THE COLONIST. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1917. NEWS OF THE DAY.

The .Anchor.Company notify intending passengers that they will have no steamer leaving hero for Wellington this evening, the Alexander being required to proceed to Westport for the purpose of securing a load of coal to replenish the bunker supply.

The Chief Postmaster informs us that all mails sent to London by the js.s. Rotorua, recently sunk, were landed at ■Ply mouth.

At the Alphabetical Bazaar the meat, fish, and poultry stall will be in charge of Mr F. G. Gi'bbs and his assistants. This ptall will not be open till 10 o'clock to-morrow (Saturday) morning.

The Mayor-elect (Mr W. W. Snodgrass) received a largo number of telegrama yesterday, from all parts of the Dominion, congratulating him on his success at Wednesday's poll.

The Nelson exhibits for the National Apple Show at Dunedin were shipped from Wellington by the .steamer Tarawera, .which reached Lyttelton yesterday morning.

The opening, of the Alphabetical Bazaar in .the Provincial Grounds by the Mayor this afternoon will take place at 2 o'clock.

In connection "with the S, V, Q. and R stall at the Alphabetical Bazaar, there will (be a putting competition in front of the Suiter Art Gallery this afternoon, and on Saturday afternoon.

The Rev. Canon T. F. Taylor spoke at the Anzac Day commemoration at Murchison, and his account of his experiences as a military chaplain in the war was listened to with great interest.

Speaking at a meeting of the Wellington centre of the New Zealand branch of the Red Cross, SurgeonGeneral Henderson said it was important that people who were-sending. Hed Cross money to England should-send it to the New Zealand Red Cross Commissioner, London. Gifts' should be addressed to the New Zealand Gift Stores Depot, Southampton. —Press Association.

A man was arrested in Jlasiorton this week under section 44 of the Military Service Act. Thin is pvofatbly'the first case rof~the kind that iias xjccurrect in Ivew .-Zealand. iSectkm 44 proviae^; that -,-if. any anan reinses-vfeo ians-wer questions put to hixti by a «ondidMe^re^: Act, lip qma^ <3je^detainea^ The •'■•■ man': in ■-■^esti^-; afe-as-;afi€g«l;;'''i«7^ fused to =answier :3qtiestibns ;jmt-:^v! lumanJhe Defence -Office ;at-fflbsteTtdn.^

There was great excitement the other day at a Maori tangi in Eau Kau, a native settlement betweon Rawhia and Raglan (says the "Auckland Star"). A native not Jong discharged from the Auckland Mental Hospital took a very ,bad turn and became so violent that other natives- fled in all directions. When he was told the police would be sent for he made un attempt to chop down the telephone wires and tore down a flag some seven yards long purchased by the Maoris for the arrival of the "King". Subsequently he was put in a wool pr,ck and roped down.

Shortly after the pxiblication of the i Allies' note to the United States stat|ing in. general terms what the allies were fighting for Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward expressed their regret that iio mention was-made about the colonies which oversea soldiers had captured from Germany. They rpt'erjred specially to Samoa anci German;: j New and said that-as far as Samoa was^xwicemed New.: Zealandintended to -keep that...island. A Aeyf-: days later «orres-: >dd»te *$ :SPeSfeß^*'3t3)^ iiMr" 'Long Colonies) m^do an -important -pro-^ nouncement at a :Westminster war loan meeting. He said: "Speaking as thp. representative of-the 'vast overseas dominions, I say, let no man think th^t these struggles have been in vain. Let no man think r that those territories shall ever return to German rule. It is impossible! And I know that our overseas Empire would not tolerate any suggestion of that s kind."

An invention that, ifc i.s claimed, will revolutionise road rolling, has been patented by Mr Thos. Child, of Adelaide road, .Dannevirke (says, the Dahnovirke' "News-). It is claimed for this machine that ifc can do anything that a steam roller can do, the invention broadly consisting of making the* frame of the roller in the form of a tank and the tank being adapted to bo filled with water in order to increase the weight of the machtne. Th<^ tank is divided into compartments, and when not filled with water for ballasting purposes is employed for containing sand, tar, or the like. A company .ha-s been formed, and it is proposed to^ make these rollers in two classes—one with a water sprinkler attached, for the -purpose of wetting the ordinary clay binding, and the other-fitted with art .. automatic tar sprayer and sahd 'sprinkler, ike whole■■ 'being worked by one man from a foot plate. The machine has been invented to tar and sand a surface-4ft 6in wide by 157 ft long in one minute.

The Thermometer.- -At 3 o'clock this morning the thermometer outside this office l-egistered 55 degroes.

For Chronic Ohost Complaints, "ft oods' Great Peppermint Cure. 1/6, 2/6.

Where to stay when in Westport. GRAND HOTEL, opposite Bank of New Zealand.*

On and after January Ist, 1917, EmmsV mail ears wiH leave Nelson for Takaka at 8:15 a.m. instead of 30 a.m.),- arriving in Takaka at 3 pm Leaving Takaka for Nelson at 8 a.m., arriving in Nelson at 1 p.m. Cars will xneet r.t Mftteaka. for morning t«a si 10.15 a.m.*'

The National* Patriotic Apple Show opehs in Dunedin on May Ist. In addition to over 1,000 private entries^ there will be five large provincial exhibits—Otago, Canterbury, Nelson, Hawke's Bay and 'Auckland.

Five Maori weddings were celebrated the other day in ' Mr Hari Homera's grounds "at Otorohanga. About 500 natives assembled and a similar number of Europeans. After the ceremony the guests were invited to the wedding feast in a large mafquee. The menu included, pork, shark, and eels, cooked in Maori fashion.

That of a Taunton labourer, who sent £50 {.practically His life savings) to the V.M.C.A. because of the stories he had heard of their good work,' is described by Mr W. E. Hazell, of Tavistocksquaro, as the most generous donation he has 'known during the war. He offers £50 if eighteen similar' gifts are foithconring for a £1,000 lurt, to be cnlled a "Taunton Labourer's Hut."

A "farmer in the Timaru district—Mr. Walter Bain—claims to have discovered a method of making an ineradicable dye, which will hold fast in colour, from certain noxious weeds (states the correspondent of the Christchureh "Press"). The dye can be .cheaply made and blended to suitable colours, and Mr. Bain is confident that his discovery will obviate the necessity for importing such dyes in the future.

The second; monument to commemorate -the battle between the Ilauhaus and colonial forces at Omarurmi and Petane has, been unveiled :.t I'ttane, before a large gathering of veterans and other'interested people. The new obelisk stands about 18ft high junt off the roadway. The base is of concrete, while the upper portion is of granite, the lower section, bearing the inscription, "To commemorate the fightat Petane, October 13/1886, between military settlors and volunteer settlers of this' district against the- Hauhaus; erected October, 1916.'%.

"I believe that without decreasing the output of butter-fat, nineteen out of every twenty dairy herds'" could be reduced 20 per cent., providing that systematic testing and culling were gone in for," remarked Mr J. Burgess, of Warea, at a sitting of the Military Appeal Board. Ho added that there were a lot or poor cows that did not pay for milking, and could be easily dispensed with. As the result of ten years'^ testing (says the "Taranaki Herald"), Mr Burgess had increased the yield of his own cows By 1001b of butter-fat each per annum.

In connection with the demand for the repeal of the Military Service Act it is interesting to, not© that what practically amounted to a referendum on the subject of enlistment has already been taken in connection with the national register. Out of 193,342 men between 19 and 44, 112,778 expmsscd themselves as willing to serve in an expeditionary force if required, ' 44,838 were prepared to serve in a civil capacity and 35,725 were not ready to volunteer for either military or civil service.

The "Otago Daily Times" states that coastal -shipping freights were increased 4s per ton on .Monday.' This increase will affect many .lines of merchandise, notably sugar. According to a private cablegram received, on Friday, all American rates *Ibf--ffeight have been withdrawn. Exports from America are now difficult to obtain, and prices are advancing rapidly. Advices from Sydney state that shipping opportunities are now so very irregular that it it is a- matter of great difficulty to obtain the shipment of any class of goods from overseas.' !

Captain., Colin M'Donald, an Aust-ralian-shipmaster, '^'ho -has .had much, 'experience, in horse \transport durang -the war, was presented, fey the.lndian G overnzne'nt wi th a souveriir of plate in of "meritorious afer^icesi** ;-^Elaptain:.^::;]V|l fJ3toi^ald^!', vlias-' i\yv:■ ..'inia-nj;'years; ;".priiicipally'!' iii-. the, JLndian tiader v?He .a^..--.Joijg-period associated with the old (Archibald Currie Line, but since the absorption of that service by the Briilsh'lndia Company some years ago, Jias been in the latter's employ.

At the races the-other day at Riccarton there- were two horses competing named respectively Eligible and Sasanof (says the "New Zealand Times"). It is necessary to make this interesting statement in order that the uninitiated may appreciate the following .short anecdote: —Amongst those present 'at the race meeting aforesaid was an Earnest Patriot, and it pained him to see such a lot of young men wasting' their tima at the races when they ought to be at the front. So he endeavoured to touch their consciences. His very first attempt, however, failed disastrously. He walked up to a young man, tapped him.on the shoulder and said, "Pardon me, young^man, btiture you eligible?" ''No fear," said the youth, fishing in his pocket for a tote ticket) "I'm &asanof."

: k Althpu^ifc^^ttements ■are iregaently' anado^cf^io^age-40f.; i fc&Ser'.Hh' ■ \G«r-' many and;?Austna- «Escially jcompiled figures •:^o£'rJasß^v?^*:3i#^*^ißad!ri^named show that the thoroughbreds: used--for racing purposes are1 deemed worthy of receiving their full share. During last sea son tnere were 56 days of racing in Berlin alone. Dunewal'd, Hoopegarten, and Karlshorst each had sixteen meetings. Strasburg eight meetings, Hanover and Breslau iseven days each, and Frankfurt on Main and Cologne six days' each. Hamburg, Dross, and Borstel'each had the same number of meetings as last y.ear- Various less .important meetings 'had three or four days each. Vienna alone had 62 days for flat racing.