WAR ROADS.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXV, Issue 1820, 11 January 1913, Page 4

WAR ROADS.

J In many of the excellent descriptive articles of the war corresp ndents, which we have betn pub ishing, mention ha* frequently been made o' th havoc which heavy guns and war waggons make of * the roads. The roads of Balkans are good average highways, yet in a winter campaign they quickly became impassable. Some European countries will take this lesson to heart, particularly Britain, ? 01 . gome years has been prepared Many of her roa ,: !s, particularly those in the damp, low-lying no th, are laid i'o • hundreds Of miles in pave. This pave is usually to be found on roads leadiug to the coast. Germany realises the altered conditions of warfare. Not only are the guns increas- ' ing in metal and weight each year, but mammoth traction rnginesand other motor traction wi 1 be largely employed in flat country, in place of mules and horses Nc ordinary road will long withstand their weight in winter. Comments have frequently been made in England and France, but matters have not got to the stage yet for details of preparedness such as this to be attended to. Doubtless the Balkan war will have this among its other lessons.

TOO STRONG. Dr. Adaruson has been acquainting the Science Congress at Melbourne with his views upon the Australian bovs and girls. The Professor believes that the inherent gambling tendency of tho Australian is the result of J.is ''land of flood u;<d flame" being a breeder of gpmblora. This thought is nicely phrased, but how many of the Australian children are so intimately associated with either the flood or the flame as to have the uncertainties of existence or of richer or poverty absorbed into their natures? More than half the population of Australia belong to the cities and towns. What would Dr. Adamson say was the cause of the gambling spirit dominating New Zealand? Flood and flame won't do. But Dr. Adamson ia most interesting when generalising upcn the lack of chivalrous respect of the Australian boy for girls of his own age. He blames the girl for her too candid approach to the boy. Dr. Adamson, we can see, has been a frequent reader of the Bulletin. He is obsessed with visions of the dirtyfaced imps of Norman Lindsay's creation. Perhaps he has taken ostentatious walks down the slums, be-spectacled and hands-behind-back, in true professor style, seeking material to back up his already matured opinions. He would And it iu plenty; but anywhere else in the world he would find the same tilings ruder the same circumstances. The life of the lower parts of the cities is not the life of the nation; and iu any case generalisations in such subjects, though excel lent for academic effusions, can scarcely be accurate enough to be worth remembrance beyond the lecture hall. As a matter of fact, in point of courtesy, the average Colonial boy is the of any, and the Colonial girl is as respectable in her behaviour as her oft-quoted English sisters.

It is Mr W. Collingwood, an erstwhile amateur pedestrian, who has kindly consented to* act a? starter at the motor cycle sports, and not Mr J. Collingwood as stated yesterday. A nine-roomed house and store at Riccarton, owned by J. Colville and occupied partly by the owner and partly by Mr Blackburne, was burnt early yesterday morning. In this week's Gazette the Post-master-General notifies the removal of the prohibton of postal corresponw*th Scott and Martindale, Wellington. The Seventh Day Adventist College at Longburn, in course of erection by Messrs Sollitt Bros., will be roofed next week. Preliminary operations have been begun on the grounds in readiness for the course agricultural instruction, which the curriculum. Ihe College will open about the beginning of April. An alarm of fire was given in Feildin? yesterday afternoon. Aheap of shavings and timber on the premises of James and Co. caught fire, A high wind prevailed, and a number of buildings were endangered. Good work on the part of the Brigade stopped the fire with only little damage. Regarding the paragraph published in the Manawatu Times recently in reference to the sale of two fla-s properties near Shannon we have information that the second of the two properties has within the ten days changed hands at a very substantial advance on the figure, £25 per acre, which was paid for it.

Rev Dr Watts-Ditchfield, on his to London, related that Mr Deakin, in Australia, had told him that the thing that impressed him most when he came to King Ldward's Coronation was an incident he saw in a dark alley at midnight. On a doorstep he saw a little lad of twelve sheltering his little Sl j^ e , r >. three. The lad had taken u-i i 8 j dipped it round the child, and had covered her feet with his cap. Mr Deakin said nothing he saw in London would remain longev in his memory. * Messrs H. Dearsly (president), Alfred Trenwith (treasurer), and I hos. Hodgson (executive) of the i.ew Zealand Federated Boot Manufacturers' Industrial Association of Employers, left Auckland, this week to attendthe annual conference of the association to be held in Christchurch on Tuesday, January 14. Among other important business to be transacted at the conference, the appointment of six delegates will be discuss tariff business in Wellington on Tuesday, January 21, with the Minister for Customs.

Twice recently members of the Passive Resisters' Union have attempted to hold meetings at Lyttelton to give their o] tin ions about* the Defence Act, and the third attempt made recently was. according to the Christchurch Star, rotmore successful than the previous There was not a large crowd, but it was sufficient to create enough noise to completely drown the powerful voices of the orators, who were bombarded with one or two ancient eggs. It is the intention of the Passive Resisters to hold another meeting at Lyttelton in three weeks, and to continue until they obtain a hearing.

Seventeen bankruptcies occurred in | Palmerston last year with nominal assets of £3210 5s Id to meet liabilities of £BOIS Is 2d, exclusive of secured assets to meet the secured debts of £1)153 16s 4d. The assets when disposed of by the Assignee realised £2124 2s 2d, and £2123 12s 8d was paid to unsecured creditors. The unsecured liabilities in the various bankruptcies ranged as follows;

Five between £*>o to £100; two £IOO to £no; one £250 to £500; seven £SOO to £1,000; two £I,OOO t0£3,000. Two f'f the bankrupts ware butchers, and | the following trades contributed one each Farmer, farm manager, settler, engineer, bootmaker, commission agent, mercer, scutcher, blacksmith, jockey, drover, boardinghouse keeper, restaurateur, carrier, and jeweller. The eternal question—- " When can we make your wedding cake."

Dustin's, Ltd., The Square, Palmerston N. The holiday suit for men is the lounge s_uit, specially tailored in England for C. M. Ross and Co.; made from Lovat and Harris styles in tweeds, coat extra long (33 inches), deep vent at back, trousers latest wide cut with turn -up bottoms, belt loops and hip strap. Bon Marche price 63s and 755.%*