LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 32, 12 May 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Ladies’ . Committee Patriotic Market and Tearooms will be open , as usual to-morrow. Donations of produce, cakes, etc., will be welcomed , by the prompters.. , ~

• The values of New Zealand products entered for export last week totalled £814,683, including butter £31,172, | cheese £143,992, frozen meat £211,454, j hides £62,281, and wool £299,178.

Some excellent snapshots of starts,! incidents, and finishes in several of the races at the Hawera meeting were secured by Mr F. Foley, and these will be screened at His Majesty's Theatre on Saturday night. j

Notice is given that all returns of income within the meaning of The j Land and Income Assessment Act, 1908, and the Amendment Acts 1912-* 1913, and the Finance Act, 1915, must be duly forwarded, on the prescribed ( form, on or before June 2nd. )

The population of the Dominion at March 31st, was estimated av 1,162,646. The excess of emigration (including members of the Expeditionary Forces), over immigration during the March quarter was 6726. Arrivals during April from oversea numbered 1684 and departures 2592, compared with 1702 and 2458, respectively, in April, 1915.

In a reserved judgment given by the Magistrate at Hawera on Wednesday, John Hook, son of the licensee of the Commercial Hotel, was fined £9 and costs for supplying an inebriated Maori with liquor. The * police declined' 'to acede to the Magistrate’s suggestion to withdraw the case against the licensee for permitting drunkenness and the nominal fine of £1 and costs was inflicted on her.

The Salvation Army will conduct Anniversary meetings on Sunday to be followed by a social on Tuesday night, when Major Toomcr will preside. A splendid programme is being pretpared, including clarionette and English concertina items by Staff-Captain Tbutkctf Ic, recitation by Mr F. Hanford, songs by well known loeal favorites, and addresses by other church represent stives. The proceeds are in aid of the Army building fund. The Fruitgrowers’ Conference at Wellington adopted, yesterday a draft of the new constitution for federation, and appointed a committee to submit the same to the Minister of Agriculture. Quo of the most important clauses imposes a tax of Is per acre on members, such revenue being devoted to developing the organisation. Next year’s apple show will be held at Dunedin. and file next Conference in Wellington.

• The Frankton ratepayers, by a poll yesterday, decided to amalgamate with Hamilton. A report oi proceedings at a bowlers’ smoke social last evening appears on page 7 of this issue. t The Ladies’ Patriotic Committee wish to acknowledge a donation of a table from Mr Corkill for the refreshment .rooms. The carting was done free of charge by Messrs Nelson and Green. Mr Clement L. Wragge, the wellknown lecturer, writes to say he will visit Stratford shortly, when he will give a lecture entitled ‘ ‘The- Eternal Universe and the War.” Mr Wragge lias had an enthusiastic Wellington season, and seems to gain in popularity with every visit he makes. The exact date of his appearance in Stratford is not fixed.

The reverence with which “the little ould plant” that grows “somewhere in Ireland” is held was exemplified this week (says the New Zealand Times). By the Sydney mail, Mr P. J. Griffin received a let. or from the trenches in France from an erstwhile Wellingtonian, Mr Max Juriss, the physical culturist, who joined the King’s forces in London. Mr Juriss says: “J am enclosing a piece of the dear old plant which* I received in the trenches in France on St. Patrick’s Day. I know it will be of some interest, knowing that it has travelled from Ireland to France, and from the trenches there direct to you in New Zealand, so you will understand that this dear little shamroc 1 : has been in the trenchesy and under lire. It is the first time I have seen the real shamrock, and I send it forward with best wishes for good luck.” It would appear, says the “Farmers’ Union Advocate,” that the dairy industry is threatened by yet another invasion m the form of artificial milk. A Japanese chemist has just invented a process for turning into account the Soya bean in the manufacture of a liquid said to have very similar properties to ordinary milk, and which when it is condensed will return these properties for a long period. This is called “vegetable milk,” and is thought to he specially adapted to hot countries. It is cheap, owing to the fact that the Soya beati is cultivated in largo quantities in tlie East as food. The first ’ part' of The ' process consists of softening ‘ the beans in' water,’ after' which they arc. crushed and boiled. The liquid which is boiled out hears i very close resemblance' to milk, and an analysis of its ’chehiical constituents is a$ follow; 1 Waiter, 92.5 per cent.; alliumihoids, 3.2 fieP cents; fat, 2.13 per cent.; siigar, 1.8 per cent.; ash, .4 per cent. To this liquid is added some sugar afid phosphate of soda, after which it is'concentrated by boiling to such a degree as. to resemble condensed milk. Vegetable milk is of a deeper colour than the natural commodity, and preserves some of the characteristic flavour of the Soya bean.

In connection with the l Rhodes Scholarship holders, it is ihterest’ng to record that nearly all the - colonial undergraduate scholars have entered the Imperial service for the period of the war. They have been granted the necessary, leave of absence, 'and have had reserved to them the right'to resume their scholarships when thejjl are set free from military service. Only 18 colonial scholars continued ill residence up to the end of last term. Of these five have either obtained or applied for commissions, four are unable to serve for reasons of health or defective vision, and .six who are pursuing a medical course have been advised to continue this work at the university. Up to January last 167 scholars are known to have taken commissions or enlisted in the Imperial Army and its colonial contingents. South Africa contributed 53, Australia 43, Canada 42, Bermuda 8, Jamaica 8, Newfoundland 6, New Zealand 6, and United States 1. In addition a number of ex-scholars have enlisted in contingents formed in the dominions and colonies., Six colonial scholars or ex-scholars have already lost their lives fighting for the Emoire including one New Zpalander (A, Wallace), Rhodes scholar in "1912. Several have been wounded, and one has been awarded the D.S.O. Four others (including three Australians) have received the Military Cross. It seems that many small boys of

Sydney share the belief that a reduction in the trading hours of hotels must lead to a great increase in the consumption of liquor outside of hotels. The Sydney correspondent of the Otago Daily Times learns that since the coming into effect of the proclamation of the Commonwealth authorities compelling licensed houses, which formerly did business up to 11 p.m., in Sydney to cease trading at 8

p.m., numerous gangs of boys have

boon organised for the gathering-up and sale of bottles left in parks and reserves by persons who at 8 o’clock find their evening thirst still vigorous, and purchase much liquor in bottles. The burden of full bottles is, it seems, generally a pretty heavy one, and the “bottle party” settles down to enjoy itself in the nearest reserve or park. The alert boys know all the favourite resting places of the “bottle parties,” and systematically watch and patrol those places, promptly annexing each empty bottle as it is thrown aside. The boys arc “on the job” until about 11 p.m. It is said that ,an energetic party of them, which works , Hyde Park, divides regularly considerable sums derived from the sale of empty bottles.. Competition is very keen, and there are frequent battles between j rival parties. Policemen are at times I appealed to by boys because of inroads [upon their “vested interests.” ,