LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 11, 16 December 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The average weekly takings at the Waipuku toll-gate amount to reported the Chairman of the Stratford County Council yesterday.

The colors of the Stratford District High School are gazetted as follows: Alternate red and black horizontal stripes, one fifth of an inch wide, on a band an inch and two fifths wide. Badge, a shield with the worcfs District High School" on two bands running diagonally across same, and the motto "Palma non sine pulvere" on a scroll heneath.

Mr Fred Foley, of His Majesty's Theatre, lias decided to distribute, Christmas souvenirs in the* "form of an art fan, to his patrons during next week. Photographs of Charlie Chaplin and Maty Piekford, .the "niovie'" artists, are reproduced''4m 4 the fans, and admirers of these popular players will not doubt avail themselves of the opportunity to keensake.

"How is the war going to affect Christmas?" This "seems to he the

hote. in. ,the, of "Everylacly'.s Journal,'' jusfc.to hand. „.• . 'v ' ''*'•' ' -• ' ; '.lJ''. fH.t, W bivsitlv, that this, is going to be a. more. serious-minded Christ'riias than usual ; we are going to thiWk inoi;e of giving others happiness than or having a good time ourselves.' Then it is going to be a less" dreSsy Christmasj and the note of,' fcne fashions will, lie quality and pra'ctibility rather than smartness and'^howlness'.

~ Tjiirty-eight ' recruits are ; required urgently to fill the ranks of infantry in the Eleventh Reinforcements'.- This: number is required from the Taranaki district. Those who have registered in other branches of service, may-v ;if: they wish, transfer to the infantry and go into camp immediately. Special leave will be granted-the men jn camp over the Christmas holidays. t lt /is* sincerely; hoped :: that ,the required quota- will be f forthcoming from the Tat;ana,ki district..,.Recruits may, ,enlistj atiian.v, time during the r next, few .day's ,sS% Defence Office, or .with' the! hp,norap;y. Recruiting officer, Mr AV. P v Klrk]\yood. ." ,', *',"'

•Ify 1 ! I .' dntlibert, of Pembroke Road, Stratford,' has' presented the "Funi-* naki Education Board with a handsome shield for competition in agri-' culture among the primary schools. It is beautifully designed in silver, and mounted *on oak. In presenting the shield to the Hoard, on behalf of the donor (reports the News), Mr Masters said that the gift should create added interest in the agriculture plots. The donor was a keen enthusiast and a practical fanner. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Cutlibert, and Mr Mackay, the chief inspector, and Mr J. 6. Ellisy-agri-cultural 'instructor, were appointed to confer with Mr Cufchbert about conditions.

At yesterday's meeting of the Stratford County Council, the chairman (Cr Hathaway) reported having received the following letter from Mr D. L. A. Astbury: I express my regret and disappointment at not being present at the unveiling" of Colonel Malone's photograph at th e Council's last meeting, owing to being indisposed. I wished to be present to participate in this small degree to do honor to a patriot, to one who has given his life for his country and those beliefs and privileges we hold so dear, and though the material presence of this heroic son of Xew Zealand never again shall enter that room where his labor and advice at one time centred, yet his spirit was with you, influencing you all towards a fresh determination to carry through to a successful issue what he. with many others, have given their lives for. I regret also the lost opportunity of greeting and meet-, ing old and tried friends. '.•■;:]

"Like most sailormen," writes Mr Malcolm Ross, referring to the crew of the trawlers doing duty in Gallipolean waters, "they are fond ol animal pets, and scarcely a trawler or a sweeper but has one on hoard. Two little black retriever puppies played about our feet the other day coming up from Teuedos, Then another, handsome and intelligent, adorned the bridge 'of another trawler. But the strangest pet of all is a friendly .hen that sedately walks the deck and makes friends with anyone. She will pick the matches one by one out .of a box held up to her by some recumbent Tommy on the deck, and on a hot day you will see hej.go up to the mate and draw his attention by pecking at his leg. That means that sinis thirsty. They both walk forward, tlie mate (ills her dish, and she has her drink.

jj Thte following cases have been set : <h:\vn for hearing at the weekly sitting of the Stratford Magistrate's Court to-morrow, eighteen civil, two defended, three judgment summons and one information for driving a horse and gig at night without lights.

The Stratford Dairy Company pay out on the 20th inst., the sum of liafOOO, being the November payment of Is per lb butterfat and a bonus of 4d for September. The Lowgarth Company pay out £slßl, being November payment and a bonus of ltd for last season's butterfat.

vsLbvers of mountain air and scenery will note with satisfaction thtat the Stratford Mountain House is now open for the season. Special arrangements have been made by the local representatives on the National Park Board, for visitors in huge numbers, and Air lin'd -Mrs Eliott have been placed in the management.

Those members of the community who have volunteered for active service, but who failed to pass the medical examinations', can now obtain certificates that they volunteered but were rejected. In times when pharisaical pin-pricking goes on among ant unwise feu' in the community, such a certificate is handy, a s it often has the effect of reducing pin-prickers to an embarassed state of deserved conviction of narrow mindedness.

AVrites Malcolm Ross, official correspondent with the New Zealand Forces: Letters take a long time to arrive, and sometimes it is the lastwritten one that arrives first. Even cable messages are subject to strange delays. To-day (October 23), I learn that a cable message that I sent to the Prime Minister of New Zealand on 30th September is still at Tenedos I :it'wa s sent that way to give-it quicker despatch! A\ T hat has happened to it in the meantime, heaven only knows!

\JL there appears to be anxiety amongst the friends of the late Sergeant Dewar in connection with the position of Mrs Dewar, senior, the 'chairman of the Stratford Patriotic Executive Committee (Mr AA 7 . P. Kirkwodd) wishes to state that the committee has the matter in hand. Having temporarily assisted Mrs Dewar- the: committee are now ill communication with thd Paime ( rston North Patriotic ComT«>ljv?e, with, a, View to j'oiut . action /being!, -taken;,, () Sn urging'up. on , ( necessity iof ■ a more liberad, pensjpn ~, allowance,: Mis Dewar and, her. .ja-,, r , valid son are residing in Palmerston, , v North/ •■•'•■■ ■' ■ ■'!' i t -i' ■-'- : .it U,

An and, ,ap the same time, true, 1 story comes ■■from, Dimedin.' In r that town there is a city missionary , who conducts the Bible instruction in the State, schools. The other dayhe was holding the last class before holidays, and concluded with a gen* era? prayer; which the < children repeated after him. "God bless father, mother, teachers, and scholars,'' he. , said, anil dutifully 'the <infants repeat-, ; ,■ ed' it,' "and the scholars dn the battle- -, field," he went Oh; "arid 1 the soldier ni on, 'the battlefield,", '-earn© the meek-: anifcal murmur the children i the! Army ehapfeins" • "iilnd bi» Chaplin," came"th'e. ' tatlingly and in perfect '"goodeotfaftfct *Bfl The laughter that followed 1 did come from the children] 'and was'pro- "»i bably accepted by them as 'another evidence of the inconsequentiality of grown-ups.

Tt is understood that a decision has been come to by the country members of the Stratford Hospital Board to refund the travelling expenses surcharged to all the members under protest. It seems peculiar that of all public bodies the Hospital Board was ■ placed in such a position. A member could hire a car or conveyance to "attend a meeting and the Audit Department cheerfully passed it, but if a member used ht# own trap, librae or car, be must not charge anything; to do so he must have actually paid y the amount to some other person on the day he attended the meeting! The position now is that the Board will be compelled to pay one shilling per mile for country member.*, which on the aggregate will be an increase on what they had previously drawn. The town members were surcharged because they had attended the meetings and passed the accounts. Of course, it is well known they receive nothing at all for their attendance.

Lawyers and sawyers, barristers and butchers, merchants and ibushmen, clerks and 'cow-bangers" are at Trenthani; every trade and every profession are represented there; the one hue of khaki covers a multitude of the differences that were in private life, says the Wellington Post. A story tojd by Captain Shand at the journalists' social evening on Saturday shows the vast change which the step into camp has. made in some men's lives. A. land-owner, with a very comfortable homestead on his broad acres, felt the call to tlie war, and moved, to Trenthara, where he began as a private. Of course, he had to take hi s turn at orderly duties, including waiting at table in the officers' mess-room. He who in private life had been able to order men hither' and thither had now his share of carrying loaded dishes precariously and hurrying hither and thither at the beck and call of the diners. He did this stoically, but he admitted to Captain Shand that this was the hardest work he had ever done —this waiting and the learning to say "sir" respectfully. Here was a man who had been through many perils, on horse ajjd on foot, and his strength anc! nerve hud been tested in various, adventures, but the "sirring" was the hardest of all. However, he did it as others have done.

Hie catering for the Stratford RacHiClub'g meeting in January 1 and secured by Mrs Brookin;'. ■a Chriatchurch Press Association Egram states that at the MetropoliBg trotting track this morning, Euntry Belle paced a mile in 2min 7 Klaec, breaking the Australasian reH Weather forecast: The * indications Wk* for northerly strong winds to Kkle and backing by west to south. Hfce weather appears likely to be Houdy and unsettled.. Rain probable. She barometer has a falling tendency ■t present.—Bates, Wellington. ■ The "plum pudding row," as a dis■rate over the points prize in the Home Industries Section at the Strat■ord Show has been jocularly called, Bind which was a subject for discusEion at the Executive meeting last ■Bight, has, it is understood, been setKled by a division of the prize money, IbJUween Mrs H. Jones and Mrs H. E. ■Crofts. * At last night's meeting of the Executive ' Committee of the Stratford A.' and P. Association, resolutions were passed expressing the Association's thanks and appreciation bf (1) the able way in which the members of theStratford'Police Force carried ou| {their many duties, including the con* trolling of the traffic; (2) the way in which the local Stationmaster and 'itailway Officials attended to the enstraining .of show stock; (3) also to all s|rtho had helped to make the show such ;a success. It wa s decided to hold a Gymkhana in aid of the Patfriotic Funds at an early date. The |net increase on this year's show comspared with last year's amounted to £206, which was considered very satisfactory 1 ." "',''■

.■■" lii connection with the enlarged % area of the Taranaki Education District, which comes into effect in August next, the Chairman of the Board (Mr H. Trimble), stated at the meeting yesterday, it was thought prob- -,:;; »Me that after the census New Plymouth would be found to contain a papulation of over 8000, and so would be an uroan area, entitled to two .members. In dividing the districts /'into three wards; alternative proposals were to" have bee'n brought down. | It wds n&W found that the division,: had td'-be'made 'before March 31st, and al^jfche I 'eenWus'would .not have If; been then; 1 Newt: Plymouth would f "nave'to'be included in- one of, the thr'ee "wai'ds for:the-'first year, and the Board s would thus consist of • six members. If, the result of the | census^rendered it riecessfary, 'an nJteratioh woul dbe made the following ' vear. .. •■■<.•■ >,>..■ A memorandum from the Minister in charge of the Soldiers' Information 1 Department, requesting the assist- - ance of technical colleges in the.work of training invalid soldiers to new occupations evoked indignation at the f Otago Education Board on Tuesday, from the fact* that in. the information attached -was a report taken from a

;, German>>paper relating-- to. ; : measures takenf*here. to for- ' - • to a ithe Sftuister . technical school/«»rtn9ge I riSiel!.V'?? olutio P affirming that pot.yeepgnise the necessity fog enclosing 'an extract from jmper giving methods of administration and advice as to the treatment of disabled soldiers. At this period of the nation's history, it seems to the board a grave reflection on British humanity and patriotism, and an insult to the national pride, to suggest, by the forwarding of such an extract, that we might take an . example from Gei-many in the proper and humane treatment of our wounded heroes. .