GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 81, 11 March 1916, Page 7

GENERAL.

The price of the 41b loaf in London, which was oilb before the war, has risen to 9d.

One of the performing seals belonging to Captain Hilling, of Wirth’s Circus, dic'd at Taihape.

The Toronto City Council voted £50,000 for the Patriotic Fund without a word of discussion.

The value of building permits issued by the Hawera borough engineer during the past month was £939.

In influential Wellington circles it is believed (says an exchange) that conscription will ho adopted before two months are over.

A monster mushroom, weighing 2)11), was brought into Geraldine from Woodbury recently, and one weighing 2lh lias been found at Lnmsden.

The Natives at Riverton are busy making final preparations for their annual trip to the Mutton-bird Islands (says the Western Star). They will leave about the 20th inst.

A young lady residing at Upper Hi i,Tart on has. written to the Postmrs-ter-General expressing her willingness to accept a position either in the telephone exchange or as a letter-carrier, so as to liberate a young man to serve in the fighting line.

The oddity in the shape of an eg", laid by a while Leghorn, has been sent to the Manawatu Standard office by a local resident. It is an egg within an egg. The outer.shell is 4* inches in circumference by about 3 \ inches long, apd besides containing an ordinary sized egg, enclosed in a firm shell had a complete yoke.

An old Maori named Ohorai Werimu, who was reputed to be 106 years of age, was found dead about half a mile from Castlecliff on Thursday, It appears that some days ago tire deceased was at Castlecliff with some other! natives, and apparently wandered aii’av in the direction of Kai Iwi. Search was made, with the result that his | body was found near a wire .fence, the old man having evidently succumbed to exposure. The deceased was a well-khowh ‘ ‘ figure about the town, and was much’respected by the Other natives.

A false impression that is : calculated to hinder the work of tin) Woihen’s National Reserve was vigorously corrected by the president (Miss M‘Loan) at a meeting of ladies at Roslyn (states the Otago Daily Times). “The idea has got abroad,” she said, “that the Reserve may he the cause of bringing women’s wages down. ' I emphatically deny- that. Women must have the full value of the work they do; and the thing we are guarding against, and will guard; ag’ainst moat carefully, is the bringing-down of the rates of pay of feipa.le labor.”

The collection of agricultural statistics iby members of the police 1 force lias produced a number of humorous incidents. A constable in the MaSterton district visited the homestead of a certain Maori. The wily native scented trouble. “Where is Hamuera to be found?” asked the constable. “Oh, he gone to rong way off,” answered the native. “When will he he back?” “Not till Kritemat, I tinki” The collector of statistics was about to depart, when be espied another na-

tive, to whom he put the question , “Whore is Hamuera ” “Oh, dat te ferra you iis talk, he te Hamuera,” was the prompt reply. Hamuera’s identity was established, and he heaved a sigh when he was informed that the object of the policeman’s visit "'as merely to ascertain the dimensions of his flock.

Out of the original'staff of 18 cnraprising the members.of the Gisborne railway station stall - , 11 have already enlisted. An incident worthy of note at the send-off to the troops at Dannevirko was a returned soldier farewelling his father. The Wanganui Jockey Club has paid a cheque for £2962 5s 2d to the Governmeut, representing the amount of taxation payable in connection with the recent meeting. j An attempt was made at Vv ellington this week (says a Wellington telegram), to negotiate a ton pound .Bank of New Zealand note, apparently one of the nujnber that was unloaded in Auckland a couple of years ago. (The number of the forged note referred to was 169,948). A Wellington resident has received a letter from a friend in Australia, in which it is stated that a mixture of ten parts of olive oil and one part of eucalyptus, sprayed up the nostrils twice daily, is being used in the Commonwealth with success as a preventive against infantile paralysis. The writer says that in many business establishments in Australia employers are requiring the members of their staffs to use the mixture regularly.

The estates of 225 deceased persons! were certified for stamp duty during 111© month of February-, the largest, being that of Henry Jrihn Gladstone, j Canterbury, £74,088. The New Flymonth estates wore ;—William Bpwuo £16,368, James Briscoe £B3ll, Thorn is ( Brown £3954, William Willing £2222, Fanny Sim £2211, James A. Phairj £1364, Roy C. Bell £665, Maria Jor-| genson £527, Sidney J. Griffiths £527, William Fva £526. I

At Pungarehu, Messrs S; Goodin and J. Travers, who are leaving for the front, were entertained at a social, and were each presented with a wristlet watch. Mr W. T. Guild made the presentation. Mr Travers took the place of assistant at the Co-op. Store whilst Private Reynolds was away with the main body. Now that Private Reynolds has 1 Vfeturhcd invalided he has returned his position and his substituteifyps ciejjaflcg! lor service. ‘ , .

Justice Hosking gave judgment \cs\tcrday in the ease of the borough of Tauranga versus the Hank of New Zealand and the Attorney-General. Judge Hnsking decided that the Corporation’s action in ..raising a. special loan of £4300 to pay an overdraft of £2971 and other liabilities totalling £1336 was illegal. The amount so raised exceeded the 1,0 per cent, additional allowable without a poll on lighting loan 'of £II,OOO.

The Now /Zealand Times remarks;— The latest budget of notes from the New Zealand war correspondent v Mr Malcolm Ross,' contains about three columns ' devoted- to an itinerary and the comments of; Go. the : Hon. R. H. Rhodes, in a form of a diary which may he of interest to official r circles, to whom TV could have been forwarded by Colonel Rhodes’ i.private .'secretary. Tt contains practically nothing r 'f interest to the general public, who will no doubt consider- that Mr Ross’s time and efforts could have been more profitably employed in telling of the doings of New Zealand troops in the fighting zone.