LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 69, 20 November 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Owing to delay in arrival of machinery from Britain, it is expected that the Xew Plymouth trams 'will not ho running till the middle of January or, perhaps, later. A Sydney cablegram states that a party of four in a motor-ar put up a. record in overlanding from Fremantle 1 to Sydney, doing the journey in eight days, twenty-three hours, thirty-five minutes . * Weather Forecast.—Southerly .moderate to strong winds. The ivepther . will probably’ prove squally. |withheavy showers. 1 The night will 1 probably be very'cold. Barometer 'rising soon.—Bates, Wellington.' The work of constructing a new outlet at Victoria Lake is nearing completion, and it is expected the water will he turned on in a few days. The old outlet, a 9iu. pipe, wa s not large enough to carry off flood water, so a new one, of 21m., has been installed. One of the large plate glass windows in Mr C. E. James’ shop in Broadway was cracked on Thursday evening. It appears that a man was playing with some children on the pavement, and threw a marble, which hoimced off the asphalt and struck ' the glass. The crack is a very small . one, and it'is not« < known whether it will he necessary to replace thei glass. jpCj f*l | j ; A u'l Ui if!] The Press Association states (that as the result of a slight disagreement with a member of the staff, the girls employed at Hannah’s hoot factory in Wellington declared themselves on strike yesterday afternoon. It appears that during the forenoon they had taken offence at something that was said to them, and at one o’clock they declined to return to work until they had received satisfaction. Their grievance was disposed of during the afternoon, and the “strikers” declared! their willingness to return to work to-j morrow morning. While the disputej was in progress the neighbourhood of j the factory presented the unusual scene of a number of excited young women standing about in groups, discussing the situation. A resident of the Timaru district describes a unique experience : —“I j went to the gate for the paper on ■ Wednesday, the 10th, and walked 1 slowly hack along the drive, reading! the news. Directly I sat down inside| I heard a slight clap of thunder, and j 1 looked out to see what the weathei , was going to he, and there was a blaze of light shooting across the laun about 20ft from the ground, whilst 1 quite close to the house was a hall of fire as big as a child’s head. The next moment 1 heard the most awful ex-’ plosion and rending and cracking. My, ears ached with the concussion. i | felt as if 1 had a blow on each of thorn. The next thing we saw was a black cloud over the house, and then down came the hail. On examination we found that the thunderbolt had entered our place on a pine “Oft higu, cut it clean off 20ft from the top, torn trunks and branches into matchwood,’ and strewn the place lor yards around: with pieces of wood. Then it knocked the top off another* tree, and iiualK struck a third a yard' from the ground, 1 and then buried itself. All this happened at 11.30 in the morning. A man who was working in the connti > says he saw a ball of lire as big as a football come out of a black cloud and ( fall within 100 yards of his bouse.” j A Monster Gift Stock Sale for i Wounded Soldiers’ Fund is being or- ; ganised by tbo Auctioneers of Strat- , ford and the Patriotic Committee. Promises of gifts will be welcomed, ami every member of the Patriotic ; General Committee is asked to work , liard and make the sale an unqualified ] success. I f

When the steamer Makambo passedthrough the Xew Hebiicks on her last Island trip the volcano on Tanna Islam! was iii active eruption. Dense clouds of very hue dust were being emitted from the crater, spreading over the adjacent islands and out to sea for miles around. That interest in the forthcoming Show increases daily is shown by the enthusiasm of those in charge of the different sections, the constant demand for schedules, and the entries coming in continually. Some of the best of Wanganui’s Show exhibits have decided to come to Stratford, and this alone should be an incentive to local and surrounding farmers to be “on their mettle,” and show what Stratford can do. From the present outlook, if the farmers give their support as liberally as iu the past by entering all eligible stock for competition, and making the Show days real “farmers’ days,” December 1 and 2 will bring a Show to reflect great credit on Stratford and district.

Very complete arrangements have now been made by the committee of the combined auctioneers for th& dance they are holding in the Town Hall on Wednesday next, the proceeds of which are to he handed to the Wounded Soldiers’ Fund. The dance promises to he one of the most successful of its kind held in Stratford. For those who do not dance adequate arrangements are being made in the way of a conceit programme between the dances, cards, etc. The social is to take the form of a free and easy evening, and only good weather is needed to make the evening a great success. The musical committee have engaged some of the best outside, talent, and a treat is promised music-lovers.

A startling incident occurred at the North Steyne bathing area at Manly Beach, Sydney, last week, when Albert Rebechi, a visitor from Victoria, was attacked by a shark while bathing in the surf. Rebechi’s legs were severely mauled about by the brute before he managed to get into shallow water, and his escape from a horrible death was almost miraculous. He was bathing at the time 1 amongst a lot of other surfers in only about three feet of .water, and some children were right alongside him, when the shark made the attack. The first he knew was that he was caught by something by the foot and pulled on to his lace in the water. He felt no immediate pain, but, a curious thrill went through his body, and he dug his hands into the sand, and kicked and struggled .against the unknown force which was dragging him into the sea. He shooic himself free,'only to find himself grabbed by the other : foot, and he then realised that it was a shark that had him. Scrambling to Ids feet he called out to those around him that ho was attacked by a shark. He fought and kicked the brute, which savagely held on to his leg, and finally succeeded in getting out of its clutches, just as life-savers Dowling and Bowden dashed in to his assistance. Then he colalpsed in their arms. The unfortunate man’s legs presented a pitiful sight. Both feet and ankles were terribly torn, and the flesh was hanging in shreds.