LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 19 October 1914, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

At St.. Mary's Church on Sunday after ■evensong, the Key. E. 1. Sow I'Mi.C.O., gave a very interesting series of organ selections mclud-ng compositions from iUendelssohn, Uacii Lapocci, Guilmant, Gounod, and concluding wrth Kink's "Variations" on ' God Save the King." The rec-'tal was much appreciated by the congreo-a--tion. " ■" °

Sturdy beggars." or able-bodied wastrels, in Britain are reueivmo- an unmistakable reminder that they are expected to do some honest r.ork for the Empire. The Local Government .board, m a memorandum to local committees for the relief of distress, saysiSmgle men who are physically lit and withm the prescribed ages for enlistment m the Army, JSavy, or Territorial forces should not ordinarily receive assistance from the local committee until other applicants have been, provided The monthly meeting of Normanby branch of the W.C.T.U. was well attended on the 14th inst. After d;scussion the following resolution was passed: "As the women of New Zealand have now enjoyed the franchise for 21 years, we appeal to every wo« men m New Zealand to celebrate our majority, by using the power we undoubtedly possess to wipe out the lujuor trade from this fair land and phus show, indeed, that we live in God's Own Country." Various matters in connection with the forthcoming poll were discussed, each member pledging herself to do all in her power to carry Prohibition and No-license. Intending to represent the Dominion at the International Postal Congress at Madrid. Mr W. R. Morris, Secretary of the Posts and Telegraphs of JNew Zealand, had his journey -cut short in the United States by the war. He was able to stay a little time m that country and in Canada. He found wonderful unanimity-in Canada, the French-Canadians vying with all other Canadians in their loyalty and devotion to the Empire. He thought the war would have a wonderful effect upon cementing up all in Canada, both of French and British origin, and in eliminating many little differences' that had existed between them.

A Ngaruawhia farmer had a cow whose milk, to his perplexity, -Kent clown in test. In order .10 hid out the reason, he attended to the cow himself for some time. One evening, however, one of his boys, to rhom the cow must have taken a dislike, rau.e into the shed, and she immediately tec* me restive and commenced Lidung. Significantly enough, the test tiiat r ioht went down from 4.2 to 3.2 exactly! There are many small matters J'Ve ti/is which are responsible for a decrease m ttst- and it would pay dairy fa.mere to find out these factors instead ..f at oi.ee ji mpmg to the conclusion that thtii milk has not been properly test---a ai th. fac tory.

TVhile some New Zealanders have been giving of their substance and their service to help the Empire, a few, have tendered to the Government that least welcome and most proffered of all free gifts—advice (says the Dominion). One Minister received a most serious letter trom a gentleman at Kaiwarra, a letter to say that he, the gentleman of ivaiwarra, had received confidential information that one of the most up-to-date submarines had recently come into the possession of the Brazilian GoVeimment and it might possibly be acquired by Great Britain for use in the JNortn Sea. Another piece of advice-' was from a well-intentioned old lady. ishe sent along "a splendid recipe for making a plum pudding without eggs!"

Mr W. Farquhar Young, the Dunedm baritone, who has just returned from Europe, in the course of an interview said: "Compared with, other Continental peoples, the Germans appear to be sullen, whilst those' o£ the successful merchant class and the army men—che so-called aristocrats of Germany—were in their manner towards, us particularly arrogant and nasty. From what 1 saw of the Germans in their own country I have the notion that, the poorer people are by nature particularly likeable, ailectionate, and simple in their ways, but m some way soured m respect to the English. The ruling classes,, on the other nand, seem to mj to be insufferably insolent and domineering. When in Berlin I visited amongst other places, a- great exhibit tion of war trophies and battle pictures. As might have been expected, the pictures were all of German vie-' tones. Evidently Waterloo was a German victory, according to the Gei> mans. I searched their Waterloo pieces in vain for any representation of Wellington or the Engli&h. Acoordino- tothese paintings the Germans alone 'won

How dry the weather in Australia lias been this year (excepting on the coast) may be gathered from the East Uiarlton Tribune, Victoria, which gives rainfall tables over a series of years and to 30th September of this year Uiarlton is some hundreds of miles ihin^o the Avoca region. From 1883^ to 1»13, for the whole -year, the rain- /• 7,5S? d 26.53 (in 1889) tb 9.43 (in 1902). From 1902 the highest record m this typical district was 22.43 (in 1903),' and the lowest since that year was 13.06 in 1907. From Ist January to 30th September of 1914, there has fallen but a total of 6.21, so that to equal the lowest rainfall since 1882,. 9.43, there will' have to tall m the three months remaining of this year a total of 3.22 Vinches.' It is possible that this may be soj for some December records show tiiat as much as 5.07 have fallen in^ tHat month, but the December fall for the whole period of the record 1883 to 1913" is rarely more than one inch, and generally under that. The local" interest in this | record (says the Wellington Post) lies! m the bearing it has upon future supplies of .wheat and' flour from Victoria when the prohibition- against exporta-v tion tb New Zealand is lifted. It isnow fairly clear than in stopping all' wheat and flour export to New Zealand or elsewhere-, th© United Kingdomexcepted, that Australia had good reason to fear a seriesas shortage in the absence of raiax . - I

Several items of interest Trill ba ' found on page 6, including an address I by Mr on SuiSy meiiL iS- Eedfo\- d. and committee ! meeting of Egmont A. and P. AssociaMiss ]\1 Mitchell, of Patea, a pupil of Miss D Reilly, who went' to We - g°? ° b 7 B examined for the L.A.B fn? Tn O -Aca<?emy) desree' was success! ful m securing a pass, with 155 marks m a possible 200. She is only 16 and 5£ degreeeXCeedingly ** to «^2 The boys of Christ's College have S en • generous proof of "patriot! ism Ihey have handed over the whole or the prize money won at the recent aporta, amounting to £110, to the honorary treasurer of the fund for the relief of the poor in Great Britain? Ire! nri" "S? *°IFT' IU lieU of n"y mSs S iaVe a ßree*.to "It is exceedingly hard to beat little Jew Zealand m prompt and effective devotion to the Empire (says the Montreal Daily Star m an editorial.) IMs time Canada was the first to ofter troops. We have that to our credit in any case; but then ws are the nearest great colony, and such an oiler suggested itself by circumstances. But New Zealand beat us by having a Dreadnought in the first naval battle; and she beat us ao- a in by landing an expedition in Samoa and capturing a German colony. While our troops are still at Valcartier her troops are in Apia. We gladly ' give uill honour and credit to cur sister Dominion of Kew Zealand, and hope that we may be better able to keep up to her on the next occasion. But she is exceedingly hard to beat." A sad and extraordinary tragedy was enacted at Brookvale '.(Sydney) on Saturday afternoon, October 3, when Merlin Agnes Rose, aged four, was killed inside the "Methodist Church by a bullet from-a Winchester rifle which unexpectedly exploded in the hands of her father. Mr Robert Rose, a member jof the Warringah Shire Council. Councillor Rose was assisting at a bazaar held at the church, and was conducting a shooting gallery in the grounds. • i A boy picked up a rifle and pulled the trigger. The hammer did not strike, and the rifle was handed to Mr Rose. He was about to adjust it when it exploded. The bullet pierced one of the weatherboard walls of- the church, and his daughter, who was playing inside, was hit by it. The slug entered her right temple, and she fell to the floor unconscious. The unfortunate child was hurried to a private hospital in a I motor car. but died soon after arrival there. The bazaar was immediately closed.

At least one individual at Temuka must regret his adverse views on the Defence Act, and his failure to fulfil what his country, required of him (says the Timaru Post). The young man in question, who was a constant source of trouble to the defence officers by reason of his at parades and his almost frequent attendance at court, volunteered for the Expeditionary Force, but his record at the Defence Office told a story, which was the direct cause of his response to the call being refused. Not content with this decision, he volunteered for another section of the service, but overlooked the fact that the military system has a habit of being thorough, and was created for just such instances. The result was that he was again refused, but. being determined to leave no channel unexplored, the rejected one appeared before the authorities and explained his desire to better appreciate the intention of the Defence Act in the future. ♦■" It is probable that his last application will receive favorable consideration.

The grim Field Marshal at the War Office was nearly guilty, of a very bad break yesterday afternoon (wrote the London correspondent of the Sydney Sun on August 28th). . Word came through that the gallant little Belgian army, overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers, had been compelled to fall back upon Antwerp. This retreat was not unexpected—three days before a\ friend at the French Embassy told mo that Brussels was certain to be occupied by the Germans, and tliat this apparent triumph would be nothing more* than n Pyrrhic victory. The first part of his forecast has come true;, for the. second we; still- wait. "K. of X,,"' apparently' fearing that even a theatrical success foiv the Germans might start a panic in England, directed in; the- afternoonthat the censor should close down upon all reference 1 to the position of the Belgians, and to the advance c£ th& Germans upon the capital of Belgium. That is' to- say,, the- English press were to be precluded from publishing, any .accounts: jof the1 German occupation or the Belgian retirement after heroic liesistaTica. The great newspapers were: astounded! when they heard, of: the Wai; Office' directions* Having an absolute lmosEledge of.' the- temper of the- English people, they knew that it would. b& gravely unsafe to attempt toy delude them by.suppression. They made; r.ep> resentations to K. of X.,. and he^. being;' a man open: to conviction, withdrew thei inhibition, which he had; mistakenly, iksued. That the. editors were right has. been' abundantly.- attested^ tOrda^ by. ifo& calm withi which the German forward march has.- been received. Thee taking; g£ Brusselsj so: far from creating; any. unrest or alarm, has only served to fill!theaverage Britisher with: a greatEa.1: determination) toirid; the Avorld. once- and-, for al] of the-madi Eaiser and"; liis, mad IK)li^.:.