LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 86, 8 November 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Speaking at- a recruiting meeting at Eltham, Major Cox paid authoritatively that tlie men in camp would be granted extended leave at Christmas time.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York propose special war prayers for the Empire on the first Sunday in the Now Year. His Majesty the King approves.

At Wanganui on Saturday night the Minister for Defence, the Hon. J. Allen, made a statement that over 1500 notices had been sent out under clause 35, to families with two or more sons who had so far failed to respond to the Empire's call.

A party of young English subalterns were travelling in the same railway carriage in Egypt with an Australian Army chaplain, who was reading unnoticed in a corner. They were discussing a recent "scrap" with the enemy, and one said: "We buried three hundred Arabs; I wonder what the Australians did?" The padre emerged from his newspaper and said briefly. "Killed them."

In the course of the programme at tho Edmondson Concert Party's Midhirst performance to-morrow night, Sergeant-Major* Mahoney intends to have a word to say to the eligihle. men of the district, and to impress upon them the necessity of enlisting at once, in order to make up Taranaki's deficiencies in the November and December drafts.

The lady members and friends of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church have been working very hard for a year in view of the Annual Sale of Work which is to be held on Thursday, November 16th., The result is a most comprehensive collection of good things, and this year's sale will accordingly bo something above the ordinary. Town and country friends are especially asked to keep the date of this fixture in mind, and to remember that the place of gathering will be the Foresters' Hall.

A fire in an outhouse at the rear of the Masonic Hatel, Waitara, on Sunday morning destroyed liquor 'to the value of about £250. Three cases of beer, three of claret, and some of whisky were sved. There was an insurance on the stock of £2OO. The origin of the outbreak is not definitely known, but it is supposed, (states the local paper) that a lighted cracker from the Guy Fawkes celebrations fell into some rubbish and ignited it. The stock outside was to have been valued next morning, to be taken over by the new licensee, Mr Julian.

The programme to be given at Midhirst Concert to-morrow evening in aid of the Lighting Fund is one that should prove enjoyable. The following are some of the items:—Song and dance "Just to Please You Sui," Mr J. S. Rowe; song, "Miss Gibbs," Miss Sheahan; song,' "Under the Shade of the Palms," Mr G. T. Walters; "You and I" (Mrs Marchant); "Ceylon" (Mr B. J. Peters) ; laughing song, Mr S. J. Ward; "La Pariesiene," Miss Greenhaulgh; "The Long Trail," MiBarker ; finale—Chums—Company; recitation, Miss Rowe; duet, Misses Sheahan and Greenhaulgh; duet, Mrs Edmondson and Miss Greenhaulgh; song. Mr J. S. Rowe; song, Mr S. J. Ward.

Starting revelations of Hunnism in connection with gifts for Australian soldiers are disclosed in a letter just received by a Gisborne resident from Dapto, New South Wales. The Red Cross Committee in that centre had its curiosity aroused by a number of parcels being sent in for transmission to,the boys at the front,.all .expressly marked "Not to be opened; to be sent direct to the front." The parcels were opened, and a lady member of the committee, on thrusting her hand inside a pair of socks which one of the parcels contained, had it severely cut by a piece of fine glass. As the wound became much inflamed, an investigation was made, and the glass was found to have been dipped in strychnine. All the "expressly marked" parcels contained similar outrageous surprises for the soldiers.

Aii innovation in film plays will be presented by the management of His Majesty's Theatre, when during the screening of "The Christian," Miss D. Edwards will sing "The Rosary." Regarding the film itself, it should be stated that it is in no war connected with the film of the same name

screened at His Majesty's some time ago. This picture is based on Hall Caine's well-known novel, and is shown in eight reels, which makes up the whole programme for the evening. Despite the rough weather being experienced, there is every probability of a bumper house, and lovers of firstelass cinematography would be well advised to book their seats early.

Cardiff is giving a farewell concert to Messrs Tom and Sid Carley „„on -3* l Friday next.

The deviation of the railway liney passing the freezing works at Smart Road was used for the first time by the mail train on Monday morning, having been linked up to the main line on Sunday.

A social will be held in the Kahoun Hall, East Road (near the Kahouri Bridge) to-morrow (Thursday) evening, in honor of Privates L. Lyford and W. Sheriff, who are on their final leave.

In case the public should have any misapprehension owing to tliis Russian origin Mr Adolf Manoy, of Broadway, has asked us to state that he was not the tradesman to whom reference was recently made in connection with an enlistment poster.

"That a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, we all know," said Mr Andrew Deer, lecturing on "Business Science" in Wellington on Monday evening (reports the Times). "It is just as true that no man is greater than the square of his weakest side. If he has good ability, great endurance, great activity, but little reliability he cannot- be a oig man. Again if he has the other qualities well developed, but if, through illness or any other cause he has little or no endurance, he will be worh little or nothing from a business point of view • while, if he has great ability, reliability, and endurance, but no activity, he is what the Americans call a or a 'going-t'o-be-er.' Ho never is." (laughter.)

When Mr C. H. Poole, of Auckland, was in Wellington last week (states the Star) among other matters he saw tho Minister for Agriculture about the butter question. Speaking on what the Minister had stated to him, tho member for Auckland West said the Hon. Mr MacDonald had clearly indicated that though the matter was still in the hands of the Appeal "Court the Government must stand to their guns in dealing with the price of butter and its effect on the cost of living. "It is evident," said Mr Poole, "that if the appeal against the ernment regulation fixing the retail price at Is 7d goes against she jj ernment, other steps will be immediately taken to insure the intent of the regulation being carried into effect. Tho determination of, ducers to get the highest price for their output is not going to deter the Government from safeguarding the interests of the general public."

A city man writes to a London paper: It is amusing to watch the gradual blossoming of some of the new city girls into feminine counterparts of our departed city "nuts." It .was a fashion among ,some o| the younger "nuts" who Were colleagues in offices to dress alike and saunter in twos and threes along the pavements in the luncheon hour, making a massed effect of color in suits, ties and socks. The other day in Cornhill I saw a trio of girl "nuts' who have already acquired the "square-mile swagger." They strolled, three abreast, monopolising the They' were dressed alike in a 'somewhat sporting-looking glory p|. 4 | mere man cannot describe. And each "nut" displayed about four inches of delicate grey silk stocking above her brogued shoes. Of one city fashion alone are the city girls still timid, the last touch of true square-mile swagger was to leave one's hat in the office at luncheon time.

One of the worst uses a man can be put to is to be made a convict. They are realising this in America. The New York "Evening Mail," in an editorial article, has the following account of an interesting and successful experiment in the scientific use of criminals: "Quietly, with no blast of trumpets and no writing of textbooks, Henry Ford has performed the great modern achievement in sociology. The Ford factory to-day employs 36,000 men, nearly an entire army corps. Among these are 600 picked men. They are picked convicts. They are mainly men who came direct from prison, paroled by the authorities to work for Henry Ford. Six hundred of them! Everyone said that it could not be done. Ford was crazy. But of the 600 only one has failed to make good and has had to be sent back to prison, and that man was sent back, not for being criminal, but for being immoral. There is no fuss and talk about it. None of the ex-convicts' fellow-work-men, and not live persons in the Ford plant know who any of those 600 are."

There appears to be no end to the ingenuity of those desiring to assist the different war funds,, A gentleman in Christchurch interested in a certain business which has received attention from the Board of Trade, having come to the conclusion that the members of the board were not as fully seized of matters as they might be,*drew up a mass of figures, entailing no fewer than a thousand calculations, to act as a guide in the matter of price-fixing. The material was of such value to others engaged in the same business that he knew they would be glad to have copies; he also knew that his principal would gladly give them away free. Whilst he did not begrudge the time and trouble spent in preparing the calculations, he thought he might as we'll have a joke, so he added at the bottom of the type-written copies; "All rights reserved. Copies 21s in aid of the Red Cross." Those in the business took the matter seriously, paid their guineas for copies, with the result that the Red Cross funds benefited to the extent of £l6 19s 6d.