LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 17, 23 December 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The "Stratford Evening Tost" will not be published on Saturday next (Christmas Day) or Monday (Bbxiug Dav) (December 2o and '27 respeetneTV." V' ■■'■■'■ ' J i " } '] ; " • " RfO - ; ' ■,»■,',; ""The! menibors'of the Hospital Ship j Mhriinia speak in terms of .appreciation of'tn'cj gift oftwoiEnglislntipiano.s'; by Ithe Victoria Bowling.-Gltib. The, pianos, 'which wWe'purchased-from the:: Bristol Piano CompaM.H Limited,, hnd.a silver, plate insciiipfcum on each, [ r (, i At the auction sales of hides in Sydney,on.the 9th,,inst.. an, extra, special hide of thick substance, weighing 841 b gross, realised 18£d per'lb, or,'£6 8s 2d for the hide. The previous highest price obtained in the Sydney "market was said to. b e 16|d per lb'. Mesjdames Gangster and Co..'s Farmers' Gift Mart was opened (again to-day.' 'Good*'business was reported; but'the' 'promoters Ktfve still i a great amount 1 o'f'plMlfry; etc.-, The result' of : tlie grossing' competitions will "be made'pnbHfr W-moh'ow evening.'' ' '■'*'"" u •'■' l "' '• ':-•' if? i

' ! Three ladies, Mrs Law;, and her two •daughters, of had a very -narrow escape from'"a serious accident on the ElthaSn Road the other day. They were driving a fresh horse, which took fright at a motor lorry and backed the trap overman embankment'. The occupants were exceedingly fortunate in escaping with only bruising and shock.

The Salvation Army Silver Band will visit Stratford on Wednesday, January sth; and will render a firstclass musical entertainment .in the Town Hall in aid of the Serbian Distress Fund. Interesting items of song and story and instrument will be given, and for such a purpose a lull house should be assured.

The "wild cat" train—so-called (states the Record) on account of its marvellous irregularity of runningdid not leave lng'lewood Station mi Tuesday evening until nearly nine o'clock; and it wasu t Hiunting in this stat>on that mad- her late, as about jive minutes finished her fere; bub she had thirteen double imc're of sleep and nine trucks of ordinary freights.

The Minister for Public Health (Hon. (i. W. Russell) has promised to consult the officers of his department with regard to a suggestion that leadpoisoning should be made a notifiable disease under the Public Health Act. The matter was brought under his notice by the New Zealand Painters'' Federation, which stated that the extent of the disease was not made evident under the present system.

A public meeting will be bold in Elder's rooms to-night at 8 o'clock.

for the purpose of organising a fund for the relief of the Serbians. Arrangements have been made ivitli the Department of Internal Affairs to receive and transmit to the proper autborities at Home subscriptions to the starving Serbians. Tt is hoped that the meeting to-night will be largely attended. J At the Salvation Army Hall on Sunday night next, .Mrs Adjutant Greene will give an address. Mrs Greene is the wife of Chaplain-Captain' Greene, who has done such remarkable work in Egypt, and which has called forth the warm commendation of the Defence authorities. Mrs Adjutant Greene is staying for a few weeks with lier sister, Mrs M. T. .Phillips, of skinner Road, and arrived last night in" Stratford, which, by the way, is her native town. Mrs Greene is stated to be a capable speaker on a public , >latform, and doubtless many old 'riends will raliy to give bcr a welcome.

Considerable shop-lifiing has been goi ;g on in Stratford in the last few fflUvys., The mean sneak thief deserves kIM sevt?re attention of the police. One lirjjdesnian was relieved of an article to the value of one pound yesterday.

Robberies in Italian potts have been notorious, but the experience of the British steamer Tasso, as reported from Borne, must be almost a recoird.' She was about to leave Genoa she found that no headway was made. Jt was then ascertained that tiie bronze pr&peller had been stolen bv some unknown robbers.

Mr Carlyle Smythe. the well-known writer, traveller and entrepreneur, is just returning to Australia from a trip through t!ie war countries, during which he has written a number of excellent articles for "Life." The latest of these appears in the January issue of that magazine just to hand, and-it deals with a subject that is of the greatest interest, and yet is little known—i.e., Belgium under the German heel.

- The dispute which caused a cessation of work in some of the Wellington wool stores on Monday was settled on Tuesday by compromise. The .men agreed to accept Is Id an hour ordinary rate, Is 6d an hour overtime, and Is tea money. The great majority of the men resumed on those terms. The original demand made by the men was Is (id an hour ordinary time, and 2s an hour overtime.

A comedy in real life was acted within the business block of Waitfira the other day (reports the Mail). A man' from the country "ho had been frequently in the hotels, became somewhat amorous, and there happened to come under his vision a "merry widow" whose charms smote him hard. Tjia lady tried to escape the man's at' tcntibns, and took a short cut across a section, but in doing so became entangled in a barbed-wire fence. Her admirer came up full of rapture, and the lady getting free and seeing a bucket close by promptly seized it, and with an aim strong and true she eniptied the contents .of the bucket (which was not pure water) full and fair in the man's face. His ardour was damped and his temperature fell nnmediatelv.

The-Town Clerk (Mr P. Skoglpnd) has, received the following letter'from" ,Mr A. ,C. . Kock,. District . Railway . f Engineer, hi answer to the. Council's J request re,approach toj the Stratford station from Broadway. It is consided that -a ten feet! path, on eavh side of .the lapproacliM 'M'ith intermediate space,(6oft wide) u«ed a,s ,a roadway would' be sufficient, or if the Beauti- . hug. Society would undertake the care thereof , shrubberies between a thirtyfeet roadway and. the paths would make a suitable, and in the latter case, an attractive entrance to the statiop. The footpaths would be made the same gradients as the roadway and the gates at the entrance ■ would be-"removed'. A: sketch plan , was enclosed 1 with the letter. The annual concert of the ' foko School was held 'last Thursday and was a great success: The teachers had taken, great pains with <the training of* the Ifjiiidren in their songs, I botioug,'.'' and :ret'itations, etc. A dialogue .enr.'. titled! "The Feast of Pancakes" wafa j well performed by Molly Kilpatrick, Kitty Roberts,. James But'lery ''and •' Claude Tuck."'Myrtle Bennett red ted ■ "The Mariners' of England" -very well. Duncan Smith gave a reading hi'good style. Each pupil received a prize. Laura and Hazel Diveliall received special prizes for good attendance. They had not missed a day from school for the past four and three years respectively, and fifteen pupils received certificates. Thirteen had hot missed a day during the year, and two had only missed one day. A dance followed the concert, which was very well patronised. The music for the dance was supplied by Mr A. E. R*. Pearson (piano), and assisted by Mr Rod Bennett and Mr Maurice Chainey (violins). Mr J. Kilpatrick was M.C., and MiMax Gernhoefer was chairman.

Trooper 11 airy Hance forwards to his parents a Sine specimen of Egyptian tapestry work suitable for a table centre. Flags of the Allies act as a border to the inscription, which is as follows:—"Souvenir of Egypt. Queen Alexandra's Own 2nd Wellington,

West Coast Regiment. Ake, ake, Ida kaha! Best wishes to all. Harry Hance." Writing on October 31,

Trooper Hance says lie was on board 'the steamer Crossbill, having left Lenmos the day before for Egypt. There were 70 on board, who had reI ceived instructions to look after their horses in Egypt. Although they had very little to do at Lemnos, they were glad to get away. The food was good enough, but they were completely run down after being eighteen weeks on the Peninsula. They were having a pleasant trip with nothing to do. They arrived at Alexandria on November 3, and writing on the 7th. states that he was completely settled down at Zeir toun Camp after a spell at Mustapha Camp and thence via Cairo. In camp Trooper-.Hanee had run across a few men of the old regiment, all of whom were heartily pleased to meet again, while others he had' also met included several new arrivals from New Zealand. They had very little to do in camp, having practically only to see that the natives looked after' the horses. They expected to be in camp till after Xmas. Winter was coming on, but the climate was hotter than a New Zealand summer. The horses were looking well, as they had not done a day's work for about six months. The journey from Alexandria to Cairo was i wonderful sic;lit, there being magnificent crops of thousands, of acres of maize on both sides of the line, ap far as the eye could see.

I Weather Forecast.—Easterly modate to strong winds prevailing. Weaer cloudy to,overcast at times. Exct warm and humid conditions. Urometer little movement.—-Bates, ellington. The Patriotic Market will he open a Friday, and will he conducted hy lie Ladies' Patriotic Committee in th e rooms, Broadway. ' A special effort is I"" 1 " being made this week ; and seasonable articles will be on sale. The public are asked to donate produce, cakes, or fruit, in any quantity. "We have seen enough of this war ,to realise that intellectualism and scientific progress have failed to give ■the world the true basis of civilisation or progress," said Dr. A. W. Averill at St. Paul's Church, Auckland, on Sunday evening. "They have failed to uplift character and have left untouch- ",, ed and undeveloped that part of humanity that makes for .righteousness, " justice, and brotherhood. The world cannot go on as it has in the past. There .will be no place in the future for the superman or the super brute who wants to show liis superiority by | trampling under foot the rights and ' liberties of mankind." A study in contrasts. Two men presented themselves before a doctor not a hundred miles, from Waipawa the other day. One, apparently a strong, lusty specimen of manhood, complained of various ailments and wanted a certificates that he was unfit for active service. It transpired that he was in- - terested in a land ballot, and there was no posibility of his application be-y----ing considered without such a certificate. The other man was a farmer with excellent prospects, who bad already been examined but had lost his : papers. He wasj. however, so keen on serving "his country that he rode in a considerable distance to undergo a second examination.