ONE SPECIMEN OF LOCAL PATRIOTISM.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2693, 12 February 1916, Page 12

ONE SPECIMEN OF LOCAL PATRIOTISM.

Sir,—l trust you will find space j your paper for tho following, wliic deals with a matter wbicli I thin should bo taken in hand, and chcckei In Trcntham village and ■ immcdiai environments any Headquarters Sta men, i.e., men employed on base dut; stores, etc., who aro unfortunato cnoufi to be married, are forced to pay throuji tho noso for tho privilego of havin their wives (and children) corireniei to tho camp. Tho demand for accon modation exceeds tho available housi locally, and the result is that most e: fortionate charges aro made by some < the patriotic (?) local inhabitant; Hero are several instances of the bloo( sucking propensities of local parasite (for they warrant no other name) Single furnished room, 15s. to £1 wcel ly, board extra. 1 believe some of th money are running up sliai ties in Upper Hutt to meet demand: which may result in a partial lowerin effect on the local patriotic demand: If some people could see some of th shows, you wonld think you were in land of plunderers. For myself, believe in reason, but what is asked i "too liot," on men and soldiers. 1 those grasping patriots see stripes o one's sleeves, the more stripes, th higher tho cliargo. The prices rang higher than in the Auckland Exeoi Vive's pensions schedulo of payments t heroes—men who have made tho si preme sacrifice. Was it for tho part sites round Trentham and elsewhere i the country that this sacrifice wa made ? I trust this will have a bene ficial effect, and let these _ people sc that the least they can do is to charg reasonable prices. *1 trust, too, tha it will help tho married men's caust They are wanted. I support a wife an child, and materially help my mothe yet, as well as I now can.—l am, etc, . PROTECTION FROM SUCH. A PIfftISHMENT FOR OUR SINS. Sir.—Your report in a recent issue c a sermon by the Bishop of Wellingto has told us .that wo are to look on th suffering caused by the present war a a punishment for our neglect of Goc ariu\. one or two correspondents hav written letters to tho same effect These gentlemen speak very confidentl on' the matter, but arp we quite sur lliey know anything about 1 it? To m huniblo mind, their language seems a! moii ou a par with the Kaiser's. Th Kaiser, wo know, is admitted to th secret counsels of the Deity, for ho ha told us so; and. more than that, be i appointed as the agent to carry thci out. The Bishop and your correspond ents have to be content with the hum bier rolo of listeners at those cour sels, or, at least, they appear to clair a knowledge of them, such as is no available to an ordinary individual The ! latter can learn only from th teachings of history. History tells tha tho last time our nation had to suffe l:lio horrors of a dreadful war on large scale was when we wcro fightin, revolutionary Franco and Napoleo: over a hundred years ago. Were thos sufferings due to a ncglcct of God oi the part of the British people? 0: inquiry, what noticeable features con ncctcd witli religion, or tire want of it aro to bo found in the period preced ing tlioso dreadful wars with Franco By far the most noticeable, is the Moth odist revival following the preaching o Whitfield, AVcsley, and others. Wil our friends of to-day tall lis that thosi twenty years of almost uninterruptei war, 1793 to 1815, were a punishnien inflicted on our nation for that grea revival? —1 am, etc. IVOSTICTS. Day's Bay, February 10, 1916. THE FRIENDS OF THE WOUNDED Sir,—How grateful wo feci toward: those patriotic ones at Home who hav< placed their ancestral halls and beaiiti fill grounds at the disposal of the Wai Office, in order that wounded Australi ans and New Zoalandcrs may beoanii their honoured guests. Tho friends o, the "Tommy Atkins" of the Mother land are also doing as much as in then lies to provide rational recreation am spiritual comfort for this cheerful spec! men "luaue in England" who is nevei downhearted under any circumstances With that object, recreation huts anc many other mcaus have been devisee lately the C.A. has opened some huh by tho Church Army, and. others, anc ,at tha naval bases. Kindly reprint tliii

extract from an appeal for aid to erect more of these huts from our archbishops m and the Chaplain-General: — j "Wo would recommend co-ordina- S tion through -the Church Army, i which will carry out, subjcct to tho g approval of tho Chaplam-Gencial > nml tho War OUico, the erection of S' special hilts Recognising the jj admirable work which has bean « carried oil both at Homo and abioacl ->■ by tho Cliuroh Army, and familiar p with its strong machinery and with the keen spiritually-mmdcd men at its disposal, wo feel wo can with | confidence work through its ageiicj. | For many years wo have iound O.A. C workers to bo a veal support to « Army chaplains, and a couuort to ? soldiers, and we trust tho laity ot \ the 'Church will avail themselves [| of this, which is placed free of. cost | at the disposal oi all those who are j, anxious to help our soldiers clt this S critical time. 15 (Signed at above.), g The C.A. is also a "friend of the | wounded" to our brave Allies, the Bel- ]j 'Mails and tho l'rcnch, having main- 6 Mined a hospital of 100 beds at Caen \ emco the commencement of tho war, p costing them £150 a week. Donors of y , -"50 have tiie privileco of nanuiiff a | >■ bed. The "Church Army liovicw" paper | has two beds —Nos. 18 and 19, Waid 2, | C.'V War Hospital at Caen. iNo. is | is'now occupied by tho tenth wounded a n >an No. 19 by tho ninth. Twenty-five & I pounds was sent last month from tho | Weber Church Black Wool Fund, and tj instructions to name a bed "The New \ Zealand Bed," the local secretary feel- | in" certain that farmers and other j sympathetic friends will see to it that B the £50 will bo i.uado up, and perhaps 5 enough for two teds, _£100. p When the offensive is made by eithol » side in tho spring, there will be thou- jj sands of woumled. We shall then bo t thankful to have provided the means s beforehand to "do our bit" to alleviato jj this suffering. The New Zealand beds | will bo but another instance of how \ the favoured people in "God's Own | Country" can help their fellows in time | of need. "Many mickle makes a | muokle," so that a postal note here, | and a Ueece there, and a hide or a skin IS from over yonder, sent to Messrs. Wil- m liams and Kettle. Napier, or your own — local auctioneers to sell for the Church Army, will result in a well-appointed bed in one of the wards of their hospital, bearing the name of the country of which we arc proud, "New Zealand."— I am, eto., . P. W. WHIBLEY, Hon. Secretary Church Army New Zealand. Tho Vicarage, Weber, H.B.