LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 13, 18 April 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

All Stratford shops will close i at 12.00 on Tuesday next, “Anzac Dav.”

:A Londom cablegram states that the Athenic had.left for; Auckland.

Waimate has had the biggest fall of rain since October, 1912, ..the' gauge shoeing 1.85 inches,

A special meeting.of bandsmen will be held in the bandrom at 7.3 Q o’cldCk bn Thursday evening, to make iyrrang4 L ments for Soldiers Day. Past' andprtO sent bandsmen are invited to be present and are requested to take their instruments. ui j

A good story., is told (says the Taranaki Herald) of an English clergyman who exhorted the boys of his congregation to wear some favor in their button holes to show their patriotism. His sense of the fitness of things was shocked when on the following Sunday, the boys and men attended church each decorated with a large button displaying in gilt letters the legend; “To Hell with the Kaiser!”

Some time ago a photograph was found in the returned effects of a New Zealand soldier, who was killed ih action at Gallipoli. The mother, who resides in Woolstoii, forwarded thephotograph to the editor of the Canterbury Times, requesting’its reproduc-| tion in the columns of that journal in the hope that she could by this means establish the identity of the soldier. The photograph duly appeared in the Canterbury Times, and the mother has now written to the editor, stating,that the photograph has been recognised as that of an Auckland trooper who, was wounded and sent to England for, treatment. She has consequently communicated with the soldier, and hopes by this means to gain some in forma- i tion regarding her son’s death.

A correspondent of the “Poverty Bay Herald” states that the lease of the part of the old Waipiro station known as Takapau, consisting of 22,000 acres, has expired, and the native owners have agreed to the individualisation of their interests. The surveyors are now busjy cutting it up into nineteen blocks, ranging from HOS acres to 4000 acres in extent. The Hon. A. T. Ngata has arranged to finance the owners, and a large number of sheep have been purchased and are now running on the land. Fencing material is being landed from every steamer, and Waipiro is in a state of excitement. The experiment of forming a colony of native small owners is hying watched with much, interest.

A canvass of the. town has been made lor foodstuffs for the Carnival on Easter Monday, and the Committee appointed have met with every consideration. In the event of anyone having been overlooked, the committee will be pleased to receive gilts in that direction at the Patriotic Rooms on Saturday, or in the Show Grounds on Easter Monday morning.

The weight-guessing competition on Soldiers Day at Stratford on Easter Monday promises to be full of interest on account of the mammoth proportions of the bullock, the subject of the competition, which is a Hostein, in color all black, with the exception of a few white small patches. The animal stands over seventeen hands in height and is so large that it is intended to exhibit the beast in a tent and make a charge for admission, which will enitle the purchaser of the ticket to a guess at its weight and thus have a chance of securing the handsome prize • offered for guessing the correct dead weight. The children attending the Stratford School will receive six days holiday at Easter this year instead of three as on previous oc"- ions. At the meeting of the School Committee ! ast evening Mr F. Tyrer (headmaster) attended and asked if the committee would close the school: for the whole of next week to allow C - " -"w'iV'- to give the building a good clean out. Mr Tyrer said that in a 1 ’ r, ut one-third of the families in Stratford measles were prevalent. He eiso asked that an extra man be eirployed, to assist the caretaker. 'V Chairm n .said, that Mr Mr T -rs - d suggestion, and on the motion of Mr Hancock, seconded by Mr LaWn, it was adopted. A Palmerston resident has received a letter from his wounded son in Eng- , land which serves to throw a little more light on Hun frightfulness. The soldier referred to was in the Gallipoli fighting, where he lost a leg, and is now in England receiving medical treatment. He states that numbers of British soldiers who were wounded in Flanders and fell into the hands of the Germans have been subjected to the most callous and inhuman treatment. Where amputation of a limb v;as necessary‘ in these (vffundfed British soldiers the German giifgedns have operated with a view to'hiaking the fitting of an artificial limb an impossibility, or As difficult as possible."’Surely/tlie New Zealand scfldief Adds, this is the very limit of’diabolical inhumanity. . .. .. 1 *■. ! : i; • The war has opened up a tvide field of operation for .philanthropic effort on behalf- of tire sufferers thereby,-: and the Salvation Army ifi,. as-. not slow to come to the front, with its splendid chain of institutions to offer help>. The visit of the Wanganui Silver Band to Stratford on Friday next has for' its object -the assistance of these worthy The Anyy authorities declare that. they, hayp ,to refuse -yearly no. less than 500, sgpUca- . Hops' for children to be placed .under their care. The present effort on Inday next is to'help build, hew'Homes Xox Children .pf‘ Fallen The band is comripsed of twenty-six peiformors', and Adjutant Cobk is fio\v engaged securing billet s fur ’ bandsmen for tlie night; '■ ' '

/ ‘•‘One’' thing we must get into our thick heads,” feays Mr Rutlyard Kipling, “is that Wherever the German man or woman —gets a suitable cultuio to thrive in, he or she means death, and loss to civilised people, precisely as germs of any disease suffered to multiply, mean, death or loss to mankind. There is no question of hate or anger or excitement in the matter, any more than there is in flushing out sinks or putting oil on water to prevent mosquitos hatching eggs. As far as we are concerned, the German, is typhoid or plague—PeStis Teutonics, if you like. But until we realise this elementary fact in peace, we shall always be liable tp outbreaks of antit civilisation. Make this clear by all means in your power. I see that Australia has' begun to restrict German trade. That is right. Where .a. bale or box of German goods comes into a civilised country, there is always the chance of. exposing mankind to danger sooner or later. This has been proved before all mankind in every quarter of the world.”

. Examination of the wounds of the police in connection with the arrest of Rua, disclose (says the Poverty Bay Herald) that Constable Wright, whose wife is with him, has received over 30 pellets in the back, fired from a distance of only 15 yards. He would have been killed instantaneously had it not been for his haversack, which bore the brunt of tne discharge, and was reduced to tatters.. Constable Neil 'has 48 pellets, extending from the lower part of the thighs, over the abdomen, to the breastbone. Constable Ebbott was struck with 38 shots distributed round about the left shoulder. Constable M‘Gowan received a slug behind the left ear, a rifle bullet in the left arm, and pellets in the right arm. Practically the whole of the damage was done by Toko Rua, who fired from behind a picket fence. None of the wounded men saw him at first, although he was so close to them. It is conjectured that he was using smokeless powder, as there was no indication of where the shots were coming from except (he reports. After being locatcd he was soon accounted for.

“When the goods are right and the prices are right, why all is right as right can be.” Those who buy from the famous Egmont Clothing Company sav the above ought to he the Egmont’s motto. Yon are hereby invited to call and convince yourself. Standing room only. X

Captain J. B. Hine, M.P., has notified the secretary of the Patriotic Committee that he will .be present at the Carnival on Easter Monday. ,

Special trains from New Plymouth to Stratford leaving the seaside town at 9 a.m., and from Patea (leaving for Stratford at 8 a.m.) have been arranged by the Patriotic Committee to run on Soldiers Day, Easter Monday. As the Committee has had to give a substantial guarantee to the Hailway Department it is hoped that as many as possible of the visitors who are coming from places along the line will use these trains to ensure the Committee against any loss.

A Hamilton Press Association message states: A goods train crashed into a number of standing trucks at Horotui station late last night. Fifteen waggons laden with goods were splintered, and the engine was buried beneath the debris. Driver Bates and Fireman Hardcastle both escaped injury. '/' V

The Sisters of the Notre Dame Convent are assisting in the demonstration on the Showgrounds on Easter Monday, by training a number of girls to take part in a strikingly effective hoop dagee. For this display, the peiformers ■ will be simply but pleasingly

• costumed, and the item is sure to apI- peal to the patrons of the Carnival as novel and clever. In displays previously given by the Convent pupils the work has been of a very high order, and the undertaking now in hand may be looked upon confidently y to bear favorable comparison will past efforts. '< 1

The Stratford Christy Minstrels will make- their debut this evening before a Toko audience. The last rehearsal showed that the individual members were quite at home in theii parts, while in the choruses and part singing, the harmony was excellent. The bpening chorus is quaint 1 and humorous, and the corner-men’s joking opens up new ground. / Through the kindness of Mr Newton King, who furnished a motor car, “Massa John-,

son,” accompanied by some enthusias- , tic members of the troupe, paid a fly- ' V i'ng Visit to Toko and Midhirst yester- , day, apd jpformed the folk generally per, medium, of cornet and big drum of ;; depending r eyents. It is confidently' ir expected t)iat the capacity of the Coro;[jft nation Ha}l ft’ill- not be. sufficient to ( . hold ithe audience to-night. , ■ ‘, • ['• |5», Some of the most interesting items

’i-.-c oh ; Eastpr Monday at the big Garni-. , val will be displays l by the Stratford public' school children. The flag drill by 6Ver three hundred children will make a striking spectacle. The ribbon dance is also another charming item that is sure to evoke appreciation from the spectators. A very

" pretty effect will bh produced the Maypole dance and 1 marches. | In these evolutions, there'‘is a blending of beautiful colour£, rnovchmentSjpf the performing children pretdainty.. In all the displays the if j-p children are being trained by the Misses Papps and Pearce, and splen- , did progress has been made 'in the . . r work by the children under their charge. Mr Dyson has charge of the boys’ classes, and over

seventy-two boys will take part in ad--6 vanced Swedish drill exercises. In ■ - view of Swedish drill occupying such a prominent position in training by military authorities, the performances of the boys will be watched with interest.