Stratford News

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 304, 20 June 1912, Page 3

Stratford News

From our Resident Reporter. S THE NEW MINISTRY. The new Ministry in the Egmont Clul Parliament is as follows: Prime Ministei and Minister of Finance, Mr. J. Staples; Internal Affairs, Mr. W. Bowler; Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. C. Crawsihaw; Customs and Marine, Mr. N. J. King; Public Works and Railways, Mr. J. W ■Boon; Lands and Agriculture, Mr. Campbell Jackson; Education and Defence, Mr, N. Templer; Commerce and Native Affairs, Mr. J. Masters. The Government measure for next Tuesday is the .introduction of an old age pensions scheme. On Tuesday last two Bills were introduced by private members. The House threw out the Premier's measure to allow women to take their seats in Parliament, but adopted Mr. Ward's Compulsory Saturday Half-holiday scheme for the Dominion.

A CAUSE CELEBRE. The Matakana Island ease is settled, and the threatened appeal against the Supreme Court decision will not go on. Plaintiff retains the Matakana Island property, of miie'h debated price, and the defendant (Sanson) pays damages for breach of contract. Full details of the settlement are not public. Messrs. Spence and Stanford l , of Stratford, were the solicitors for the defendant, and Messrs. Roy and Nicholson, of New Plymouth, for plaintiff.

STRAY PARAGRAPHS.

Weather? Bad. Really bad. A strong, cold, blustering wind brought the rain down in sheets. The County Councillors' eloquence was lost, for the beating of the rain on the galvanised iron exterior of the county offices. Their continued verbosity ill the circumstances disproved! the oft-repeated assertion that the councillors were merely talking to the reporters. The Stratford School Committee has appointed a sub-committee to make enquiries with a view of raising funds for the establishment of a school library. The Education Department is now prepared to consider applications for grants for this purpose. The social in the Parish Ilall on Tuesday was well attended, the proportion of gentlemen to ladies being rather more satisfactory, but there's room for improvement yet. The young men don't seem to know what enjoyable socials these are. Songs were sung at intervals during the dlancing by the Rev. Butler, Miss O'Leary, Miss Butler and Mr. Wilson,- and -Mr. Wilkic gave a recitation. Supper was good and plentiful. Capital music for the dancing was played by Misses McDonald, O'Leary and Gladys Black, and Mr. and Mrs. C. Penn. The vicar acted as master of ceremonies. The York road! ratepayers pay special, separate and general rates amounting ,to l(H4d in the £ to the Stratford County Council. What a struggle! - Mr. R. W. H. Bligli has delivered a couple of box lectures here. He got good audiences, and a good hearing. The monthly conversazione of the representatives Of the Stratford County ratepayers was held yesterday. The chairman managed! to "get the hang" of the multitude of speeches that were simultaneously delivered by the county councillors. The Whangamomona saddle is now in a record muddy state. The coach service has been discontinued, and mails go by packhorse. Despite the near approach of the railway, Whangamomona still has .pioneering .tribulations. The upkeep of the Stratford-Opunake road is a very heavy tax on the ratepayers. Councillor Smith stated! at yesterday's meeting of the County Council that the maintenance was costing £IOO per mile per apnum. The load was a tremendous one for the .ratepayers, and their only hope of relief was that the powers that be would speedily construct the Stratford-Opunake railway. Mr. E. C. Robinson, surveyor, recently offered gratuitously his service in connection with levelling and improving the schoolgrounds. The School Committee on'.Tuesday were highly gratified, and a ■hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Robinson for his offer.

. PERSONAL. Miss J. Beedie, of the Stratford District High School teaching staff, is stepping out of the ranks of the teaching profession. One of the most popular teachers that the children of Stratford have had, it is regrettable that her services are no longer to be available for the instruction of the young. Her teaching has given excellent results, and without any unpleasantness or severity of method. Mr. F. A. Tyrer, in the course of his monthly report to the committee on Tuesday, wrote: "Miss Beedie has all along been one of our ablest and most loyal teachers, and we shall miss her very much. She has the faculty of the true teacher in becoming 'friends' with her class, and her leaving will be regretted as much by the children as by her fellow-teachers. Her place will be hard to fill." Which testimonial is no more than Miss Beedie deserves.

BERNARD'S PICTURES. "The Spartan Mother" promises to prove a big draw for Bernard's Pictures this evening, and lovers of motion pictures who have seen "The Spartan Mother" in the Empire City speak of it in terms of the highest approbation. It is a film whose story is c 1 > of tragic heroism, and cannot fail to inspire the youth of this country with the desire to do his best for the land of his birth, even if it ends in death. The details of the "Battle of Btili Run" are well pictured, and the film, before being presented to the public was highly praised by the committee which is set up in America to see that'the stirring incidents of the Civil War are fairly correctly pourtraved. In view of the statements sometimes made concerning the evil effect of pictures on the youth mind, it is only fair to slate fliat the censorship of the films is such that we never have a picture screened at His Majesty's which would fail to meet with the approval of all but the most narrow-minded. Good healthy subjects abound', and, where a tale of crime is.unfolded, the evil-doer is always brought to justice in the good old story-book fashion, from which the lesson is to be learned that "honesty is the best policy." "It's an ill-wind that blows no good" tells the story of a rich youth's marriage to a girl of lower social status, her /light from her home, and his despairing search for her. The young couple are brought together eventually at a lire in the wife's lodgings, where the husband arrives just in time to snatch his wife and child from the flames. There are other splendid films on the new programme, which is to be screened to-night and on Friday and Saturday.