WOMAN'S WORLD

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3040, 29 March 1917, Page 3

WOMAN'S WORLD

: (Continued from page 2.) *FOR MOTHERS OF: SOLDIERS y AND SAILORS ■ j HOW Oi3RMBN--MKB ABROAD.; : ''■'~:■'" '■'■'■'.■ '.'■'■'~ , ~.'--'■'■<■'-, '• ■ ' . ""'.,• 1 Yesterday afternoon • the second of the "At homes" for the mothers of our soldiers and sailors which the honorary /division of the National Re-serve-has made one of its special fields of activity ..was ; held, in.the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall. There was a- very large gathering- of .guests , (a 'few looking particularly; young; to te the mothers of fighting:men), and they were received.by members of the committee, including Mrs..: Porter, general organising secretary■:• for New Zealand. The Mayoress,"Mfs.: J. P.; Luke, made; a cordial.little speech of welcome, and .formally introduced Dr. Newman, 31.P. , ,' who had. been induced to speak to".the mothers'.regarding the way in. ■which .their sons.were cared for, 'both ;.*af the front and "also; in tho Hospitals: in 1 England./:/ ;'V ■/j ; . Dr. Newman' told,, his hearers that great; Army ; to :.which our New rZealand men belonged- was one of the /best-fed, • the best-clothed, '■■'■ the ': best-' equipped, and the healthiest that had ever- left': the shores■ of, any .'country for the seat or war. ; Inoculation had •routed the;:germs .of /typhoid, typhus,: < tetanus, etc.," and ; y : et, ; 5 in regard to [the;last-mentioned disease, the; 6oil of

France, with its intensive system of agriculture, was swarming' with its germs. When he went to England, the speaker continued, he had determined to see for himself as a medical man how our.men: wero faring, and with this, end in view lie had visited' all the hospitals in which the New Zealand men were stationed, and in only one of them had he found any Teason to be dissatisfied. That was at Benchurch Hospital, in Essex! There the men Were in tents, and iipon making repre-; sentations to the chief_ authorities that that was not desirable in such a climate as that' of England, the. necessary 'alteration was at once .made./ In every respect tho men were admirably, cared for, and were as happy as possible; In earlier days there had been some, talk of our wounded men throughout tho, different hospitals in Britain, but-in response to tho strong desire which had been expressed that the.-New Zealand- men should be kept together, they were instead sent to New Zealand hospitals, where they ivero nursed ■ by. New. Zealand . nurses and looked after by New Zealanders alinos* altogether. Tlie most eminent .doctors and surgeons in Britain visited the hos- : . pitals, and the men had the;benefit of their Vipe experience and knowledge. : : Dr.iNewman also'spoke of the, work of the New Zealand ; War' Contingent •Association and of the clubs and hostels that had been established for New ZeaJanders. Wherever our men went they !were well spoken of; their conduct was excellent,- and they took a great pride in /their appearance. Without doubt • they were the "white-haired bb'ys" at .Home. ■ ■ ■■ ■■' :• ';..':/■ ;i: \ '.. :. Dr. Newman aiso spoke of what he saw at the front. Special facilities as

a member of ihe New Zealand Parliament had been meted out to him. and lie had stayed for a time at the headquarters of General Russell in France. The motto of our men, and everyone knew how well they acted up to it, was "What we have we hold," and never did they relinquish any ground they had gained unless they were called back —novor of their own volition.

' To neutralise the doubtful charms of the estaminets, General Russell had .provided the men with a hall or shed in which to hold their concerts and entertainments, and of these he had mad© Lieutenant Dave Kenny, with his smile that _ was worth a king's ransom, organiser-in-chief. In conclusion, Dr. Newman again stressed the wonderful way in -which the mon, sick or well, were cared for, and told his audience that thoy had great reason to he very, very proud of their sons, who were doing thoir best for their country and for those they had left behind. "Ejom all ho had been told by those at the ( front and also at Home, and from,all ho had Tieard, especially. if taken in conjunction with recent events, ho felt very hopeful of the war coming to an end within the coming summer. /•'Previous to the speeches, afternoon tea, wjhich was in the charge of. Mrs. Stewart and a large number of assistants, was handed round. Musical items, principally vocal, were contributed by Madame Monkman-Demp-Ister, Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. Bath, Mrs. I Hopkins, Mrs. Henderson, ( Mrs. Haines, ■ and Miss Brown played the accompaniments. Dr. Platts-Mills (president of the Resonve) announced the regret which was felt bv the president of the Honorary Division, Mrs. W. Gf. Russell, that A sh© was not able to be-present on this occasion. Among those who were present were Lady Stout and Mrs. the wife of the Minister of Education. Decorations of flags added a note of vivid colour to the- appearance of the Chamber. ■ ■ .