LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 34, 3 October 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The track from the radius line to the Mountain Hostelry will be closed for vehicular traffic from 10.30 to 12 o’clock on Friday, on the occasion of the Governor’s visit. Rooms can be liooked at the Mountain House altei to-morrow.

Commenting on the fact that a prohibited Maori had been recently fined for being found in the yard of an hotel, the “Waimate Witness”-delivers itself as follows:- —“It has been obseived by some one that the law is an ass. ‘But in this particular instance the law is not only an ass, but a chimpanzee, an ape, a ghoul, a gorilla, and several other ravening beasts, it is likewise a lure, a decoy, and a snare, a travesty, a libel, and a smudge on justice.”

The story goes that Mr. daft, in his younger days, when he was a lav reporter, had been studying a case in Somerville, Ohio, and found he couldn’t get back to the office that night unless he managed to stop a through express. So ho wired headquarters, “Will you stop the through express at Somerville to take on large party ?” The answer came back “Yes.” The express was duly stopped at Somerville. The young law reporter got aboard with his copy, and the conductor said : “Where’s the large party I was to take on.” “I’m him,” was the grinning answer. “That’s all.”

In connection with t]ie Post and Telegraph Department there is in existence a prize known as the Gray Memorial, open to any officer in the service who suggests improvement or invents a contrivance for the bettor working of the Department. The prize for the year 1910, in the form of an engraved gold medal; has been awivrd-r ed to Mr. J. G. Rule, Chief Mail Clerk, Christchurch, who invented a machine for measuring the number of letters posted.' This machine is now in general use. Only two medals have been awarded since the fund was inaugurated some four years ago. The committee, having the right to say whether any of the suggesting. forwarded are worthy of adoption.

The “Lyttelton Times” .advocates the amendment of the licensing law by the placing of three issues on the ballot paper —viz., “Continuance,” “Prohibition,” and “State Control,” and that the elector should he aiven a “single transferable vote,” that is, that ho should be allowed to indicate his first preference and his second preference, and that,in the event of the ■issue to which he gave his first preference being at the bottom of the count his vote should be transferred to the issue to which he awarded his second preference. Under this system many people who now vote “Continuance,” “Prohibition” being the only alternative, would cive their first preference to “State Control,”_ and some who now vote “Prohibition” would follow their example. It is the boast of the prohibitionists (says the | “Times”') that nine-tenths of them; are good Democrats believing in majority rule, and it is difficult to see how they can consistently oppose a method of deciding the fate of the liquor that_ embodies all the axioms of their political creed.

A report is to hand that the dead body of a man, who apparently died from thirst, was found on waterless country on Boondoon Station, Queensland. Mr. J. P. Payntcr, manager of the Ambathalla and Boondoon stations, while riding through dry country, saw a billycan near a cross fence. Looking round, ho saw the body of a man lying on its back with the head against a tree. It was perfectly naked, except that the coat was drawn over the face. The clothes were scattered all round. "The skin was still on the face; otherwise the body was a complete skeleton. The man apparently had been dead about two years. Inside the billycan was a tin box cm - taming four half-sovereigns, a £1 note, two pennies, some foreign coins, a miner’s right, some Tattersall’s sweep tickets, and a gold ring bearing the initials G.B. Papers were found, mostly undecipherable, and a letter lo the German Consul, written in German asking for information with regard to a bank book, signed Herman Gove I .'. j

An ex-soldier named Blomqnist lias just been pronounced cured after one of the most remarkable operations on recoi'd. A year ago Blomqnist, says the “Daily Express” Stockholm correspondent, was accidentally shot in the head during the manoeuvres, and it was found that one-half of the brain bad been injured, and that the only chance of life for the patient lay in its removal. After much deliberation by the doctors the perilous oneration was performed, with the marvellous result that within a few weeks Blomqnist recovered. Ho was in full possession of all his faculties, but on being tested in the matter of reading and writing, he was found to have entirely forgotten the meaning of the alphabet and numerals. One of the doctors undertook to re-teach him all the forgotten loro, and after a not very considerable time and much industry. Blomquist is again able to read and write. H e has now left the nursing home, where he has been under the ca>'-3 of the doctors, and. returned to work on his farm. He is robust in health, and shows no trace physically or men-j tally of the extraordinary experience ho has had.

The lease of the Urcnui Hotel has been sold tb Mr. Langley, of Hamilton.

The Stratford Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s Spring Show takes place on Wednesday and Thursday, November 27th arid 28th.

“The last bid,” £l2 3s each, was elicited for a pen of live fat bullocks at the Opuuake sale yards, hut they were not knocked down. “Twelve guineas each is wanted,” said the auctioneer:

A jury at Grand Forks, North Dakota, who*’tried a young girl for, murder and found her not guilty, have sent her a silver tea service as a weeing present.

it was mentioned at last meeting of the Wellington Racing Club that the “abolition” of the bookmaker meant an increase in the club’s revenue of over £2700. The profits last year were £1207, and this year £3954. The following are among the deceased persons’ estates certified for stamp duty during September : — r Taranaki: James Buyly, £15,049; Edmund James Morgan, £5991; Hugh John Richmond, £1966; George Turlier, £1560; Aaron Askew, £720. . A Beaconsfield resident, who recently cultivated water-divining powers witli some success, now finds that he can locate minerals. Some coins were recently planted, and he located them. He explained that locating was to him much like Coming into contact with an electric battery. Yesterday the chairman of the Stratford Co-operative Dairy Company met the butter buyers and was closeted with them the greater part of the day. This time a decision was arrived at, and the whole of this season’s output will be sent through , the hands of Messrs. A. Clements and So*h, on consignment with conditions. The style of architecture, for dwellings lias made a distinct change in recent years, and a reporter, was informed last week that ••Christchurch people would now have nothing but houses of the bungalow pattern.” In all parts of tiie city and suburbs bungalows are now being erected, and so popular are these houses as. residential quarters that there is now a very keen demand for bungalows in all parts of Christchurch.

John Sardaceau, chef in a leading restaurant at Philadelphia, has been charged before a police magistrate with having ill-treated a lobster. The lawyers are unable to decide whether a lobster can be ill-treated. The charge was made by the agent of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The chef is said to have placed a wooden peg in the first joint hack of tiie lobster's claw .to fasten the “animal” in an exhibition window of the cafe. , i

At the annual meeting of the Takapuna Jockey Club the report set forth that during the past racing season two meetings were neld, extending over four days, stakes'to thief.amount of £4OOO being paid away. The profit and Joss account showed that 1 receipts for the year totalled £7268 15s 9d, and expenditure reached £6686 4s, leaving a surplus of £582 11s i9d. Tho' totalisator investments amounted to, £68,850, and the taxation paid,to the,-Govern-ment upon totalisator and other receipts amounted Ho £1755 12s 3d.

Captain Voss, who some; years ago undertook to!voyage round the world in a small open boat, the Tilikmn, and visited h.ew‘Zealand > and-Austra-lia during his voyage,, has made a j fresh start on a similar; venture. A. I Yokohama newspaper states that he ! left that port in August last in the j yawl Sea Queen, with a crew of two, j hound for the Marshall Islands, the j first stage of a journey round the globe. !r is Captain Voss’s ,third .venture of j the kind.

In these days, when the, 1 pursuit of the bubble of publicity is so marked, it is customary (says the “Southland Times”) to speak of that portion of a man’s career outside the, range of the arc of light known as the limelight as “the private life.” Hard pressed to establish his point in relation to the attributes of a certain horse,. n. farmer who .was conducting his own case in the Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, asked a witness; “Didn’t I say I wanted to know something about the horse—(with emphasis)-—the private life of the horse P” The witness’s answer was non-committal.

In the suburbs of Paris recently a landlord, in advertising flats to let, announced that rent would be diminished by 20f. per child per annum. His patriotic initiative has not been long in finding imitators (the “Telegraph” states). Already the directors of the cheap hygienic flats in Vincennes—founded by M. Charles Stern—have improved upon it. They announce that in their four buildings, which comprise 110 small flats, occupied by 400 persons, henceforward the birth of a new baby will relieve its parents from the payment of the rent for the succeeding quarter, of from £2 10s to £4. Out of about 500 passengers who arrived in Wellington on Sunday by the Pun bine, only about ten have made application for situations at the Labour Department’s Bureau. The'Department states that the demand for farm hands appear to be growing at a much greater pace than the Department can supply the men. There is also an unsatisfied demand for married couples. The Department also has vacancies for coach painters and moulders, and could place six of the latter at once. Three engineers arrived by the Ruahine, and made one call at the bureau ; positions are now awaiting them, says .the “Post.”

Some good work waS done with the wireless installation on the Ruahine, which vessel arrived in Wellington on Sunday from London. On Sunday, 15th September, when in longitude 81deg 34min E., the Arawa was spoken 1000 miles to the westward, which shows plainly the great value of wireless communication to ships when crossing the Southern Ocean. By first calling up the Arawa the operator on the Ruahine succeeded in getting into touch with a South African, station, and later, through the Demosthenes, was in communication with Australia. Both performances are considered excellent ones, says the “Post.”

Commenting on the fact- that the Minister for Customs (Hon. F. M. B. Fisher), has stated that it is not desired by the Government -io deal with the matter of Customs tariff revision this session of Parliament, the annual report of the Wellington Industrial Association says that a carefuUstudy, of statistics and returns in the will prove the necessity for some revision if industries are to progress and not go backward. “There is a great difficulty on the part of many of our manufacturers to secure apprentices to trades,” continues the report. “The reason for this may likely be that parents of boys have little faith in the future of our manufactures, though .■anno assert that the reason is to be found in the high wages naid for unskilled labour.” The following note occurs immediately:—“The past year has proved to have been one of con.adorable industrial unrest. This unrest has by no means been confined to \ew Zealand, though the Government Labour Department’s annual report, recently presented to Parliament, states that no fewer than twenty-ono strikes have occurred in the Dominion during the year,” < ~, ,

A final reminder is given of the concert and nigger minstrel entertainment at St. Andrew’s Hall this evening. ( i , Last year there were exported from i New Zealand 5471 head of horses, valued at £171,593. Most of the horses went to New South Wales and Victoria. The Napier Borough Council last night unanimously adopted a resolu- , tion protesting against the Government’s decision to suspend operations at the Napier end of the East Coast railway. The Hawora-New Plymouth tram ■- this morning eclipsed itself hy nm- ' flaring some ten minutes’ late at Strat'iord, with the result that Ngaire passengers who wished to- catch the mail had' to put in some fast work to save being stranded. A Wellington wire states that on the application of the Taranaki Law Society the Appeal Court struck alt the rolls Cecil Moore Townsend,, on account of misappropriation of trust . funds. Defendant did not appear, len . guineas costs were allowed. The Boy Scout Council in London has decided to make a voluntary levy of one penny from each willing Scout in order to purchase a suitable wedding present for General Baden-1 oweil. The subscription lists will be closed on January 15th, and the commissioners in all the New Zealand provinces 1 have been instructed to toiward contributions to Colonel Cosgrove (Christchurch) not later than November 30th.