LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 6, 10 April 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The master bakers in Duneriin are reducing the price of the 41b loaf, delivered, from Bjd to Sd. The monthly meeting of the Stratford Hospital and Charitable Aid Hoard will be held to-morrow morning. A special meeting of the Stratford Borough Council will be held at 7.30 this evening, prior to the monthly meeting. . • The sale of an appropriation of £4OO in • connection with the Stratford Co-op. Building Society will be held in the Foresters' Hall on Wednesday evening at 8 o'clock.

Nomination*'of candidates for the School Committee election will close with the chairman at 8 o'clock this evening. Nominations may also : ft-fe;-made at the meetjng~of householders to be held on Monday next. j

It is seldom that seagulls are seen' as far inland as Stratford, but three of, the birds were seen flying over the; town yesterday. Some people allege; that the cause of the gulls migrating so far inland is due to approaching storms and'rough weather. i

A new (regulation Under the Hospi-, tal and Charitable Institutions Act provides that "no payments shall be made except such as are covered by a* cheque specially drawn for the purposes stated to the board, and duly passed by it."

A Bible Class camp under the auspices of the Prebyterian churches in the Taranaki-Wanganui district, will be held at Hawera during Easter week, and will extend over four days. Provision is being made for 200 visitors, who will be billeted in the Hawera Presbyterian Hall.

In the course of his remarks before the Educational Institute at Wellington on Friday night, Mr G. Hogben said he had seen a marked improvement in the handwriting of New Zealand children. Recently it had fallen to his lot to read some 500 examination papers, and the standard of legibility had been very high throughout. He had not found it necessary to hesitate over a single word. He believed that the present method of teaching writing was developing a good moving hand, which stood the strain of speed, without becoming illegible, as the older erect style had done.

The Director of Education in South Australia (Mr M. M. Maughan) is of opinion that country boys learn to be more self-reliant than town lads. Speaking to a pressman, lie told a little story illustrating the point. A little boy was with his father, a farmer, when eight draught horses got away, and galloped down the road. The small chap, who is only four years old, instantly ran in front of them, threw up his hands, and shouted. And the great animals actually stopped in obedience to his orders! Mr Maughan said, ''That hoy had confidence in himself, and he will doubtless grow into a fine, level-headed man."

The following, says the Railway Review (the organ of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants), is a plain story of how a few sixpences wore saved, and many pounds' worth of that invaluable asset, esprit do corps, destroyed: A workshops man. earning nine shillings a dav was nut on to skilled work, because lie, had been observant, keen, aid industrious. The skilled work involved payment -of an extra sixpence a day, which the industrious man (lipw mo??th after month till his annual holidays were due. Under the regulations, ho was entitled to full pay win!" on leave. In assessing this, the Railway Department "en-pmn-atrod" him to further display of special effort by cutting down his pay. during liclidav. to th« original classified rate of nine shillings a day.

Owing to the cinema plant at His Majesty's Theatre being used for the Willard-Johnson fight picture in the Town Kail 0 n Tuesday, there will be no pictures at His Majesty'3 to-morrow "ight. "Were you there on March 30 last?" was a question put by Senior-Sergeant; Kales to a .witness in the Waikare Hotel case at the Court at Napier. "It wasn't the 30th of March," said Mr Dolan. "Then the 31st of March," said Sergeant Ealcs. "It wasn't the 31st either," chipped in Mr- Dolan. "Then the 31st of February.," replied the sergeant. "There's no 31st of February," was the crushing retort from Mr Dolan, and the sergeant was silent.' A number of directors of the Farmers' Meat Freezing Co., visited Ohura on Friday evening and met with a good reception, and on Saturday they visited other outlying settlements of the province for the purpose of forwarding the company's business. Excellent and heartening results were obtained (reports the Xews). The party Avho comprised Me? is Xewten King (New Plymouth), A. Morton (Egmont Village), Best and 'hiinn (Fltham), W. R. Wrighf (Rah'otu), W. A. McCutchan (Whangamomona), and E. Marfell (Toko), had a most enjoyable trip, and are highly satisfied with the promises of snpu rt. T%n- returned to New Plymouth 1-jst r*V t r.fter a nonstop run of over 300 miles.

Motorman N'-holas, of the Timaru Fire Brig-' 1o has lately thought out and install ' ' the fire tation a very ingenious ,; "f * of ""trivances for the more expeditious working of the fire engine. He had so arranged the switch hoard that on receipt of an alarm the motor-engine is started from the switch and the station doors fly open, the engine being also released automatically. On pressing the button at the street fire alarm box all the alarm bells in the station the circuit is indicated, also the number of the box where the alarm comes from, every light in the station is lighted, while the motor engine releases itself. By these improvements (says a local paper) the Timaru Fire Brigade has the most up-to-date switchboard in the Dominion.

A man who was once reputed to be a millionaire has died penniless in a hospital in South Africa (writes a London correspondent). About a generation ago "Sequah" was minting money by : < the public performances of marvellous "cures." Dressed like a Red Indian, ' ho toured the countryside to the accompaniment of a brass band, and while the band was playing he performed "painless" operations in teeth extraction, while "rheumatics we're cured" while the patient waited. Now and then Sequah made a mistake; he once dislocated the jaw of a carter in East London, and the carter knocked him down. The' "King; of Quack Doctors" was not unknown in New Zealand, and wherever he went he had a large following of believers in his cures. History records that he was a Cornishman by birth, and that hhTTeaTliame was Hartley; in years gone by he belonged to the London police force; he went to America and came back as a "medicine." man."

The "Soldiers Day", Christy Minstrels keep on steadily rehearsing, and are already much improved, <&%s& feature is being made of glees< and part-singing, and lovers of harmony have a treat in store for them. The "circle" is a large one, consisting of sixteen performers, including four "corner and the comic element in song, dance, and "patter" will compare quite favorably with many vaudeville shows that have visited Stratford at various times. Mr C. Fox, as musical director, has his team well in hand and purposes giving them a "try out" at Toko on Monday, 17th. It has been practically decided to continue the combination after the big event on Easter Monday, and hold weekly rehearsals with the idea of giving public performances at regular intervals during the winter in aid of the Patriotic Funds. Apart from the worthy object in aid of which the Minstrels were formed, there is ample room in Stratford for such a class of wholesome entertainment.

The repairing of the Aurora at Port Chalmers is n%t likely to be hurried, as she will not be able, on acedunt of the ice, to get to her Antarctic destination until December, or perhaps January (says the Dunedin "Star"). Hence sufficient time, is available in which to put the vessel in the best of order before she leaves. Apart from the decks, which require recaulking, the main leakage seems to be taking place well forward. Consequently the thick sheathing attached to the stem for ice-cutting purposes is likely to be temporarily removed when the Aurora goes into dock. The repairing of a wooden ship is nowadays unusual, and is regarded by shipwrights as an undertaking entailing no little responsibility. No small degree of interest attaches to the repairing of the Aurora, and the making of a new rudder is locked.forward to with pleasure by members of the craft. There is associated with wooden ships a certain halo of romance undreamed of in connection with the steel hull and iron decks of the throbbing steamship.