NEWS SUMMARY.

; Auckland: *,'_''• V".. ■'"' '" '. • ■ Yesterday was : the anniversary ;of the J: opening of the city recruiting station, • The " Hospital Saturday " campaign resulted in over £500 being collected. The twenty-ninth draft, for which voluntary enlistment closed on Saturday, 13 77 short of its total. Salvage operations have been commenced on the Arahura, which is stranded at Gi3borne. but so far pumping has been unsuccessful. A further statement regarding the work of the National Efficiency Board in the Auckland district was made yesterday by Mr. J. E. Gunson. . Mr. W. Stewart, member for the Bay of Islands, has decided to resign his seat on account of his being unable to give sufficient time to the calls of the electorate. The overseas steamer which collided with tho Arahnra at Gisborne reached Auckland yesterday. It is estimated that the repairs necessary will occupy two weeks. The hospital ship expected at Auckland arrived about eight o'clock last night, and dropped anchor in the stream. An official I welcome will be tendered to the men at 11 a.m. .today. The Onphunga Swimming Club's gala at the tepid baths i ii Saturday afternoon was a jreat success, E. C. L. raterson winning the 100 yds provincial championship, equalling Malcolm Champion's Dominion record oi 01 1 5s New Zealand : A statcmc-at retarding the work of national organisation was made yesterday by Sir James Allen. Evidence of an incendiary fire was dis- i covered in the I'ahiatua High School on Saturday. Regimental - Quarten - Sergeant | Bright "as killed at Featherston through being run over by a motor-car. British and Foreign: The Queen of Sweden is suffering from a serious throat complaint, .Manchester is alarmed at the proposal to increase Indian cotton duties. The Minister in Charge of Shipping Control has announced that he will requisition all vessels in the Australian trade. Mr. Whitman, Governor of New York, has direct the State Athletic Commission to prohibit T/Cs Darcy entering the ring against Dillon, on the ground that Darcy is nothing but a slacker. The War: Salonika reports show great aerial activity on the Balkan front. The German air lasses in February totalled 60, while the allies lost 29 aeroplanes. A message from Berlin reports that the Kaiser is confined to his room with a severe chill. The Bulgarian national" debt, which was £24.000,000 before the war, is now £76.000,000. General Smuts. the South African delegate t-Oethe Imperial Conference, has been made a\ Privy Councillor. The Germans fined Ghent £5000, and the burgomaster a similar amount, for the spreading of what they alleged were false tidings. Correspondents at British headquarters state that the line has now reached Aehict-le-Petit, the first of the two remaining trench systems, before Bapaume. The- latest messages . from the British front in France state that the aeroplanes are busy scouting and photographing in clear sunlight. No German aeroplanes j were seen. General von Beseler, Governor of Poland, has authorised the issue of twenty million Polish coins of the value of Is. They will be composed of a mixture of iron and aluminium. Greek irregulars in the neutral zone between the Royalist and Venizelist territories,, south of Koritza, surrounded and annihilated a patrol of a dozen men, and afterwards mutilated the bodies. It is reported that civilians are being removed fiom villages beyond Bapaume. The weather is again foggy, favouring the enemy. The British are now near Bapaume. That will bo the next step in their advance. The King-' has sent congratulations to Sir Douglas Haig on the splendid work of the army and its steady persistent pressure, which has forced the enemy to leave carefully-prepared and strongly-for- ! 'tided positions. German newspapers are tardily announcing the retreat on the Ancre front. They state that it is in accordance with General Hindenburg's general scheme, and will secure great strategical advantages which cannot be disclosed at present. The Press Bureau states that representatives of the Overseas Dominions attended a meeting of the War Cabinet. The special sessions of the Imperial War Cabinet have been postponed for tho time being.