HERE and THERE-

Gift From His Excellency. The Wellington South women's war committee had a short but successful campaign for the Sick, Wounded, and Distress Fund. They do not intend to disband, and all future shop days I and copper trails will supplement the funds of the Lady Galway Patriotic Guild, the St. John women's war committee, St. John Ambulance equipment fund, and any other war efforts. A hand-made scarf, a personal gift of his Excellency Lord Galway, will be raffled shortly. "The Gate of the Year." Many will remember and cherish the apt quotation made by the King on Christmas Day, speaking on the air to the Empire. It was taken from the poem "The Gate of the Year," by Miss Louise Haskins. The quotation was, "Give me light that I may tread safely into the unknown," and the man at the gate replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than the known way." The quotation set the searchers of the Scriptures and the classics on the hunt for its origin. It was unfamiliar to the scholars, as, too, was Miss Haskins to the general public; nor is there any evidence that this gifted lady sought deliverance from her obscurity. However, her poem has been set to music by Miss Peggy Spencer Palmer, an Australian, and it was recently sung by Peter Dawson and an impressive effect made on a huge public meeting in Sydney. The musical setting is "modern," as the term is understood, but that is not to say it will appeal mainly to musicians. All depends on the artist, and in this instance Miss Palmer was fortunate in having Peter Dawson as interpreter of the significance of the music as well as the words. A copy of the song is received from Chappell's, Sydney. Eastbourne Effort. Over 100 guests attended the "500," bridge, social, and dance held at San Antonio schoolroom recently, the proceeds, amounting to £10 10s, being paid in to the patriotic fund. The women's committee comprised Mesdames R. Boyd, H. Gilmour, J. Scott, assisted by Mesdames Fahey and O'Sullivan. A cake donated by Mrs. G. Rudman was won by Mr. R. Boyd. Items were contributed by Miss E. Gamble (soprano solo), Miss Mac Donald (fancy dancing), Mr. H. Rudolph (piano-accor-dion). Dance music was supplied by Mrs. P. Dennehy's dance orchestra, the master of ceremonies being Mr. W. Beveridge. Koseneath Getting to Work. Roseneath women have war work well under way, the organisation of knitters, etc., and arrangements for the reception of comforts for men serving overseas being in the hands of Mrs. C. T. C. Watson, 144 Grafton Road. Mrs. Watson is the district's representative on the Mayoress's patriotic committee. She would welcome further offers of assistance from Roseneath women, and also gifts or parcels for the soldiers. Many Attend "Quiet Wedding." Many members of the Victoria League gathered at the clubrooms to hear a reading by the dramatic circle last night of Esther McCracken's threeact play, "Quiet Wedding." The convener was' Miss Nell Kendall, and ' parts were played by Mrs. A. A.' Cramond, Mrs. B. McKinlay, Mrs. M. Hampton Brown, Misses Forde, Betty IMenard, Claire King, Eileen Bacon, [Kathleen Farquhar, Vide Hellier, Phyllis Turnbull, Dawn Mazengarb, and Beth McAllum. Respected Bulls Resident Passes. An old and much-respected resident of Bulls, Mrs. William Kearney, died recently after a comparatively short illness. Mrs. Kearney resided in Bulls and Parewanui for practically the whole of her 64 years, and was closely associated with the spiritual and social activities of the town and country. For half a century there was not a community effort in Bulls with which she was not connected, and in addition, in a quiet, unobtrusive manner, she never failed to do all in her power to aid those in need, and to give her full support to any cause which lacked assistance. Mrs. Kearney was the eldest daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ellery, and was born in the Bulls barracks, there being no houses in those early days, and she was educated at Bulls. She was a member of the vestry of St. Andrew's Church, and of the Bulls Women's Institute, Plunket Society, Croquet Club, the Bulls branch of the Labour Party, and many other local bodies. In addition she was an active worker for the Scouts, Tennis Club, Football Club, and Basketball Club, and was a member of the Red Cross and kindred committees. She is survived by her husband, two sons of a former marriage, and by the four children of .her second marriage. Home of Compassion Street Day. In spite of the many other public appeals that are being held, the Home of Compassion Street Day, which took place last week, brought remarkable results, approximately £725 being collected in the boxes. When the returns are finally complete they are expected to reach double that total. The Hutt Valley appeal was also most successful, the total being double that of last year. The many hundreds of people who helped to make this year's appeal so successful will be pleased to know these results, and the street day committee and the Sisters of Compassion ,are deeply grateful to them for their generous assistance. The art unions closed on June 26, and will be drawn next week, July 3. Jewish Women Raise £100. As a result of the shop day held by the Jewish women's branch of the Happiness Club £50 was raised for the Sick, Wounded, and Distress Fund. A bridge evening held at the home of Mrs. P. Schneider, Kelburn, brought in another £2, and these amounts J added to the money already collected give a total of £100 to be forwarded to the fund. Mrs. Maurice Gotlieb, president of the branch, expresssd her appreciation of the work of her committee and all who helped with donations, services, and gifts to make the functions so successful, special mention being made of the Levy Estate, who lent the shop. A raffle is now being run by the same committee to help the National Patriotic Fund. The Late Mrs. Goldsmith. Reference to the death of Mrs. Goldsmith, wife of Mr. P. W. Goldsmith, Mayor of Levin, who is a member of the Wellington Provincial Patriotic Council, was made by the chairman (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop) at the meeting lof the council yesterday afternoon. A resolution was passed recording the ! council's regret at Mrs. Goldsmith's . death. If Mrs. Goldsmith had lived ani other week she and her husband would have been married sixty years. (

Naval Men's Gratitude. Appreciation of the knitted articles and comforts sent to the men of the N.Z.R.N. minesweepers by the Lower Hutt branch of the W.D.F.U. was contained in a letter received from Lieu-tenant-Commander A. D. Holden, which was read at the June. meeting of the branch on Tuesday. Seaboot stockings, caps, and mufflers were the items principally referred to, and members were particularly grateful to receive such an acknowledgment as another large consignment of these articles is at present being packed against the winter southerlies of New Zealand waters. An interesting talk was given by Mrs. R. Tait, president of the Women's Borstal Association, on the association's work

for the girls and young women, both during their term at the institution and in a "follow-up" capacity afterwards. The president, Mrs. J. W. Mackisack presented Mrs. Tait with a floral tribute. A Woman Stockbroker. For the first time in New Zealand a woman has attended a call over of the Dunedin Stock Exchange. She was Miss Katharine Begg, and she appeared as delegate for a member who is serving with the New Zealand Forces. Wartime conditions may be responsible for a strong feminine intrusion into realms hitherto held sacred to the sterner sex, but the fact that the Stock Exchange was the first entirely male institution to be affected is rather surprising in view of that body's rather slavish devotion to precedent. Miss Begg, however, had a forerunner in another sphere afflicted with a masculine bias equally as strong and even greater in respect for the fprms of the past. On April 6, 1897, Miss Ethel Rebecca Benjamin was admitted as a barrister before Mr. Justice Williams and practised for a number of years. Wartime conditions could not have been instrumental in her choosing a legal career as her life work, but she established a precedent which curiously enough has not been followed up by anyone else in Dunedin. Waiwhetu Townswomen. The first twelve months of a successful career was celebrated last night by the Waiwhetu branch of the Dominion Federation of Townswomen's Guilds with a birthday party held in St. Paul's Hall, Waiwhetu. In welcoming the attendance of over 100 and, in particular, visitors from the Karori, Alicetown, and Lower Hutt Guilds, the chairman, Mrs. F. Rushton, referred to the fact that the membership of the Waiwhetu Guild had increased almost threefold since its inauguration and was displaying ■ remarkable progress and solidarity in all its activities. Evidence of this was to be seen in the fine displays of arts and crafts and the attractive stands of flowers and decorative exhibits. These had been arranged by the members and by Mesdames T. Russell and S. T. Willis, conveners of the arts and crafts and gardening circles respectively. No less impressive was the talent displayed in the programme of entertainment which included choruses by the singing circle under the leadership of Mrs. J. Williamson, a play by the drama circle, produced by Mrs. Woodrow, and solo items by Mrs. P. Dowse (character sketches), Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Sproul (songs), Miss Gwenda McLaughlin (tap and ballet dances), and Mr. Watson (ventriloquist) . Splendid Response in Upper Hutt. As a result of enthusiastic work in the Upper Hutt district, the local subcentre of the Red Cross Society exceeded its quota for the Sick, Wounded, and Distress Fund, collecting in just over a month, the splendid sum of £1623 14s Bd. The appeal was well organised by public meetings presided over by the Mayor, etc., and carried out by a keen committee. Activities included the raffling of a fur coat by a group convened by Mrs. Blakeley and which made a house-to-house canvass, a Red Cross street day, a dance convened by Mrs. Gibb, a baby competition, convened by Mrs Craig; a children's party, convened by Miss Little; concerts, arranged by Miss Whiteman; golf afternoon, convened by Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Ward; and copper trails in school, convened by Mrs. Hanibald. Other functions included a bridge evening given by Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Watts, an entertainment at the Brown Owl arranged by Mrs. Street and Mrs. St. Johnson. Silverstream card party given by Mrs. Stamp-Taylor, and a bazaar at Kaitoke held by the Junior Red Cross and a women's committee. The committee extends its sincere thanks to all who helped, and specially to Mr. McNabb for canvassing Te Mania. Mr. K. George for transport, Mr. and Mrs. T. Fisher for hospitality, the Editor, "Leader," for publicity, and to the J mown Owl proprietors and others who igave gifts and donations.

Remarkable Results of Street Day Appeal — Elderly Woman's Flight Over the Tasman — Upper Hutt Raises Over £1600 For Appeal — Precedent in the Stock Exchange.

Brooklyn Women Prepare to Sew. The Brooklyn branch of the Lady Galway Patriotic Guild has been formed. A meeting was convened by Mrs. D. C. Bates, of Washington Avenue, recently, and a strong committee set up with the object of making clothes for refugee children. All interested are welcome to join. Intending members should get in touch with , the lion, secretary, Mrs. Nelson Isaac, | 161 Brooklyn Road, or the hon. treasj urer, Mrs. E. Gilmer, 11 Jefferson j Street. A sewing circle will meet , regularly each week. Mrs. Rollings the Guest Speaker. "The Women of the Bible" formed the subject of a "request" address given recently by Mrs. W. P. Rollings to members of the central branch of the

League of Mothers, at which Mrs. B. L. Dallard presided. Flowers were presented to the speaker and to Mrs. Mathie, who sang, and Mrs. Morrisby, who recited. Afternoon tea was served. -■. Ladies' Auxiliary Social. Hydrangeas, marigolds, and daphne were arranged in the Wellington Technical College tennis pavilion on Wednesday afternoon when the social arranged by the ladies' auxiliary was held. The president, Mrs. Bentley, in welcoming the parents, thanked them for their activity in helping with the war effort, and their continual interest in working for the good of the college. She also reminded them of the jumble sale to be held on Friday at St. Mark's Hall, Dufferin Street. Miss Barr, late of lona, Hawke's Bay, gave an interesting talk to the parents on "The Re-1 lationship of the Adolescent Girl to! Her Mother." As an expert on girl education, Miss Barr was able to deal with her subject in a fluent manner. Songs were sung by Mrs. Connelly, who also, with Mrs. Halverson, led ■ the guests in a chorus. The vocalists and the speaker were presented with posies by Mrs. Farcy. Members of the committee served afternoon tea. A Taste for Flying. The oldest person to cross the Tasman Sea by air, a 72-year-old Auckland resident, Mrs. E. L. Tappenden, was a passenger on the flying-boat Awarua on its flight from Sydney to Auckland on Monday. Officials also consider it probable that Mrs. Tappenden, who was accompanied on the trip by her son, Mr. R. G. Tappenden, is one of the most elderly women to make a long trans-ocean flight, ,at least on any of the Empire routes. It was not Mrs. Tappenden's first experience of air travel. On a number of occasions she has been a passenger in Moth machines piloted by her son in New Zealand but she had never before attempted a flight of such length.

Mrs. Zimme and Mrs. Mann. Over 400 guests danced to the music of a swing band and were served with a home-made supper. Bunedin's First Air Force Ball. Over 800 dancers attended the first Air Force ball ever held in Dunedin, which took place last week. The Town Hall was gay with streamers in the R.N.Z.A.F. colours, royal and light blues and maroon. A Hawker Tomtit plane dominated the decorations. It had been assembled by airmen from Hillside, and was poised on the stage I ready for flight. Music was played by (the Otago Regiment Band and the | Wigram Aerodrome Dance Band. Music was interrupted at midnight by the sounding of air-raid sirens heralding the appearance of three miniature •bombers, which dropped thier loads j and started miniature fires. Twelve dancers formed an Air Force Ballet. Among the guests were SquadronLeader and Mrs. G. L. Stedman and Lieut.-Commander and Mrs. Fraser, R.N.V.R. Khandallah Church Social. The St. Barnabas Church annual parish social took place at the Khandallah Town Hall one night recently. An orchestra played spirited music for the dancers. The stage was artistically decorated with bamboo i and wattle, and the hall with hydrangeas, heather, and fern leaves. Mr. R. B. Gibbons wxs master of ceremonies and excellent vocal items, were contributed by Mrs. Martindale, the choir, and a troup of young people. Accompanists were Mrs. W. F. Phillips and Mr. J. McEwan. Supper was served by the vestrymen's wives, Mesdames E. M. Sladden, H. C. Heays, I. M. Plimmer, R. Ffitch, J. Nicol, W. Haggar, French, A. Stewart, and Alderson. The vicar, Mr. W. J. Durrad, moved a hearty vote of thanks to the M.C. Resignations from the Choir. The Lyall Bay-Kilbirnie branch of the League of Mothers met recently in the Methodist Church Hall. There were visitors from Wellington South, Petone, and the Townswomen's Guild. The resignations of Mrs. Cronin, choir, leader, and Miss Keegan, accompanist," were received with regret. Both were thanked for their services. An interesting address on Braille work was given by Mrs. Blenkinsop. Items by the choir and vocal solos by Mrs. Moore were appreciated. At Lord Bledisloe's Town House. In appreciation of the services given by Mr. Shayle Gardner in organising the recent New Zealand matinee in London on behalf of the Comforts Fund for New Zealand forces, Lord and Lady Bledisloe and a few of the artists have presented him with a handsome silver cigarette box, engraved with the facsimile signatures of the donors. ' The presentation was made privately at Lord Bledisloe's town house.

Brooklyn Mothers. "It is God Who turns the terror of a great darkness to the glory of a great light," was the "thought" given by Mrs. Cress, at a recent meeting of the Brooklyn League of Mothers. Mrs. J Gibson Young gave an address on "Life in Burma," illustrated ' with( photographs and curios, and the programme also included songs by Mrs. Chapman, a duet by Mesdames Bray and Waterhouse, items by the choir (accompanied by Mrs. Wilson), and elocutionary items by Miss V, Wilson. The Appeal Fund Benefits. j The staffs of Zimmes, Ltd., and the Elite Manufacturing Co. held a very successful dance recently at the Mayfair Cabaret. The proceeds and the results of several raffles, amounting to the sum of £60, was presented to the Sick, Wounded, and Distress Fund by