LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 84, 13 April 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Football Club's quota For the Empire, according to the annual report presented last night, is eleven Senior men and eight .Juniors now in Egypt. The .Stratford Borough Council adjourned at ten o'clock last night, alter disposing of the new buildings plans and a few minor matters, leaving the heavy end of the agenda paper for consideration on Wednesday evening.

I'll referring to the public interest taken in wireless telegraphy. 31 r Fegan in liis lecture last night, said that it seemed as though a couple of hangings were needed to interest people in any invention. This remark was made in regard to the part played in the arrest of Dr. Crippen by wireless, and a .similar occurrence in connection with the inception of telegraphy, both of which caused the inventions to be much talked about.

L;isi year the football matches in t lie, northern division were played on Saturday, and in consequence the f'gates" (in Stratford's case at any rate) were considerably lightened. This year, however, Eltham is coming into the competitions, and at last night's meeting of the Stratford Football Club, it was resolved that the delegates bo instructed to bring before the Fnioti the desirability of playing the fixtures on Thursday.

A comparison of the stock slaughtered for one and twelve months at the Strafford Municipal abattoirs is shown in the following report to the Council: For the month of .March the figures were:—Cows 08, heifers 31, oxen •_'. calves 6, sheep 268, lam lis 64, pigs 47, tripes prepared 28, calves' heads .'5. Stock slaughtered during the year ending 31st March, 1915, were: Cows 719., heifers 331, oxen 130, calves 40, sheep 3253, lambs (ill), pigs 415. tripes prepared 548, sundries 87.

The first three-quarters of an hour, out of two hours and a-half expended on the business of the Borough Council last night, was taken up in de-j ciding where a start should be made.! The question was whether the items on the agenda paper should be taken I seriatim or whether the plans and' specifications of the new municipal buildings should be first disposed of and the whole plan then adopted. An account of the "blockade" is reported on page 7. A few hilarious minutes were spent at the Town Hall last evening, when Mr T. H. Fegan, during his lecture on wireless, referred to the mistakes made by operators in sending messages. Thus, one newspaper was astontonished to receive word aout a certain cricketer's "howling paralysis," which turned out to be nothing worse than his bowling analysis. In another case "granny" Times published a message from Brisbane that the Governor of Queensland was the happy father of twins, while the message should have read that he had "turned the first .sod" of a railwav.

Stratford burgesses will he interested to learn that tenders for the new municipal buildings are to be called for forthwith, the tenders to he returnable within a month. The Borough Council last evening made several minor amendments in the plans and specifications, as will he seen from the report of the meeting appearing on page 3 of this issue, and finally adopted the whole. Three months have elapsed since the general plans were first adopted by the Council, the members of which have devoted a great deal of time to perfecting same. Tenders are to be invited in Auckland, Wellington. Now Plymouth and Stratlord.

.Vli* T. I!. Kegan, in the course of his lecture on wireless at tlio Town Hall last night, spoke of the impression prevalent among the uninitiated, that wireless messages could he intercepted by people for whom they were not intended. The lecturer, after explaining that natural frequency was the hasis of the whole sciep.ee, referred to t lie quickness with which operators at the IVont changed the "pitch" so that the enemy could not pick up the messages. In this connection he also men. tinned that messages could he sent from the Eiffel Tower in Paris right across Germany without the Germans heme; ahle to read the messages.

The inquest on the hody of Alice Ada Paulger, aged 21 months, daughter of Mr .i. \V. Paulger, of Waiwiri Road, was held at the Stratford Magistrate's Court yesterday, before the Acting-Coroner, .'). Masters, J.P., and a jury of six. of whom Mr Garrett K. Wilson was chosen foreman.—John William Paulger, father of deceased, said he was absent from home on Saturday from about 2 to 7.t0 p.m., and that the first he heard of the accident was from the Stratford police.—Dr. Steven said death was due to drowning.- Mis Paulger and her son John la lad of eleven years) gave evidence as to the movements of deceased before the accident.—Without retiring, the jury returned a verdict that deceased had met her death through drowning, nnd that no blame in; attachable to

The Stratford footballers voted £3 ,3s io the needy relief funds at its last nights meeting. A Lome message to-day states that by a fire at .Naples, 6000 bales of cotton, valued at £BO,OOO .were destined. -T Weather Forecast.—Northerly strong winds to gale and veering by west to south. The weather appears likely to he cloudy and unsettled. Rain probable. Barometer falling.—Bates, Wellington. A Wellington Tress Association telegram gives the following hank returns * For the March quarter of 1915:—Advances £22,106.141, discounts £1,634,405, free deposits £15.958.729. fixed deposits £10.870,506, Government deposits £3,236,709, circulation £2,639,581, coin and bullion £6,127,281.

Mr C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., has been nominated for election on the New Plymouth Harbour Board for the combined Boroughs of Stratford, Eltham and Inglewood, the nominators in each case being Messrs. W. P. Kirkwood and R. McK. Morison (Stratford), W. D. Boss and G. W. Bennett (Eltham), George Young and A .B. Gandin (Inglewood), Being the only nominee, Mr Wilkinson has been elected.

Levin reports: Three hoys named Raymond Jones (12), Edward Uecrossey (12), and Ronald Corson (10), dijjt appeared from their homes at Levin oir Friday, leaving no trace of their whereabouts. It has since been discovered that they were well supplied with funds. It was ascertained that they took the train on Friday to Palmerston North, and it is supposed they have gone to Auckland.

The sequel to a police raid on premises in Haining Street, Wellington, last night, was that four Chinese were charged to-day with breaches of the Gaming Act and were remanded, bail «f £SO each being allowed. A Press Association telegram adds that ten Euro]wans who were found on the premises, pleaded guilty to charges of lieing found in a common gaming house and were fined £3 each.

At the meeting of the Strafford Hospital Hoard to-day the chairman (.Mr. J. McAllister) referred to the approaching elections, and said that there was a possibility that he might not be at the Board's next meeting, though he would again be a candidate. Members present spoke in high tern* of the two borough members (Messrs. McAllister and Sole), and the interest taken by them in hospital affairs, and expressed the hope that they would again be elected to the board. Mr Soie also intimated his intention of seeking re-election.

The following new books have been added to the Stratford Public Library: —"Delia Blanchflower" (Mrs H. Ward), "Trespass" (Claude Askew), "The Temple of Dawn" (1. A. P. Wylie), "Korlorn Adventures" (Agnes E. Castle), "The Craves of Kilmorna" <l\ A. Sheehan), "Edgar Chirrup" (Percy Webling), "His Love or »lu> Life"' (Richard Marsh), "What I Found Out" (by an English Governess), "An Emperor in the Dock" (W. Do Veer), "A Pillar of Salt" (Horace Xewte), "Cicely in Ceylon" (F. A. Symons), "Lily Louisa" (Stanley Wrench), "Bones" (Edgar Wallace)! ".Mrs Latham's Extravagance" (Thomas Cobb).

Through circumstances over which they had no control, the Taranaki Rugby Union had rather a bad time financially last season. This matter was brought up at the Football Club's meeting last night by the chairman (Mr R. Masters), who said a suggestion had been thrown out by Hawera that the clubs should wipe off the debit balance, and give the Union a clean start, and he would like to see Stratford take a lead. During a long discussion, in which the management of the Union came in for a deal of adverse comment, it was stated that other Unions took the gate-takings of fhe club matches, and these aniounts went to the Union funds. To the average footballer, it seemed somewhat paradoxical that the parent body should be in such an impoverished state when the clubs were so sound financially. Mr E. Jackson movjtfl that the sum of £ls los be voter! to the Taranaki Rugby Union, provided the other clubs make up the balance to wipe off the debt of £64 odd. This was seconded by Mr D. J. M alone. Mr C. Jackson said that in his opinion a thing half given was not given at all, and they should not attach any conditions to the vote. Other clubs, he felt sure, would come forward if they got a lead. He moved as an amendment that £ls los be voted straightout to the Taranaki Rugby Union. This was seconded by Mr C. Stewart, but was lost, and the motion was carried. There are ten clubs in Taranaki, and the substantial lead given by Stratford will .surely he taken up by the others.