LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 69, 21 July 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

For the past twenty-four hours or more, Jupiter Pluvius ami Boreas seem to have taken a fiendish delight in bombarding Mother Earth. Rude Boreas tore round and round the chimneys and housetops, and Pluvius not to be outdone, stamped an endless tattoo with a million feet. The weather was the roughest in the experience of the "Oldest inhabitant." A record of the rainfall for the period will be interesting, if only to show.

how it can rain in Stratford—when itlikes! That the surrounding districts towards the Mountain have caught the fall very heavily is shown j in tJiat true gauge of wet weather—the Patea River. Tins morning she was running at record height, and as seen from the Victoria Bridge, rolling rapidly to the sea. it was a picture of Nature running wild, reminiscent, indeed, of the grandeur of Mount Egmont himself, and in marked contrast to the meanderings of the pretty Patea in her peaceful moods. Actually, the Patea is over a foot higher to-day than any flood height l known previously. According to Mr T. Harry Penn, observer, for the twenty-four hours preceding 9 a.m.| to-day over five inches of rain had fallen. Mr Penn says that the fall, is the highest he has ever recorded in Stratford, and is, possibly, the highest fall since 1891, twenty-four, years ago. The fall to-day is heavier than yesterday's, and it is anticipated that the record of yesterday will be beaten. i

The St. Andrew's Church congregational meeting called for tins; evening has been postponed tifl next Wednesday on account of the bad weather.

On account of the heavy traffic on the county roads, the Council recently instructed the Engineer to enforce the by-laws. The heaviest traffic is on the roads in winter time and at this time the roads suffer most. Councillors reported that excessive loads were being carried, and it was resolved that in future the by-laws will be enforced strictly.

That the whole German nation is now filled with hate for England and the English is made quite clear by certain regulations the German authorities have thought fit to introduce at Dobern. They are to the effect that any woman making signs and throwing hisses to the English prisoners will have their names taken, and they will he made public.

A man named McDonald is an inmate of the Stratford Hospital at present, suffering from the effects of an explosion in the Whanga tunnel. It appears that -McDonald was lighting a fuse, when there was a premature explosion, and he was rather badly injured about the face and bands. His eyes were badly affected, but Dr. Steven hopes to be able to save the sight. A special train brought in the injured man on Monday night.

Just recently in Quorn, South Australia, a crude artist amused himself one night by painting the whole of a German church in Sixth Street red, white and blue, with a red cross in the centre. One of the responsible men in the church, who was colonial horn as well a s his father, and whose grandfather came to South Australia disgusted with German rule, has announced that they will not paint it out, but stand true to the British colours. He only regretted that the painting was so badly done.

A pathetic incident in connection v#Jl?ii the home-coming of the wounded soldiers by the Willochra was related to the Wairarapa correspondent of the New Zealand Times by a Wellington lady. About a week or so previous to the arrival of the Willoiphra fche had been informed that her wofi.lded son was on board. She prepared a room and bed for him and obtained a next-of-kin permit to get Aboard the vessel. On the very day the W'iJtof-bi'a arrived in Wellington she record ft parcel and a letter. Thev were traZ « M«H» of her son's who was at the ?Urd«ldi«». "»« parcel contained her sort** OOWonaJ cfiects, and the letter informed her that her son had been killed in action on May 29th.

A rather pitiful incident occurred in Auckland on Friday, when the streets wore thronged with people to welcome home the wounded from the Dardanelles. Among the massed crowd a woman, wheeling a very young baby in ;i pram, twice upset the baby-cart, spilling the infant on the roadway, and into imminent danger of being trampled under foot. Then the bystanders awoke to the fact that the mother was under the influence'of drink, and totally unable to look after either herself or her baby. A policeman took charge of the mother, the baby, and the pram, and transferred them by motor-car to the lock-up, lest they should come to harm. There the police matron, who mothered the baby while its real mother was allowed to rest, and recover, learned that the woman was a highly-respectable resident, who bad hurried down town to spc the "boys come home, but. being in poor health, bad got very weak under the strain of standing for a couple of hours, waiting for the train to arrive. She consequently went to a quiet hotel and got a glass of stout to enable her to keep up her strength, but the unaccustomed liquor, in her weak state of health, bad the effect of making her drunk. When she had rested at the police station sufficiently to recover from the physical effect of the drink, ah bough intensely distressed mentally by the circumstance of her arrest, she was permitted lo go home.

The nest sitting of the Arbitration I Court at New Plymouth is fixed for 1 Kridav. at 10 a.m.

To-night's performance of "Cinderella" at [nglcwood has been postponed indefinitely.the management U lug satisfied the weather is against a "bumper" house.

The Rev. George Budd, of Feildiug. has been offered a call by the Devonport Presbyterian Church to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of the Rev. Ivo Bertram to Australia.

There is a large slip on the Whnnga line near Huiroa. No details are to hand, and the Railway Department are unable to state definitely whether the trains will run to-day as usual.

Owing to the shocking state of the weather, the Stratford Operatic Society will not visit Elthain with "Merrie England" to-night, the performance having been postponed to a dato due notice of which will be given. Tin* Society will, however, give a performance at New Plymouth to-morrow evening. The Legislative Council yesterday afternoon, sat for ten minutes. Toe Church Property Trust (Canserburyl Act. 1870. Amendment Bill was read a third time, and the Georgetti Trust Estate Bill passed its second read-

At the performance 'of the "Patriots'' in the Kaponga Town Hall on Thursday (to-morrow) night, advantage will be taken to make suitable presentations to tho Kaponga quota

who leave finally for the front on Saturday. Presentations will lip made by the band. Oddfellows and the local Patriotic Committee.

On account of the severe damage being done to Mr J. Jackson's fences on the Taihbra Road, he asked the Stratford County Council tins morning to allow him to erect two gaics on the road to keep stock on his property. On the motion of the Chairman (Mr Hathaway), seconded by O. Smith, the necessary permission was granted. The Taranaki Jockey Club last night decided to vote £IOO to the Taranaki Agricultural Society .conditional on the Society re-erecting its yards and holding its show at YVaiwakaiho. Tt was also decided to donate to the society an additional £SO pei' annum for five years for the prize list of the live stock show.

At the Stratford County Council meeting this morning, Foreman Savage was voted a sum of £5 bonus for his work on the slips and washouts on the East Riding. Councillors from th* Riding spoke highly of the foreman's work during this stormy weather. Cr. Worthington, in eulogising the work of Mi- Savage, said that he had i worked night and day. including Sundays, and was a good man to keep—the right man in the right place.

The rainfall has been responsible tor some damage in Stratford. The vacant section in South Broadway on the corner of the Opunake Road is entirely under water about two feet deep. Incidentally, the fall has severely tested the new ehanelling in Broadway, but except for a block in the pipe across Fenton Street on the west side of Broadway the ehanelling carried the water well. Is not the proof of the pudding in the eating ?

The County Engineer (Mr W. J. Lopdell) can justly claim to be the best worried man in Stratford to-day. Every Councillor as he arrived at the Council meeting this morning brought in a tale of woe regarding the particular roads or his riding!. Puniwhakau and district Ins suffered severely. The main road iblocked and also the Makahu Road. On the Opunake Road near the Hastings Road, a slip has fallen and encroached about three feet on the road. Vehicles can get past, but have to U very careful. It is estimated that tindamage would he repaired at a cos' of nothing less than £3OOO. Wh.t the present will bring this amount to will no doubt give the Council a shock. The Engineer finds it h»rd to get to the bad roads as most of them are blocked to motor traffic. Aeroplanes have not arrived too soon!

The story of a tragedy concerning the ostrich at the NYwtown Zoo was unfolded at Monday's meeting of the Wellington reserves committee (reports the N,Z. Times). The bird died last week, and a post-mortem was held. It was discovered that, its death was due to copper poisoning. In its stomach were found a dozen pennies, worn down bv the digestive organs to the thickness of a threepenny hit, half a penny ■similaralv worn down, and three halfpennies. There were also a cartridge case, a pipe-stem, and, it is reported, a live cartridge. The reserves committee decided to offer a reward to anyone giving information about persons guilty of offering injurious articles to the animals or birds. The question arose, however, what is injurious:-' .lust us the domestic hen eats gravel to assist its digestion, so the ostrich devours small stones, bits of iron, and other hard articles. The pennies proved fatal, but it is questionable how far a visitor would lie liable should an ostrich seize his watch and chain for an after-dinner tit-bit.