General News

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 12 May 1945, Page 4

General News

A Pleasant Change In a broadcast talk on the Maori Battalion the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett, Bishop of Aotearoa, quoted from letters received from chaplains serving with the unit in Italy. One had summed up the activities of the battalion at one stage in the words: “We march, we rest; we kill chickens, which is a pleasant change.”

Patriotic Work Appreciated Among the letters of appreciation of its work received recently by the Naval and Merchant Navy Patriotic Subcommittee, which regularly sends parcels of gifts to New Zealand naval men overseas, was one from an officer who has won considerable distinction during the war. .“I cannot speak in words too highly of the debt we folk overseas owe to those at home who give their time and energy to the preparing of such gifts as these and so enable us to be looked upon by the world at large as easily the most well looked after of all the Allied forces,” he stated.

Stolen Flags and Bunting Nelson property owners have suffered slightly during the last few evenings when bunting and flags have been damaged or removed but vandalism was apparently not nearly so marked here as at Greymouth. During the first day of the celebrations there, says the “Greymouth Evening Star” a flagpole, one of eight placed in drums outside the Town Hall by the Borough Council, was toppled over and broken, but for effrontery an incident after the official ceremony was conspicuous . The caretaker began removing the flags from the poles shortly after the ceremony to prevent their theft, but after placing about four inside the hall, he returned to find that someone had calmly lowered the flag, pocketed it and walked off.

Golf Ball Kills Seagulls Two seagulls were killed on the North Shore Golf Club’s links under unusual circumstances, states “The Herald.” A member of the club, W. G. Adams, upon reaching the third tee, observed a large flock of seagulls less than 100 yards away. He endeavoured to drive his ball over the flock, but topped it, and it went at speed into the middle of the flock and killed two of the birds outright. The player was very upset over the incident.

The Maori Battalion Details of the casualties suffered by the Maori Battalion of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force and the decorations awarded were ?;iven by the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett, Bishop of Aotearoa, in a broadcast talk. He spoke to his people in their native tongue before speaking in English. The total number of deaths was 612 and of wounded 1906. The casualty figures quoted by Bishop Bennett were as fellows: Killed in action, 411; die'd of wounds, 166; accidentally killed, 20; died of sickness, 15; missing, 18; prisoners of war, 184; total number wounded, 1906. He said these figures were authoritative, but did not include casualties of Maoris serving with the Air Forces. The fact that the Maori Battalion had been used ■ on many occasions as the spearhead of attack accounted for the large number of casualties. The decorations awarded to officers and men of the battalion, said Bishop Bennett, were as follows: Victoria Cross, 1; Distinguished Service Order, 5; Order of the British Empire, 1; Member British Empire. 1; Military Cross, 9, and two bars; Distinguished Conduct Medal, 9; Military Medal, 36; Mentioned in Despatches, 37. Paper “Wired" 3000 Miles The “New York Times” during the San Francisco Conference is achieving something unique in newspaper history—its 2 a.m. edition is available in San Francisco, about 3000 miles avpiy, on the morning of issue. Its main pages ar e sent across th e continent by wire and reprinted by facsimile process in San Francisco. The pages are transmitted by Associated Press wirephoto service, each page requiring two plates. The wirephoto plant for the transmission was specially made, and is being developed to carry a full page to a plate. The issue in San Francisco, which is available within a few hours of the printing of the original in New York, is of four full-sized pages.

Press Censorship “The late of Germany and Italy should be a sufficient lesson as to what censorship can achieve.” said Mr W. H. E. Flint in moving the adoption of the report and accounts at the annual meeting of New Zealand Newspapers, Ltd., in Auckland. "While the war has ended in Europe and receded from our shores to the Northern Pacific,” he continued, “we still labour under a censorship that could at this stage be replaced by a system under which the newspapers would themselves, as they do in Britain, accept responsibility for all that they publish and observe an honour code which withholds publication of any information of possible use to the enemy. The press of this country and of the Empire generally has shown a responsibility that has imposed a strict regard for safety without outside interference, and there is no reason why it should be hampered in the exercise of its functions by a mass of regulations and prohibitions that serves no purpose other than placing power in the hands of the Government of the day.”