LOCAL AND GENERAL
A remarkable story of German submarine activity off the Spanish coast is related by the ' Liberal,' of Seville. Five U boats appeared recently off a certain town, manoeuvring in full view of the inhabitants, who lined the foreshore to watch them. A tank steamer put oil from the coast to supply the U boats with oil. While this work was in full swing an allied merchant vessel hove in sight. One submarine detached itself from the group and sank the merchantmen before the eyes of hundreds of spellbound onlookers. Tho submarine returned to take oil aboard, and the crew made fun of the struggles of the drowning sailors. The Wellington commercial travellers arranged a surprise packet campaign on behalf of blind soldiers and .sailors, setting out to sell 6,000 envelopes, at a" shilling each in two days. They sold the lot In six hours.
A story of the hardships likely to bo suffered by settlers through tho calling up for military service of a man occupied in shipping the produce of the district came before the Military Service Board in Auckland last week. Charles M. Cowe, of,. To Atatu, appealed on the grounds of public interest and family affairs. He was running a launch service between Te Atatu and Auckland, carrying passengers, and also the settlers' cream and fruit, and their supplies back again. He had made an effort to get someone to run the launch, but as the river channel was a narrow one, difficult to navigate, this attempt had not been successful In addition, appellant's mother, a widow, was aged and in delicate health, and, being the only surviving one of six sons, he considered it his duty to remain to look after her. Evidence a's to the valuable service rendered by the launch was given by E. Scmadeni, a farmer resident in the district, on behalf of other settlers. The roads in the district were in a deplorable state, said witness, "and it would be a severe hardship to settlers if tho service were abandoned, as goods would have to be' carted "over five miles of mud" to Henderson. Recognising the hardship to the mother, rather than to the settlers, the board decided to adjourn the case sine die, on the understanding that appellant would be called up before the Second Division: The Stratford correspondent of the 'Taranaki Herald,' usually well informed on matters pertaining to "the produce export trade, writes to his paper: " Many close observers are of the opinion, despite occasional _ optimistio utterances by people in authority, that practically the whole output of primary products usually exported will have to remain in store this season for want of shipping. Storing accommodation will have to he provided, and so will financial accommodation for the producers." Private Des Lawless, late of the Customs Department. Napier, whose name has been prominently before the public during the last few months in connection with his athletic successes, has gained fresh laurels by winning the welterweight boxing championship of the whole of the New Zealand Division in France.. He beat Campbell, of Christchurch, and Cooke, of Auckland, on points. In the semi-finals he met Greenwood, a professional who has fought in England and America, and knocked him out in the first round. In the final he met the wellknown Dick Leckie, holder of the welter-
weight championship of New Zealand, and after the most interesting contest of the tournament Lawless -won on points, theroby winning the New Zealand Divisional Championship. . He has now had 14 contents since leaving Napier, and has won them all. A young Maori named Maruku Toko Mokau, who appeared on crutches before Mr P. V. Frazer, S.M., at Auckland on "Wednesday, admitted that ho had masqueraded at Helensville as'"a "wounded hero of the Somme," and had on that misrepresentation obtained board and lodging, 10s dn cash, and other favors. It was stated- by the police that the young fellow was a Waikato Native, who had never been, to the war, but had been laid up in the Auckland Hospital for some time with an injured leg. Towards the end of last month, ho left the hospital, and he went to Helensville in company with a Northern Maori. There he went to an hotel, and represented to the hotelkeeper that he was a wounded soldier, just returned, who had been injured on the Somme battlefield. He borrowed money from the hotelkeeper, and got some days' board and lodgings, on the pretence that his remittance had not yet come to hand. He went to the Springs, about three miles from Helensville, and there again posed as a returned soldier. He was regaling *a circle of lady visitors with tales of the horrore of the war, and being in return himself regaled with chocolates, afternoon tea, and admiration, when a constable came on the scene and arrested him for obtaining cash and lodging from the Helensville hotelkeeper on false pretences. Remarking that the only way to impress the younger generation of Maoris with the seriousness of this kind of deceit was to deal with him severely, His Worship Mokau to a month's imprisonment. Mr P. C. Webb, member for GTey, who has been called up for service with the Expeditionary Force, informed a representative of the 'Lyttelton Times' that he was elected three months after the war broke out, receiving probably the largest soldiers' vote in New Zealand. The soldiers and their dependents expected him to look after their interests in the House. He made it plain from the platform that if at any time his constituents thought his place was at the front instead of in Parliament ho would resign upon receipt of a requisition with the signatures of 100 electors, and contest the scat to ascertain the general view. No requisition had come to hand. "My actions," added Mr Webb, "will be determined by the organisations responsible for my presence in Parliament."
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Bibliographic details
Evening Star, Issue 16549, 8 October 1917, Page 3
Word Count
987LOCAL AND GENERAL Evening Star, Issue 16549, 8 October 1917, Page 3
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