LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 13, 31 August 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago is likely soon to have the distinction ot possessing the first s'Ktion gas-propelled vessel in the IKminion, and probably in Anslrausm. The vessel which is to ho the subjocto f experiments is a small passenger craft at present propelled by oil engines. These engines are to ho eonvjrtoil into suction gas engines. A particularly line record was-.re-cently established from Land’s Knd to .John o’ (treats (from one end of I'jiigiand to tin" other) by a motor cyclist, who, mounted on a At li.p. motor cycle, covered the 757.1 niiles in the wonderful lime of 2H hours 12 minutes, some d hours ,‘i minutes better than the previous record. Another good record has also been established’ in I'higland, where \V. .1. Clarke rede 2b b 7 miles in six da\s, mounted on a •‘H h.p. motor cycle. 'The longest ran was accomplished on the lirst day, the mileage being 15)2 miles. As showing the marked increase in the prices oi butter boxes in Australia during the last three years, it may be mentioned that in 15)07 the price was Is Ifd, in IOOS-!) it was is ltd. and the current price is now Is 7.id. 'The extra (id as between the 15)07 and 15)10 prices represents about 21 per ton on every ton of butter produced. The new class of but tor-box, widen is manufactured of pulp, and which is now being placed on the market, will be supplied at Is lid to Is 2d. 'i be box has been subjected to all the necessary tests, which have proved eminent Iv successful.

Out of the Inst dozen Coropati pus no fewer than eight have ■ fallen up‘n a Thursday. In Chicago, public drinking, cups and roller towels, two media lor t ie dissemination of consumption, have been done uvai; with. As evidencing the mildness of the season to date, All. 3. llirkctt, ol Sole Road, has brought to this oilier a ripe strawberry which wa.s found among the plants in In’s flower garden. The debt of the Russian Empire is, stated at the close of last year a.t £905,400,000, as compared w.’Hi £023,060,000 at the close of IDCUr 'Thus, tiie increase on the ten years has been £282,100,000. A farmer at Otepopo, who three months ago refused an offer of £1 pei ton for his crop of 400 tons of potatoes, has now his tubers under offer at £2 10s per ton. Even at the latter figure business is unlikely to insult. It would ho possible at the present time for anyone to lead a horse up and down the footpaths of our main streets without breaking any by-laws (says the W’haitgarei “Mail”).'lhis is based on a decision given at the Court last Tuesday, which proved that only driving or riding on the municipal, footpaths have been provided against bv our civic fathers.

“1 found him up a tree in the Carlton (hardens,” said Constable .1. Hunt in giving evidence against a man who was charged at the Carlton (\ ictoria) Court with having been drunk and disorderly. “Ho had a lighted caudle in his hand. I asked him what was the matter, and ho said he was looking for scenery.” Defendant was remanded for a week for medical treatment. ■ Travellers tell wondrous tales of the forces of the famous wind which blows in South Eastern France, called the mistral. So fiercely does it blow that the trees all lean towards the southeast, and the gardens have to lie protected on the -north-west side by lofty, walls. In consequence of a carriage having been blown bodily into a canal by the mistral, the lady occupant and tho horse being drowned, no carriage is allowed to bo driven alongside toe canals or the harbour at Marseilles while a mistral is blowing. While exploring on the hills adjacent to Run No. 1, Wlmkatane, a party of hoys discovered a cave almost hidden by dense scrub. On entering, the lads came upon three muz-zle-loading revolvers and one carbine in a fairly good state of preservation. The pistols were encased in leather holsters, which ,considering the lime these must have been left in the cave, bore a fairly new appearance. It is curious to think how the gnus came to bo abandoned in this fashion, and one can picture the owners living in the cave, suddenly surprised by a party of Maoris, and having- to, sc.k safety in flight, leaving their arms behind them.

Persons in tlio .habit of attending courts will doubtless often have noticed how indistinct!? the names of witnesses, plaintiffs, or defendants, as the case may bo, are sometimes called out by Court officials. A visitor from Palmerston was passing the Amc'd iud Supremo Court, when a Court odmly cams to the door of the Courlboufee and hauled out some name three tdr.es hut which no one in the vicinity 'could distinguish. No response was .made by anyone about, and a second name, was called with a similar result. A third witness was then called by a ditmau’-t officer, and the man promptly.,responded. Both the two witnesses whose names were first called were stauoiug close together and neither recognised his own name, pronounced as it wap by. the, Court,official.,, distinct pronunciation -is; becoming painfully frequent in many departments of the public service. At the Bankers’ dinner, Lord MorIsy called attention to the diiforonoc between'the manner in which’ Government securities are held in Prance and in Groat Britain. There are, ha said, 1,630,000 accounts open in French Rente's, while the total number '.jof holders of English Consols is not move than 300,000. That is. an arresting comparison (says the “Westminster Gazette”), .and a strong argument for

making Consols more attractive, than they are. The figures mean little as a comparison of the savings of the two countries. The small man invests ia Frcnch Rentes, and does not out Ids

money into English Consols, except throng'o the agency of the Savings Bank. Even if Consols were more readily purchasable, it is doubtful whether they would he as popular as the French Rentes, since the fluctuations in the security have rather alarmed the small man, who, when he places £lO in the hank, expects to he aolo to draw that exact sum at any time. But the experiment of opening the market for Consols is worth trying. Sydney harbour is the finest in Australasia, if not in the world. This is the testimony of Mr. E. W. Alison, chairman of directors of the Devonport Ferry Company. Referring, during his recent visit to Sydney, to the advantages offered by the Sydney harbour as compared with that of Auckland, ho made the following remarks to a Sydney “Sun” interviewer:— “Viewed fiom all standpoints, Sydney is a hotter harbour than Auckland. The entrance to your harbour is not so picturesque as the entrance to the Auckland harbour, which has sp many islands dotted here and there, making it much more attractive. Rut Sydney, with its deep water frontages, and enormous extent of Eater, its charming homesteads .running, along tho foreshores, and its thousand and one' extensive improvements and evidences of beautification, mark it as the finest harbour in Australasia, if not in the world. The drawbacks to the Auckland harbour are its depth of water and the prevalence of a strong tide, which affects the berthage of vessels.”

Medical etiquette is a fearful ami a wonderful thing, and more fearful and wonderful in England than elsewhere. Every one has heard of the physical culture institution managed by Mr. Eugene Sandow, who once held the laurels as the strongest man in the world. Mr. Sandow employed three fully qualified physicians tor-the apparently laudable purpose. of reporting to him on the fitness of clients for" the physical exercises enjoined in the institution. The names of these physicians were not advertised, and their presence was no more than a safeguard against gymnastic strain. Nevertheless, the General Medical Council of flic Kingdom has rndcred that these doctors he deprived of their diplomas for the “infamous” conduct of feeing connected with a commercial institution which promises to cure certain diseases and which advertises. The decision seems a harsh on.', bub there is no appeal. Henceforth doctors in England must Ice doubly careful to avoid the faintest suspicion of advertising except in the recognised ways. Among these recognised wa>s are the delivery of courses of public lectures on medical, sanitary, cv general science, writing to too newspapers on health topics, contributing an T ides to medical and general magazines, ■ and issuing bulletins concerning such distinguished patients as may he available. Perhaps the ingenious expedient depicted by Dickens tn “Pickwick” of being called ont.c 1 church in the middle of the sermon is not wholly extinct.

Sir William Hall-Joncs’s . term of office as High Commissioner has hcclti extended till the end of December. Mr. V. J. Heaticy was in Stratford to-dav on business in connection with the formation of a poultry class at the Technical School. After occupying the same promises for 45 years, a \ ienna goldsmith, on removing, recovered gold, silver, and platinum dust worth £SOO from the floor and walls of his work room. The 'Taranaki ladies’ team, which is to take part in the annual tournament to he hold in Wellington, passed through Stratford by the mail train tins morning. in reply to the Common wealth’s recent suggestion for a mutual, penny postage scheme, the I uited States Government have stated that at present they cannot see their way to adopt the proposal. Besides the competitive classes several exhibitions of cut blooms will bo staged at the Horticultural Society’s spring show on September 21st, which promises to bo exceptionally attractive tins year. At a short sitting of the Magistrate’s Court this morning a iirstoffender was convicted and discharged for drunkenness, and a prohibition order was issued against a local resident. The schedule of the Stratford Horticultural Society’s spring show has just been issued in the form of a neat little booklet. In addition to the big prize, the Carbery Daffodil Cup, there are also points prizes for novice, cut flowers, and decorative, classes^,

At Bl’yth County.■ Court (England), Judge Greenwell -refugcd.iitn* accept a doctor’s certificate Jn yduchi-ttba doctor’s name .was printed* Hisl Honour remarked: “A printed (doctor,l cavtificate is of no use*-* that a signed one is of muoh.iitse,n beqansy they give them broadcast.”

Whitebait was seen up tlie Waiaua ou Saturday, says.,. Wm-Opunalbo “Times.” About' three Mir • the dainties wriggled up the stream, and half a dozen persons wpro .aftyr Ajjcim with nets, traps, spears and tin cansf Latest advices to hand is that the throe fish have not yet ,been';cai!ght.q a: A search party ,is still after them.

In connection with the Coronation insurance it is stated that the only claim of importance which underwriters were called upon to pay was. in the case of the pearl necklace lost on the gala night at Covcnt Garden. This, liability, which runs to £13,750, .hits fallen upon a syndicate of seventy names, the premium lining the low one of Is per cent, for a week.

As showing the confidence o.utside speculators have in the future of New Plymouth, a “News” representative was shown an enquiry received by a local estate agent from an East Coaf.t speculator. The latter intimated he was looking for investments of town or suburban properties, and could manage any proposition up to £IOO,000-;

The Mayor, Mr. J. Masters, had intended leaving for Wellington at an early date to personally place before tne Representation Commissioners obioctions to the now bonndaiies of the Stratford electorate; but as lie has been, advised by Mr. G. A. Marchant, who is now in Wellington, that no.personal objections will be heard, he has forwarded to the Commissioners a written statement of the objections made at the recent public meeting on the matter.

A lady walked into a Masterton tradesman’s shop the other day and fisked for t ,(ud9zef! Hijack heps’ eggs... “What is the .difference between tlio eggs of the black and white hens?” asked the- astonished assistant. “If you bring mo the box,” said the lady, “I will show you.” The vessel containing the eggs was placed upon the counter, and the customer selected a dozen of the very largest eggs she could put her hands ou to. “There,” she said, “those are black hens’ eggs, and I will take them!” The assistant has no further black hens’ eggs in stock.

In regard to the coloured race that lives amongst us, we apparently have not the intense prejudice that is shown by our American cousins to the Creoles, says/the Whangarei “Mail,” but that there is just a slight antipathy to a noble race that is admired in the distance, is occasionally shown. A Maori ladv wandered into some local tea-rooms the other day on. refreshment bent, but it was politely intimated to her that her room was preferable to her company. Even the lady’s appeal, “I am a sister of ” naming a great Northern Chief, failed to act as a sesame. Colour, not unlike beauty, may only be skin deep, but it leads to ombarrasing situations ■it times. M

Before long there is likely to he a big demand for pedigree cattle in Rhodesia, the great territory at present awaiting that development which its founder, Mr. Cecil Rhodes, foresaw for it. At present there are hundreds and thousands of cattle in Rhodesia, but they are of the native type, and are practically ls vim l ifdes§' n Fxhept as a foundation' ufttvHfndw blood--has been introduced'. Stud (mils the great necessity,,,and,..the/.British. South Africa Company 'lias' just despatched the largest /cbliVHgftmeirt of Shorthorn, Hereford; mid Sussex bulls ever shipped to tlniti region, .numbering sixty. These stud catjdp,,aro ( ,i;o bo distributed among the farmers at cost price. ' '

The committee, of ,the hnl’argnaki Jockey Club has’,under consideration the question of installing’ih'silcht totalisator machine in firueu for- the forthcoming season, says the “News.” The secretary, Mr E. P. T/ebster, is obtaining full particulars of machinesfrom various makers in the Dominion, and it is probable the committee will come to a decision at its next meeting. The silent machines are now used by many of the leading clubs of the Dominion, and give the greatest satisfaction. enabling clubs to cope with increasing business without any undue hustle. In the event of the clqb deciding to make this forward move it will necessitate practically the entire remodelling of and considerable additions to the present totalisator house.

There has lately been some discussion in medical circles as to tHe meaning of the curious white patches that sometimes occur on the linger nails, and which are popularly supposed to indicate past illnesses of exceptional gravity. Unt a good deal of evidence has been brought forward to show that such marks very often occur after moderate disturbance of health, and by no means indicate infallibly that their possessor has at one time been near “death’s door.” On the other hand, a West Country practitioner, writing in the “British Medical Journal.” points out that there is one particular form of nail-mark-b'g which is a rod indicatH i that those on whose hands they occur have been tin ongh a serious crisis in the mist. These marks are said to bo “broad white lines Iving across the axis of dl the nails.” it has yet to b-- explained bow it is that Nature th"s chooses the linger nails for indelibly slamping the signs of past discus-' on those w! £ have been dangerously attacked.

The’"well-known auctioneering, produce and land business carried on for several years by Mr. J. I). Mormon, and later by Messrs. Kemp and Sawle, has now been purchased 'by Messrs. Lamason and Melville, both well-known residents of Stratford, who will take possession as from the first of next month, and will hold their first sale on Saturday next. Mr. Melville has been connected with the firm in a responsible position for quite a long time, so that in some respects the cnange will be hardly noticeable to clients of the firm. Mr. Lamason has had considerable experience as a member of the staff of the N.Z. L. and M.A. Co. Their friends will unite in wishing the new firm success.