LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 31, 8 February 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Stratford Borough Council meet to-night at 8 o’clock.

The 500 crates of cheese sent Home by the Normauby factory in the ,Turakina realised 87s.

There will be a parade of the Home Defence Rifle Corps to-night at 7.30. when the matter of a route march to the Mountain will he discussed

It is reported that a narrow seam of coal has been found in papa rock within two miles of Taumarnmii. The coal is hard and bright, and it burns readily.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., have received the following cablegram from their London house under date Bth hist.; “London wool sales closed; market strong; position unchanged.”

Tt is reported there is still plenty of spprt for gunmen in the district, a state which is set down by authorities to the dry weather, and also, to a great extent, to the absence of many good shootists, who are now shouldering the rifle instead of the gun.

The Kith a m Horticultural Society’s annual show will be held on 24th and 25th of this month. The satalogues have been- carefully revised and enlarged, and now embrace classes for almost everything in horticulture. Entries close on 22nd at 5.30 p.nn, and' catalogues may be i ml from Mr X. I). Connell, or from the secretary, Mr F. J. Hodgson. i

At the recent elections in the United States Mrs Frances Willard Hunds was elected to the Arizona Senate, Miss Marion Tours to the Oregon Lower House, Mrs Heartz to the Lower House for Colorado, while Mrs Helen Ring Robinson lias been re-elected a senator of Colorado. American women have therefore definitely found their way into the State Legislatures. Mrs Mary Bradford has been elected State Superintendent of Instruction in Colorado.

“What! A man in an impecunious position like this fellow incurring a debt of £ll for a funeral!” exclaimed the magistrate at Christchurch, when judgment was asked for in an undefended claim. The solicitor for plaintiff remarked that ho believed that it was for the funeral of his mother-in-law that the man ran up such a hill. “Mother-in-law!” his Worship exclaimed again, “all the more reason why he should have got it done cheaply.”

A would-be traveller got off the 12.0 express at the Christchurch sta, lion the other day (says the Lyttelton Times) to explain that the express was already five minutes laits. While he was regaling a friend with the result of his mathematical calculation, the train got under way, and a guard and a porter refused to allow the unfortunate aboard. The motto seems to he: Do not get off the train to criticise the Railway Department—shout your disapproval from the carriage platform.

The elusive tongue-twister, “Sister Susie’s Sewing Shirts for Soldiers,” lias been engaging the exasperated attention of pantomime lovers in Melbourne since “Cinderella” has started running. The management has now offered a prize for the best new chorus verso, with its ingenious alliteration, and the efforts of rhymesters are pouring into Her Majesty’s. The winning verse will be published as an additional chorus to the song.

In connection with Vae case at Wellington of Frederick Mauiice Marlow, who was placed in the dock in connection with the embezzlement of Court founds at St riff aid, the Crown Solicitor explained that pnsoner had been appointed bail'll' at the Magistrate’s Court at Stratford, n 1911); lie married a highly lespeetable young woman, and ho had cue child. He had pleaded guilty to the embezzlement of £sl and £l2, but ’lives! igat ions brought the total to £72. His Honor said the mere conviction and loss of his position was a severe punishment to the prisoner, who would he sentenced to lour months’ imprisonment with nn.l labour.

' Four stalwarts reached the summit (of the Mt. Egmont yesterday. They | loft the Stratford House about 11.30 a.m., and on nearing the summit encountered an extra strong blizzard. Ou tile return journey the House was reached at about 5 p.m., where the party were able to get the snow and ice melted off them.

The question of Sunday pictures has arisen at Taumarunui. The members of the Borough Council are sharply divided on the matter. One exhibition was given on a Sunday, but by a majority of tlio votes of the council an application for permission to continue the exhibition was declined.

A Christchurch paper states that a bottle, in which was scaled up an alleged message from a member of the crow of the missing Federal trawler, Endeavour, was picked up on the beach at Purau on Sunday by Mr J. Crawford. The note reads as follows; “s.s. Endeavour struck reef off Hanraki Gulf, November 28th, 1914, Semi help. Can’t hang out longer,— J. North, mate.”

The Hou. Andrew Fisher’s farewell message to the winkers of New Zealand: “First of all convene a conference of representatives from all parts of New Zealand. ■ Hear every view without prejudice. Decide on an ob- > and a platform. Publish this broadcast, fight unitedly for them, and in all you say and do, keep ever in view the general welfare of your country,”

The latest invention, the discovery of which is due to a special demand created by the war (says a Reuter Chicago message), is that of a machine designed to dig graves. A Chicago concern has perfected the device, and has started upon 13 of the machines; which have been ordered by two of the allied nations. The new machines, it"is said can also lie made of use in the digging of trenches.

One of the latest ideas in Paris for helping the soldiers at the front is the making of paper waistcoats. A/ committee of women has started the

movement. As an emergency i comfort to keep the soldier warm in the cold weather, waistcoats made of speci-ally-prepared paper have been approved by the military authorities at Paris. To make the garment, two sheets of strong supple paper are used. - These are coated inside with tar, and £ interlined with coarse linen or canvas to prevent tearing. They cost sevenpence each. t

Telegrams referring to the Dunedin Central election are now looked upon more or less as a joke. All sorts of misleading information has , arrived since polling day, and on Saturday the Press Association set people’s minds at rest with a practical assurance of. Mr Statham’s return, by stating he was leading by 103 votes, with only twelve more absent voters’ permits to come in. To-day we are informed by another Press message that “the official count increases Mr Statham’s majority to 23, the figures being; Mr Statham 3847, Mr Munro 3824. The counting of the absentee votes, a dozen of which are still to come, is now proceeding.” The end of this record muddle is not yet!

A-rather sensational accident occurred on the Ballance-George Road, in the Woodville district. Mr and Mrs Basil Croad, of Ballance, were motorcycling from the Woodville Show. The engine was at low gear, and when at the dangerous part of the road where there is a lot of broken metal, Mr Croad got off the cycle, but his wife remained in the side car. When they reached the top of the cutting Mr Croad went to remount the cycle, hut his foot slipped from under him, the machine got out of his control, and being on the level travelled tor some chains at a fast speed. It left the metal and got on to the grass, then skidded over the hank, a drop, it is estimated, of about forty feet, where Mrs Croad landed in sime hushes. She was rescued in an insensible condition, and remained so for some considerable time. She was much bruised and shaken, but no hones were broken. She had a miraculous escape from death, as a fall of another 20 feet or so, it is stated, would have landed her in the river.

After all the clamor and complaints regarding the conduct of the general election, and particularly of the Dunedin Central contest, it might reasonably have been taken for granted that no mistakes would be made in the second election on Thursday, but those who entertained such a supposition wore sadly mistaken. Reports of the election in the Dunedin papers to hand show that in the early stages of the posting of returns, the figures showed Mr Mmiro to have a substantial lead, but afterwards it was ascertained that one or two officials had reversed the totals on telephoning, and it was only when the papers came in that the figures were adjusted. The Otago Daily. Times says that great uncertainty prevailed when the alterations were made in the figures. Eventually the true result was posted up, hut if took the gathering some time to realise that the last of the figures had been displayed. An enongous concourse of people assembled in front of the paner offices in the evening, and watched the ivo. gress results with keen interest. The crowd was so large about a quarter past 9 that It almost reached the dimensions of the immense gathering on the night of the general election.