LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 75, 26 February 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

• Arrangements have been made for the Stratford Brass Band to be present at the School picnic on the A. and P. grounds on Thursday and play a number of selections during the day.

Weather forecast.—The indications; are for westerly winds, blowing heavy gale and backing by west to south. The weather will probably prove squal ly with heavy showers and become colder. The barometer has a falling tendency ? but will rise shortly—Bates Wellington. Seventeen pupils of the Ashburton Technical School, wlio belonged to the shearing class, shore 5000 sheep i during the past season. These weremade up of small lots from various farmers in the country. . Included hi the pupils were four returned soldiers. A reminder is given all returned soldiers of Stratford and district of the meeting to be held at the .Defence Office at 7.30 o'clock this evening. The object of the meeting is to promote a social reunion, and it is hoped that the reunion may lead to some sort of association among the soldiers. At Wellington on Friday Mr S. E. McCarthy, S.M., delivered his reserved judgment in the case in which A. R. Durrant licensee of the New Commercial Hotel, was charged with a*«i saulting a soldier named Herbert: Cutts on February 2. His Worship held that defendant had committed a cowardly and unprovoked assault, and Durrant was fined £lO and ordered to pay expenses. At the annual meeting in Wellington of the New Zealand Branch of the Empire Press Union, which wa°. largely attended by pressman from all parts of the Dominion, the Chauvnan (Mr J. Fen wick) delivered an intr--esting speech on the obje.-ts and work of the Union. Useful discussion took place on his motion for th<; adoption of the report and balance sheet. Mr Fenwick was re-elected chairman »r>-' the retiring committee was aisb re elected,—Press Association. An accident occurred on Waingongora Road, near Mr Patterson's, lastnight, when n car driven by Mr J. Martin, Pembroke road, and having as passengers Mrs Martin and Mr and Mrs Savage auid little girl, went over a bank at a dangerous spot. The occupants escaped mostly unhurt, but Mrs Savage and the girl suffered worse than the others and were attended by Dr. Gordon, being after* wards admitted to Dr Paget's private hospital. They are suffering principally from shock.

Aii Australian wild lately visited London on a business mission (says Woomera in the Autralasiun) was sleepino; on the top floor of a lending hotel, when there came -i sudden knocking at his door, while i little chnmhennaid in the iorridir raised the alarm. "Air raid! Air raid I

Everybody get down to the basement." "You get down to the basement yourself," said the Australian "and I'll rouse the rest of them." The girl turned on him in angry *»stonishment and gasped. "Run away from them beauties! Not me-" She! did not exactly say beauties -hut used . a sort of synonym;', v :

"What troubles this country is not the high cost oir living but the cost of high living." National Economy Campaign.

The highest price obtained for a Romney ram aft the Masterton ram fair last week was 270 gas. for a oneshear animal bread by Mr W*. Perry, of Penrose. The purchaser was Mr W. H. Buick.

Cattle from the well-known local breeders, Messrs C. Coldwell, G. A : . Marchant, Ran ford Bros., and WV T. Bailey were trucked at the Stratford railway yards to-day en route for ihe New Plymouth Show.

"His retirement is not merely a loss to the party to which he allied himself, but it is a loss to the community, though he will continue to serve the dominion in another important sphere." The Farmers' Union Advocate, commenting on the retirement of the Hon. A.'L. Herdman.

An astonishing iucident came to light in conn eel ion with the Halifax disaster. A live baby was found in

an oven. The barking of a dog brought a rescue party to the ruins of a house, and a consequence oi the persistence of the animal a search was made, and the infant was discovered unhurt deep down in the wreckage.

Mr Tom Maim, in a letter to Mr W. A. Appleton, in support of Lord Leverhulme's proposal for a six-hour day, suggests that immediately on the close of the war the workers should establish a working week of 30 hours —six hours a day for five days a week, and two Sundays for everybody. "To advocate an eight hours' day now," says Mr Mann, "is to be hopelessly in the rear of industrial .and 5-ocial requirements. My programme is five days a week, six hours a day, and 20s a day for every day worked."

An interesting fact was mentioned at the Ca-rdiff Dairy Company's meeting last evening by the chairman (Mr W. Richards), who stated that Cardiff was the oldest co-operative cheese factory in the North Island. At its inception about twenty-nine years ago, Mr Richards remarked, he conveyed the milk to the factory in a wheel-barrow from his farm a few yards away. Bullock drays wet« much in use in those days, as spring carts and metalled roads were few and far between. .

Referring to a man who had imposed on R. Hannah and Co., as a Gallipoli hero, and obtained employment in a case before the Supreme Court in Wellington on Friday, Mr A. W. Blair said that as an accomplished .liar he, was; a .finished artist. He got as far as Egypt under an assumed name as the member of; a ship's crew, and was invalided. "What was the assumed name?" asked the judge. "James Allen," replied Mr Blair, whereupon there was "a simmer of merriment.

At a meeting of shareholders <rf the Cardiff Dairy Company last evening in the school-house, the proposal to erect a new factory was carried practically unanimously, only one dissentient vote being recorded. It is the intention of the directors to erect an up-to-date building costing over £BOOO on the site of the present factory and adjoining property recently purchased. Mr J. D. Healy, architect of Stratford, has the plans in hand, and it is hoped to have the new factory opened for next season. "•;' .

A little exchange of words on the drink habit enlivened proceedings somewhat in the Wellington Magistrate's Court on Friday. In the course of his cross-examination of a witness, Mr H. F. O'Leary asked him hoiv many drinks he had had. "One or two." replied the witness, who added that he had been under the influence of liquor once only in five years. "Does it take much to knock you over;'" queried counsel. Witness: "Yes, I am a big strong chap like yourself, Mr O'Leary." Counsel: "Well, we will have a test some day to see."

The Greytown Standard gays:— From the bar (the courthouse, not the public-house variety) to tbe position of under-steward pn board ship, is rather a come-down in life. Yei> the Wairarapa has furnished a whilom lejral luminary who has made this flight. A Greytown soldier, who was aboard a transport, was astonished somewhat when he met the individual in question in steward's costume with the inevitable towel reposing in orthodox fashion on his left forearm. Asked "why this metamorphosis," the ex-lawyer replied that he had given up being briefed at the bar for a brief period of employment, which would enable iiim to visit fresh scenes: and make the acquaintance of new faces. And his stay on board was brief, for he melted away into thin air at Halifax and he was seen no more. Many "friends" in the Wairarapa will lament this fading out of view, but will hardly exclaim, "Let. him rest in peace"—they would like very much to renew his acquaintance for a few minutes' straight talk.

The Mormon Capital authorities have been seriously aroused through the fact that the picture film, "The Mormon Maid " which is to be screened at the King's Cinema to-night, lias been sent for exhibition to all parts of

the world. Whe v '■H film landed in Australia, urgent messages were received from Utah onde.'voring to stop the exhibition of Hi" ' '"i and similar attempts are recorded in all countries, even New Zealand. The story claims to be a true record of Mormon practices. Tvhen (he faith jvas ,in it* full strength,, v ~,;;_■_ . ■

Evening classes in commercial work are t»eing arranged by the Stratford Technical School managers. The work is to include precis writing and commercial correspondence, bookkeeping, comuierical arithmetic and shorthand. Messrs TV. Power (accountant)-and C. ti'.; Grant will be the instructors of the class. Full particulars as to fees, etc., will he advertised in a future iasue. The monthly meeting of the Ngaere W.CT.U. was held at Mrs R, Wickham's residence on February sth. The usual business was discussed, after which Mrs Jameison was elected as delegate for the Convention at Timaru next month. An interesting reading was given by Miss N. Johnston entitled "Our Influence." During the afternoon, Miss Phillips pleased the company by singing "My Task" and "The King of Love my Shepherd is." The afternoon closed with an enjoyable afternoon tea. At the meeting of Stratford Dairy Co. shareholders this' morning, the chairman of directors (Mr R. Dingle) paid a tribute to the Company's bank. He said that the bank had stuck to them well. One one occasion the bank was called upon to stand to them to the extent of £25,000.. It was only fpr. one day, but the bank backed the company. The. remark was called forth when Mr Dingle was urging memberß to pass the new Articles of Association, as the bank desired to have them passed.