Page 6 Advertisements Column 6

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25, 30 January 1912, Page 6

From the Commandant we have received a copy of the quarterly Army List of the New Zealand Forces.' Tho Waitomo County Council havo in hand a big road improvement scheme, and are now calling for tenders for metalling 33 miles of road. The work is divided up into eight separate contracts, and the ' total estimate of tho contracts amounts to nearly £23,000. The Petone Borough Council decided last pvening, on the casting vote of the Mayor, to retain the services! of Mr. A. Webster as towu clerk. There were in all t 36 applicants for the position, which came from all parte of New Zealand. For the position of assistant there was -an equal number of applications, but no definite decision was come to in this instance. The council gave the matter very careful consideration in committee last evening, and did not rise until 2 o'clock this morning. The members of the Whangarei Harbour Board have (states the Auckland Herald) eelected a site for the Busby Head light For many years masters trading along the coast and to Whahgarei hav-6 agitated for a light at the entrance to the Whangarei harbour, and the Government has granted a subsidy of £175 towards the cost. The site selected ia on the summit of Busby Head. Tho lieht will act as both a coastal and harnorth to Whangarei will be able to pick up tho light when abreast of Bream Head, and from the south it will bo visible far down the coast. The li K ht Wl ll also be m view right up the channel to the Onerahi wharf. The Rev. 0. E. Beecrolt, a well-known .Wesleyan clergyman, who has been recently on a world tour, has been giving some of his impressions to the Foilding Star. Speaking of his vieit to Jerusalem, Mr. Beecroft eaid that what annoyed him most was a large gap made in the city ( wall to enable Kaiser William and his retinue to pa«s v through. The Emperor of Germany was not conlent to go through tho gate, but must needs use hie great influence with the Sultan of Turkey to have the wall broken th^gh. Such an act of vandalism tilled the lover of the city with disgust. Tho whole land is a desolation. It is not flowing with milk and honey now. Uetween Jerusalem and Jaffa there are \Bome beautiful groves of olive trees and vineyards, but in other places the land is denuded. The people live just the came simple life as they did in Scriptural days. Mr. Beecroft saw the women grinding ut the mill, men ploughing with the ancient implement, drawn in the old way, the shepherd leading his little flock, calling them by name. The sheep and goats may be seen browsing together. The sheep were the ugliest he had ever seen. When Mr. Frank Scott, of Sheffield, visited New Zealand with the Imperial Musical Choir,/ he was shown over the works of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, of Christchurch, and the secretary (Mr. N. Macbeth) has since sent him a primo frozen Canterbury lamb. Mr. Scott invited a company of forty gentlemen, including steel, saw, file, and machine knifo manufacturers, merchants, directors and. secretaries of companies, railway officials, and professional men, a'J keenly interested in tho commerce of the cutlery capital, to partake of a special dinner at the Mikado Cafe, Sheffield. Scarcely one of th© guest* had knowingly eaten frozen lahib before, and the result was a pleasant surprise (writes The Post's London correspondent). Those who hail some to scoft remained to praisej and the lamb was voted to be delicious. On the call of the chairman, Mr. Walter Biggin, (h(» following resolution was carried wil.h much enthusiasm .'-—"This company wishes to thank Mr. N. Macbeth for his kindness in presenting a frozen Canterbury lamb to one of our friends, Mi. Frank Scott, and further desires to place on record its surprise &fc the delicious* and ' wholesome flavour of the lamb."' The proposer remarked that the company had often heard of ''deeds which won the Empire," but had now sampled one of the "links which bind the Em plre." After deciding to have an annua) frozen Canterbury lamb supper each Decembet, thfc compitny g&v*, iti>elt up to the enjoyment of a musical programme, arranged by Mr. Herbert White. Dr. Charles Harriss, who was prevented from attending the gathering, sent th© following telegram to Mr. j Scott : — "Many regrets for absence tonight. I drfcik to your health and those of your jolly good fellows. May you all live long and prosper." What is a "wowser" ? The Premier of Western Australia (Mr. Scaddan) essayed the other day (remarks the Melbourne Argus) a work of high public utility — he attempted a definition of tho term. The origin of the word is a nut which etymologists may crack if they can; but, wherever it may have come from, ilr has undoubtedly come to staj ; aud, therefore, its exact meaning ought to be fixed. We all agree in finding it remarkably expressive; but perhaps few have asked themselves precisely what it expresses. Like most vituperative terms, it is commonly used with moro vigour than precision] and ib means different things on different tongues. To Mr. Scaddan a woser is "a person w hois more shocked at seeing two ( inchex of underskirt than he would be at «&smg a mountain of misery." It is an admirablfe description ; no one henceforth ought to have any doubt about the precise significance of the word. Wowsevism is, in point of fact, another name for Puritanism in its lea&t pieaiiug a*> pect; and Macaulay's famous account of the Puritan — as a man who condemned bear-baiting, not because it gave puin to the bear, out because it gave pleasure to tho spectators— may stand as & picture of the wowser. The wowser is one who exalts harmless foibkss.> for whicli he happens to have no tasie, into capital crimes; he is continually engaged in making mountains out of mole-hills; he is Hktf a traveller in uu Indian jungle who was so annoyed 'by tho flies that he forgot the ttgers. 110 is a moral martinet, wkobe idea of goodness is a negative idea— the idea of restraint, repression, sacrifice— e&pecialiy the sacrifice ot other people's pleasure. • The wowser combines the wild -eyed 1 fanaticism at a dervish with the piimness of a maiden aunt! lie instinctively purses his lips and shukes his head when he sees other people enjoyiujj themselves; for it i& .his nature lo siiv pect > something criminal in (ill mirth. He is convinced that his own liUlo oostentions and asceticisms ay* th« wholp of virtue; and he insists that because ho is virtuous thow shall be no moro cakes and alo. Because he finds a hair shirt becoming, ho would fain mako it. illegal to bo otherwise apparelled. Such I is the real meaning of the term "wowser." When the llamc is otherwise used, when it is applied, for instance, to everyone who is in earnest about- soual reform, or to everyone who is. courageous enough to make war upon vice and lawlessness, then a very useful word w being grossly misused. The increased cost of living: is a koto? which directly eoao;m« pvery member o( the community, and tlio ' vavious aliompt«i made to eaao matteris for differtmt sectienj of worker* simply react upon tho peoj lo as a whole. Tflo complex MAturvi of tho problem make* it letiuiro Very careful handling. Oiia redeeming feature is. pmaeutod by tho fact .of keen competition, which tends to keep prices at Iho lowest possible level. For instance, C. Smith, Limited, Cuba-street, are mow offering a lino of ladies' white kid gloves, with self or black stitched backs and three donio fa«teMOi«, at Is lid per puiv. This h the Borfc of opportunity lo bo grnspod without del»y.— Advt.