LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 71, 7 November 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Elections for scats on the Strafford and Whangamomona County Councils take place to-morrow. It is stated, says the “Waitara Mail,” that one of the first acts of the new Clifton County Council will be the abolition of the Wailii toll gate.

Shearing lias commenced on some of the farms in the Havvora district. It is reported that there is a dillicult.v in obtaining shearers, says the “Star.” Mr William Bond, who is understood to have been the actual caplinrer of To A'loti with the assistance of two pridied at To Kuiti last week, aged 7-.

The Committee of the Strafford A. and I’. Association last night passed the following resolution, moved by Mill. Masters, and seconded by Mr (J. Hobbs; “That I ho executive expresses its si nee re sympathy with Mr R. Dingle iu the great loss be has sustained by the death nf bis brother.” At last night’s meeting of the Exceed ive Committee of the A. and P. Association it was decided, on the nioliou til Mr Kirkwood, seconded by Mr Masters, that the Executive Com mi tStake steps to convene a conference oi delegates from the A. and P. Associations in Taranaki, in order to discuss mutters of interest to associations.

Hawcra Show opens tomorrow. We hone our southern friends and neiin-

hours will have fine weather. Stratford people will, as usual, giro the Snow nearly support.

The attention of all church people is directed to an announcement on the first page of this issue concerning a social given by the gentlemen of the parish, to the ladies, in the Holy Trinity Parish Hull. A good programme inis been provided, and the organisers are anticipating a very pleasant evening. It is now generally understood that the ceremony of turning the first sod in connection with tiie railway works of the northern end of the StratfordOngarue line will take place next week, and that the Premier will bo present. Te Koura, five miles south of Ongarue, will lie the terminus from Stratford. This saves six and a quarter miles of lino construction at a cost of £70,000, besides upkeep for ail time. It is stated that the line will shorten the. distance to Taranaki centres l>v fifteen miles.

The Bishop of Carlisle deplored the “soft notions now being preached by people calling themselves humanitarians” when ho spake at Carlisle recently. “It is said to be degrading to Hog a hoy,” said the Bishop. “Well, I am truly thankful that f was often degraded in that sense in my boyhood. If I had not been so degraded then 1 should he more degraded now. We need to eliminate these enervating, foolish, soft, and therefore cruel notions from our educational system. This is a mater not only for teachers, but for parents.” As a shrewd bargainer, the Oriental has a reputation to sustain, but, when it comes to dealing in laud, the Britisher, perhaps because of his Aryan descent, is also a keen bargainer (says the “New Zealand Times”). During the hearing of a compensation case on Tuesday last, the city solicitin' wished the Court to accept a purchaser’s first offer as evidence of the value of certain land. “But you cannot expect a purchaser to start at his limit,” said the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout). “Wo have a very old authority for the buyer’s saying: ‘lt is nought; it is nought.’ ‘‘That was a different nationality from us,” replied the city solicitor. James Cook, janitor of the Medical Faculty, McGill University, Montreal, who was known to hundreds of doctors and students throughout the Dominion. died recently at the age of eighty-five. The Montreal “Star,” in a glowing tribute to the departed janitor, relates a peculiar yarn: “He had one hobby—a gruesome hobby over which ho chuckled, and over which deans and professors shivered. He collected the professional doorplates of deceased doctors, ayid ho looked on every doctor who became connected with the institution as a coming contributor to his collection. One of the first tilings he would do when a new professor was appointed was to ask him to bestow his doorplate on him when he died—for he had lived so long and through so many evolutions of McGill that he had come to look on himself as being the only indispensable part of the institution.”

The November “Windsor Magazine” to hand from Mr. H. J. Hopkins, is an attractively varied number. “Vanishing Rome” is the title of a finelyillustrated article on the changes which are ever taking place in the aspect of the Eternal City. The fascinating problem of “The Migration of Birds” is discussed with many interesting illustrations of the author’s statements, and the valuable series Story in Portrait and Picture” is carried a stage further with some dozen plates illustrating the brief reign of the youthful Edward VI. The fine-art feature consists of seventeen reproductions from the landscapes and river scenes of A icat Cole, R.A., including his famous. “Windsor Castle,” “Cookham,”

end other Thames pictures, with a frontispiece plate finely printed in colours of his Diploma picture at the Tloval Academy, “An Autumn Morning.”

A horrid something is haunting the neighbourhood of Talcapuna (says tl;e Auckland “Herald”). Its habits are unpleasant, so far as it has yet indicated them, ■ for it has, according to report, nearly unseated a horseman by scaring his horse, and killed a calf; and to crown all, has left footmarks 4in. across and of a nature capable of being mapped out upon a diagram. The horse was scared at Deep Creek about a week ago, and the calf temporarily disapnearecl a, few days later, only to ho discovered in a mangled state afterwards. On Saturday some settlers formed themselves into a vigilance committtoe, and. heavily armed, stalked the invisible creature. It was not found, but its footmarks were duly discovered ; and now the local Smithsonian Institute' is arguing as to whether tney are the spoor of a puma, or an elephant, or a banshee. Probably if taniwhas were not purely mythical beasts, it would have been a taniwha. Ay inquest lias been officially held to discover what killed the calf, and as the rider of the scared horse did not have much opportunity to examine the intruder, its nature is a. pleasant mystery. For the sake of keening un a lively interest in a suburb where the evenings of a country peacofulncsw a”d for other reasons that have to do with their own feelings, the people who have been investigating the apparition are no doubt earnestly Imping that it will turn out to he a real live tiger. The Morocco crisis has been filling the newspapers and turning tlie heads of statesman white for nearly two months says the London correspondent of the “Sydney Morning Herald,” and it would be interesting to know what all the British visitors who flood into franco and Switzerland during these two months have heard of the actual state of public feeling abroad. But from what one can make out they seem to have heard nothing. Franco and Switzerland, at any rate, were not talking—in tlie cafes and hotels—about the chance of war; they were talking about the chance of catching the thiol who cut Leonardo da Vinci’s picture, “La Giocoudo,” out of its frame in the Louvre Gallery in Pa ids and disappeared with it. There is one t.'icory, that the thief is a fanatic. The ordim try burglar would find it rather difficult to discover any buyer sufficiently ignorant of famous pictures not to recognise it. Still, there might he a chance even for the burglar. For example, the Paris newspaper, “{/Opinion,” found the following version of the theft in a Methodist paper in Chicago:—“ln Dm last days of August.” said the Chicago paper, “a young lady visitor. Miss .Tocondn, was abducted in broad daylight . . . while she was \ isiting the Louvre Museum. This regrettable incident is a fresh proof of the dangers which honourable young women run. mot only in the streets, hut in the public establishments of the modern Babylon. Let us hop'' that the lesson may not he lost, and that it may make plai» the dangers to which women travelling alone in p Paris expose themselves, in suite nf n Ihc warnings, which we continually address to them.”

A number of friends and near conructions of the lace Mr \\ . Dingle 1 ft Stratford for Hawcra to-day, to be present at the interment. Mr S. Ward was this morning granted two months’ leave of absence by the Hospital Board. He wrote from Auckland that he expected to be away from the Dominion for about two months.

The Hospital Board went into committee this morning to consider the (, nders for the new isolation ward, but after a short discussion it was decided to hold the question over until the first meeting of the new Board, which will bo held next month. An address on Home Missions will be given in Wesley Church on Thursday, November 9th, at 7.30 p.m., by the Rev. T. G. Brooke. Mr Brooke has travelled the whole length of the Dominion since his last visit to Stratford.

The following letter from the Medical • Superintendent (Dr. Steven) was received at this morning’s meeting of the Hospital Board: “1 desire to request tiie Board to grant me three weeks’ leave of absence from November 21th. In the event of the Board granting such leave Dr. Carbery is willing to act as Medical SupC’.intondent during my absence.” The leave asked for was granted.

The Executive Committee of the A. and P. Association met last night, when there were present: Messrs Kirkwood, Hobbs, Malone, R. Masters, Morison and Healy. Mr E. Stohr was appointed numbering and measuring steward, and Mr N. T. Phillips, Holstein steward. The secretary was instructed to procure a blackboard for use at the show. It was decided to make arrangements for the sale of privileges in connection with the show next Saturday.

The many friends of Mr J. R. Mackay will be sorry to learn that| his medical advisers find it necessary for him to undergo an operation, to relieve an internal trouble which has been affecting his health for some lime. Mr Mackay, who has been resting in New Plymouth for a few days wont to Auckland by last night’s steamer accompanied by his brother, Mr Frank Mackay, and Hr. Paget. Everyone who knows Mr Mackay most sincerely wishes his early and complete recovery.

The secretary of the Stratford A.

end P. Association is generally to the fore in most matters, and at the Manawatu Show he secured a second prize with his pony “Barney” in the class under thirteen hands, this being the first occasion on which it has boon beaten, the winning pony belonging to Sir Goring Johnston. The juapo admitted to Sir Jackson that he bad difficulty in deciding between the ponies, while other equally good judges of horseflesh are of opinion that Mr Jackson should have added another to his list of winning tickets. At the inquest held this morning on the body of Thelma Edwards, the Coroner (Sir. C. I). Sole),, jury, and

Sergeant McNeoly, highly commended the action of the boy John Dodds in recovering the body, and the following rider was added: “That the jury highly commend the action of the boy John Dcdds in his efforts to save the child, and trusts that every boy will follow his example and learn to swim.” Dodd was taught swimming at the Stratford School laths. At the conclusion of the inquest the jurymen generously handed their fees to the mother of the child to assist her in a small way in her sad loss and bereavement. . 51

An enjoyable evening was spent after the close of lodge meeting last right, when a large number assembled and took part in the euchre party conducted by the members of the Oddfellows’ Lodge. Quite an exciting contest was witnesed in the play-off for the ladies’ prize donated by Bro. IT. Masters, in which Sister Moroney, Mrs Lane, and Miss Watson tied. Eventually Sister Moroney won, and presented the prize back as a second prize for the next meeting, Miss Watsdn obtaining the second prize in the play-off from Mrs Lane. Bro. M. Moroney annexed the gentlemen’s prize, and the booby prizes were won by Sister Dwyer and Mr Marrett. Mrs Brooking provided supper.

Much discussion took place at the Hospital Board this morning over the account, totalling nearly a hundred pounds, owed by a young man who had been in the hospital for some time. The man had promised to pay something out of some compensation money which was due to him, but though lie had received the money he had 1 not made any payment to the Board. Mr Marchant said it was not right for young men “with the ball at their feet” to he so thriftless that when they were struck down with illness they became a charge on the community, and he thought that among present-day young men there was a lack of recognition of their responsibilities in this respect. They seemed to think that they had no responsibilities when there was a public institution to which they could go. “Quito right, too,” interjected Mr Maxwell, who deprecated the waste of time in discussing what was really a bad debt. On his motion it was decided that no action he taken in the matter at present; and Mr Mar fell took the hopeful view that the man might lie building up a business, which would enable him at some future time to pay his account.

At the meeting of the Hospital Board this morning some discussion arose over a nuisance at Whaugamomona. The proprietor of the premises had been notified to abate the nuisance some lime ago, but although he had promised to do so he had not done so. Members of the Board agreed that the matter was one of urgency and should he attended to at once, hut the Sanitary Inspector stated that the District Health Officer was the only person able to move in the matter, and that lie would not bo able to visit the district for about five weeks. Mr McAllister protested against the present position. Ho said there were numerous complaints about the nuisance and it had been in existence for a long time, but they could not do anything themselves and the responsible officer could not visit the locality for some time. He thought the Board should have its powers reviewed, so that they could take immediate action, failing which it was advisable for the Department to take the matter wholly into its own hands. It was finally decided to write to the District Health Officer urging on him the necessity of an early visit to the locality.