From this newspaper 150 years ago. – Darlington Licensed Victuallers' Society. – The members of this fast-growing body held their quarterly meeting on Friday night, at the Sun Inn, Darlington. The Secretary's (Mr A Morritt) report showed that the association was eminently progressive, and was extending its operation. Amongst the new members elected were Messrs W Summers, of the Allan's Arms Hotel, Albert Hill, and Amos Jowett, of the Railway Inn, Hope Town.

Hurworth-on-Tees Temperance Institution. – No better evidence of the spread of temperance principles in the north can be adduced than the erection of late so many and beautiful and substantial structures. Amongst these may fairly be mentioned the Temperance Hall, at Hurworth. Though it is but a short time since it was opened, the success which has attended the many interesting meetings held within its walls has been so signal as almost to exceed the anticipations of its warmest friends. The committee of the institution are earnestly working, not only to popularise their hall, but at the same time present teetotalism in its most attractive form; and with this object in view they have got up a series of musical reunions, the first of which came off with great éclat on Thursday night. The new Temperance Hall was crowded, and the vocalists and instrumentalists were greeted with the most encouraging and hearty plaudits from their enthusiastic audience.

From this newspaper 100 years ago. – A serious warning against the consumption of mussels was given by the Medical Officer (Dr J W Blandford), at a meeting of Stockton Rural Council on Wednesday morning. The clerk (Mr T H Faber) read a circular letter from the Local Government Board, enclosed with which was a copy of the regulations prohibiting the sale of shell-fish likely to cause danger to public health. Dr Blandford remarked that to mussels very virulent cases of typhoid had been traced. Recently in their own district at Haverton Hill a woman contracted this disease and died, while her two children became infected, but recovered. This case was traced to the eating of raw mussels. Proceeding, the doctor said mussels were a continual source of danger to the public health. He had looked to see if he had power to stop the public getting them, but he did not think he had, and he was afraid the new regulations would not give that power. However, he would go carefully into them. Mr W Lawrenson: Are boiled mussels dangerous? Dr Blandford replied that they were generally eaten raw, and they were very fatal. Not only was the original case severe, but the infected persons suffered seriously. Mr R J Nicholson, of Haverton Hill, stated that in that district, the people gathered the shell-fish for themselves in most cases, especially when work was slack. Dr Blandford said that the Medical Officer of Stockton (Dr T Horne) and himself had come to definite conclusions on the matter, the outcome of which was that Dr Horne circulated leaflets in the town, warning the people against eating mussels. Mr Lawrenson: We hope the people in our district, will be more sensible than in Stockton, for if they ignore a warning of the danger they are running they have only themselves to blame. But it will be a pity if people eat raw mussels in ignorance. Dr Blandford said that where shell-fish lived in brackish water they took bacteria into their stomachs, and when people ate the fish they consumed the live bacteria also. Mr Lawrenson: Will the doctor's report be the best way of making this danger known to the public, or should we issue leaflets? Dr Blandford: They were warned in Stockton by leaflet, and yet you can see the people consuming mussels by the score in the market.

From this newspaper 50 years ago. – Proposing the toast of the National Farmers' Union and Agriculture at the annual dinner of the Stokesley NFU branch in the Village Hall, Hutton Rudby, on Wednesday night, Mr Ralph M Turton (Kildale Hall) had something to say about "this scandalous disparity between farming incomes and those of the rest of the community." Earlier he had said that in proposing the toast he was reminded of the old saying that they could not make farming pay by Act of Parliament, and added: "True enough, but you can now make it unprofitable. You can till the land, sow and harvest until you are black in the face, but if your business is unremunerative owing to low prices, you are running your head against a brick wall." Some startling figures, Mr Turton remarked, had recently been revealed about the profitability of farming. Between 1964 and 1965 the index of farm prices including subsidy payments fell by 1 1/2 per cent, while in the same period the official index for food prices rose by 33 per cent. For the same period the index of manual workers' earnings rose by 78 per cent. Thus, even at the retail stage, food took a smaller proportion of the pay packet than it did ten years ago. Again, in the same period, the Agricultural Industry's costs on the review commodities went up by £218m sterling; farming guarantees were increased by £76m, leaving a gap of £142m sterling to be absorbed by the farmer himself. Mr Turton commented: "If British Railways, also replying on a subsidy from the taxpayers, make a loss, we do not find the Government telling them to absorb it. They automatically raise their fares, eg their prices. These enter into the cost of living just as much as farming prices. "Unfortunately for us tradition has grown up here that our food should be much cheaper than in Continental countries, possibly due to the fact that in Great Britain the farming population is only 5 per cent of the total whilst in Germany, Italy and France it is over 20 per cent.