LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 3, 28 December 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

No fewer than ten race meetings t were held in the Dominion on Boxing ; Day. I ! The Christmas mail despatched from ■ London for Australia contained Id,- j 571,000 letters and packets, and 00,000: parcels. . j, General Samsonoff, who distinguished himself in the .Russo-Japanese v.ar,! has been appointed Governor-Genera • of Poland. ! : i A wireless record was put up last: week, when Honolulu spoke to Arlington Station, near Washington, a distance of 5000 miles. A curious theft has taken place at Lisbon, The left hand of the statue of Saint Theresa, belonging to the Carmelite Convent at Olivaes, has been stolon. The hand was covered with jewels, the intrinsic value of which is estimated at £BO,OOO.

! A man who was summoned at the Woolwich Police Court for assaulting his wife, declared that she was always, nagging him. “I served for three years in South Africa during the war,” he said, “and I would sooner be among the shot and s-hell.” Thus the Gundagai ‘lndependent’: “The locusts are plentiful; the flies awful; the mosquitoes savage ; the pumpkin beetle is ravaging vines - the rabbits are breeding; the caterpillars still move on; the grasshoppers are hatching out; the money market continues tight; and Willis still runs the country. God save Australia.”

Two incidents of a rather exciting nature occurred with drovers at Masterton last week. In one case a r umber of sheep broke away ; ’d took possession of a lollie shop, and in another, a sheep entered the front door of a residence and made its exit through a window. A daring voyage across the Atlantic is planned by'Richard Beckman, who is building a hydroplane, in which he expects to he able to cross the Atlantic within 48 hours. He intends to make the attempt next spring, starting from the Azores and landing at Halifax. The Melbourne ‘Evening Herald’ stumbled sadly in its notice of Taylor and Arnold, who are billed as “Two Boys and a Piano.” The ‘Herald’ man —or was it the linotyper ?—described their entertainment as “a decidedly original turn, ‘Two Hogs and a Piano.’ ”

Mr. G. Harper, of the Omuturangi Road, had the misfortune to have his Regal motor-car considerably burned on Christmas Day (says the Mangaraingi correspondent of the ‘Hawera Star), Mr. Harper, accompanied by his wife and family, visited the Oeo Reach, and whilst returning the car stopped, and it appears that in cranking (or starting the engine again) it back-fired into the carburettor and immediately the car was enveloped in< flames. Mr. Harper smothered the fire somewhat with sand, hut the outbreak was not suppressed until considerable damage was done, which is estimated at about £SO. •

An amusing instance of the selxpossession of the young New Zealander Occurred at Lyttelton one day last week. A little chap, seven or eight i years of age, was seen to be fishing off one of the wharves by a visitor from town, who, soon after, noted that whilst the, fish were on the wharf the boy Lad disappeared. Going down some steps the visitor saw some air bubbles, and was preparing to go to the boy’s assistance when the youth “bobbed up serenely” within bn reach. He was got'ashore, and after he had got the salt water out of his system, the visitor asked him how he felt. The dripping youngster replied: “All right, thank you, sir; 1 think I’ll take my fish home!’ A custom among the Maoris of the old school was to hide away then money in punga trees and such like receptacles, where it was hoped i would be safe from the younger and more extravagant members 'of the tribe. Evidence of the fact that the custom still exists (says the Tribune) was secured by the manager of a Waverley Bank the other day, when a young'native walked in and deposited a number of notes and a quantity of silver. The notes were issued in 1892, and were as crisp' and clean af the day they were issued, indicating clearly" they had been withheld from further circulation by the Native originally acquiring them. r Jhe silver coins," in a number of instances, were dated 1852. The Bank manager ascertained from the depositor that tn< money had actually been hidden ana,, for many years.

The Sydney hatpin crusade has hecome famous, and reports of police court proceedings in that city aie beiiig published in New York. Distance, it is said, lends enchantment. Heading these accounts from the American papers, it also seems that it can, at times, lend exaggeration. One paper says:—“They (the women convicted of wearing unprotected hatpins, went to gaol rather than pay the lines, declaring that they would noi submit to ‘iniquitous and unnecessary legislation.’ ” And the paragraph was prefaced with the information that the women were “prominent in society!” To make it woise, the paper views the situation in a manner guaranteed to alarm our legislators and set them fresh problems. “The city authorities,” says the paper, “face a situation similar to that growing out of the suffragette demonstration in England, as the nomen assert that, if further arrests and imprisonment are ordered because of the hatpin ordinance, they will declare a ‘hunger strike’ in gaol.”

The following letter appeared m the Christchurch Press:—“To the Editor. Sir, —My husband was a Avaihi. miner for sixteen years. We had made a very comfortable home there, and he was* receiving good wages. We have a small family, and the children wore well educated and everything was going on very satisfactory until such time as Semple and Parry started with their advice to the miners to strike. What is the result? We are all more or less ruined by listening to the harangues of these men. My husband, being a member of the union, was obliged to strike, but I am glad to say ho took no part in “slanging the willing workers or opposing the constabulary in carrying out their arduous duties. I am thoroughly ashamed to own, but it is that truth, that some of the women there were the greatest offenders, and their language was of the very lowest and foulest that 1 have ever heard, and I was bred and brought up in a large mining district in the Old Country. Here we are stranded in Christchurch. My husband has got some work to do. but not the good wages he earned in Waihi, and 1 have got some needlework and washing to do to keep on’ family going, but we have lost on' home, furniture and garden, which took us sixteen years to make, a!' through the meddlesome interference of Semple. Parry and others.-—Yours etc., A Miner’s Wife of Waihi. If you have a cold, take Touking's Linseed Emulsion, and you’ll soon find that you haven’t a cold at all. Is 6d, 2s 6d, 4s Gd.

! A document of astonishing interest I lias come to light in the 'Lic.ital de- | partment of the British Museum. It is

a small clay tablet, about Sin. by 4in., and containing about 98 a* cs of vetV tine cuneiform writing, it is made of Nile mud, and bears upon it the marriage proposal of a Pliaroah for lh« band of the daughter of die King of Babylon. It is evidently the duplicate copy of a letter written about B.C. 1580. The document admits ts into the innermost secrets of ancient palace life in Egypt, with the jealousies •and intrigues of the harem.

A new butter-box factory has been erected at South Warruambool (View toria) by the Western Districts Co-ofw oration Company. The factory is equipped with the modern machinery for manufacturing boxes, either by nailing or by wiring. It has cost £IO,OOO, and is regarded as the finest in the Commonwealth. The local Mayor declared the factory open, and at the luncheon the chairman stated that the company started eight years ago with a capital of £450, had paid in bonuses £40,000, had added £17,000 to the capital, and the butter-box factor had co;A shareholders not a penny extra.

The season’s star attraction in Wirtil’s Circus, which commenced a New Zealand tour at Dunedin on Monday, is Hillary Long, the most extraordinary specimen for topsy-turvey-dom imaginable. He does everything upside down. Placed wrong end up on a trapeze, he proceeds to walk the air with outstretched feet. The most fearsome feat this artist does is to walk downstairs literally on his head. In the same way as a lad travels on one leg in a game of hopscotch, Hillary Long travels from step to step; but lie is on his head all the time, and receives no assistance whatever from his hands. Finally, on the top of a wire, he slides some twenty yards on his head, while his legs and arms stick out like* a bristling railway semaphore.

A plucky rescue under very trying circumstances is reported by the Kawliia Settler as having occurred at Kinohaku last week. It. appears that several ladies were bathing in the bay, when Miss Scott got put of her depth and was in danger of drowning. As she rose to the surface for the last time, Mrs Friday went to her rescue, but was grasped in such a way that she also was drawn under the water. Then Mrs Parker’s attention was called to what was taking, place, and the spot pointed out where the two had disappeared. Being fortunately an excellent swimmer, Mrs Parker lost no time in diving to secure the two victims, and succeeded in bringing them to a place ot safety. Miss Scott was in a state of collapse when rescued, but soon regained consciousness, and lias now quite recovered from the effects of her mishap/

A most interesting experiment has been initiated in Natal, whereby the evils of native beer traffic have to a large extent been eliminated without robbing the native of his national beverage, which, manufactured under proper conditions, is a wholesome natural drink made from a grain known as amabele, and only slightly alcoholic. Laws are in force in the province under which local authorities have the sole right of manufacturing beer within their district. Many towns have availed themselves of this privilege, and the improvement in the drinking habits of the native, as a consequence, has been most marked. Durban last year received no less than £26,182 in revenue from the sale of this beer, representing 314,241 gallons. The alcoholic strength of the beer is very carefully regulated, and never allowed to exceed much over 2 per cent. Analyses are taken regularly by the borough analyst.

For the past three yeans Mr J. B. Hine, M.P., has been endeavouring to induce the Public Works Department to do something for the settlers through whose lands the StratfordTe Koura line was taken, but, as in the past, has obtained little good result. However, on December 23rd, the Hon. W. Fraser, Minister for Public Works, has written a letter, which, at any rate, gives some glimmer of hope. Mr Fraser says: “lam enquiring into the reason why, as stated by you, certain settlers were paid in full for the value of land taken for railway purposes, and others had an enhanced value on their property deducted from the value of the land taken. The latter course is strictly in accordance with the law; I agree, however, with you that there is not much equity about it ; as one man whose property the railway does not touch, retains the enhanced value of his property, whilst another, through whose property the railway goes, may lose the whole value of such portion taken.”

“Hair, and plenty of it,” will retain hubby’s love; milk and plenty of it—rubbed into the scalp will retain hair; therefore, wives who would keep the love of their husband should also keep a cow—or /patronise one at least. This advice comes from. Mme. Caroline White, prima donna of the Chicago Grand Opera Company, just returned from five months’ tour of Europe. Mme. White is married; her hair reaches to her knees, and she has made use of the milk tome. Therefore, she declares she ought to know. “I am not interested financially in any dairy farms,” said the cantatrice, “but 1 am interested in the length of woman’s hair, for I realise that it is the supreme factor in a woman retaining her husband’s love. During my visit in Italy, I found that the peasant women rubbed into their hair a little milk every night upon retiring. I tried it for five months. My hair now is nine inches longer than when I went away.” Worse by far than a loveless old age is a hairless old age, according to the prima donna. “Hair,'l essness breeds loveliness—and there you are,” she said.

The first number of the ‘Tribune,’ to lie published at Waverley, three times a. week, is to hand. It is an imposing sheet of four pages, seven columns (24in. in length) to the page. A pretty tall order to fill up in a [mice like Waverley, it will be said, but i/’e tone of the paper is bright, not to say perky in places, and it is evident that there is life and energy at the head. “The Why and Wherefore,” the intro. in the paper, contains such scintillations and twinkles as the following: “No apology is made for our presence in this thriving community—it is in response to a ‘warm “call” ’ from the inhabitants. , . . We ■ that the proprietors are displaying considerable enterprise in producing ‘The Tribune,’ which is embarked upon in consequence of the firm conviclion that Waverley has a bright ‘fut- V ure’ if its inhabitants are supported by a. well-conducted journal. . 'The Tribune,’ it should be noted, is quite free and untrammelled, independent of every Party (political or other organisation) or individual—in so far as concerns the paper itself.” Eleven columns of reading matter embrace aj amount of local news and notes that will come as a surprise to the majority of the inhabitants of the district Should the standard set by the first issue be maintained—and there is no reason why it should not be kept up—there is a successful future before the infant. And all for the modest penny a time.

Mr B. Harknoss has purchased Mr T Webb’s fine dairy farm on tlie Warwick Road, and will take possession in July next. French farmers find snail culture a profitable undertaking. As many as 500,000 “first quality 1 ' snails, the price .of which throughout the year averages 7s 6d per 1000, can be reared on an acre of land. They have to bo fed only once a day, preferably in the evening, and, though extremely voracious are by no means fastidious. After a fall of ram, which seems to sharpen thenappetites, a bed of 100,000 will demolish a barrow-load of cabbages in a very short space of time. Weighing eight stone, and standing Wt llin. in height, Master Maurice Reginald Pluthero, the five-year-oid-son of a Petersham (Surrey) builder, who has just celebrated his birthday, is- believed to be the biggest baby hoy in Britain. His chest measurement ot 40in. is exceeded by 2in. at the waist, whilst his calf measurement of 14m. is lin less than the muscles of the arm, and his limbs, far from being flat and flabby, are much harder than those oi the average child. He is in splendid health.

A somewhat sad incident occurred in connection with the children’s home garden plot competitions, held under the auspices of the Foxton Horticultural Society. Among the garden plots entered was one by a lad named Calloway Robinson, who was recently drowned at the Heads. After his death his sister looked after the plot and the judge, without allowing sentiment to influence him m his decision, awarded the first prize to the late lit-

tle lad’s plot. Superstitious people in France are worried by the new method of counting the hours. Trains which start at 11 pm. (now 13 o’clock) are much less crowded than others, especially on t ndays It is curious how the supersti-j tion of*»l3 persists. Massenet never; dated his letters on the fatal day. [ Even his manuscripts he numbered, thus: 12, 12 bis. 14. By a strange coincidence or fatality, the great composer died on the 13th of the month m a year in which the figures added up amount to 13. In 'the course of an interview, a Christchurch resident who has just returned from England, remarked that in London he had Leen interested to observe that the stone blacks ivda which a portion of Oxford •'street (where there was very heavy truil.c) had been paved were being removed! and replaced with wood blocks, j liese | were laid on a concrete foundation, i and one of the advantages uas the ease with which repairs could e effected. It was evidently the opinion, he said, that the wood blocks provided the best form of street paving so tar known. The New Zealand Trade Review, in its last issue, says; The condition of the local money market exhibits very little alteration-, and the supply 9! funds' in the hands of the banks is still limited. The export ’ season is now in full swing, and prices for our principal articles of export are generally excellent, but the returns from the realisation of this produce will not affect the money market for some little time; while on the other hand the scale of importation appears to be maintaining a, very high level, causing a steady demand on the funds ot the banks. " The good prospects for the season appear to have a cneering effect generally, and trade is improving. In an interesting article “With the Whratahs,” published in the ‘Northern Mail,’ the tour of the New South Wales Rugby team on the Pacific Coast .is discussed by Mr. L„ G, Wpgah, formerly of Whangarei, and a member of the team. Inter alia, he says: “’Frisco is booming, and they are getting things ready for the big exhibition on the opening of the Panama Canal. They are talking of a football carnival to be held about that time, and if the necessary arrangements are carried out, ( it- will mean New’Zealand, Australian, British am. American footballers meeting together in a contest for the Rugby supremacy.” A' pantomime, that might have ended in a tragedy, was witnessed on tne Port Moresby Wharf, New Guinea, a fortnight ago, when the Van I aerwyck called in from south to discharge, among other things, a number of cattle, A- furious bull, immediately he was landed, tpok a dislike to the Government Medical Officer. The animal, taking an unfair advantage, attacked the doctor from behind, and butted him. The medical man, when he learned of the bull’s intentions, proved himself a remarkably agile man, and with one spring landed in a ketch, lying alongside the wharf. The bull followed suit, and then went heels over head into the harbour. The animal was still enjoying the cool waters when, a long time after, the doctor regained his breath.

The “San Francisco Call” is responsible for one of the strangest stories in the annals of medicine. A blind man of Denver, Abrams by name, asked to be granted' the use ef the eygs belonging to a murderer now under sentence of death. His petition is supplemented by a statement from a Denver physician, who, after an examination of Abram’s eyes, declares that the operation can be performed successfully. If Abram’s request ie granted, the physician and surgeons will be in the death chamber when the tyap is sprung. Immediately after the criminal has been pronounced dead the eyes will be abstracted before the removal of the body from the death chamber. They will be placed in a saline solution, after which the surgeons will rush to a hospital near by. where the Cornea from the murderer’s eyes will be grafted into the sightless eyes of Abrams.

Two Guineas for tour lines of petryl Read Tonking’s Linseed Emulsion intimation every Saturday amongst sews item*. x