LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 92, 8 June 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

By reason of the extent to which turnips have been attacked with blight of recent years a good many South Canterbury farmers are talking of growing mangolds as winter food for sheep. A suggestion made in North Cantcrlniry is that, silver beet should ho grown, as it is attacked by no pests. Silver beet would not (states the Timaru Herald) provide anything like the same feed, however, as mangolds. At a meeting of members and guarantors of the h it/.roy Bowling Club on Tuesday night, ‘dj - . C. Griffiths stated that at the present time the membership did not exceed thirtylive 01 I or i y, whereas if it were formal into a limited liability company he I bought he would be safe in saying 'I it tiny would have at least one hundred shares taken up. The meeting eventually unanimously approved T the proposal, the title of the coinmi,' io he the Kit/rov Bowling Club,

Mr. cud \V. V. Pearce art! M i;s (Viniic, of ; l ;;l:o, b'lk yesterday •>n a bob lay \ Lit !a Ciwis-tchurcn. a;:. I. .iiiiy rctunmd last i igat from a holiday 1' ip to tUdney, JSid..u'.tve, and Hobart. At ma Catholic Church yesterday morning .Mr. Leo Doherty was married to Miss Alargarot Pearce, third daughter of the late .Mr. A. Pearce. Miss Nellie Coutts acted as bridesmaid, and Air. !•!. O’iveilly as best man. The happy couple kit by the afternoon train to spend tlicir Jioneymoo:i in Wanganui. ’! ho President of the Taranaki Winter Show yesterday received the following telegram fioni tlie Hon. Titos. .Mackenzie, Minister of Agriculture:— “I very much regret that 1 am unable to be with you to-day. Yon know your show has my host wishes for caccess. 1 hope one and all will have reason to ho thoroughly satisfied with it. A lay the society have a most successful career.”

The public arc reminded of the musical evening, under the auspices of the Ladies’ (luild, to be hold in St. Andrew’s Schoolroom, on Friday, dune 9th. Some of tlie leading vocalists and musicians of Stratford have consented to assist with the programme, and present indications point to a very successful evening. The tickets for the entertainment are selling freely, and it is hoped that there will be a largo attendance of the public.

A petition is to bo sent to Parliament during the coming session by local veterans (states the Poverty Pay Herald) praying that some recognition lie given those who were engaged in active service against the hostile Maoris during the early settlement days of the Dominion. It is suggested that a special military pension of 10s per week should be granted to all bona fide veterans. Reference is made in the petition to the fact, that nothing lias been heard of the enquiries made by the magistrate about a year ago. Rabbiting has proved a particularly lucrative occupation during the past few months in portions of South Canterbury contiguous to the Waitaki river. The Oamavu Mail states that within live weeks one company of three men earned £o9 each on a small run. A pound a day has been by no means difficult in pursuit of bunny, so that it is hardly wonderful that farm labourers in the vicinity have forsaken the plough and the seed drill to hunt the elusive rabbit. Two factors have been responsible for the big money to be made—the high price of skins and the plcntitilde of victims. A contemporary remarks:—“The athletic bodies of New Zealand are actively canvassing a petition in favour of the Daylight Saving Bill introduced by .Mr. T. K. Sidey, of Dunedin. The object of the EfTl is to put the clocks of the Dominion buck for an hour iu the summer months. By this means, offices, shops, and factories would open at seven in the morning and work would be suspended at four in the afternoon.” By putting the clock back an hour, work would start at 9 o’clock instead of 8, and cease at G instead of u. The object of Mr. Sidey’s Bill is to put the clock on an hour from the Ist October to 31st March. Prior to the hearing of a police case at the'Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, the question arose as to whether the informant, who was also a witness, should remain in court when other witnesses had been ordered outside. The informant in the case happened to ho a detective, and the Chief Detective asked that he he allowed to remain, holding that the informant was just as much a party to the > action as the accused. Counsel'for-tire defence asked for a ruling on the subject, and the Magistrate upheld the Chief Detective’s contention. Tire Chief Detective then said that it was the principle he stood for, and as there was no particular reason for informant, remaining in court he would ask him to retire. The Austrian Courts do not allow a wife to open her husband’s private correspondence. A Viennese lady has been sentenced to a week’s imprisonment for doing so. Suspecting him. of an intrigue, she took his keys from his pocket while he was asleep, unlocked his desk and broke open a sealed letter. She then brought an action for divorce against him, and he retaliated by prosecuting her for “violation of private correspondence,” which is a very serious offence under the Austrian law. The Judge, in passing such a short sentence as a week in prison, explained that he was making allowance for the wife’s jealous nature, but even that could not wholly excuse the commission of a grave misdemeanour.

A strenuous game of football was played in Melbourne on Saturday,’May 27th, in the presence of a large crowd, between the Cheltenham and Victoria Brewery Clubs. Two players come to blows, and constables had to interfere and stop the light. V lien the game was resumed one of the Brewery men took .-apparently the earliest opportunity to strike a Cheltenham player in the face with Ids list. Tne ' act was scon by a constable, and the offender will be prosecuted. Some of the disorder during the match was thought to he duo to the want of firmness of the sub-

stitute umpire. As ho was entering the pavilion afterwards one of the Brewery men . struck him two heavy blows on the back of the neck when ho was in the midst of a crowd of players. Again the police were called upon for assistance.

Commenting on tlio case of Kosc and others versus T. Kennedy .Macdonald, the Wellington “Post” says: —“The conduct of the initial stages of the proceedings in the privacy of chambers was in strict accordance with the practice of the Court in dealing with accounts, hut when their character changed from a matter of accountancy to one of imprisonment, the time had surely come' for letting in the full light of day. Cor our part, though we respected the best traditions of English journalism in abstaining from publication of the proceedings when so directed by the Court, wo are free to say now that the injunction of secrecy was not in the public interests in the present case, and should ho more sparingly exercised in the future.”

The following report is to he presented to the next meeting of the Borough Council by the Works Committee;—Wo recommend the Council to accede to Mrs Kirkwood’s request to share the cost, of an iron fence between her property and the Council’s in Miranda Street. The overseer has been instructed to clear the fern from the cemetery; also to attend to the repairs required at tin pound. We recommend the Council to give its consent to the right-of-way, for a further four years, at present existing on section .‘ll9. A\ e recommend the Council not to agree, at present, to Mr Mali’s request for water to ho laid on to the new street ho is making. No new work has been done during the past month, am? at the present time it is not. contemplated that any new work will lie' redid red during the ensuing month. Maintenance work has boon attended to as usual, and will lie dealt, with in the Overseer’s report.

Ore ,;f the quaintest suggestions for Lbe (cl ,‘in ;; I i a of the Coronation is put forward i>\ Captain MelLvaino, R.N. Ti-e gallant officer considers the men cf the Biitisb b.mpiro treat lack King rather shabbily in the persistency witli which they shave themselves! Beards, be appears to think, arc a natural and suitable feature of the Britisher. King Edward grow one and encouraged his personal stall' to do so. The Duke or Edinburgh did mi shave. King Ceorgc, also a naval officer, affects a beard for himself and liis staff. And yet the beard is quite the exception at the present day. “Jt is incomprehensible,” says Captain Mcllwaino, “that the manhood of the Empire, otherwise always so ready to accept a Royal lead, should, in this matter show such indifference, or worse, to rho views both expressed and implied of their kings.”