LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 48, 1 February 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Thursday next (February 3) being Stratford’s great seaside annual holiday, tile “Stratford Evening Post” will not be published. A “welcome home” social will be tendered to Adjutant and Mrs Cook at the Salvation Army Hall on Friday evening. His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. W. Boon) will preside, A Press Association telegram states that since Saturday eleven cases ol infantile paralysis were reported in the Auckland district, making the tqtal in the present epidemic sixty-one. The new patients are all young children. j The Ohura' Advocate reports that jowiug to the downpour of rain, the I car containing the directors of the Taranaki Freezing Works could not get through last week. The directors hope to make the visit to Ohura about the end of February. A notice in our advertising columns warns the public that the Defence; Department is not liable for any debts contracted by unauthorised persons. No claims will be recognised unless supported by a written order signed by an authorised office)'. The work of re-constructing the footpath on the west side of Broadway was commenced thi s morning. The east side is already for the tar, and the Engineer (Mr T. D. Sullivan) is at present waiting for the tarsprayer, which is being hired from the Eltham Borough Council. The Feilding Star say s that a rather unusual offer was made to the secretary of the Wanganui Charitable Aid and Hospital Board. A farmer living in the country offered to take,l free of charge, a child of a married man who was willing to go to the front, but was prevented by family ties. The farmer offered to maintain the child at bis home for the period of the war or until the father was able to take tip his home duties again. | The story circulated in New Zealand some time ago to the effect that an Australian soldier was shot in the trenches at Gallipoli by one of bis officers for shortening a time fuse and for being possessed of papers indicating that be was a spy, is denied by Trooper R. J. Gray, of the First Australian Expeditionary Force. Writing to the New Zealand Herald, he states that he knew the man in question well. The latter, be says, was a New Zealand non-commissioned officer, serving with the Australian forces. He also went with the writer through the South African war. The story that he bad been shot was incorrect. On the contrary, the man had been promoted to the rank of a first lieutenant, and was in the hospital at Alexandria when the writer saw him last; Trooper Gray states that he was in a better position than the man who was responsible tor the report to ascertain the truth, and in fairness to the Australians, he desires that the report he contradicted.

lii yesterday’s issue a cable message from London stated that His Majesty the King had approved oi the presentation of a silver model of a .Maori war canoe to the captain and officers of the Ihuki from the .New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Trooper T. Malone, who left New Zealand with the Main Force, in conversation with a "Post” representative this morning stated that the Ibuki acted as one of the escorts to the troopships that conveyed the Dominion soldiers to Egypt. The Japanese warship joined the transports at Wellington and journeyed a s far as Aden. When the men arrived in camp, a collection was made with the idea oi making a presentation to the captain and officers of the warship, and as there were about nine thousand men under canvas, a fairly large sum was raised. Trooper Malone also stated that in his opinion one of the main reasons for making the presentation was because the warship belonged to one of our silent allies—Japan.

The vital statistics for Stratford for January are: Births twenty one, deaths three, manages four.

At a meeting of the Scottish Society held Li st night it was decided to dispense with the Burns’ supper. The matter of arranging a concert to

supplement any patriotic fund was also discussed and opinion was expressed that one should he organised vi in the near future.

A Tapanui lady working for the Patriotic Committee sent to a wellknown Dunedin firm for Shetland wool to knit socks for soldiers. She received iu reply a parcel of wool marked

“made in Germany.” Needless to say the wool was returned. Dunedin (says the Courier) is full of articles made in Germany, and the Government is quite unconcerned.

Referring to the ravages of the borer (dry rot), a Christchurch auctioneer Stated (says the Lyttelton Times) that nearly 90 per cent of the houses .it Christchurch coming under his examination contained traces of tire pest as did 75 per cent, of the pianos submitted to his inspection. The borer, he concluded, generally attacked pianos or wicker chairs first.

A lady of Exe street, Oamaru, was shocked on her return from a trip to a seaside resort to find her back door mysteriously open and the passage thick with dust, .the accumulation of several days (says the Mail). In the dining-room a large black calf lay on the carpet languidly chewing the contents of a vase of antirrhinums which had reposed upon the table. Nothing was missing, but the incident remains unexplained.

A lady who lives in Leominster. Herefordshire, England, hi o letter to a friend in Christchurch, states .says the Lyttelton Times) that, during the week in which she wrote, 1,017,010 eggs had been supplied in the town as gifts for wounded soldiers, “1 thinic this is very good for the farmers’ wives around this district,” she said, “as Leominster is only a small country town, not as big as Hereford. Eggs are given and collected every week and sent away to different places for the

soldiers. The mini her is printed in cur Jocal newspaper each week, and the names of the people who give.”

Two years ago a pair of little grey owls took up their abode in an old quarry (writes the Wendon correspondent of the Mataura. Ensign). They seem to have thrived and multiplied, as a dozen may now be seen on a fine evening. The quarry used to be a great breeding place for starlings, but the writer notices that they now give it a wide berth. These owls are probably descendants of.a number that were liberated in different parts oi the Dominion a few years ago, and they must lie rapidly increasing. A trapper informed the writer that they were fairly numerous on the Pyramid Hill, where they live in rabbit burrows m inaccessible places, and ho had noticed them engaged in catching lizards and beetles among the rocks in the daytime. Lnlike their cousins, the moieporks, the owls do not shun the daylight, but may often be seen sitting at the entrance to their burrows enjoying the sun.

! At tlie farewell social last Tuesday to Messrs E. and H. Haniblyn (sons of Mr John Hnmblyn), of Croydon Road, Tuna), and Mr E. Goodwin (son of Mr C. Goodwin, Tuna), who were on their final leave, Mr W. Hathaway made a presentation to each of a gold medal, tobacco, pipe and razor. The medals were engraved with initial and name of Reinforcements, which were presented by the inhabitants of Tuna. Mr H. Kirkby, who was at Treutham some four weeks and is familiar with the training, addressed the men shortly. Mr Hathaway also made a presentation on behalf of the Tuna Sunday School of a New Testament. Mr E. Wellington, president of the Sunday School, wished the men God speed and a safe return. Dancing was kept up to the small hours of the morning. The ladies provided anj quantity of refreshments of the best. This makes six men who have leit Tuna. Three more are in training at Treutham, viz., Messrs A. Wright. E. Jones and \ . Jones. Our correspondent concludes: About three-quarters of the settlers here are very patriotic; the others are conspicuous by their absence. , ft is about time we had conscription, then they would not. perhaps, be so indifferent. A plea for the preservation of the M ami language is made by the Inglewood Rced'd as f« R>" s —Seeing that (be people of New Zealand are committed for all time to the use of Maori names for very many of the mountains, lakes, rivers and places generally throughout’the country, and that no sweeter sounding appellations could he chosen, surely some effort should be made to prevent the growth and perpetuation of the absolute murder now dune to them by mispronunciation. Naturally the first step should Im through the schools. If the cluldion arc to be taught the geography of their country they certainly ought to be taught to give, the names of the places their poper sound, hut as a matter of fact the correct pronunciation of the Maori names is not even encouraged in

the average school; nor can this reasonably he expected when neither teachers nor inspectors have any knowledge of Maori speech, and pupils are liable to hp questioned about Lake Wackytip, for Whakatipn. or the riv-

er, your enemy for ITenui. and other glaring contortions. It may be argued that this is unimportant and a matter of sentiment only ; but surely what is worth teaching at all is worth teaching correctly. There are residents in Taranaki some prominent members of the Polynesian Society ( and it does not seem to he altogether beyond the scope of their work to at least suggest some

means for improving matters in thr branch of school work.

An old Tapanui farmer informs the Courier that, in the early days in Scotland, in the fifties and sixties, the rate of .pay for boy turnip-thinnors was an hour, without food or lodging, as against 6d paid * n Piipanm thi s year. Oatmeal was then the principal article of diet, and on that •staple good, men were reared. jU-wonder is it because coarse salt is so cheap that so little is thought about it on the farm (says a writer in the “Farmers’ Gazette”), i have cured nearly every kind of internal diseases (in their early stages) with it, viz., scour in calves, sheep, cows, and grass cattle; murrain, loss of appet-ce, etc., etc., and always use it in the food of every animal in the place' (except pigs), which I believe is the cause of not having any sickness amongst them. For the diseases above-men-tioned, in calves from three to nine months, I use half a pint of dry > alt, and wash down with half a pint of lukewarm water; in cows, and older grass cattle about one pint of dry salt and one pint warm water.” A reply [ has been received from the Department of Agriculture, to the request of a body of farmers, who met at Awamanga (Clntha), in December, that the Government should suspend the operations of the Noxious Weeds Act for the duration of the war, on account of the shortage of farm labor, and the Department’s reply states that “after going into the matter carefully the Government regrets that it cannot see its way to accede to the request. The Department fully recognises that there is in many districts a great shortage of labor owing to so many men having left on active service. It is not considered, however, that the position is sufficiently acute to warrant the suspension of the Noxious Weeds Act. The Department’s inspectors have instructions to exercise wisdom at all times in dealing with the settlers by making allowance for existing conditions, and it is believed that by continuing this policy during the present abnormal times no undue hardship will be inflicted on settlers.