LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 22, 24 August 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

As evidence of the mildness, re-, ported in a local paper, of the season iu Gisborne is Hie fact that a Ka-V resident is picking ripe strawberries from his garden. A meeting will be held at the Stratford A. and P. Rooms* on Saturday afternoon for the purpose of forming a Stratford Branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. A full attendance is hoped for. The district stock inspector stated in the Invercargill Police Court on Wednesday (says the Southland Times) already this year there have been more local prosecutions concerning lice-infected s'heep than has been the case for 14 years past. Correspondence of very great length has to be passed over in these busj wartimes.. A mere individual -view from any ordinary person i s not worth anything like a couple of columns of space. One effusion now to hand would occupy that amount if published and it is therefore regretfully,,,de,clined a place in these columns. When the time arrived * for tho commencement of the meeting, called by the Mayor of Lower Hutt, on Friday night, in order to impress i upon the residents the desirability of purchasing War Loan bonds, only the Mayor and three reporters had put" in an appearance. At a quarter 'past 8 o'clock a councillor came on thf scene to help swell the gathering which was presently augmented by a loquacious citizen. The minutes pass**; eiUaUd as,, there appeared to- bo littlei likoUhood-of any more of the residents! of LoweriHutt leaving their firesides, the., meeting was abandoned.

At the Bird Road School on Thursday ovening last a social, and danco was held to bid farewell to .Mr T. Bennett and Mr H. Hansen, who wliere on final lease; also to welcome Mr W. McKinley • home from the Front. There was a record attendenee from all parts of the district. During the evening songs were lvndered by Messrs James, Merthens, Seyne, Fllis and Mounsey. Mr Pattinson, in a short speech, wished the boys good health and a safe return, and presented each one with a wristlet watch, for which they suitably responded. After three hearty cheers for the soldiers, a choice supper provided by-the ladies was partaken of and dancing was kept up till two o'clock. Mr'-'Stbtt thanked the ladies and all who had helped to make the evening so enjoyable. Music was supplied by Mrs Reynolds, Miss Neilsen, Miss Stott, and Mr Coleman. Mr M. Reynolds and Mr F. Merthens acted as M.C.'s.—Correspondent.

The policewomen whom the Chief Secretary of Victoria (Mr M'Leocl) has decided to appoint for the better protection of voting women and girls will like the ordinary constable, have a multitude of duties to perform (says the Argus). The policewomen will be expected to put detectives on the track of persons suspected of endeavouring to decoy girls, and will visit railway stations and the wharves to give advice to unsuspecting strang-

ers. They will probably also be required to patrol slum areas, and keep a watchful eye on houses of illrepute. [The public parks will be visited, with a view to preventing young women and girls from being molested. Another duty will be to endeavor to keep children off the streets at night, and to prevent truancy from school. It is likely that appointments will be made within two or three months. In reply to a question in the N.S.W. Assembly last week, the Chief Secretary (Mr Black) said that the appointment of women police in Sydney had been justified by results, and others were going to be appointed.

The departure of Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward is still officially a profound secret, in accordance with the Imperial authorities' desire, hut the question of the custody of their portfolios during their' absence is being freely discussed (writes the News correspondent). It is taken for granted that the Hon. J. Allen will be Act-/ing-Prime Minister, hut it is expected that one of the Liberal members of the Cabinet, probably the Hon. Dr. JYteN'ab, will he associated with him in the temporary leadership. Dr. MeNah has also been tipped for the temporary occupancy of the office of Postmaster-General, while ii is generally anticipated that the Hon. A. M. Myers will go to the Treasury as .Minister of Finance. Hon. Sir F. 1). Bell, who has lately been assisting the Prime .Minister in administrative work, may take charge, of the Lands Department, and the Hon. "W. H. Herries is suggested as acting-Mi nlister for Labor. , The Hon. W. D. Mao Donald will be entrusted with industries and Commerce, and. other transfers of minor importance will be made, but the Cabinet is so strong I numerionlh* thai the administrative (work is not likely to suffer through the brief absence of the two leaders.

The fortnightly sitting of the StratOS ford Magistrate's Court to-morrow will be presided ovor by Justices of the Peace and the only eases to be heard are seven civil actions. The Executive Committee and a number of the members of the Stratford A. and P. Association held a working bee on the Showgrounds today and despite the inclement weather during the morning a considerable amount of work was done. Weather Forecast.—The indications are for southerly winds moderate to strong, and squally at times. The weather will probably bo cool and changeable, with scattered showers. The night will probably be very cold. The barometer has a rising tendensy. —Bates. Wellington. The poll on the proposal of the Stratford Borough Council to purchase the Stratford Electrical Supply Company's undertaking will be held to-morrow., The polling booth will be at the Council Chambers and will be open from 9 a.m. till 7 p.m. At the same time and place burgesses are asked to elect a councillor to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Mr E. W. Hancock. The candidates for the election are Messrs Stan. Sharp, George Smith (carpenter) and C. B. Walsh. A discovery with regard to eiderdown lias been made by an Australian "writer, who says: "When one belongs to the Empir-3 Trade Defence League. ' one learns many things. The members of this league are pledged to buy (1) Australian-made goods, (2) Brit-ish-made goods, (3) from the countries of our Allies. German-made goods? No, never again. Not if we know it. Here is an item that I lately learnt about eiderdown. Do yon know what we have been doing . with all our feathers in the past? (I iim writing of Victoria, of course). Sending them in bales to Germany, where they have been stripped end treated, and resold to us at 12s 6d a pound as eiderdown. There you are Our own fowls' and ducks' and turkeys' feathers masqueraded jas eiderdowns and at top price too! Real eiderdown is the down of the eider duck, a kind of sea duck, found chiefly in northern regions, and sought after for its fine down. However, ihere will be no more feathers flying from Victoria to Germany Already an enterprising manufacturer here has started a lug factory, and is htfw turning out down in large -cjuiMlities, and selling it at 4s 6d per lb. That is rather different from the German price, and the Victorian down is said to be much superior to the alien enemy article." -

Inquiries were made by a Welling* ton Post reporter as to \vhat extent the annexation of "unconsidered trifles" has prevailed in the large dra'fk>rybusi«es.ses during the.sale.season. It was pointed out by one manager that when a sale was on it was) desir-, able that as attractive a display as possible be made. Consequently, goods wer«* scattered about in all directions, and in the crush of customers it was a comparatively easy matter to purloin a pair of stockings or some similar article. At the last sale held by his housfiy-lie said, the only article actually posted as missing, believed to have been stolen, was one of the latest models of headwear, which disappeared mysteriously out of a hatbox. The disappearance caused more perturbation than would otherwise have been the case, because it was for a bride-elect, and she had to go to the altar in a hat that was not her first choice. Last year a far more serious incident occurred, the same firm losing a thirty-guinea fur coat, and also a set of furs. Detectives prosecuted inquiries, but the culprit was never brought to book. Other managers "said that the evil existed, and they took all precautions to detect it. It was very difficult to keep a check on all the goods displayed, but this was done as far as possible, and dishonest people ran a big risk of being detected. One firm, which used to prosecute when sufficient evidence was forthcoming as to thefts, ha? «,f late years discontinued the practice, but, with a view to putting a stop to shop-lifting, has decided to again take court proceedings in future.

The following new books have been added to the Stratford Public Library: —"Far-A,way Stories" (Willian J. Locke), "A Great Success" (Mrs Humphry Ward), "Captain Kettle on the War-Path" (Cutcliffe Hyne), "Life and Gabriella" (Ellen Glasgow), "The Scratch Pack" (Dorothea Conyers), "The Passion for Life" (Joseph Hocking), "The Green Archway" (C. G. Winter), "The Longest Way Round" (D. Broadway), "Miss Millions' Maid" (Berta Ruck), "The Zeppelin Destroyer" (H. ■Le Queux), "Tlie Curved Blades" (Carolyn Wells), "Let Priest and People Wec'p" (P. Shanahan), "Wolfine" ("X"), "The White Ghost Book" (J. A. Middleton), "The Night Hawk" ( Edgar Jepson), "The Valley or Gold" (J. Curwood). "The Human Boy and the War" ('Eden Plullpotts), "A Gentlewoman of France" (R. Boylesi e).