LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 131, 26 July 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A meeting of the Liberal League will be held in the Midhirst Hall this evening at 8 o’clock. Lambing lias commenced at Wccdville, and as far south as Milton, in Otago. A meeting in connection with the Stratford Lgg Circle will be held in the Borough Council Chamber this evening, when Mr E. F. Gordon will lecture. The Dawson Falls mountain house is now closed for the season, says the Hawera “Star.” Mr. and Mrs'. Graham left on Monday on a trip to the Nelson district, and will return towards the end of September. Extensive additions are to bs made for ,tbe accommodation of visitors, and these will be ready for the coming season. Included in the improvements will be a large diningroom, which will he much appreciated, especially by day visitors. A peculiar accident happened during tue first race at Wellington on Saturday. Clem, ridden by Whitson, was a long way behind the held, and a spectator on the inside of the course, thinking all the horses had passed, stuck his head over the rail. Cbm came past with a rush, and the eager spectator’s head came in contact with W atson’s leg, which was subsequently found to be broken. The crowd did not know what had happened till Watson tell off his mount. The spectator was not injured! The Masterton Chamber of Commerce received a. circular from the Dannevirko Chamber, suggesting the amendment of the Bankruptcy Act to enable creditors in a bankrupt estate to appoint private assignees instead of allowing tlio estate to be administered by Official Assignees. At last Friday’s meeting of the Council it was resolved: “That the present:-system is better than the one suggested, end that, in the event of an incompetent Deputy Assignee being appointed; the proper course would be for the eitiicns to petition for Ids removal.'

!)r. W. J. Darby, brother i f Mrs. T. A. Loncrgan, Stratford, whcsb death we recorded yesterday, vas.lormorly surgeon at the Mount ilden Prison, Auckland, having i ocently retired. He was the son of .Mr. Pal tick Darby, a well-known Auckland citizen, and was horn in A nek hind in 1859. Ho left Auckland at the curly ago of fourteen for Thurles C’oTege, lipporary, Ireland, and in J"SI. went to Dublin, where he gained his diplomas In 1886 ho went to London and practiced there, and also at .Manchester and Liverpool. In 189-1. lie turned to Auckland and commenced practice. Muck sympathy will he felt lor .Mrs. Lonergau, who also sulfen-.l the loss of her father about a year ago. The ease with which the shackles of marriage may he slipped off in America loads frequently to curious results. There is a lady in San Francisco, young and pretty, now the wife of a newspaper reporter, who has been six times married, and five times divorced. Three of her marriages and divorces were with and from one man. Her record is, however, beaten by that of “Kid” .McCoy, formerly wellknown in the prize ring, whose real name is Norm an Selby. The s ‘Kid” has just led to the altar his eighth wife, having enjoyed the luxury of seven divorces. The word ‘'luxury” is used not inadvisedly. More than once American Judges have decided that a divorce is a luxury. Alt’ nigh married eight limerq McCoy has had hu! live wives. One of them he married and divorced three times.

Mr. W. Daniel O’Connell Hunt mot with a fatal accident at Alarton, on Thursday hist. He was a relation of the Irish “Liberator.” A most ingenious use for the motor ir has been found by an American ■.'otoriuary surgeon, who uses his little ■ar as a horse-clipping power plant. Df course this device has the double advantage of carrying him quickly to the place where he expects to operate, and, once on the ground, the rear wheel is jacked up. A thirty-foot length of ordinary manila clothes line is used as a belt-, connecting the car wheel with the clipper. Then the engine is started, and in about a quarter of the time it takes to do it by hand the horse gets a hair-cut from ioiclock to hoof. The “Revue Horticolo” has publish'd results of experiments for the’ preservation of cut flowers, and declares that such excellent results may be obtained from simply adding, salt or sugar to the water that we advise our readers to put the matter to the test themselves. Sweet peas are said to loch I\o 4- ivi mm/, J- L * • 1

cist best in pure water, carnations to last longest in a 10 to 15 per cent, solution; roses in a 7\ to 10 per cent, solution; and crysanthemums in a 15 per cent, solution; whereas lilies, lilac, and pelargoniums do better in pure water than in sugar solutions, but respond to an addition of 5 per cent. J common salt (lib to two gallons of '.rater).

Lord Xorthcote, wiio bore the standard of the Commonwealth of Australia by reason of the fact that he was Governor-General of that country for five years, was once asked by an enterprising newspaper reporter, who Happened to bo Holidaying at the same seaside resort as his lordship, for some advice on the policy .which his paper proposed to adopt. “Advice I am always chary of,” said his lordship. “It is so cheap—so easy. I remember some years ago watching a toy pushing a heavy cart up a hill. The h ill was stbfep, the boy was thin. ‘Push it up zig-zag, ’.I cried, ‘and you will find it much easier.’ The boy snarled back, ‘Mot so much of yer doomin’ advice; ‘come and give us a shove!’”

The Supreme Court of the State of California has just affirmed a judgment of a trial court awarding to Willard R. Zibbell, who was fearfidly mutilated by being run over by a train of the Southern Pacific Railway Company, £16,000 damages. This is stated to he the biggest verdict in a personal injuries damage suit that has over been finally affirmed in the United States. When juries find against corporations in large sums, it aas frequently been the practice for Appeal Courts to order a new trial on the ground that the damages awarded are excessive. The Zibbell case sets a new mark, at any rate, in California (writes a correspondent). Zibbell, who was in tiie prime of life, lost portions of both his arms as well is one leg near the hip. The result of the case is indicative of the decline hi power of the Southern Pacific Eailvay. Time was when it controlled 'very department of the State Government, including the judiciary.

In an article on '‘Horses” in the •‘Spectator,” the writer says that aorses have very small brains, but > ery large memories, and are often .s affectionate as clogs. The owner of David Copperfield told me that in the horse’s old age, when too old to do any more steeplechasing, he was used as a hack. When Mr M .vent on the Downs to watch the galloping of his lot of youngsters, David Jopperfield would stand about,' or crop die grass for a reasonable tirrtef but when he considered Mr M had spent time enough in feeling the joints, or observing the breathing, of these ‘ ‘hobble-dehoys” (as David doubtless thought them), be would come to Mr M , push him with his head, and begin to make a great show of going home without him, but he always returned to his master.

■Few people know the real story of the late Lord Gifford, Y.C., and his pursuit of the fugitive Cetewayo (says a waiter in the “Pall Mall Gazette”). He and a small party kept the chase going night and day in the awkward Zulu country. Information was eminently untrustworthy; the naiades wore true to the fugitive King. He, dead-beat and footsore, had got into a kraal, some 20 miles above Clarke’s camp on the Block Umvolosi. Gifford and his men managed to get within four miles of this kraal. They did not know Cetewayo was already there. They thought he was coming there, and they lay in wait for him. On the other side—north-west to Gifford’s south-east— Maj or Marter and a few troopers had profited by better information. They stripped saddles, and stole down through the hush till they could rush the kraal. Marter did not go in—lie would have had to crawl in. But he politely invited the fugitive to come out. Cetewayo crawled out, but stood among the : -.coopers a King every inch. It was then—just too late—that Gifford and ids party galloped up. Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood, \ .C., who lias recently formally assumed his new position as Constable of the Tower of London, surely hel ls the record for versatility among distinguished Army officers, having served and fought in the Navy, Light Dragoons, Lancers, Irregular Horse, and Highlanders, in addition to which he joined the Middle Temple and was called to the Bar in 1874, and is the author of works renowned for their high literary distinction. A good story may be told of his attachment to a regiment of Highlanders, when the latter were stationed at Portsmouth. Sir Evelyn, then a captain, one. day returned from London, and with great burry proceeded to array himself for parade. W hen at last he emerged, he observed that his men were evidently at great pains to conceal,their laughter, and he quietly questioned nis subaltern as to the' probable reason. 4‘Well, sir,” replied the latter, “you are dressed correctly as to kilt, sporran, and all the rest of it ; but vou bare forgotten to remove your tall hat!”

A German inventor has devised what he calls telescopic eyeglasses. Thev are intended for the use of shortsifgiiocl persons by the simple means of enlarging the image on the retina. They are especially designed for that * class of near-sighted people who cannot wear the ordinary simply corrected glasses. The monocle ' combination consists of two parts united in a single metal frame, a front objective lens or collector, and a second nearer the eye to disperse the rays at the proper angle to make the correction for the degree of myopia in question. When properly prescribed and made the two lenses have such relation to each other that there is no distortion, astigmatism, or coloured border to the image obtained. Another Gorman has invented what he calls police eyeglasses. On the side next the face they have tiny concave mirrors which mav be extended sideways or be folded back so as not to show. They give the wearer, if he has normal sight, an image of what is going on almost directly behind him. They are proposed for the German secret police.

j' As indicating the popularity of picture shows, an Auckland syndicate, with a capital of £IOO,OOO, has been fdrmed to organise picture theatres throughout New Zealand. A notice appears in the Gazette tHitt the T. Kenney Macdonald Company (Limited), in liquidation, is to be Wound up voluntarily, and that a liquidator has been appointed. The new Bishop of Wellington, Dr. Sprott, will pay his first visit to the Taranaki part of his diocese on Friday, when he will lay the foundation Stone of a now church at Okaiawa. The following passage occurs m the report presented to the annual meeting of members of the Taranaki cultural Society, which was held last Might:—The spring show toon place OH November 30 and December 1, under very favourable conditions. the entries in most sections were good, though not quite as numerous as the previous year, partly owing to the fact that a kindred society in the province held its inaugural show uithm a week of the Taranaki Agricultural Society's fixture, and breeders m the district considered it only lair to give that society a start.

There was a very large meeting at Hawera yesterday of directors ana suppliers‘of dairy companies to meet Mr R, Ellison, the Home representative appointed by the National Dairy Association, and hear his views on the Handling and marketing of our produce in London and the Old Countiy Generally. Mr. Ellison was given a good reception, and delivered a very Interesting and valuable address. He fill meet those interested at Opunake on Thursday, at Stratford on Friday, and at Now Plymouth on Satuiday. I Mr A. Hooker, truant inspector under the Taranaki Education Board in fhe course of his quarterly report to the Board, says:—“l would again like mention the fact of such an amount Of sickness prevalent throughout the district, and I would advise teacheis to use a little caution in granting Exemptions for sickness without farst making enouiries, as I have known or Eases myself where children are ieborted as sick and yet are well enough to run on the streets all day and also late at night. Again, I have had Certificates from doctors, and yet the same children can go out to parties till the early hours of morning, which Plainly shows the necessity for the apnoiiitment of medical officers throughdul.the Dominion. when, I am satisM,, there would' be a great deal less Sickness reported and a much better Mr

age attendance." sixteen cases of honey from Feathegton, sent through Messrs. Dalgoty and’ Go., reached London about Hth May last. Tho prices realised from i7is 6d to 38s per cwt., or a fraction over 4d per lb. The colour was considered a trifle pale, and the honey pbssesscd a rather grainy tendency, blit was of fair flavour, fee highest price for honey at Home is generally Obtained in the winter months, whereas this shipment readied Home lit -the summer. Satisfactory prices can scarcely be obtained tor Isew Zealand honey, but it is received in reJklar quantities. The report received from Messrs. Dalgety and Co. s London agents states, that there is a good detaand! a t Home at present for all good knd fine honey, as the supplies ato short, and owing to the bee disease the production in Britain is likely to be materially reduced. ' A case just decided in the law courts at Havre opens up great possibilities for the traveller. A I'rouchixjah was travelling from Bans to Havre in January last, and, feeling cold, he noticed that his compartment was in no way artificially heated He called the attention of an official to this defect, but, finding that no notice of his complaint was taken, lie prilled the alarm, stopped the train, aidd demanded a footwarmer. Result, a lawsuit, which has ended in tavoui of the defendant, the passenger \\ e wonder if the traveller on tire (heifiih de Fer du Nord may also stop the train when it is too hot, and denland a drink. Would a paperknife or a late edition of an evening paper be cdhfiidered, like a footwarmer ,a legal justification for stopping the tram. It is not easy to differentiate between luxuries and necessities to-day. So MMrles Avocates ought to have plen■fejjr .bf work at Havre in the future. , Mr. James Wade, chairman of the Tkranaki Education Board, has decided to retire from the Board, and to-day he was presented by the membdts and staff with a memento of his fedtibection with educational matters if Taranaki. The presentation took the form of a handsomely-mounted Merles of photographs of the members of tbe Board and its office staff. Tho Panel, in which elliptical openings have peeh,:cut for the photographs, is of oiled rimu, and it is framed in punn taken from the old Waiwakaiho bridge Id the centre is a silver plate, inscribed as follows:—-“Presented by the niefnbers and staff of the Taranaki Education Board to Mr. James Wade qh his retirement rrom the Board aftlf a service of twenty-nine years, including five years as chairman. July 26fe, 1911.” Above and below the plate appear photographs of the Board **ib ’ ifaeeting assembled,” and of the Hoard’s offices and the lecunical Sbhool. The photograph of the chairifian himself surmounts these, and each arid every member of the Board Itid tliis portion of its staff has his or Hit own special ellipse. The whole of the panelling and framing was done % Mr. Sandford, the Board’s woodwork instructor, assisted by Captain i| P. Rogers, a member of the New Plymouth Technical School woodwork class. ' ilffifing a heavy thunderstorm in toland on the 31st May, several diathfi were caused by lightning. fMitty men were sheltering under the Wall of a reservoir belonging to tne Stitton District Water Company on Wanstead Downs, when the wall was Struck by lightning, and two of the men were killed outright, and hve Others injured. A police constable iilas rendered unconscious, and lost the use of all his limbs on one side. A Sutton postman named Tedder had jtlst jumped off his bicycle and remarked that he was going to seek shelter, when be was struck. At Epsom a #outh was killed while seated in a V&n. A woman in the van was also injured, and the horse was killed. Several other persons were injured during the storm. At Tow Law, County Durham, a man named Dicken- ' son was killed while returning from a pit with two other minors who were struck to the ground. A woman named Hester, wife of a grave-digger employed at Acton cemetery, was taking tea to her husband, when the lightning struck the cemetery wall, which Collapsed and fell on her, killing her instantly. A city policeman, while riding a bicycle on Mitcham Common, was caught in the storm, and Subsequently his dead body vu>s found 0U the Common. Another city constable was caught in the storm while Returning from the Derby. He sought Shelter under some trees near Morder, and after a heavy peal of thunder he was seen to fall to the ground, and was found to be dead. The storm was due to the continued extension of a shallow area of low barometrical pressure from Franco.

To-morrow evening the firehell will ie rung for experimental purposes beween 6.30 and 7 p.m. 1

Mr. W. E. Porter forwarded a remarkably fine specimen of leeks to our office. ‘The sample is grown from Musselburgh seed, and would take a lot of beating anywhere. The funeral of the late Mr Robert Edwards will leave the Anglican Church, Stratford, at i p.m. to-mor-row. Mr Edwards died very sudoonly at the public hospital at Palmeiston, and his decease came as a great shock to his many relatives in this district. At the sitting of the Magistrate’s Court on Friday one information foi failure to register a dog and two for driving carts without lights will be gone into, charges of assault, obscene language, damage to a railway carriage window, and drunkenness in a railway carriage, against one person, will be heard, and a charge of breaking the conditions of a prohibition order will be investigated. On the civil side eleven summonses will be dealt with, a defence having been filed in only one case. Four applications on prohibition orders will bo made.

The latest edition of the “Encyclopaedia Britannica” has been allowed to pass through the hands or the v onsorship in Russia without revision or alteration. In the case of the previous edition, published by jh® Times ” all the volumes despatched to Russia had many articles and pages either completely torn out or blacicod. For the exception made to the present edition, the Cambridge University Press, which is publishing the work, is indebted—through Sir George Buchanan, the British Ambassador at St Petersburg—to the sympathetic consideration of M. Stolypin, the President of the Council.

By the orders of the Home Secretary the first military band concert to convicts in Pankhurst Prison, England, was given on the 22nd May, by the band of the Ist Worcestershire Regiment,, under the direction of Bandmaster Banbury. The concert, which lasted for an hour, was given in the prison chapel, which was crowded with prisoners, who repeatedly showed their keen appreciation pf the music. The programme comprised selections from “The Bohemian Girl,” “Our Miss Gibbs,” “The Arcadians,” the Intermezzo from “Cavaleria Rusticana,” and the Baracolle from “Tales of Hoffman”; also songs, “The King’s Champion,” “The Bugler,” “The Diver,” and “The Promise of Life.”

The monument raised in Rome to the memory of Victor Emmanuel 11., Liberator and first King of United Italy, is the greatest work of its kind erected in modern times. Placed beside the Capitol, and completely dwarfing the traditional Citadel of Rome by its enormous mass, the monument has a wider significance than that of a mere memorial to the “Re Galantuomo,” and stands as a symbol of all that was achieved in the heroic struggle under his leadership. Italy is not a rich country, and the cost of this Vast pile, which by the time it is completely finished will amount to at least £1,500,000, may seem an extravagance; but the idea which it represents means so much to the Italian people that no complaint has yet been made of waste of money.