LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 110, 30 June 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At last night’s meeting of the Chamber of Commerce hr. Richards, the secretary, said the time bad come when the Chamber should be able to allow a salary to its secretary. He did not want remuneration himself, but lie thought it was desirable that a salary should be paid.

The police colls at Whangamoinona ire now out of ilic contractors’ hands mcl await the christening ceremony. A largo mimhor of dairy cattle in the Whangamoinona district are being bought up for dairy purposes o;. ■die Waimate Plains district. The Wanganui Education Board ins 438 teachers in its employ—l9s nales and 2!3 females. There arc also dx relieving teachers. Invercargill appears to bo boomng just now. A property Jias just .‘hanged hands in that town, the nice representing ,-£2lO a foot unimproved value. It is proposed to hold a series o! oncerts during the winter months ai \Vhangamonona for the purpose oi raising funds for a tennis chart lor public use. The first concert will be held shortly. The Tangarakau bridge on the KoImratahi Hoad, for whicii Mr F. Graying is the contractor, is expected tc itt completed about the end of duly. I lie bridge, which is ISO feet long, \ 51! roughly cost about £2OOO. The contractors for the erection ci dm new Town Hall at Toko have nude excellent progress with the ti ncture. The budding, which is i /cry lino one, is now nearing completion. Extensive alterations are at present icing mads to Messrs. Court and Cottier’s store' at Whangamoinona. dew offices are being fitted up foi the convenience of the firm and post ifflce. The alteration?, when finishid, will make the store thoroughly ap-to-date. A five-horse team with a waggon oad of timber on board, got into difficulties at the entrance to the Whaigamomona Saddle-on Tuesday morn ing, the waggon being embedded in the mud up to the axles, and some considerable time elapsed before the iriver (with the use of a shovel’ lould make another start. An electrical engineer engaged ai the Bealey end of the Otira tunnevorks met with a distressing acci lent a few days ago. His arm go!' 'aught in the cog wheels of sonu nacliincry in the tunnel, with the result that the flesh was stripped tom the elbow to the wrist, lie if now in the Greyrnouth Hospital, and the doctors arc hopeful of saving tin limb.

The water, drainage, and elect ri- • 'ightihg .proposals submitted to tin. ratepayers. of Mangaweka on Saturday vero carried almost unanimously ’ .•■here being but two votes recordec against the former, and four againstthe latter. Practically all the local, ratepayers voted. The result war received with great enthusiasm, at it will place Mangaweka among the leading towns on. the Main Trunk line The Whahgapromona Saddle is a! present in a very bad condition. Th Public. Works’ heavy teams xvliic’ have been in' constant work on the roads have no doubt contribute', largely to the road’s present state The two-mile stretch of papa road, from the foot of the saddle to Whangs township, which was a- splendid piece of road, is now’ turned into a quagmire. The Mangara Road is also! ia a filthy condition.

One can hardly realise the hardships that have to bo contended with in the backblocks of the Whangamomona district, but one can easily judge by the, following:—A piano recently) arrived in the district, and i; order to place it into its bush,.home-, stead, a distance of about one mile, eight strong man were engaged in •carrying it, taking the necessary changes and spells along the road The lime taken in landing the instrument at its destination was sb hours. Correspondence was read at Tues day’s meeting of the Manawatu A. and P. Association from the Nov. Zealand Producers’ Association cov ering a copy-of a letter from iMr F. J. Shelton, the Home representative of the Association in reference to a contract for a supply of fifty to seventy thousand pounds of beef per month for eleven months, to tiio United States Army. The letter is addressed to Mr. W. 1). Lysnar, of Gisborne, asking him to get quotation!; for the supply of beef. Mr. T. F. Martin, solicitor to the Municipal Association, had advised the Petone Borough Council that a i 'tepavor could not legally claim any refund of rates, ho not having ,paio them under, protest.. A'Councillor enquired: ‘‘What about tbo equity.,ol •the thing? Is the Council debarred from refunding the money, which was-, paid under error?’-’ .It was ultimately decided to take no further action if. t-ic matter.

A farewell social was tendered tc Mr A. McKenzie in tli Kohuratahi Hall on Friday June 23rd, on the ere of his leaving for Tatu. There was a large attendance, and an. enjoyable time was spent. > During the evening Mr E. Hill, in a feu appropriate words, presented Mr McKenzie with' a handsome travelling rug, to which the recipient suitably responded. The following contributed vocal items; Mrs Sim, aiid Messrs Fawkner, Kennedy, Hill and F. Campbell; dance music was supplied by Messrs TV. Snider (violin) and G. -Thomas (piano), extras being played by Mrs Sim and Mr Campbell. Mr C. Joyce ful filled the duties of M.C. Dancing was kept up with spirit until the early hours of the morning. A farewell presentation took plant at Makahu on Tuesday afternoon, when the residents assembled to bid farewell to Mrs. Cameron, the popular schoolmistress, who is leaving the district to take up her new duties a! Okato. During the evening a presentation in the form of a silver biscuit barrel was made ou behalf of tin school children, and a purse of sovereigns- by the residents of the district. The presentations were mad-: by Miss Ford and Mr. Coyne. Songs were contributed by Mesdames Brewer and Marten, and Messrs. Noble and R. Mounscy, and instrumental items by Mrs. T. Mounsey and Misr Tnrkington. Mr. Nobis presided in a most capable manner. Afternoon tea, provided by the ladies, was done full justice to. Mr. T. R. Mounsey responded on behalf of the recipient. A pleasant afternoon warspent by all present. Tt is evident that Dr. Yalintine, In-spector-General of Hospitals, looks with an unsympathetic eye upon the man and woman classed as the undesirable citizen. “There is no doubt at all that the path of the wastrel is made far too easy,” l>o said amid applause at the Hospital Conference in Wellington. “I do not think,” Ik added, “that wo should allow ammawkish seutimsntalitv to prevent ns from doing our dutv in dealbi" with these outcasts and pariahs. Wr have no hesitation in confining tV leper in one place for life and neither should wa hesitate to place ve straint upon the social outcast, t’-s intemperate and those tainted wit 1 - infectious disease. And why should not we compel them, while in confinement, to work for the' maintenance of their wives and children P” (Applause.)

Influenza is very prevalent around Whangamoinona just now. Mr. J. Masters is at present in Wellington on private business. He expects to be back in Stratford on Monday next. Hugh Johnson, who did not appear, was lined 20s at the Magistrate’s Court this morning by Mr W. G. Men: ick, S.M., on a charge of haying .left a horse and trap unattended in i street on June 9th. At Mr J. T. Martin’s farm, Pern-, woke Hoad, yesterday a demonstration of th.o working of the Bunyip Forest Devil was given before a gathering of farmers by Mr W. Jenkinson, of i\ew Plymouth, who is the sole agent for the contrivance in Taranaki. Tnc demonstration was highly successful, the Devil, pulling trees right 'nit of the ground which is left' ready for the plough. Trials are .to be weld in various other parts of the province. “A lot of little pill-boxes stuck one on the other,” was how Mr Halcombo described the Uronui teacher’s rosilence at the Education Board meetng last night. A request had been made by Mr G. Pope, the headmaster,, or additions to the residence. It Iras stated in theidiscussion that the oof was. so low in part cf the buildjig that one could scarcely stand up-, right there. The Foreman is to report on the best means of effecting improvements. -y The “man in blue” was very much in evidence in High Street between 3.30 and 6 o’clock on Tuesday evening, says the Hawera “Star.” He was giving a warning to those cyclists ■who ware riding without lights, and Uco an intimation that that was the dual notice, transgressors in' the future to be given an opportunity of explaining ' elsewhere. The highly dangerous practice of riding on the footpaths, especially at night, is also l;oing to receive attention. Tlio ; acos of ?ome Hawera residents when fhoy' had to halt at the sign of the uplifted hand last night were studies '.n brown.

The vagaries of a stop watch, one of the kind that stops when you least expect it or desire it, were responsible for tbo non-appearance of the member for the district at the railway station yesterday to introduce the School Committee’s deputation to. the Hon. jLr. Fovvlds, says the Patea' “Press.” j.VIr Pearce had made a special jourjn.ey from Kakaramea for the purpose, and finding the time’"to be only A. 15 p.m. by Ins watch, attended to •various business matters for some lime. On consulting his watch latCr he found the time to be still 3.15 j.m., and forthwith proceeded to’ 'ascertain the correct time, when he learnt, that the mail train had just left the station. ’ 3 ' J

ii The joys of the secretaryship of an yducation board. At yesterday’s ! aoeting of the Taranaki Education loard, says the “News,” Mr Whitombe, the secretary, read voluminous orrespondence concerning the' Board’s jalance-sheet, which the Audit Dcpartmnt refused to pass in'its present form. The trouble appeared to 'be that the Education Department ■.■ squired a balance-sheet in such a •form as to facilitate the compilation •of the Parliamentary returns, but the Audit Department required something Totally different. The Board expressed the opinion that the two Departi meats should endeavour to come' to isomo agreement'so as to lessen the work and worry of the Board’s officers, and opinion which will be cbny jmonly shared.;., A very self-confident young man ’appeared in the Auckland S.M. Court •on Tuesday morning with a receipt in his pocket to meet ! a summons against him for the amount covered >by the receipt— -seven shillings. Ho ,vas* insistent on the matter of getiug expenses to the amount of eight ■• shillings for time lost in being reiquired to attend the Coxirt. Under ‘■loss-examination by Mr. Kettle. 3.M., ho admitted that the time lost would be'about two hours, and his janntiness alerted scfme when he was •informed that lie would not be allowed to make a profit v out of the business. He quite evidently had >een of opinion that he coxdd have a holiday and expenses paid on the strength of the.receipt. • At a meeting of the Waimate munch of the Farmers’ Union on Saturday Mr.' F. T. Wallace brought up ■the question of the county franchise. |To pointed out. that in the recent selection for the combined district the borough electors were numerous enough to swamp the comity electors if they had wished to do so.- This jw.xs because the Parliamentary franchise obtained in the borough and the county ratepayers’ franchise in the county. Ho moved: “That it bo i recommendation from this Union, to the governing executive body to approach Parliament with the view, qf having the suffrage for Harbour Foard elections put on the same basis for those residing in the’counties jxs those residing in boroughs.” Mr,. Bitchencr pointed out that in the reboot Deep Creek borough election the poxxnty electors numbered onjy 400 -Xgainst 1200 in the borough, yet out of this combined district the county bsoplc would be paying nine-tenths of the rates. The motion was carried. I Before Mr W. G. Keu'Tok, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Coxirt this morning,, William Lotz was charged w'tii having, on Juno 19th, assaulted Victor Bennett and also proem ed liquor while prohibited. Mr Spence appeared for him, and pleaded guilty. Sergeant Cullen said Bennett was accused’s step-son. He was employed it the telephone exchange, and Lutz went there m :x drunken.condition to seo him. Constable B 1 easel saw them struggling and arrested l.otz, who was fined for drunkenness the following morning. Mr Spence said Beii-•n-.tt had merely pushed Lotz to get rid of him, the assault i emg not of serious nature. Mr Kenrick said ho could not inflict a light line in a mse where a man was assaulted while carrying out bis public duties. For the assaxilt, Lotz would bo fined 40s, and f>r procuring liquor L’Os.

Mr (!. S. Hart, advance rcfn-osenta-me, was in Stratford to-day making arrangements for the appoatanoe of the I'liylor-Carrington Musical (omeriy Company at the Tov/n Hall on July •sth. The" pieces to he staged aie (ho farcical comedies “The Gill from Chicago” and “ ’Any and ’Avici.” When Joseph Ryan got into the wit-ness-box at the Magistrate’s Court (his morning in answer* to a judgment summons, the following dialogue took place between lie and; Mr Spewe, counsel for judgment rreditor:— Counsel: When did yon come into town? Debtor: Last night. Counsel: And I suppose you stayed at some hotel? Debtor: Yes. Counsel: Could you nit have come in this morning? Debtor: No. Counsel: How many drinks have vou had this morning? Debtor: Oh, two or tir'oe. Counsel: Who paid for thorn? Debtor: f did. .Mr Spence submitted that it a man oi nld afford .o pay for thinks ho canid affo’vl to pay debts. Mr Kenrick also took this view. In his opinion, hr said; a man should rot drink. at all while his debts were unpaid. An order v a:: made.

MV. N. J. King declined nomination as vico-president at the meeting 'of the Chamber of Commerce last night. He said that ho intended to retire from his position on the Cham- • ber’s executive. Ho could not, he said, be'out every night of the week. It is pleasant now for travellers en route to Whangamomona to he able to get as far as the 33-mile peg siding by train, but to walk through the tunnel to the township under prepent conditions is not an easy task. Nevertheless, it is an experience that would not be looked forward to a second time. Peppermint Cure. Never fails. Is For Influenza take Woods’ Great 6d, 2s 6<i.*