LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 3, 13 December 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr Irving Webb, representing J. and N. Tart, arrived in Stuatford on Monday, to make arrangements for the appearance of the celebrated Huddersfield Bellringers Band, who have been drawing packed houses in the South. Toronto' is about to make the,experiment of running rail-less trolley cars. No track is laid for these cars, which, as they run along the street, can swing to /one side in order to pass other vehicles. The experiment is being watched with the greatest interest.

A curious find has been made by one of the sailors engaged in searching the wreckage of the Liberto in Toulon Harbour. Underneath a heap of twisted iron he found an open book entitled “Navies of Other Bays,” and it was open at a page giving a picture of the explosion on board the British frigate Quebec off Ushant in 1V99, when she was in her death-grapple with the French frigate Surveillance. The largest artificial leg ever made, measuring 39 inches in circumference; is being completed by a Pittsburg firm for Miss Anna Cheltcn, of Oil City, Pennsylvania, who weighs 50 stone. Miss Chelton, who is 2-1 years old, and stands sft. bin., had her rihht leg amputated last January to save her life, because of elephantiasis. Before the operation she weighed 5-1 ,stone. After it she lost seven stone, but since then has become heavier.

Intending holiday excursionists are reminded that special cheap excursions are now being run on the Wanganui River trips—return fares, Wanganui to Pipiriki (120 miles return) are only 20s. The Christmas Eve special express, Wanganui-Wellington will junction with the river steamer at Aramoho on Christmas Sunday morning, the river steamer returning on Monday, arriving Wanganui at Midday. This fine excursion will no doubt Are largely patronised as in the past. ' : ,, ,| , ' , . On Sunday last the residence of Mr W. G. Thurston, Strathmore, was totally destroyed by fire, nothing being saved. Mr Thurston has this year been particularly unfortunate. His house was practically new, having only been built about twelve months, and previously he had lost thirty head of dairy cattle, only two of his original herd remaining. The house was owned by Mr. Jesse Hills, and was insured in the State Office for £245, the same office holding a similar amount over the furniture.

The Napier Borough Engineer is carrying out an experiment with regard to tlx© dust nuisance. One section of the road has been watered with calcium chloride and a deliquiate of salt, which is supplied in the solution. Two coats are given four or five days after the first, and after this it "only requires to he renewed three or four times a year. Its advantages arc that it remains damp. It is stated that it is it will be quite so suitable for Napier as in a damper climate.

Instruction in first aid is sometimes found very useful. A boy aged nine years, son of a Victorian country resident, was bitten by a snake on the leg while driving cows through the bush a mile from home. The boy immediately tied a piece of string round his thigh and walked home. His mother could not cut the wound, and the boy directed his little sister how to do so. He then went to the doctor, and is now out of danger. The doctor states that the prompt treatment learned by the boy at school saved his life.

Referring to a suggestion made in the presence of Bishop Julius at a tramway ceremony in Christchurch, that thousands of Sunday trippers would use a new hill tramway when it was opened, Bishop Julius remarked that already the Church had come up to Cashmere, and would probably look after them. “It may be,” he added “that with the change qf circumstance which is altering all our habits wo might get rid of the old letisii of 11 o’clock service in the hottest part of the day, and turn to the old habit of our forefathers and have service in the very early part of the day, letting the people come up the hill afterwards and enjoy themselves to their hearts’ content.”

For years past ihe disparity between the number of young men coming forward for the teaching profession as compared with the number of young women has offered a striking commentary upon the reluctance of the sterner sex to look to that profession as a field for their life’s work. There are now, according to statistical evidence put forward by Principal Cray in an address to the Wellington Training College students, indications of a change of attitude on the part of the young men of New Zealand—-at all events of the middle University district—towards the vocation of teaching. During the past year, said Mr Cray, the men students at the College numbered 31, and the women students 63. Pic was looking forward to the day when this would lie perfectly balanced—so to 50. But bo did, not think that even the condition which had now boon reached would hold unless there was consummated a material improvement in the general condition of the teacher.

])r. Steven, who proceeded some three weeks ago to Dunedin for the purpose of getting married, returned wilm .Mrs Steven to Stratford last niglM.

Jhcumber 7, 1911, will undoubtedly mark an epoen in Mr W. A. \ eitoll's file (says the Wanganui Chronicle). On unit day the electors presented hir.i with the expression of their approval, and his wife presented him with a son.

The Mayor was on Monday appointed the Borough Council’s delegate at i meeting to Do field at Stratford on Friday evening to discuss the question of a universal half-holiday for the Taranaki province, says the “News.” It was also resolved to ask the Taranaki Employers’ Association to appoint its chairman has a delegate to act with the Mayor. The question of the day to bo fixed for the half-holiday was left to the discretion of the delegates, but the delegates were authorised to state to the conference that the feeling in New Plymouth was in favour of Saturday.

Cheese production is developing at a marvellous rate in New Zealand. Ten years ago, the export of cheese from the Wellington province amounted to 10,500 crates; in 1911 it had risen to 35,009 crates, valued at nearly £300,000. Mr 1). Cuddie, dairy commissioner, in a letter, points out that the grading of cheese has now to be done on railway trucks, owing to lack of provision at the wharf, and the position has become accentuated by reason of the fact that 50 factories now send their produce for grading and shipment to Wellington, in addition to large quantities from Patea and southern ports. Tonnage of cheese has grown from 3713 tons in 1902, to 23,583 tons in 1910.

A bad case of cruelty came under the notice of the Christchurch branch of -the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recently. A consignment of 200 live ducks was sent oy steamer from Auckland to Christciiurch on Saturday week last, ana arrived in that city on Wednesday.

Tne ducks were crated, but were overcrowded, and when the consignment arrived at Christchurch no fewer than 98 out of the 200 were found dead. The majority were suffocated, the others dying from want of food and water. The viiext morning nine or ten died, which meant that half the consignment succumbed to the ordeal of transit. The consignee in Christchurch is a heavy loser over the business.

Great success has attended a series of experiments made by the staff of the A ernon Torpedo School at Portsmouth in controlling submarines solely by Hertzian or “wireless” waves, ihe Vernon torpedo experts have discovered a device which makes it possible to navigate a submarine, from the deck of a warship, though the little vessel may have no one on board. The experiments have shown that so complete is tire influence exercised over the craft by means of the “wireless” waves that it can be driven either submerged or on the surface. The experiments are a development of the operations on which the Admiralty have been for some time engaged in perfecting the “wireless” torpedo, i his is now in an advanced stage, chough much has still to be achieved oefore it is brought to a state of perfection. The experiments with the submarine were conducted with one of fclio Holland boats off Selsey. The controlling apparatus was aboard the cruiser Furious, tender to the V ernon, and now used largely as an experimental “wireless” ship..

Russia promises to become a very big conpetitor in the world’s markets ' in° course of time. A British Consular report states that Siberia’s butter exports totals £4,000,000 annually. , .Of the total output, which is obtained from 2000 to 3000 farms, representing a capital value ( of only £l,400,000, European, Russia, Germany, England, and Denmark take between them 50-,000 tons. At present the area of production of butter is a strip of country about 200 to 250 miles along the railway from the Urals to the Obi and thence to the Altai mountains, surrounding which tract are vast stretches of country which a railway would immediately add to the comparatively insignilicent area now devoted to dairying. Exports of other cattle products are placed at £2,000,000 annually, and attempts have lately been made to introduce Siberian meat into England and Germany. More recently a shipping trade in game and poultry has been set going, and the eggs supplied to other countries are increasing very rapidly in number.

No one who finds herself in a congested crowd of women nowadays can nelp wondering how long imguarded ampins are going to be allowed to menace the well-being of everyone in their neighbourhood (says a Melbourne writer) 0 In one railway compartment the other day no fewer than twentyfour positively dangerous pin points were counted. Any one of them was long enough and strong enough to nave inflicted a gash with quite aw- ; ful results. No woman with any pretensions to being well-dressed would run half a dozen hat-pins carelessly through her hat, and nothing is so unnecessary as the unduly long hatpin. Point protectors can be bought for 3d each, and cork, covered with oiik or satin, which is equally effective, costs less than that. There is nothing to justify any woman mingling in a crowd while her head js bristling with hatpins. A baby in her vicinity is there literally at the risk of its life, and the eye of an adult is surely too big a tribute to pay to the culpable carelessness of anyone. -If their own good taste will not make women—and girls especially—guard their hatpins, no one will regret a law that will force them to mend their ways.

The autumnal competitions of the International Hairdressers’ Society qf London have just been held. It is from this source that we learn the popular styles of dressing our' hair, for the competitors, who come from all parts of the European centres, are not mere students, but experts in the art. This year it was evident that after following a long spell of hairdressing designed on Grecian lines, with the hair extending out well from the crown, we are now to revert to an arrangement of the locks dressed rather closely to the head. The popularity of the curls is said to be waning, and instead of being the chief feature of the coiffure they will be accessories, as it were, to the general scheme. The swathe, or band of hair carried across the top of the head, will continue in favour, and the hardness of this is counter-balanced by a few clusters of curls. It is still coi-,-ect to have a parting either in the centre or to one side. On the top of the. head the hair is waved and disposed of rather flatly. These broad lines are being followed in Paris, where the coiffure is kept small, so as to he in keeping with the closelyiitting costumes. The return of the small straight fringe, which, was prophesied some time ago, is being favoured to some extent in Paris, and the popularity of the Marcel wave is noticed in "both cities. With the decline af the Greek coiffure the ribbon or tulle hand which was placed just a.hove the forehead has also disappeared.

A New Plymouth drapery firm proposes opening an establishment in Stratford early in January. The recount of votes cast at the recent election is still proceeding, and will probably continue for a few days. Mrs. G. Med hurst, wife of a former manager of the Stratford branch of the Bank of New Zealand, is at present the guest of Mrs.. J. Munro. Messrs. W. D. Anderson and 11. Masters have been duly nominated tor the vacancy as representative of the East Ward of the Taranaki Education Board, in place of Mr. W. 0. Cargill, resigned.

Mr. and Mrs. Uniackc are expected to arrive back in Stratford before Christmas. Mrs. Uiiiacke is returning from a holiday trip to Great Britain w and the Continent, and Mr. Uniackc C?' Ims proceeded to Adelaide to accompany her home. Mr. H. N. Liardet, general manager for New Zealand of tho Ocean Accident and Corporation, who is engaged on a tour of Inspection to the various centres of the North Island, and who lias bc6u in Stratford for some days past, left Jus morning for Auckland. Mr W. Johnston, manager of the j Bank of Australasia, who has been / transferred to Masterton, leaves tor his new quarters on Friday next. Mrs. Johnston will remain in Stratford for the present. Mr. C. Massey, who succeeds Mr Johnston, is • now. m charge of the Stratford branch. ° In the Stratford district, owing to tho unseasonable weather, it is reckoned that the dairy factories are still somewhere about ten per cent, down on their milk supply as compared with last year. The better price foi the output just about brings the cheques up to par. The following cases are set down for hearing at the Magistrate s Com t to-morrow Twenty-five civil cases, of which five will be defended; five . judgment summonses; one information } for riding a bicycle on the footpath, y\one for driving without lignts, one case of drunkenness, one case ot obscene language, and one for summary separation. The Nobel Foundation, the awarding of prizes in connection with vv Inch was announced yesterday, is based upon the will of. Dr. Alfred Nobel, the Swedish engineer and chemist, and inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896, and left part of Ins great fortune to form a fund, the interest on which was to provide prizes to be awarded annually to those persons who had conferred the greatest benefits on mankind during the preceding year. There are five prizes ,each voita about £BOOO. Among the recipients have been Mr Marconi and Professor Rutherford (physics), and Mr Roosevelt (peace). A syndicate has been formed at Mokau for the purpose of placing a houseboat on the river for the convenience of tourists and those who enjoy the picnic parties on the water, says the ‘‘News." Mr L. Jacob is at the head of the.company, and has arranged foi { the vessel to be built m •> anganm. A WShe will be forty feet long, witn a a Boveu feot beam, hand guaranteed to * draw no more,than.nine inches with a three-ton load. She will lie fitted iv ith two 10-h.p. oil, engines, manufactured by Stewart Bros., of Wanganui, which will give her a speed of 10 miles, and will ho tunnel ' built and have twin screws. The>ats,may bc removed to make way for cargo or be converted into sleeping bunks. She will be able to carry about 40 passengers, and tne deck will be covered wlfh an owning., The vessel is being, built >yitb aJarrah bottom and kauri sides, and will oe installed with electric light, with head and searchlights "i-f°r , trave ling at night. It is expected that the .vessel. will be on the.-iriver-.in time'for tne holiday season. 1 » The. enterprise will he the means of the coast being conwith the King Country and the Waitomo Caves. .An, ideal trip for tourists will be. from , New 1 lymouth over Mount Messenger to Mokau by motor-car, then'ce up the l river to iotoro, and on to Waitcmo. it is expected the rapids between the mines and Totoro will be negotiated. It is expected the enterprise will prove of service in opening up settlement in the Mokau. , Another fine veteran has passed away in the stalwart person cf Sergeant Duffin, whose death occurred yesterday morning at an early hour says the" “News.” The deceased was born at Kilkenny (Ireland) in 1832. He was enlisted by the late Sergeant s / James Hill in the 57th Regiment in X-f 1852, the same year leaving Cork with ! his regiment for the Mediterranean, and being stationed for some time in Corfu. In 1854, when the Crimean war broke out, the regiment was ordered to the East, and landed the morning oftor tlio brittle of Alind. The deceased experienced stirring times in the campaign, which included Balaclava, Inkerman and the bombardment and fall of Sebastopol, in connection with which he got the medal with three clasps. One of his exciting events in this war was when his regiment was in the trenches and the Russian sharpshooters were attaking them from a cave An officer of the 57th Regiment called for volunteers to go and attack them, and the deceased was one of those who went and succeeded in driving every Russian out of the cave. The officer in charge was shot, and Sergeant Duffin was one of the few who escaped. He was also in the expedition which resulted in the bombardment and capture of ivmburn. He was ; with his regiment in India during the mutiny in 1857,, being on outpost duty on the Taptee river in connection with the Central India \ Field Force. His regiment came to /Kew Zealand in 1861, and ho saw further service in the incidents of the Maori war. Ho subsequently joined the A.C. Force, and was appointed Sergeant of Police in Taranaki, which position he occupied for 26 years. He carried out Jiis duties conscientiously and was considered an able officer. I or some years the sergeant has lived in retirement. He leaves several sons and daughters,