LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 36, 18 January 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The monthly meeting of the Stratford School Committee will lie hold this evening. A special meeting of the Stratford Borough Council to consider the Health Inspector's report and electric light proposals will be held on Monday next. The New Plymouth Higjh School Hoard resolved to ask the Taranaki Rugby Union to award the Bayly Scholarship to M. Atkinson in place of A. R. Callander, the winner, who was unable to hold it owing to holding tin Education Hoard Scholarship. M. Atkinson was second on the list.

A new world's champion dairy cow of all breeds is reported by "Hoard's Dairyman." This is the Holstein Duchess Skylark Ormsby, whose record lor the 365 days ended October 3] last is given as 27,7G11b5. milk, 12051 b. butter fat, and 4.3 test. This world bealor is owned by .Mr John B. Irwin, Minneapolis. I .S.A. Bush burns are all the rage in the Ohura country, according to ,the local paper, which says: During the last week, the township has been rendered rather unpleasant on account of the amount of smoke blown over from the j bush fires in the bach country. The rain on Wednesday nitfit has cleared the air and laid the dust. \-«wt- - K'r.g. local agent for the Shaw, Savill and Albion Shipping Company, Ltd. bar received advice > ■ ■ .»,!.' ...,i||. ■'• ,] of the R.M.S. "Corintbie" has been postponed from the 20th to Monday, 21th inst.. ai

Settlers in the Pembroke road disu ct arc complaining cs the prevalence of "club root" among the turnip crops this sea ion. and one farnv" .•tates that his crop is going down au tin? rate of an acre a week. Authority ■ are much divided as to the cause ol the disease, and various remedies are suggested, but not one.seems to have proved universally successful. Even the treatment o! the seed with formalin has not been efficaciou while the overabundance of phosphates has been blamed for the trouble, it is noteworthy that those who have used basic slag and super have so far had no cause for complaint, it is certain, however, that on the first appearance of the disease, the allotted plants should be pulled up and burned. Owing to the large number of firemen throughout the district answering to the call of the Empire, the executive of the Taranaki United Fire Brigades' Association decided to take a ballot as to whether the biannual demonstration, arranged for Stratford should be held this* year or not. When the result was made known it was seen that a largo number of brigades were against the holding of the demonstration, but the Stratford Brigade having gone to a lot of trouble and expense in getting the ground, etc., In order, have decided to hold a competition amongst their own. member?, so as to keep the efficiency of the brigade up to the standard, and also to give new members an insight into competition work. On February 17th, the public of Stratford will be given a chance to witness an exhibition of competition work.

A flag, presented by the Woolbrokers' Association, was offered at the Christehurcl) wool sales on Monday week on behalf of the Canterbury Patriotic Fund 4 and realised £l2lß Ss (id. Speaking to a reporter after the sale, a leading wool-buyer said: "I wish you to draw the attention of the public to the fact that the success of the sale was due very largely to the liberality of the brokers and buyers, not to the wool-growers. Of the money received for the flag, the former gays £9OB, and the latter £3lO. ing that the wool sold to-day was •—•' worth quite £450,000 1 1 think farmers and wool-growers are not bearing their full share, and 1 think the time has come when they should dip into their pockets for patriotic purposes much deeper than they have done hitherto."

"J am not in entire accord with the 'sot' that is being made—l do not understand why—upon these picture shows," said Mr L. M. Isitt, M.P., in the course of discussion when a deputation waited upon the Minister for Internal Affairs, and urged the censorship of moving pictures. "I fail to see all these terrible things we hear about. T have heard more objectionable things at the theatre than ever I have seen at the pictures. We should be -'careful before we make this wholesale denunciation of what constitutes practically the poor man's literature. Children have a remarkable facility for missing what adults see." There had, he continued been public utterances as to pictures that would make one jj who had not seen them think they" - were very terrible. He failed to see what ground there was for the exaggerated condemnation that had been levelled at this one cheap amusement of the working class. The New Zealand High Commissioner, Sir Thomas Mackenzie, reports:— "During the last few years the consumptive demand for margarine has been increasing rapidly, and during the last twelve' months it has increased more rapidly still. So great has this demand become that manufacturers have the greatest difficulty in filling orders, and in some cases they find it almost impossible to do so. Some time ago a new brand of high-grade margarine was placed on the the wholesale price of which is 9d, and the fixed retail price is Is per lb., which it will be seen leaves 3d per lb. for the grocer's expenses. The success of this line has been remarkable, aided, no *doubt in no small degree by the retailers pushing the sale of an article that returns them a good margin of profit, which for some time butter has not done. The worst feature in the case is that this class of margarine has, according to the opin- -k ions expressed by the trade, ently displaced butter in the consumptive demand to a very considerable extent in quarters that had not hitherto been affected."

"Soldiers live in the present, and the days of yesterday arc soon completely forgotten," writes Private Corkill to bis people in Stratford. "Wo do not know the day of the week, let alone the date. No Sunday is observed here (Heliopolis) among such a cosmopolitan crowd as this country is • populated with. Of course, some of the nationalities have their Sabbaths and Sundays, but it does not affect the daily toil and business of the place to any appreciable extent. You'll see a let of people in their Sunday-best going to the 'kirk,' while the shops are all open—even a road roller was workin-; away last Sunday." Private Corkill was'offered and accepted the position of battalion orderly postman a couple of days after landing. He was , Slaving a very restful time, had a tent to himself and a cycle on which to, travel about. The weather was vJtfy warm and dusty itt the daytime, but lovely and fresh at night. The rations were excellent. One day he met Tom Gorton, who bad been up on the insula. (Gallipoli) for four -months; a bullet grazed his leg and then dysentery was the cause of his being back to Egypt. Harry Cullen and one of the Lehmann boys had also been met, both" of whom were looking well. A Bargain.--Eor quick sale, one 2- ' seater Motor Car fitted with electric light and self-starter, fully equipped. j Apply "Motor," Stratford Evening v^Post."