digs for it when the sea is sufficiently • smooth for him to work. 'The other j day lie dug out throe casks full of in-, gots of tin—a little gold mine in value, j Such finds, however,do not reward | every day of such hazardous toil, j Nevertheless, salvaging is still suffici-1 ently payable to attract the salvagers} to the wreck whenever the weather is) sufficiently favourable for them to work, and it is said that these oper-! ations may yet be carried on for weeks to come. Do you know the awful agony of: Rheumatism. If so, take courage, a I simple, inexpensive, speedy remedy i is available in RREUMO. Thousands of Maorilanders have tried it, test-'dj it and proved that it cures those dis-j eases which are due to excess uric; acid in the blood. 2s 6d and 4s Gd. HZ

Twelvo thousand eggs were consumed by fire in Blenheim on New Year’s Eve. They were stored by Mr .7. K. Eothwell in an old four-roomed cottage in Nelson street. This mail train was -particularly long, consisting of no fewer v j than thirteen wagons. The majorI ity of the wagons were devoted to ■ the “Count of Luxembourg” opera j company, who were responsible for ' five reserved carriages and two wagons

or scenery. The Pickpocket-’ .Tonnia! is issued monthly in Par's. Contributions are written by member.*; of the lightlingered fraternity, and it contains useful suggestions for pocket plunderers. The place of issue is kept a secret, hut it comes* out regularly, and sells for about half-a-crown. The ordinary fortnightly meeting of the Oddfellows’ Lodge, Manchester I nity, took place in the Foresters’ Hall last night, when a fair number of members were present. X.G. Bro. E. AY. Hancock presided. It was decided to hold a euchre party next Lodge night. Sister Thompson, of Christchurch, paid a visit to the ♦ Lodge, and received the honors of the Order, and returned thanks. Two now members were iuiiated.

Tlie Oamaru Mail says that excellent authority is given for the statement that Sir Joseph Ward, whilst in England recently, was offered by the British Government a high official position. Sij Joseph, whose loyalty to New Zealand is a matter of common knowledge, rose above the temptations of a highly lucrative position and social eminence, and firmly declined the offer, in deference apparently of his well-known desire to return to and help the country that he loves so well.

It would appear (says the Oamaru Mail) that one result of the complete rout of the Federation of Labour by the Employers’ Federation is that certain men have been marked down as v unworthy of employment in any part of Xew Zealand. It is stated that a list has been prepared and circulated, containing the names of prominent unionists, and suggesting that their claims to employment in the dominion should be completely ignored.

A movement has been set on foot among the citizens of Dunedin suitably to express to Sir Joshua Williams the high esteem and goodwill of the community which has largely been the sphere of his long and honorable activities. It has been unanimously decided that a citizens’ farewell social entertainment, comprising musical items, speeches, and the presentation of an illuminated address, he tendered to Sir .Joshua on Tuesday evening, 27th inst. at the Garrison Hall.

An amusing comment on the recent Mayoralty campaign in Xew York is furnished by the inclusion in the list of expenses filed by Mr John Purroy Mitchel, the successful anti-Tammany candidate, of £55 for instruction *iu boxing, and £l6 for throat treatment. Tiie campaign was the most violent

and vociferous in the history of municipal politics in the United States (says a New York correspondent). When the campaign was at its height Mr Mitchel sent instructions to John Cooper, a professional boxer, to visit him- each morning and initiate him in the noble art of self-defence at two guineas a lesson. Before the elections day, Cooper now states, Mr Mitchell was in condition to give an excellent account of himself, no matter who his

assailant might be

Dr. Samuel Hodgkinson, one of New Zealand’s early pioneers, passed away at his home, Richmond Grove, on Saturday, at the advanced age of 96 years, after an active life, during which he had done much to bring under the notice of the Old Country the disabilities of this young country. Dr. Hodgkinson was born in Nottingham, England, in 1871, and studied for the medical profesison at University College, London, and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in IS 10. Ho came to Nelson in 1842 as Surgeon-Superintendent of the New Zealand Company’s ship Bombay, and was afterwards in practice in England. In 1846, he was appointed by Her Majesty’s Colonisation Commissioners as surgeon-superintendent of

the emigrant barque David Malcolm, which arrived at Adelaide in 1847, with. 200 immigrants, and four years later ho returned to New Zealand, entering into pastoral pursuits in Canted bury. He re-visited England in 1854, and actively promoted emigration to the colony. On his return in 1857, deceased resided in Auckland for two

years, when he went to Southland and resumed country life. He was elected to the Provincial Council of Southland i.i 1864, and joined the Provim i.I Executive in 1860. Dr. Hodgkimon also sat in the House of Representatives as member for Riverton in the Parliament of 1876, and was returned for Wallace at the general election in 1877. Deceased leaves two daughters and two sons.