LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 83, 28 March 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A good hull was perpetrated by Mr Skoghmd at the Rugby Union meeting last night. He said: Members will notice something on the balance-sheet which has been missed out.”

The sheep-guessing competition in connection with the Wesleyan Harvest Festival, held on Thursday, resulted as follows:—G. Spence’s guess of 80y>s, 1; J. H. Thompson 813, 2; I). Cameron 831bs, 3. The exact weight was 80Jibs.

Owing to the treatment meted out to 850 head of cattle purchased at Armidale, New South Wales, by the Metropolitan Board of Works, Melbourne, whilst being transported by the New South Wales railways in the recent hot" weather, the board states that it has suffered a monetary loss of £513. Despite the intense heat, no attempt was made to water or feed the cattle en route, with the result that 107 of them died on reaching Wodonga. Seven more succumbed on the way from Wodonga to Werribee as the result of their experiences on the 'New South Wales railways.

For long enough the travelling public have hoped for a speeding up of the Wellington-New Plymouth railway service, and it is now officially stated that the Department’s officers have reported that by reducing the number of stopping places, the duration of stoppages, and by other means —which ought quite’ reasonably to have been used years a’go—the time of the through journey can be cut down by about three hours. It is now expected that the present twelvehour, journey will, within the course of a few weeks, be reduced to one of ten hours. At the same time, it is understood that the Main Trunk service will be somewhat accelerated, and officer’s are now reporting regarding that matter, ' *

A remedy for erysipelas, which consists in ironing the patient’s face with a hot flat-iron exactly as though it were an article of clothing undergoing the process in a laundry, is stated to have been discovered by Dr. d’Andria, of Paris. A piece of redcolored linen is placed on the seat of the eruption, and the iron is then gently passed backwards and forwards several times over the surface of the cloth. Dr d’Andria, who refers to more than a score of cases in which the hot-iron treatment has been successful, has been invited to demonstrate his method before the Institute of Medicine.

A new method of dentistry is being introduced in Paris in the form of treatment of the teeth by ultra-violet rays (according to the Paris correspondent of the Daily Mail). Such rays, from a mercury lamp, it is claimed, have the power of whitening discolored teeth and sterilising them in such a way that they arc not so easily liable to decay. The teeth to be treated are isolated from the rest, which are covered with a rubber shield. The face, too, is protected by a mask. The teeth are then washed with oxygenated water and exposed for an hour to the direct action of the rays. It is stated that the teeth acquire a lustre like that ef p<nnls. Two sittings a year are recommended to keep the teeth in good condition.

Judge Backhouse is apparently not a believer in banquets as a means of farewelliug people whose friendship lie desires to retain (states the Sydney Daily Telegraph). At any rater this is the impression which lie. gave

when speaking at a meeting at the Town Hall to make preliminary arrangements for a send-off to Lord Denman. “If I wanted to make; a man an enemy of mine for life,” said his Honor, “I would give him a banquet, which is the botanical name for a bad dinner. (Laughter.) lam not complaining, but wo know that it ,is absolutely impossible to give a good dinner to 400 or 500 people. The whole thing is, to ray mind, barbarous, and a direct descendant of the cannibal feast. (Laughter.) Further than that, it is a selfish proceeding for men to sit down and allow women to go into the gallery and watch them eat.” (Hear, hear.) .

A large number of Territorials were fined at Wellington in sums up to £3 and; costs for failing to render personal service, states the Press Association.

County ratepayers in the East Riding are reminded of the meetings convened by Messrs E. Marfel] and E. Hine for Monday next—at Douglas at 3 p.m. and at Toko at 8 p.m.

In response to numerous requests the Fire Brigade lias decided to make the Carnival and Garden Fete an annual affair,and they promise that next year’s function will be even more successful than this year’s. In another part of this issue the committee publish a notice of thanks to those who assisted at the Carnival and to those who made donations to the funds.

Mr H. T. Johns, architect, of Wellington, who is working in conjunction with Mr A. D. Blick, left for Wellington this morning, td arrange about preparing plans for shearing sheds and men’s quarters at the Chatham Islands. Mr Johns has had some experience in this direction, having been retained by the Lister Shearing Machine Co. to draw up plans for model shearing sheds.

The East Road Dog Trial Club’s meeting was concluded at Te Wera yesterday. The final event (huntaway, head, pull, yard) resulted: V. Nolan’s Poop 2Spts, 1; H. Barwick’s Scott, 26,. 2; A. Stewart’s Jeff, 22, 3; W. Stewart’s Tyne and B. Boyle’s Toby, 20pts, equal, 4th. The catering on the ground tvas in the capable hands of Mrs Flynn. In the evening the gathering was wound up with a social and dance in the Te Wera Hall.

A Press Association message from New Plymouth says: At the annual meeting of the Taranaki Oil and Freehold Company last, night, a resolution was carried deploring the action of the directorate of the Blenheim Company in organising a deputation to the Minister of Mines unknown to other companies, and in making unwarranted statements about the flooding of the fields, thus causing loss «

to many shareholders of the Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd. Sympathy was also expressed with the advisory board of the latter company.

Wesleyans (says the “Methodist 'Pimes”) have peculiar reasons for rejoicing at the promotion of the Eev. J. E. Watts-Ditchneld to the Bench of Bishops, for in his early manhood he was a Wesleyan lay-worker in the Macclesfield district, where his memory is still cherished by his old Wesleyan friends. A circumstance about the- new dignitary’s outward appearance .may be noted: be is the only bishop who wears a -moustache alone. Clean-shaven upper lips are .the rule, except with the Bishops- of Winchester and Oxford, who have beards as well as moustaches.

At a meeting of nurserymen at In* glewoorl on Thursday last a district branch of the New Zealand Association of Nurserymen was formed and the following officers were elected;— President, Mrr R. Mclv. Mon son;. vice-president, Mr F. J. Morshead secretary and treasurer, Mr V. C. Davies. It,was resolved that Taranaki nurserymen submit no more stock to ■auction sale, as such sales rarely realise the cost of production, the price of remaining stock having in consequence to be raised. All the other district councils in the North Island have taken similar action. A further meeting is to be held at Stratford on April 3rd. when the following matters will he discussed: Grading of nursery stock, standard prices, appointment of a certificating board, nomenclature, trade marks and registration of nurseries. In answer to an interjector at his meeting on Saturday week, Mr McLaren, the United Labor Party’s candidate for the Wellington mayoralty, said: “You want some facts about the wharf? I’ll give you some. In 1899 I took the secretaryship of the union, when there were very few members, and not a ‘stiver’ in the treasury. When I left it there was a big, solid union, with over £9OO to credit. Most of it is gone now, more’s the pity. Let me tell you this, that when I, with others, was struggling to build up the union, some of the “Reds” who

were up against me to-day were against both me and the union. W hen I asked them to join the union they said, ‘No, we are not compelled to and we won’t.’ These are the fellows who worked as non-unionists on the wharf when the union was being built up. and tliey have the impudence to shriek now as if they were tiie only unionists in creation. I have always be'en good friends with the old wharf hands, with the genuine men, and am so to-day as much as eve’ in the 10 years I was secretary uiey wore never plunged in trouble, and there are very few ou the wharf who do not respect that fact.”