GENERAL NEWS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 70, 25 March 1915, Page 8

GENERAL NEWS.

Jumping at the Quirindi (N.b.NV.) Show, Judd’s Bandolier cleared /It -in. which is an Australasian recoid. The sum of £‘2B2 lias been sent by the natives of Ellice islands fm midPacilic) for the relief of distress m England. The Ellice Islands have an area of li square miles and a population of about 2100. Six Dunedin confectioners were fined 10s each and costs for selling ice-cream not containing ten per cent: of cream. Small penalties were imposed as a warning. Private advices received in Sydney state that Tom Sullivan (the sculler), nod also his eldest son, are prisoners of war in Germany. His wife and youngest children have reached London sale-

Soldiers’ week-end cable messages mav now be accepted for Gibraltar and Malta (via Eastern), subject to conditions for similar messages notmed previously, at the rate of mnepence per word, with no minimum. Belgium babies born in the conquered territory are now registered under German names and newspapers are printed in the German language, while newspaper vendors have been imprisoned for selling Enghs i, ienc 1 and Belgian newspapers. The Kawhid Settler, the late arrival of the Arapawa, after U days’ detention in Waitara, remar cs that it was the longest period since the service was established. The dry weather had so reduced the water in the river that spring tides had to lie awaited before the steamer was enabled to effect her departure. In the course of a letter received bv a Manaia resident from a native of Norway who lived some years m New Zealand, the writer says:—Be have our army mobilised carefully watching the march of events, and it it should happen that we find it necessary to take a hand in the fighting, rest assured it will be on the side of the English and French. That is the feeling throughout Norway.

At the Tim am contest for the Queen of the Carnival, which concluded last week, excitement ran intensely high, and money flowed like water. One man filled in a cheque for CIUOO, which ho placed in the box to the credit of the Fairlie voung lady (Miss Caskey) sixty seconds' before the ballot closed. This final plump “fairly” took teh breath away from all the other competitors, and Fairlie won handsomely.

Trooper N. Miller, of Mastertou. writing from the New Zealand cam]) in Egypt, says;—“A swarm of locusts passed near Cairo yesterday (February Mth). There must have been millions of them. The town was quite dark, though it was broad, daylight, and the niggers here say: ‘No men in Europe to cut crops for soldiers. God sent the locust to Egypt to cut the crops here.’ Crops in Palestine are reported to be eaten down by locusts.”

A private letter received in town ('states the Patea Press) from a former Patoa resident at present in Melbourne states that Madame Melba recently held an auction sale on behalf of the Belgian Relief Fund of a small quantity of vegetables grown in her garden. The first article to be offered was one bean, which fetched 30s, a canot next fetched a similar amount, and a leek no less than £2. The purchaser of the leek undertook for a wager of £2 to eat the leek on the spot, a feat which was accomplished amid cheern. Altogether the sale of the few vegetables realised £133.

At the Eltliam Court yesterday (states the Argus), William Symonds (carpenter, of Maugatoki), was charged that “on February 25th last, at Mangatoki. he did fail to comply with the directions of the Act to take such measures to cure a disease—foul brood.” Defendant did not put in an appearance, being in Auckland at the present time. The case was accordingly adjourned till April 14th.—A similar charge was preferred against F. Cane, farmer, of Fltham. The Inspector stated that defendant had been warned. His Worship said defendant was liable to a fine of £5 for failing to comply with the Act, and a fine of £1 and £1 12s costs was imposed.

Last Wednesday, at Kawliia, John Johnson was charged that on or about the 28th day of August, 1914, he altered a cheque for £5 ss, drawn by F. Eshelby (contractor), on the Kawhia branch of the Bank of New Zealand, to £ls ss, and did present and utter the same at the said bank.—Accused had been arrested in Wellington, and remanded to Kawhia from Hamilton. _j. O’Sullivan, teller at the Kawhia branch of the Bank of New Zealand, deposed to a man similar to the accused presenting a cheque on August 29th for £ls ss, drawn by F. Eshelby in favor of J. Johnson. Witness: cashed the cheque, giving two £5 notes, five singles, and 5s in silver. Tt was witness’ third day in Kawhia. and he know very few of the inhabitants. On the following Monday Mr Morgan (manager') first noticed the alteration, and it was decided to call in Eshelby. who repudiated it. The police were then communicated with. Witness noticed the ‘f’ had been written over the V and ‘teen’ inserted, the whole word then being inked over. No one else oi a similar description to the accused entered the bank that day.—After being duly charged, the accused pleaded “not guilty” and reserved bis defence. Accused was committed to the Hamilton Supreme Court for trial at its next session, bail being allowed in his own recognisances for £IOO and in two sureties of £25 each.

( Yesterday, at Invercargill, Loo Loo \ was lined ITU for smoking opium and ' (•op f o r having opium in his possession. \ His Highness the liajali of Pndnkota arrived in .Sydney by the Malwa I last week. Pudiikota, over which tho I Rajah rules, is a State in Southern India with an area of 1880 square miles, 1 and a population of 880,580, and has i a representative Assembly for eonsulative and legislative purposes. The Rajah is forty years ol age; in India his rank entitles him to a salute of eleven guns. Tho record for marching is claimed by a Stanbridge reader of the “Daily Express” for the H Company, Bth Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, who marched 28 J miles in seven and a-halt hours. A member of the King’s lloyal Rifles at Amersham claims the record for the A Company,,l3th Battalion of ■ that regiment, which performed a. march in six hours fifty minutes in snow and rain, hut the correspondent does not give the distance travelled.

Yesterday morning a young man in Auckland, named W. P. Storey, was arrested by Detective Gourley on a charge that he was an idle and disorderly person with insufficient lawful visible means of support. Storey is a rather well-known figure about town (states the Press Association). He had an office in town for tho purpose of doing business as a financial agent, and just prior to the last Parliament elections he came into public prominence by putting himself up as an Independent candidate for Parnell. He has been announced as a candidate for a seat on the Auckland Education Board. A wounded soldier, who has risen in such a meteoric fashion that he has been termed “Lucky Haig,” is MajorGeneral Sir Douglas Haig, who commands our First Army Corps. Sir Douglas is a great artillery leader, and was SirNTolm French’s chief staff officer during the Boer War, being specially promoted to the command of the “Death or Glory Boys” (17th Lancers). 1c is calculated that during one of his appointments in South Africa over fifty columns came under his lieand. During the Boer campaign he won two medals and nine clasps, amongst the many honours given him being that of extra aide-de-camp to the late King Edward.