LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 107, 28 June 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The fruit industry is gradually making headway. It is stated on good authority that the Stoke (Nelson) Fruit Canning Company made a profit of 30 per cent, in the first year’s operations. At the meeting of the Girl Peace Scouts to-morrow afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Salmond, of Haw era, will lie present. Mr. Salmond was previously district commander of the scouts at Bluff, and lie will deliver an address to the girls. It is computed that between 3000 and 4000 cases of apples and over 1000 cases of pears have been sent away by Tauranga fruitgrowers this season. A very big increase in the yield is expocted next season, as a largo number of now frees will than lie bearing. Owing to ill-hoailli, Mr Yv. Neilson, of Mr Newton King’s Stratford office staff, is leaving the firm’s employ to go to the "Waikato. Mr “Barney” Fearon, who was formerly a popular mombpr of the Stratford .office,• hafagain taken a place there amongst ids old comrades. “Sunshine and Shadow” is the title of a recital to be given in the Town Hall after church services (8.15) on Sunday next. Mrs E. O. Blamires will give incidents from her experiences as Sister in the London, Leicester, and New Zealand City Missions. Hit. Worship the Mayor will preside. Collection for the Wellington Mission, of which Rev. E. U. Blamires, is superintendent.

Thoso farmers who liave preserved tlieir straw stacks in the Asti burton County are finding that they are worth money. In a recent clearing sale, throe straw stacks sold at £i 10s each, v," ' r >+. other times thoj might have been got rid of by fire. Tlieir increased value is mainly due to the shortage cf stock feed. Such a tiling as selling strawstacks by auction lias not taken place in Ashburton County for many years, past. A lady correspondent writes “Between twenty and thirty ladies assembled at St.' Andrew’s Hall yesterday afternoon to hear Miss R. A. Clark, representative of the New Zealand Yiavi Co., deliver her free ‘Health'- Talk.’ Mrs R. Me. K. Morison presided. The speaker, in an earnest, fluent manner, held the attention of her hearers for an hour'. At the conclusion of her lecture, c veto of thanks was proposed by Mrs W. L. Kennedy, seconded by Mrs John Mackay, and carried- unanimously. At the request of a number who were unable to be present yesterday, Miss Clark lias kindly con sauted to deliver a second address at an early, date.”

The rumour that the Grey electorate is. to he wined out is not at all likely (says the Hokitika “Guardian”) In tiie first place, says the paper, the adjoining constituencies, Westland and Boiler, do not require such a largo addition of population to. bring them up to the required quota. The addition required for Westland can he easily acquired without making any very radical changes in the boundaries,' and presumably the commission will he inclined to follow the lino of least resistance and avoid radical changes. Judging by the figures published the West Coast will ho able.tc hold its own, fairly well in the readjustment of boundaries, and any'wip-ing-out should be further north than this immediate neighbourhood.

“My opinion is,” said Mr. G. W. Russell, M.P., at the Richmond (Christchurch) School Committee election meeting the other day, “that there is in connection with oar primary school system a want of thoroughness, and .['think it is largely due tc the parents. Parents are on the lookout for results. You want children to pass examinations ahead of othei .children of the same ago. It leads tr driving. Children are driven -In teachers; teachers a year or so agr wore driven hy the inspectors; and the inspectors, I suppose, wore driver hy the department. It is all cram. There is no thoroughness. Why, I have seen handwriting by hoys from the ,TTigh School that was a disgrace tc the. institution. Eighty per cent, o! the children receive,no education bid that supplied bv the primary schools and therefore it should be managed carefully. The education should hr -lower, more thorough, and more deliberate.” Unique ideas on the question o'. housing Australian representatives ii London under one roof are held in. the Minister for Home Affairs, cay:, the “Age.” He is thoroughly conventional in his desire that the Fedora; and State officials shall bo groupsc. in one' building, under Federal control. Rut his further ideas are sin gular. Ho wants a Commonwealth building many storeys high, with deep basement, in which Australian viguerons could store their wines.. The building must be run on business lines, as “everything now is hard, progressive, cruel, murderous, Imsi ness,” and so the Commonwealth must advertise boldly. “A nation that does not advertise,” announced Hr. O’Malley last week, “becomes covered with blue mould.” A restaurant, in which only. Australian-growr feed would he served, occupies a prominent place in the scheme, and the Minister would compel the staffs tr cat.their meals and hold their rocop tiers in it. Great exhibitions of Australian produce would be bold, with.’ “State tags” on each article, and a high tower would ton the building.

Amidst the blaze of yesterday's noon (says a recent “Daily Chronicle”' habitues of Fleet Street must have been startled to notice a goodly crowd of obvious country folk, gathered ii the roadway by St. Clement Dane’s, sunburnt and bewildered, and in im minont danger of being run over every moment or so. They were th: Johnson Society from Lichfield, r. hand of devotees from the great lexicographer’s native place. “Of course,” said one of the pilgrims, as they wandered in groiips through the sacred streets, doffed their hats in front ol the Cough square • house; and stood nonderingly by the old Johnson pev, in St. Clement’s, “all this reverence business is very well in its way. Bn; what wo are really here for is tc make people talk about Lichfield. AVc want to turn Lichfield into a pock'd Stratford. They say that Stratforo makes £40,000 a year out of Shakespeare. Well, vby shouldn’t we make our little hit out of Johnsoni There is really no reason why wt shouldn’t manage to rope in even American who comes to England. .11 you ask me, Lichfield is a far linen, type of a slowly old English cathedral town, with grass growing in the streets, and the whole place hardly changed since the eighteenth century Then we have Addison as well, and Garrick would have been born there if only Ids mother had not- gone to stav for a week at Hereford. Properly managed, it ought to ho a little gold mine.”

In our report of the social that took' place at Whar.gainomona on the 16th instant, the name of Mr. 11. Cottier was omitted as one of the musical contributors, he having helped largely towards the success of the function with his violin, his playing being :;i red i apprcci at ed. Mr Yv. Parkinson, of New Plymonth, gave a trial of the “Bunyip Forest .Devil” stump-extractor on Mr Evan Jones’ farm, Toko Road, yesterday afternoon, before a large number of farmers, with very satisfactory results, a fair number of very largo stumps being pulled out during tkc afternoon, Tno farmers present watched the proceedings very closely, and all were satisfied with the results. The machine was put to some very severe tests and proved to be tiie victor every time. Owing to the retirement of Mr R. Cottier from Mr Newton King’s staff, certain re-adjustments have been made. Mr Cottier was a popular Knight of the Hammer, and it has -men decided that Mr George Hobbs become stock auctioneer in Mr Cottier’s place and as alt Hobbs is very deservedly popular, he ought to make a very worthy successor to tiie geni--1 “Dick.” Mr Hobbs, who has act'd as principal stock agent at Stratford for the firm, will be succeeded on July Ist by Mr Geo. Smith, who is also very well known and csteemd. Despite the changes which are sound to come by time and circum--tarices, no department of Mr Newton King’s big business is’ ever allowed to suffer—and good men always follow good men so that clients’ interests may be well looked after. Mr Hobbs’ many friends will congratulate ! im on his promotion to the knightly brotherhood. ■■ . ■ •• 1 . ■; ; The half-yearly meeting of Court Btratford was held in the Foresters’ Hall on June 28th, there being a .mcord attendance of members., The district officers visited the Lodge, and congratulated the Court on ‘its increase of membership and strong finanial position, having £I3OO sick funds .avested on mortgage at 6 per cent, the sum of £SO 13s 4d was distributed by sick gifts during the half-ytar. The Social Committee reported on the great sue•ess of fortnightly socials, the Hall •sing taxed to its utmost limit on ;acli occasion. The following officers .ere elected for the ensuing terra, .nd duly installed by D.S.C.R. Bro! Fawcett: —P.C.R. Bio. T. N. Payton’ J.R. Bro. W. Sullivan, treasurer Bro. L W. Simmons, secretary Bro. G. Burgess, S.C.R. Bro. E. F. Jan, S.W Bro. P. J. Burkett, JAY. Bro. W caulon, S.B. Bro. F. Parker, J.B. Bro. IV. E. Porter, jun. The “Taranaki Herald” states that mother of the earliest, pioneers of Car ana ki passed away at Inglewood m Monday night in the person of Hr James Harvey, who was born on jparcl tiro Essex, on the way out •om Home, on October 23rd, 1842, nd arrived hors on January 23rd, Jl3, ho being just three months old. u his youth lie followed the occu-

.ation of a sawyer, and in this capacty helped to cut the timber for the drst and second Waiwakaiho Bridges and other bridges in the district. ■Afterwards he joined the boating service tendering vessels in the road•tead, at which lie continued till shipping was removed to Moturoa. Lattery, his health has not permitted him lo follow a very active life, and he has been living among _ his children, of whom there are thirteen living, •even sons and six daughters, one laughter having died. During the Jaori wars lie served with the volun.oers, and he was a member of the Veterans’ Association. , Mrs Harvey, •'■'her wals a Miss Wheeler, predeceased 1 :er husband some ten years ago. A novel experiment was tried at Am Gisborne Technical School cookay classes recently, when the senior High School girls were expected to market and provide “dinner for two” ut of the noble sum of 6d. They ally entered into the spirit of the ching, and, on their return from the chopping expedition, some were even dole to show change in hand. The girls worked in pairs, so three differnt 6d menus were thought out and daintily cooked and served. This is i further proof of the positive and practical value of the instruction en- ■ oyed by the girls, which should in if ter years produce still wider effects, as it brings out and exercises •die really domestic side of the girls’ characters. There was distinct rivalry among the three sets, and the viands offered were most appetising : ti appearance as well as sufficient in inantity, the one thing lacking to the full success of their efforts being the masculine appetite necessary to “dear the hoard.” The menus preisntod by the embryo housewives of this enlightened borough were as follows: —Set A.: Two chops (fried),,accompanied by onions, carrots, parsnips and potatoes; lemon sago pudling. Sot B.: Shepherds’ pie, with carrots, turnips and parsnips; apples ind rice. Set C.: Stewed steak, with vegetables; prunes and rice.