Stratford News

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 282, 25 May 1912, Page 3

Stratford News

From our Resident Reporter. THE ESMQNT DEBATING CLUB. The Debating Club formed abongst members of the Egmont Club held its I first meeting on Thursday evening, and, j although little had been done to notify members of the matter, about twenty took their seats in the cosy reading- | room, -which was emptied for the nonne of its newspapers and periodicals. Mr. J. McAllister was in the chair. It was announced that the General Committee had decided against the recommendation of the sub-committee to form a parliamentary union, and that the meetings would be conducted on the lines of a literary and debating society. Then followed an animated discussion of Mr. S. Ward's motion that the constitution should be altered to that of a parliamentary union. The.Society was already fulfilling its purpose—it was giving practice in the art of public speaking. The conflict between the two sections ended when g a nice amendment came as a red herring across the scent, and the debate was adjourned for a week. The members of this youtliful society then ventured to discuss the mighty' question of free-trade versus protection, not for New Zealand, not for the Em-1 pire, but for the world. The field was wide enough in all conscience, and many parts of its surface were gently scratched as speaker after speaker aired his views j —some horn of reading and experience, some born at the moment of speaking, and some born only from the desire to be "up and at them." Mr. 11. Wilson ] and Mr. Laurenson made interesting and educative speeches, Mr. Wilson having the onerous position of leader for the affirmative. Other speakers included Messrs. C. D. Sole, McMahon, R. Mas- j ters, Bowditeh, S. Ward, R. McK. Morison and Staples. Some neat points were J made, and some of the repartee was 1 sprightly. Altogether, although many of I the members came unprepared to discuss ] such a monster of a subject, the evening , was interestingly spent. In the voting, | free-trade went down by 9 to 8. • N T ext week there is to be a debate on the question, "Is compulsory military training under the present Defence Act good for the Dominion?" Juvenile members of the club who chafe at camps and parades should come along and air their i grievances. Messrs. Ward and Laurenson lead in the affirmative, and Messrs.' McAllister and Sole in the negative. In the following week Mr. Sole will affirm that the Arbitration Act has been proved a failure. Mr. N. J. King will oppose him.

The rules will provide that no speaker leac'-in more than two debates, unless, of ourse, the parliamentary code is adopted, when doubtless the "premier" will do as he likes until he is ousted from office. ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING. At the annual meeting of the Stratford Acclimatisation Society on Wednesday, Mr. W. P. Kirkwood (president) presided over but a small attendance. In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet (already published), the president said that members would see that the number of shooting licenses were approximately about one hundred, and last year it was one hundred and fifty, a record season. The past year had been a bad breeding season, possibly one of the worst they bad ever had. Pheasants were none too plentiful, although quail were reported to be fairly numerous, perhaps as numerous as in past seasons. They had liberated recently 50,000 rainbow trout, nine months old, very sturdy and well-grown fish. They were expecting good results from them. He considered that it would be found better to liberate five thousand well-grown fish than twenty or thirty thousand fry. Next season, however, they did not intend to liberate rainbow fry, but were going in for Loch Leven and brown trout. He quoted an extract from a London periodical, which', he considered, threw some light possibly on the fact that the rainbow had no done here as well as they might do. "Experience, which has now been sufficiently tested to make it worthy of trust." the extract said, ''shows that there is hardly any water in which rainbow trout will not thrive, if given plenty of food, provided that they cannot escape from it. But this is an important proviso, and it is almost an imperative one. It is important because its effect is virtually to preclude the successful introduction of the rainbow into any waters from which there is an outlet that is not carefully screened with a grating. If the rainbow can get away, they will. They show more of a tendency to go down with the stream than lip against it; but if they cannot get down they will go up, probably in an instinctive search for a connecting stream which will enable them to go down more effectively. They are very voracious fish, and it is probable that the search for food is the motive of their wandering. Tt is likely, too, that the temperature of the water affects them a good deal. Their native waters, on the North American continent, are large, well supplied with food, and deep. The only possible exceptions to the rule that rainbows in this country will escape, if the chance be given them, from the waters into which they are introduced, ar.e the cases in which those waters are very rich in their food supply, and give them some considerable depths into which they can retire when the sun has heated the surface. Hut a general rule, as it secra. may be laid down that whereas rair' -y are the very best kind of trout that i • :i 'i-> nut into a water from which they have :<■■ way of escape, it is quite useless to put them into waters from which they can find an exit." Mr. W. .T. Morrison, in seconding Iho motion, said he was surprised that the Society had only spent some ,C 7 odd in- the purchasing of hawks' feel. Tt was no use liberating a fifty-shilling brace of pheasants when a sixpenny hnwk would settle them. He hoped that (he Loch Leven trout would prove a sucThe chairman mentioned that there were one hundred pheasants ready to be liberated—when the sportsmen have finished for the season. Officers for the ensuing year were elected as follows: —President] Mr. W. I'. Kirkwood; vice-president, Mr. A. W. Tiudgc: council. Messrs J. 11. L. Stanford, V. Dunlo;,. (t. L. Ilmiley. L. Itcira. ITu«h Campbell. E. ,]',. Stohr, and W. 1L Davis; countrv council, Messrs Hugh McLeod, I L. R. Smith and (i. Oliphant.

GENERAL NEWS. ■Our monnteds e.amc back from pump yesterday. Some of them looked quite military - -ome did not. They had a .irnixl time, and had good weather for the Rveiiler part of the time spent in raniji. They arrived by special train, unheralded, a. fact which was deeply resented by at least one mother of a khakiclad nohii.r, who looked rather as if he wished the lady in question would not so forcibly express her view—at any rate whilst hi' wis present—that the. Imud shout; 1m ve been out to play the men tlirou'.'h il;e town. The idea struck a bystander as ludicrous, and he exeJaimpj

"Anyone would think they wore returned I troopers!" Of course, if there were a ) | war scare we would get out a band for ( every bit of khaki in the town. | i ' Khaki! "Tisn't in it. It's all tartan I just now. Bare-legged Scots figure in i the pictorial representations in shop windows, and-the Royal Stuart tartan is also conspicuous. Hoots, mon! Dinna ye hear it? They were mustering for the big Scottish gathering last nightten brawly, brawny pipers, no less. To the trained Scottish ear, or to those who had "the giftie gied them" to appreciate bagpipe music, 'twas good, but Stratford shareholders are wondering what is the meaning of the. circular issued by some members of the Taranaki •Petroleum Company in New Plymouth, whose object appears to be to prevent some of the pr««<Bnt directors holding proxies for the forthcoming meeting of shareholders. There are eight or ten signatories, and shareholders who are unable to attend the meeting personally are asked to send their proxies to one of the team. About 35 meHiors of H Company of Territorials left by this afternoon's train to attend the casual camp at Waverley. These are the lads who could not attend the April camp. A whole lot of employers who supported compulsory training in theory are kicking like mules at the system in practice. As for the lads themselves, they look on the whole thing as a wretched "fag," and have not been overcharged yet with the' desire to do or die in khaki. Maybe it will ' come..

The fondness of the Maori for writing other people's names at the foot of a : cheque is often demonstrated. Yes- - terday a Maori named John P. Manaia, but more commonly known as "Dummy," was charged with having forged the • name of Athole Meredith to a cheque for £5, and uttered it. The evidence dis- '' closed that the cheque had been taken from a cheque-book left by "William Baker, a Whangamomona farmer, in his whare. It was produced by the native at the Whangamomona branch of the Bank of Australasia, but Mr. Collingwood, the clerk, saw that the signature was not that of Meredith, and refused to cash it. The Maori left the bank,' only to return a few minutes later with a request to be given the cheque, so that he could tear it up. But it was handed to Constable Scannell; hence the present proceedings. Having had the evidence translated to him, Manaia pleaded guilty, and was committed for trial. Some local members of the North Taranaki Hunt took part in the operations at Lepperton on Thursday, and report having had a good time. Next week we are to have the bottlegreen coats and scarlet waistcoats down here, and there promises to 'be a big muster. Hunting is "catching on." Sticking on is a, horse of another color. BUSINESS NOTICES Yesterday was a day for top-coats. The wind was chockful of winter suggestions, and one of the wisest of these was a visit to the Egmont Clothing Com-, pany's shop. Stratford, in quest of good. overcoats of all classes for boys and' men, warm woollen underwear, gloves, and so on. Mr. E. C. James' great annual stocktaking sale closes on May 31. All the.: fancy goods and stationery is offered at bargain prices till then. The reductions ' are stupendous, and have brought aatis-! faction in heaps to discerning purchasers, j "The Dover" is a remarkably useful little stove, and inexpensive. It is bui" of good east-iron, nicely moulded. It'j will stand in your open fireplace, or can i be set with stove-pipe through the wall. | Used as a grate for warming the room, it has an ornamental top. But it has a "business end," too. It has a range-top ' for two saucepans or kettles. As an : economiscr of fuel, and as a cheap and effective means of warming a room, the "Dover" is worthy of attention. Shacklock's ranges, and lamps of all kinds, are other reasonable lines stocked by the Taranaki Hardware Company at Stratford.