LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 14, 7 May 1914, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A London cablegram gives the following results of two big billiard matches at present in progress:— Eeeee 5091 v. Inman 3179; Newman 5.742 v. Gray 2930.

At golf, states a London cablegram, Duncan (141), Yardon (143), Key (144) were the principal winners in the thirty-six holes tournament 'at Bishop Stortford, -defeating sixty leading professionals, including Taylor,. Slurloclf, Braid, Ball and Mitchell. .

"The chief magistrate of the city" is a title which it has been popularly supposed may rightly be applied to the Mayor of. the town. It was so applied to Mr Parr at a meeting at Auckland, but in acknowledging the compliment, the Mayor said that whilst the .title "chief magistrate" was given to mayors in England, New Zealand mayors had no right to it. A more correct appellation, lie suggested, would be "chief citizen of the city."

The following is quoted as an instance of the ignorance in some State schools of the meaning of*Good Friday: "In a school in the Wairarapa, prior to the Easter holidays, a master invited a show of; hands from those who know why they had a holiday on Good Friday and at Easter. The first answer was, "We keep Good Friday because Captain Cook discovered New Zealand then." The second... answer was, 'To commemorate the South Island being joined to the North Island.' "

When he retires from active politics, MY Joseph Chamberlain will be accompanied by an interesting little band of his colleagues who will not seek re-election. Among, them is one who was a member when Mr Chamberlain first went to Westminster—Lord Claud Hamilton,} who, if the present Parliament survives till next year, will then celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his first successful election, , Among other Unionists who will withdraw from .the House with the dissolution are Mr Laurance Hardy, member for the. Ashford division for over, twenty, years'; Mr Marshall Hall, rLC., Mr Robert Yo'rburgh. Mr HildretlCarlile and Sir Reginald Pole-Carew are retiring while the Ministerial side will lose, among others, Sir Thomas Roe, Sir Herbert H. Raphael, Sir John Hewar, and Sir Henry Havelock-Allan.

"A meat famine is a-'most alluring prospect," said a well-known West End physician at' Hospital, in discussing the doleful prediction of the president of the Chicago Meat Packers' Association that before many years have passed meat will be a luxury for enjoyment only -by the rich. "Expensive meat would be the greatest blessing to mankind," "the doctor 'said: 'Tt would force us to look, around for other forms of food; and make us dependent on fruits and cereals. People may< regard it as punil tive. It will be primitive; but it will J)e beneficial. We shall be forced back to the cereal age, and we shall rebuild British physique. Our forefathers who'lived the simple life and ■ at?" only such meat as they hunted with their primitive weapons, were stalwart and strong. The natives in South Africa were fine, powerful men until they made the acquaintance of gin and meat and other noisome foods and drink of civilised people; but since their they have shown signs of physical and moral degeneration." The feared famine in meat supplies l is said to be due to the fact that the population of the United States has grown so large that the country cannot supply sufficient cattle for its own uemancls. -The prospective shortage "affords an opportunity to .: English farmers to breed more flesh-producing cattle,", was the opinion expressed at the, Central Chamber" of Agriculture. "The drawback of'late to-meat production ihj the United Kingdom has been the fact that farmers cannot raise enough food for their cattle in winter time, and have had to buy imported seed-cake and other 'cattle food." It was added:—"lf meat is to have an appreciable increase in price, as is predicted, agriculturists and stockbreeders will find it will pay them to purchase imported cattle foods, arid raise cattle without having regard to the cultivation-Jof^material.'for their tood."