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Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 130, 3 May 1941, Page 6

Free of Interest Loans. Free of interest loans and donations to tlie war expenses fund now total £2.067,960.

Collection of Beetles. A collection of 5000 New Zealand beetles has been presented to the Dominion Museum by Mr Crcagh O'Connor, Wellington. \

Spinal Meningitis. A further cn.se of spinal meningitis has been reported from the Bay of Islands district. The patient is a Maori male aged 25. There are now eight cases in the Kawakawa Hospital. Maori Fighting Blood.

A broadcast observer in Greero has reported valiant doings by the Maoris in the withdrawal. "At one stage." he said, "the Maoris worked themselves into a frenzy with war cries and then charged the Germans and drove them hack eight miles. At the Pass of Thermopylae," he also reported, "the Maoris fought to the end." Production Hampered. An output of thousands of dozens of stockings had been lost in the past few months because of illness or other causes of absence of members of an already bare minimum mechanical staff, said the representative of a hosiery mill before the Armed Forces Appeal Board, in Wellington, in appealing for a hosiery mechanic and a footer operator. Brothers' Reunion.

Meeting together lor the first time in 46 years, three brothers, whose combined ages represent 2 k 2d years, are spending a fortnight at Napier. They are -Air William Jones, aged 79, of Stratford, Mr Eli Jones, aged 76, of Gisborne, and Mr Charles Jones, aged 74. of Christehurch, who is the father of the present Minister of Defence (Hon. F. Jones). A Rare Fish.

A rare blind angler fish, only the second ol : the species known to science, is included in an interesting collection of deep sea fishes from Cook Strait, presented to the Dominion Museum by Mr A. C Kaborry, who is inspector of fisheries lor the Wellington district. The only other specimen of this fish, the existence of which has been recorded, was i'oimd in Japanese waters in 1887. Farmers' Heavy Loss.' A serious case of sheep-worrying by dogs, in which they estimated their loss at £IUO, is reported by Wood Brothers, of Lichfield, J'utaruru. Apparently several dugs took part in the escapade, for about 260 lambs were mustered and driven into a stream, a number of drowned animals being discovered later. From the stream the lambs were driven into a small hollow, like a cave, where approximately 50 were suffocated. Action of Gun.

"We have a gun so near to us that when it is fired, ii turns over the pages of my book," wntt-e ivtr j. V. Gibson, a former Pa.lmerston North resident who is now residing in England and doing pharmaceutical work in different London and district dispensaries. "Once when 'Jerry' came over and dropped a high-explosive bomb near us the book jumped up and closed. I don't blame it —I got a scare," adds.Mr Gibson.

Souvenirs From Greece. Sonic ol the first souvenirs to l>e taken out of Greece were brought bark by the party of men from the Middle Ea'st who arrived in the hospital ship Somersetshire, Among the mementos were some packets of matches and Macedonian cigarettes of the type regularly issued to Italian troops serving in Albania. Other articles were a clip of rifle ammunition, captured during an attack on an Italian fort at Siwa during the campaign in Egypt. One gunner said the Italians had started using machine-guns .with .55 calibre ammunition. Needs of Dominion.

Determination to do all in its power to ensure that the production of coal is maintained at the highest possible level in order to fulfil the industrial and domestic needs of the Dominion was expressed in a resolution . carried yesterday at a conference, in Wellington, of the national executive members of the Coal Owners' Association and the United Mine Workers. The conference pledged itself to co-operate wholeheartedly with the Government to secure a continuity of work at the mines and the adoption of constitutional methods in dealing with any disputes which may arise.

Cairo.- —Five Independent members of Cabinet placed their portfolios at the disposal of the Premier (Sirry Pasha) in order to help in reorganisation of the Government on a wider basis.