The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 1916. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 23, 3 January 1916, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 1916. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A London cablegram states that licenses will be issued only to jockeys who have attested.

A special troop train from New Plymouth, en route to Rangiotu Camp, passed through Stratford yesterday morning. A large number oi men who had been spending their final leave in Stratford, boarded the train amid cheers from .the concourse of people who assembled on the railway platform. The train drew out from the station at 10 o’clock.

A- patriotic concert, under the auspices of the Strut.ord Racing Clu >, was given by the Wanganui Garrison Rand under Deputy-conductor H. Briggs, at Ngacro Gardens yesterday afternoon. The free use of tlup gardens was generously given by Mr 11 uclove. and' the whole nett proceeds, amounting to £O6, \ v cre in aid of the Patriotic Funds. The programme, which was much appreciated hy the large attendance of visitors, was , as follows :—Processional nu x'-h, “Silver Trumpets” (Vivani); overture, “Light Cavalrv” (Suppe) ; cornet solo, “T.io Rosary” (Neviu), fsoloist, ,Mr das. M’Grath ; hymn varied ‘'Simeon” (Rimmer) ; selection, “Souve.dr de Russo”’ (Rimmer) ; chorus '‘.,’udex (Owen); overture. “Tan erodin'* (I * UK ' siuif intermezzo, “Ye Metric Yfonl»t'ch” (Hollowny)f I

The French military authorities have hit on an ingenious method of delivering the letters written by the Turkish prisoners in the Dardanelles to their families. The mails are delivered by aero-post, and have to he thrown the Turks from the height of about 2000 yards in special mailbags, lined' with thicknesses of aeroplane canvas.

An almost overwhelming smell in th G bunker hatch of a certain steamer at present at Wellington, caused a gang of half a dozen watersiders to cease work on Thursday. The majority refused to resume work at any price, but a gang of men later on took up the work at sixpence an hour added to the standard pay. The coal is being moved from the vessel’s bunker hatch into a hulk alongside. The coal is unusually dusty, adding to the unpleasantness of the job. The men who ceased work gave the regulation two hours’ notice to their employers, in accordance with their agreement. The cause of the smell is not quite apparent, but as the vessel’s tank s aiij bilges are being cleaned out this may have something to do with it.

Tlie staff of the Kumara (Westland) Hospital was thrown into a state of excitement on a recent evening by the mysterious disappearance of one of the patients. He had his tea as usual, but shortly afterwards was missecr. Diligent search failed to unearth the missing man, and the police were communicated with. With the aid of lanterns, the hospital grounds, the roads, the adjacent cliffs, and every conceivable nook and cranny were searched, hut there were no tidings of the patient. Well on in th e evening, however, on returning from the river bed one of the search parties happened to peep into the operating theatre, and there found the missing man, who, being almost totally blind, had got in there, but could not find his way out. Tlie poor old man, although oblivious of the consternation he had been responsible for, was almost distracted through his attempts to attract attention being unavailing.