THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 68, 20 March 1917, Page 4

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.

The Cabinet crisis" iri ; France*; which has* letf to the : resignation of- the Premier and his-Ministry, i# to some extent the corollary" of the" crisis in* Englandwhich* led. to' : the resignation of Mr. Asquith and the' new Ministry under Mr. Lloyd George.- They both" had their origin iri dissatisfaction with- the' way' the" war* ■ids being' conducted; and a desire for a smaller' inner Cabinet and 7 a more vigorous prosecution of the campaign. Ori October" 29; 1915,- Ml Viviarii 7 resigned mainly owing' to dissatisfaction tfith the mariner in which the Ser blari campaign had- been'- conducted, though it would not seem that Viviani was personally toblame for the :niisman-' ageinerit ririd miscalculation' that hadoccrirrcdi The new "Ministry under Aristide', Briarid was' in" the' riatiire of a coalition, and it included no fewer than [eight ei-Pr'emjc'rs. It was knoWrf as the Ministry of Mariy Talents, and represented nearly every school of. political thought in France, and it" was the; first time in history' that France lia'd had such a- Ministry. Great things We're expected of it, but- the German successes' in Rumania andlthc comparative inaction in Macedonia, coriVbine*d : with the lack of any vigorous policy iri Greece, causedmurmurs .to ariseiwhich were only- partly suppressed by a" rigorous Press censorship. In the" ririddle 1 of last December., however/ jfiafters' reached _' crisis,- rind the Chamber of Dep'utjes- carried a motion abolishing- the ce'ris'orship'a's far' as political- Blatters' we're c'Oricetriedj though the diplomatic* 7 and military e'en-' sorsh'ip' was 11 r'e'taiiied-. The' Government had-to accept-the iriotiriri', Which was carried unanimously. an agitation was" com-:, mericedrigainst"thePre'rifie'r'. TKis«Egita- ! tion wristhe : rii*_re* significant from the; fact-that pYevibiis'to trier of the motiori regarding the; censorship, M. : Briand had goiiri a: long' way towards meeting the" demands that were:jbeing' fbrcied' _f»ti- 7 hwri- iri the Housed A secret session of the Chamber of Deputies had been held during the first weekiri' December", arid' more" eriergetTc'" measure's of- civili commeYoiaif arid- industrial 7 mobilisation were demanded.- The; tiori iri England <lfuickerie"d the"*- deriiarid for* Better' Governm'e'ntaT niach'iri'e'ry €6 meet the'e*-igehcTe"s of the : 'wa"r, and also -for a reorganisation- of the supi-erile command of the Army.' Ori Decern- 7 bier "thy the Chamber by" • a vote of 344 tb" 1150, carried prbprisals" to' reorganise 4Kb" General' Staff arid to eori- ; centrist© 7 under jre'strac'ted directum the coriduct_of the w_r. The Cabinet-was r T e 7 eom''ffJnaete"d,. arid the dit'ectibri of *3i'& waT was" eritjrusted* to a' "National DeFe'rice Committee" of five, arid General -"Lyau.tey, who had ■previously" been French Resident-General in Morocco, was appointed Minister of War. The next day, DeVse'ijhber" 13th, a resolution* 6f confidence'iri the" new Gov-' e'rrimeivC' was carried hy 314 to 165; but the rifiri'o'wty included-some of the most important members-of the Chamber. The following day tbe motiori reiriovirig the" Press* e»BM*6VSh"ip was" e'rfr'riie'dV arid public :dTßcu"s"sTon took" £. tone" hostile, to the 7 . _ov'er__ieriti ••■■ The latest <ft"is*f# fri the Crißifiert' stftfSe 6St- " 6t the" -f*Sgnritio'ri of GSrisrat •L-ftEritey" over (S« riiafter- of the- Sir service, *__._* thei causes of the crisis .lay/,— at* deeper. „ Ther French attached. 7 great ini-v portance-to- the- Balkan. campaign nr_c_

more than trie British did, arid it was rumoured 7 that General Sarrail had not , been given an army capable of carrying out the extensive movements necessary for success. Then the' organisation of the medical service in Macedonia had c'ofnc ■ in- for much blame, and it was noticed , that while the Whole army at Salonika had suffered liiuch from sickness, disease had been especially bad amongst the French troops. The failure to rescue Serbia had been mainly responsible for the overthrow of 11. Viviani, arid the failure to rescue Rumania and push forward from Salonika was the main cause of the agitation against M. B.riand. It is po's'slble that' if Ruriiania had riot been overrun, Mr. Asquith would still be Prime Minister of Britain. M. Andre Cheradame, in "Le Matin," had urged the immense '.importance of the Balkans, and the revelations riiade in the Press concerning the state of Sarrail'd army caused a great deal of popular indignation in France. Then came the story of a disa.ster.at Y'aehcrauville',. arid the-alleged failure ofthe air service, which-may have contributed, to the stand taken by Gfc'iiefal Lyautey. The crisis is evidence of the desire on the part of the French to root out all incompetents, and bring to the prosecution of the war the greatest talent arid- energy available, irrespective of previous political reputations. It Would, appear that the Ministry of Many Talents has"ndt brle'ii a Ministry of Ail the Talents, and even eight ex-Premiers have riot been able to give entire satisfaction: People who deplore Ministerial crises iri England as a. weakness may derive some comfort from the experience of France. Iri" Fraric'e arid England •Ministers are' responsible' to Parliament and people, whereas in Germany they are responsible only to the Kaiser. The Weather Bureau forecast for 24 £°__ from *> a.m. this day is as follows: "Indications' for .moderate' to strong easterly winds. Expect.warm and humid condit-ions. The weather appears likely to bo cloudy;.and unsettled, with rain following. Barometer, falling. Tides good; sea' mo'dcratfc:" The 25th and 26th Reinforcements are to be given- their filial leave during- the Easter holidays. The 28ths, the next draft to go into camp, will mobilise one week late, so that they may have the full berie'lit"of the holiday period before going into" camp. 7 The local shipping companies have decided upon a further set of restrictions on the publication of vessels' movements, and it will shortly be general throughout the Dominion that no news of ships other than those confined entirely to Xew Zealand coastal trade will be published iri the riewspapers. Mail advices received recently state that at Vla'divo'stock during the past year extensive port iriipro'venicrits have' been carried out to accommodate trie largely increased vbhiriie of ocean trallic -ro'ttg-Kt-abbJrt'by'fhe -War. The improve--riient work has' been in" general Of two kinds; one, the dredging out of new mooring places- for-ships; and the" other, the providing of new', unloading facilities by means of floating and- pier •cr'rfries; i . The • daughter of a welf-kririwri Wellington' professional riian was made th© victim of a 7 particularly iriean act a day or two ago. Having occasion to go into town, she-proceeded by tram to' Manners .walkedtowne: Imagine, iter .dismay:, ori- reaching hotac- to. find half of iherTiaif cut oflV evidently toy one.well .sKilleft'jri biri'trade^.'is-not the' slightest-puil-was-felt*. "-"•', The Hon. Arthur. M. flyers, when into'rvie'we_- iri' regard to the recent publication- In the New Zealand "Gazette" referring to" engineering supplies, material and sto'resj .said:. '"'The. policy adopted by the Imperial Ministry of' Munitions' iri dealing with business of this nature is that sympathetic, consideration will be given to orders- placed to secure supplies for .maintenance' and repairs of existing plants, but iri view of present exigericies little encouragement if any can be given to order for new enterprises or for the extension of existing concerns, unless' such -extensions are-essential from the point" of view" of the" national welfare. An extension of the system of bursaries at the"Ot'ago Medical School is'pro-, posed by the' Hbri; G. W. Russell, Minister" for Internal- Affairs arid Public Health; At' present 'these bursaries are. tenable only by fifth-year students, and corfse'quently arc of rib" assistance' to {young men- entering, on their- medical studies: The Minister hopes to be able in time to establish a system of bursaries "covering' the whole course, which will th'iis be available" toi proriiisjrig" students who would otherwise be unable to enter upon it owing to lack of means. A scheme for encouraging the exten-sioriof-tbe Doriiiriion's sea fisheries is'contcmplatc'd ffjr ilori. G. W. Russell, ActingMinister' for Marine, who has been greatly' interested hi- the successful ventures of the Auckland City Council if this", direction. Mr. Russell states that a. cable has been sent to Professor Prince', of Canada, asking hini to' forward his! cOmplete report on the Xew Zealand fisheries in 'time' for its presentation to Parliament in June. Meantime other inquiries are being- made; particularly re-garding-transportation, as it is hoped- to arrange for the prompt conveyance of fish- (iri special railway vans if necessary) to the-country bistricts, in order that as far as"' possible the whole coirimunity may obtain trie benefit of the supplies, whieb- it 7 is;,believed ciari be' made available. The Marine Department is prepaying, a report on certain aspects of the.scheme, arid Mr. Russell proposes-to issue a pamphlet describing the various' Jlnethods of cooking fish, and specifying : the fnethods' best 7 suited to the different varieties found in New Zealand waters. •Iri this" way he" hope's" to encourage thepcoplc'tri riiake-use 7 of a* valuable article of diet which is riot affected by the general rise iri food prices due to the" war. Speaking, at Saturday's . W-elc"ome at Wellington to the" naval ratings frp'rii overseas, g} r j a m' e8 Allen referreri to New Zesdriw-'S-n*\_l policy (says the "Dopiinion").. >Vhat that policy would be was not definitely known, but the action in sending men to-fight alongside the British soldiers, however, meant that nothing would- satisfy the Dbtriinion but a pplicy..that..Wouli-. eriaure:.seridJng- our anen to fight alongside .Imperial sailors in the Navy. We" in New Zealand had to. see .tha/t.our young, mcn 7 had an opportunity of- being trained for the sea and gathering some of the glorious' traditions ofjthe" past. It- was unthinkable that NeW" 1 Zealand should not have a share iri jbuildirig up- those" tradition's' in the future. New Zealand would carry out a naval policy" which would provide" for" her taking ori a fair share of the training' of her own-men, who, when" the time came, would fight' alongside the sailors of the Mo'therlarid. 'fhey hoped that th"c coni■petitiori- would be to the adTOrita'ge of both';, arid dri'e" in- which" New' Zealamd rwpfrld cerfainl'y" .riot: .tfo'nie .seconds ; (Laughter intt ; . Ttfe..l)cTeifce' Depatrfmeift, iff is" ririderstodd-, lias secured for use in the New Z-ilari- SeinibrfeeriifefiC trainufg' canips :._• saip'ply of tMeJates.k patterri: rifles used at the front. These -are. .to be issued shortly,

When a 1 heavy coil of wire' was being' lowered irito the Nihofupu dam- yest'et-'' day, the cable from the derrick" broke,' and in rebounding struck and injured several of the workmen. Mr. B. Nelson, clerk of works, was standing near by, and received injuries to the head that were serious enoiigb to necessitate' his admission to the Siena Private Hospital. Two of the workmen were cut about the legs by tiie flying haWser, but their injuries were not serious. A point of interest to landlords and tenants was mentioned at the hearing of 1 a case in the Supreme Court at Wanganui. His Honor Mr. Justice Edwards' said many, even among the legal fraternity, were of opinion if a tenant paidrent by the week he was entitled to only a week's notice, .but that was riot" the law. Unless there was a special agreement" as 1 to what length of notice was required-, a tenant was entitled to a month'- written notice. The case" was one in which a landlord, wisliirig to rebuild, gave a tenant a week's notice" to leave" al house, but the latter claimed a' month'- notice The landlord thereupon pulled down-two chimneys and the veraridi-hV and the tenant entering ari action, received £50 damages'. For some time past the Mount Eden Borough Council has been remitting half rates payable by soldiers on active service where cause for such remission hasbeen shown. At a- meeting of the Council last night the Finance Cahrmittee drew attention €b the facit that under war regulations made in January a soldier might obtain' a' special allow-arice to enable 'him to meet certa'iri liabilities, including rate's. It was- resolved in future to take advantage of tho regulations mentioned, and to refer, all applications for remission of rates? to. tbe Military Service Board, with the object of securing assistance for the; applicants 7, ■ while conserving the Council's interests in the matter. A middle-aged lady; who. was walking home, after having alighted- from- a 7 tram along Summit Road, Cashmere' Hills, Christchurch, about 4.30' p.ri_ orf Thursday (reports'" the" "Evenirig Sews"), noticed a boy walking along the' path in front of h'erV The lad quickly_ wheeled round, and presented at the lady a- short, nickel-plated revolver, at the* same time commanding "Hands up; I want' some money." Under the circuriistah'c'es, the lady produced arid gave the boy 2/, whereupon he decamped. Subsequently the boy" was seen boarding a, tra'mcar bound for Christchurch. The description given by the visitor is of a lad about 14 years of age, of medium' height and build,with a rather pleasant appearance, long black hair, inclined to be bushy, and worn down over his" oars'. He was dressed in a dark grey No'rfdlk ; suit, with short pants loose at the knees. His stockings were black'-ritrimed, and? he .wore no hat. Delegates representing tbe" New' Zea"larid" Waterside Workers' Federation, who arc now iri Wellington in cohrie'etio'riwith the c'rirife'r'eriee With' the eroploye'reconcerning the new agreement, have passed- a resolution of protista against the sentence of II riiorith-' imprisonment imposed on Oliver Noakes, at Auckland, for a breach of the War" Regulations. The resolution urged that the sentence was excessive in the circumstances. A deputation also Waited on-the Hon. J. A. Hanan, Minister of Justice, Who, while saying he did not like to interfere with* the -judiciary,- promised -..to-, go-sinto: th* merits of the case arid to advise the deputation later. It is anticipated- that the'- Salvation Army' -utmeht-'- at FeafcHerstori Camp will be ready for occupation toy the- 21st March, when they .Will .be dffioiailyoperiey. A portion' .of the £1000 recently doriatedby the MariawaJtu- Eacirig'Club-'—as beeriiitilised in the e'rectiori and equipment of these ibutments, wlricb have" b4cri builtin order to provide accorinrio'dation for relatives wishing to visit the soldiers an camp. The main building.-will-contain 40 rooms, and there are also' » oonsiderable number of- separate thutroents being erected. Tho huts are also furnished with cooking utensils for the" convenience of visitors. The erection of the ■hutments has only ■ taken" one- month; .which is certainly' very'quick work. A statement was niade on Friday last toy', the-.-Mayor of Christchiirch (Mr: H. Holland) on the subject of the comparative charges" for electrical power made"in Auckland and Christchrirch, Mr. Holland said: to the local which aippeare'd iri Thursday's" newspapers', that at the' opening of- the electrical sub-statio'ri at Epsorri- (Auckland),the Mayor of Auckland stated tha,t Auckland claimed to be" selling'power at rates ranking amongst the lowest in Australasia, the- average prices last year being 2.15 d per unit, against, 2.58 d in Christchurch. the Christchurch city electrical engineer informs nic that this st'atoriierit is iffebrrect". ■ The average price for power iri Christchurch last-year was 1.82 d per unit, which is" 14' per cent lower than the Auckland prices. Further, the Christchurch prices for" power 1 range as low as l-6th of Id per unit. The electrical engineer states'that power" can be 'Obtained in Christchurch at as low rates as iri any other foWri iri Australasia, and lower than in Auckland. At present over B,oookws. are connected up (power and lights) in Christchnreh." • A recent arrival in Auckland 'Was" an elderly lady from Darga'ville, who had not been outside the bouridary of the Kaipara township all her life. She" is 63 years of age, arid the" longest" trip sbe had ever made iri her life was from her farm just outside Dargaville into the township itself. She was 7 coming", to Auckland to' see her' daughter. Asked if during" her life she had ever had a desire to leave her home for. a holiday she said, "Oh, rib"; we have''_■ fsCrm." Of the seven boats at present in port here six are units of .the Union Steamship Company fleet. There are only Union" Company boats working cargo, except, of course, the coastal vessels. The other "steamer is here for repairs. The shipping ait present in port represents 31,000 tons, and of this 25,484 tori's" are made up with tbe Union Company's vessels". It is .expected that sixteen- 'bags of Australian mail will arrive at Auckland by the Main- Trunk to-morrow, arid Will be delivered in tbe" morning.- This is.ex a_ steamer arriving at' Wellitfgtoit from Sydney; Ori Friday morning next' an English, American; Canadian, arid expeditionary Force- mail, which is to arrive here from the South, will be delivered in the city and suburbs. _ Wellington City". Council has paeised a by-law prohibiting the nse of municipal water for hosing -wiridoWs" rind garden's,, as" the town supply of water has become seriously low. Michael Downing (6t). a fanner of Meane'e", near" Napier, was killed yesterday as the result of a horse he was riding colliding with a m'dtbr-bus. To-riigbtj- in" th'trschoblroortii- Alexandra Road, Re'm'uefa, a- bazaar" iri aid of the Catholic" schools" will- be- opened- by Mdnslgri'dr' Mahoriey. " ' The" " Southland News " has" it'-off good authority' that Rivertori' muttori'-biiders" have been offered BJd for their catch, this 6eason,.up to 15,000 .birds, ,

■ ibe?- fetur-ea-- soldier-" it tbe hospital annexe' were given 7 ari.'; enjoyable day's outing by several residents of RemueYa yesterday afternoon. The soldiers were' conveyed io Air. T. Coat'es' residence at Orakei by motors lent by Messrs. M-. Wilson, W. Reid, J. Jackson, W. Henderson, F. Clark, J. Martin, and X- Williams. The Ladies' Committee entertained" tiie visitors to afternoon tea : , and at about 4.45 the party started on its' return journey" to the aririexe after a most enjoyable picriic. Mrs. Sarah Leahy, an Auckland citizen of over severity' years' standing, has passed away" at her homfe in 49, Cruniirie'r Road-, Grey Lyrin, at the ripe old age of 73. Mrs. Leahy was born in Tasmania 7 inApril; 1843, arid cariie to New Zealand iwithi her parents" when three' year's of age. She. married' Mr. G. Leahy, a prominent Oddfellow, of Grey Lynn, where they have' lived ever since. Mrs. Leahy leaves six daughters' and the same number of sons, the youngest son being" at present fighting in France. In the course of replying to a cle'ptitatiori this _the Minister Marine (Ho'ii. G. W. Ruasell)" stated that he' had coriwnunicated with Professor Prince, who visited New Zealand some" j'ears ago to inspect arid report upon our fisheries, arid Who forwarded an interim report from Canada in 1915, asking him- to send forward'his final report iri time to lay before Parliariierit at next session. The Minister added that he hoped tbe report- would come' along in time to enable some developmental scheriie : to be drawn- up' this year. Mr. W. T. Young* general secretary of the Federated Seamen's" Union, arrived iri Auckland by express from Wellington last Week; arid- ori- Saturday" evening explained to' a riiass' meeting 7 of seamen in the 7 Seamen's Mission- the terriis" of- the new agreement between the seamen'riml employers arrived at in Wellington' recently. His report.was* reeeive'd-. Mr. Youngr'e'tur'ris" Vtd-- Wellingt'ori arid will leave ori Thursday evenfrig for the South to address similar meetings afcLytteltbri: arid- Dunedin-: t The" joint coiririiit'tJe'e of trie Red- Cross Society has bce'ri.' successful iri securing connnodious arid up-to-date premises on the first" floor of the Trahiway Buildings, which are at the corner of Customs Street West and Lower Albert Street. 'The entire business of the" Society will .be. carried on frdni-the new rooms' from Wednesday morning next. The activities organisetT- from 7 tbe Model House will be similarly controlled from' tiie Tramway Buildings. The new" rooms have been' secured at a low rental for the period -_f the war. Enrolments' of those who desire" to vote at the forthcoming electiori of municipal bodies" require to be* rifade 'before 5 p_ri. on" March- 27,- with' Mr. G: R. Hbgan, at the office of the Registrar of Electors, Town Hall. Residents in- the districts that- have- recently amalgamated- withtb'e city sKo'iild- see that their" names are on- the" roll. The residential qualification applies to all who have been in New Zeala'riifbf'twelve"months", and resided three" months' in the district" for which they Wisb to'vote. In the case of pro-perty-dwriers", ihusbarids" are" entitled to vote on the wife's" qualification', arid vice versa. As Epsom- has so recently jolric'cf the" city,- Would-be voters should' see that- their names are" on the roll, as there is.liability to errors iri*the case'of-.ai-'riew disttlct-_Vlde : df : T'':;i.''T'- 777 .-,."-'•■ '"•;" The annual regimental camp of the' 6th ' (Ha'uraki)_. Regiinerit" is"jt'd"" be~tocld; this year at ; fri Aroha", with Colonel Po'rfitt- .iri command; Units from; the whole. Territorial district, from Co'ro•njandel arid TKarnes to Rotorua aridTauranga', will attend. A concentration' camp for platoon work and musketry begins on Tuesday next, wtoeri some of the" Waihi Territorials' will join of tbe "B" Company frorri Waikirio arid KaranagahakeVarid- With' Lieutenant __; T.-Gibson-in charge', are' to proceed to camp. The remainder of the Waibi men l join up on the 28th irisfc ; all- remaining' in camp until Easter-.----i/fSb . ... The St. ,Tdl\n ASreiilance Association has" issued' its'- report for* the" year ended ori September 30 last, during whiehperiod it issued 77,515 ■certificates,; m'ed'alHoris', 13J94-. labels, and 258 pririd'arits". A number of- new features" have been" added to the' work of the Association,-among thenvtoemg-the" issue 7 of- a demonstrator's" certificate, the : award of pendants for re-exain'inatiori in- home nursing," . horiie* hygiene, and sanitation, the endorsement of first aidcertificate's' for especially' meritorious 1 cases of first aid, and- of home nursing' certificates- when' the holder obtains acertificate" in cookery" from ariy rScbg-'' nise'd- _ school. 7 . of domestic' econarnv. 7 These innovations have been made witha view to encourage' efficiency' arid- to" ensure that" the _icmbers' have", a pjac.tical, instead of a merely' academic, knowledge of the 1 Work. Amongst the ■other important Work carried out by the Association is the' organisation of 215 St. John hospitals' iri England, with' accommodation" for' .11,241. patients; These hospitals have met a- vital- need, and the devoted nurses arid orderlies who have worked in them have Wellearriedthe" gratitude of the nation. The Association-has been the means of contributing' several notable additions"" to the hospital equipment at the front, .while .the" St. John' Ambulance Warehouse, established at St. John's Square, lias sent-out over three million" articles, including • clothing, bandages", dressings, and comforts to the military arid convalescent hospitals". Our" foririer Governor", trie Earl-of Ranfurly, is' now at the ' head- of this: W-drkl toeing the Director-' of the 'Ambulance Department of the Order. ; The A_cklarid 7 Nursirig Division has done a large amount- of work,' and now has .eight large" cases of clothing, comforts, etc., for' the sick and wounded, and two cases of- clothing for the poor, ready for sbipmerit. A painful accident occurred in the" Oamaru municipal s'wiriiming baths recently. A boy named Eric Richardson, 11 years of age and a-pupil of the South' School, had dived- into the baths, andupon? reaching' the surface was'-truck, on the 7 right eye by a plate" used iri plate' diving events",, arid thrown by another boy.- Acting on a medical practitioner^s 7 advice, the boy was sent" to the Dunedin Hospital' the following day, where the' injured- eye was removed. A soldier"—'amed'Hen'ry Rouse", who" returned by the Maherio died at the hospital annexe at-Dunedin early on Sunday" morning* (reports Saturday s 'Otagd" Daily Times'"). He was invalided home with a diseased spine. He was 22. years of age', and belonged to the Auckland Battalion. His parents reside at Huk'e'reriui.