The North Otago Times FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1917. WESTERN POSSIBILITIES.

North Otago Times, Volume CV, Issue 13859, 20 April 1917, Page 4

The North Otago Times FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1917. WESTERN POSSIBILITIES.

A German tireless official message reports new .attacks.in .the Chaiiipag'ne district!the French clninl spleiiiJiil' progress in the new offensive, and the capture of so many prisoners and heavy guns are indications of the French assaults being among the main defences .of.the enemy. We are also told that the British have gained {•round along the left bank of the Searpe, east of Fampoux, which brings the British lines six miles east of Arras. The capture of further positions on the enemy lines south-east of Loos shows that the British are carrying out an encircling movement against Lens. It is not clear that General Petain, who has command of the French armies in the Champagne, intends to make his big effort in that, sector. It is more than likely that once an offensive is at its fuil ■ height between Soissous and Verdun,. the French, will deal a tremendous lilow against the German positions in Lorraine. The other day the' cables informed ns that after- a violent artillery preparation French detachments penetrated the enemy lines at several places in Lorraine and Alsace. Detachments of French troops readied' the enemy V second line at six points on .the plain of Alsace. the French offensive opened along the Aisne there lias been 110 further news fiWi the southern front. Possibly that brilliant strategist, Petain, has some deep-laid scheme in the process of evolution, and his attacks in the Champagne or the, thrusts, towards -tile -plain of Alsace may be feints to cover the real offensive. The. possibilities of a powerful offensive directed againslj Lorraine are, tremendous. One writer on military topics, describing this sector, said quite recently that: "Were the Ffench'to strike across the Lorraine frontier an advance of two or three miles would have taken them into what is at present enemy territory,: thongji .the, French hope to recover it as the result of this war; while an advance of forty miles would have brought them into Germany proper, within easy striking distance of Germany's industrial vitals. 'lncidentally, such an advance would compel, the Germans to withdraw from -the: ''dangerously salient position in France and Belgium; and. thus the oppressed territories would be liberated; while at; the same time Germany would be deprived, of about one-half of her iron ore supplies.'' ; It, may be added that the country over which such an advance 'would have been made .offers the flattest and easiest line of advance; open.to the French." It is'further argued that ''striking front the Eastern Champagne, the French, would have had about ninety miles to cover before reaching; f Q6maif't«fwtopy'. i '(Prom their present .jumpiiig-off place they: have to cover .100 miles in a bee-line:, before they reach. Germany propel*, v The. country , J is rough, hilly; and wooded,. and it

slopes steadily upward all tin; way ] lo;. Luxembourg. Thd yroutti]* I part of the way the French will I .slitter. the .disadvantages of lighting among their own towns audi territories, which the Germails ican damage to their hearts' eontent without the French being in a- position to make effective reprisals; whereas, fighthig on German territory, they could have turned their long-range 'guns on to a Gorman town whenever they felt the necessity o£ discouraging l tiny German philosophy of frightfulness. Thus the Admiralty announced that squadrons of .AngloFrench aeroplanes dropped 'bombs on Freiburg (one of the halfdozen German towns of the same i.ame) in retaliation for the sinking of hospital ships. But the [ Allies lost three aeroplanes ia doing so, whereas, fighting on German territory, we could have taktoi it out of the German towns with infinitely greater effect and no loss. It is easy to see that a substantial price will have to bo paid for allowing tactical to overrule. strategical.. considerations.'' jjt may yet be shown that the Arras battle, with all its terrors, is but the prelude of the greater struggle to. come, further north, and the French" offensive in the Champagne might quite eoneeivf;bly be the opening strains of the full orchestration which is to burst out along the full stretch of lines from the frontier cf Switzerland' fo 'the North Sea coast, It. is almost, safe to forecast something really big on the Lorraine front,' when the other offensives have reached the maximum intensity and have inflicted grievous and irreparable damage .upon the enemy's man power, material resources, and moral. ..

Cable messages published this morning state that to-day (Friday) is being observed throughout the United Kingdom and also in Australia as America Day in honour of the Republic joining the side of the Allies in the war, The Stars and Stripes'and the Union Jack will be flown on all the public buildings throughout, the United 'Kingdom, To follow the lead given by the and to adopt general flag-flying to-day would be a graceful compliment to the country which has now become an ally of the Entente Powers in the cause of righteousness and for the maintenance of democracy, The proposal should be readily accepted by local business people and private residents and it is hoped that iii this slight way America's entry inti the war against Germany will be sigj nalised. )

The Otago Commissioner of the National Efficiency Board, who is taking evidence in Oainaru to-day, at the Borough Council Chambers, will hold the in quiry at 2.30 p.m., and not at 11.30 a.m, as previously stated.

An Auckland Press Association mes sage states that the Masonic. outhori tie have decided, owing to the unsettled railway arrangements, to allow the com munication of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand for Invercargill, fixed for Maj 2nd to lapse.

Owing to the drastic .curtailment of the railway service, consequent upon the coal strike, and the department's refusal to transport anything that is not absolutely essential, the North Otago Jockey Club committee, at a special meeting held yesterday morning, decided, to abandon the autumn meeting which had been arranged for next week,

At Wednesday's meeting of the Otago Education Board it was decided to call for applications for the position of sesecond assistant for the Weston School, where another assistant becomes necessary ow,ing to the increased average attendance, The board acceded to the request of the Educational .Institute to send to school committees the usual circular inviting them to close their schools for mid-winter vacation during Winter Show week, beginning on May 28. Messrs Skene and Fleming intimated the following result of the school pansy competition: Benhar, 96 points, 1; Kia Ora, 95 points, 2.

In connection with the proposal to secure a wholo holiday on Anzac Day, his Worship the Mayor of Oamarn has received the following letter from (he chairman of (lie Mailers'. Committee of the Oamani Chamber of Commerce, communicating the committee's decision with regard suggestion: "In accordance with my promise I have to inform yon of the result of the meeting of the Retailers' sub-committee 'of the Chamber of Commerce. After a full discussion it was unanimously resolved that tlie shops close- from 10.110 a.m. .to 1.110 .p.m. in recognition of Anzac Day, in order to allow all who desire, to attend the religiims service commencing at eleven o'clock. In this way we think the 'objects of the day will be better attained than by a full day, •which would probably result in mairfi people leaving the town on holiday. We would be glad if when announcing the day von would refer to this aspect of the subject. In adapting this course w'e are in line with Dunedin and Wellington,"

The animal general meeting of tjio North Otago Ladies' Hockey Club was held in Bartrmn's tearooms yesterday afternoon. There was-a fair attendance. Mr A. Aitken occupied the chair. The report and balance-sheet yesterday) was rend and adopted. The election of officers for the ensuing year resulted as follows: — President, Mr R. Milligaii; vice-presi-dents, Mesdames Slater, Ireland; Steel and Wylfo,' Misses Beo, O.Moss, Messrs* B, B, Walton, A,. Aitken,.6, MeDoual, 11, Grenfell mid W, Strachan; Captain, Miss M. .Simkin (re-elected); deputycaptain, Miss W, Donovan; and Miss B. McGhie as lion,'secretary. The following were elected a coliimittee: Misses Pat terson, Horman, L. Badeley and 11, Robiiispn, with officers ex-officio, The matter of day.was left over for tl'ie : committee to decide. ;Miss Brierley, of. Dunpdin, was re-appointed delegate to tii(3 Otago Hockey Association, Six nominations were received for membership, ■ Votes of thanks were accorded to the retiring.LCommitt.ee and officers, to the Agricultural and Pastoral Association, for. the use of the grounds and to the _ ■

The l'olluwiftu sales .of local interest were: made at Biii'iiaiile on Wednesday: Messrs ytrpiiiieli, Morris and Co. sold; for Mr W. I'. field (Monte Mahgno), 18 ewes at -10 s. 9 at 35a 9d, •1 wethers at 31s ?d, and for Mr James Smith (Kauroo Hill) 15 wethers at 3Gs 3d. 10 at 33s fid, s'ewes at 31s 3d.

Mrs J. 11. I'enwick, of. M&raewoka, lias intimated to the chairman of the North Otago Patriotic Committee that she .intends sonding in eleven lambs to be disposed of by the Farmers'^Co-operative Association at the Waiareka yards on Tuesday next, the proceeds to be devoted to the general patriotic fund. The generous donation will be highly appreciated, and there is no doubt thai the lambs will elicit strong competition and ensure a substantial supplementation of the- fund.

At yesterday's meeting of the Oamaru Presbytery, during a reference to the supply of the Hampden pulpit' that was made by the Rev P. C. Itennie, the speaker paid a warm tribute to the assistance rendered to members of the Presbytery on many occasions by Mr James Bodman, particularly in the use of his motor car for talcing ministers to appointments, The Presbytery recognised the services rendered by donating the sum of £5 to Mr Eodman as a slight recompense for his'assistance,

( A special meeting of the Otago Land Board was held at Dunedin on Wednesday, when the following matters coneeniihg.tlie Nortli, Otago district, were (Tealt with: An application for the transfer of the O.L. section G6. block IX,, Maraewhenua, 5n Or 27p, Cecelia Smith to Mr Henry Smith, was approved. It was resolved that all transfers be registered within three months, Mr Wm, Clymo inquired in re cropping area on' Hilderthorpe Settlement. It was decided that the board was not prepared at present tij let the land for cropping, The sub-lease of section (ia, Eiderslip Settlement No, 1, from Messrs 0, M, Don and J, W. Don to Mr 11, Schaffer, was approved.

Stamp collectors arc much interested in the sale for 900 doling of a United States postage stamp of the first series issued by the Post Office Department. A New York capitalist was the purchaser, and the price was a record. The stamp was found recently among a package of dusty documents in the Cioveniinent archives at Washington. It' was issued in 1847, after the discontinuance of the practice of individual postmasters printing their own franking labels, and is a 10 per cent, blue, on bluish paper, bearing a portrait of Washington. Among the nearest-ap-proaches to this figure was when a Yale professor paid 070 dollars, last April, for one of the famous missionary stamps of Hawaii, issued'in 1557.

A letter sent home from Salonika by a Glasgow medical graduate contains the following: To-day has been a very famous day lu re, ' We have in the hospital a. woman fighting with the Serb infantry. Poodnaridnik (Sergeant) Mitunca Savitch. She has been six times wounded, Also we have another Joan of Arc, a Mis 3 Sands, who has been fightilig wtih the Serbian infantry, and is a sergeant too, She lias fought since the retreat of last year, refusing to go back with the hospitals when she was a nurse. She is, I hear, a daughter of a Kerry family, who left Ireland when she was a young girl. She has been magnificently brave, and has been in the trenches all the time roughing it. She lias won all the highest honours /or individual bravery, including the Milosh Obilitch Order, which is like our Y.G., and is given in silver and gold, the gold being the greatest honour. Well, she won that. There is o'nlv one higher grade in the Serbian 'Army, the Cross of Kara (Black) George, with Swords.

With reference to the information conveyed in a -paragraph from the Southland Times that Sir Joseph iffcird liad not been re-nominated as the representative of Hie Lake Comity on the Bluff Harbour Board, and that Mr Peter Reid, who contested the seat with Sir Joseph three years ago, had been declared elected, a different complexion has been put. on the matter by Mr E, A. Anderson, Sir Joseph 's partner, who is at present in Christchurch (says the Cliristchurch Press). Six weeks before \ the nominations closed Mr Anderson received a cable message f>oin Sir Joseph stating that lie still desired to represent the Lake County on the Harbour Board, and Sir Joseph's nomination paper was signed by two cleeiuvs of the county, Sir Joseph was cabled to anil 'asked to communicate his consent to nomination to the Returning Officer. Up'to the time that nominations closed Sir Joseph's cable had not reached the Eeturning Officer. Mr Anderson communicated with Sir Joseph 011 the subject, and received a reply that. Sir Joseph had cabled on the atii inst. to the Eeturning Officer accepting nomination. Evidently this cable has gone astray, anil efforts are no\j r being made to trace it, but its non-receipt prevented Sir Joseph's nomination being accepted, and. consequently Mr Peter Reid was declared elected.

A custom that seems to have taken quite a hold upon some members of "select" religion is that, of instituting a "ehnin of prayer." This is begun by forwarding n form to some person, who may or may not be known to the sender, with the request tlint they shall—usually at some stated hourgo through some religions exercise and forward the enclosed sheets to some other person, known or unknown. In this way an ever-increasing circle would be established, if the mere power of the printed world could prevent a very large percentage of the recipients of those somewhat absurd requests from destroying the' communication iilong with the other unnecessary mail matter most people are pestered, with, and so, ns far as thoir lin|t goes, destroying the "chain," Apart from the futility of the whole scheme, such an idea is very apt to get into the mind of somoono already overwrought with tho present world crisis and so do much irremediable, injury in making anxious relatives' yet moro disturbed, and in the case of who have already Buffered bereavement through tho war, can only sorvo ,to re-open wounds better left''untouched.. Beyond benefiting ; the Government to the 6f a lostage stamp—an idea that, probably does not strike the instigators of cucli a scheme—it is hard to see what good it can do. \ >i

I "or Chronic Chest Complaints, . . •Woods' ;Qreat Peppermint Cum l/ r ijhn

Messrs W. Weddoll and Co., London, ill, their animal review of the frozen meal trade, vwOrd llie Biiggi'sliou.lliftt- •• il ! tluK l'ro/xMi IjeH'.' ffliitli is' now im-'. ported quarters were 11 boned" before freezing, and shipped in boxen, . a saving of nearly SO per cent, would . .be effected in the cupie space • occupied on board by the meat. Meat so dealt with would have other advantages, It could bo fltorcd more economically, tho >

cost of handling would be reduced, rations would bo 'equalised, while, the waste would do much tq offset the increased cost of "boning."

At the meeting of tho Otago Education Board held- at Dunedin.on Wednesday, an intimation was received froto ■ { the Education Department tfet during the currency of the war no application for retirement under the extended provisions >.of the Superannuation Act would be permitted, except where the efficiency of the service should render the. retirement desirable. The department further suggested that teachers entitled to retire under ordinary conditions should be induced to continue their service for a longer period during the currency of the war. The secretary reported that none of the ,teachers in the board's service were entitled to retire under ordinary conditions until the end of March, 1918. ■;

taki High Schools Board of Governors was held on Wednesday afternoon, when there were present: Messrs D. Sutherland, J. M. Brown, W. Sumpter, J. Mitchell and Dr Hargreaves. The question of improvements at the High School, and the hhaneial-'position and needs 'of the board were discussed. It was decided, after consultation with the rector and the examination of the fees charged at other secondary schools with boarding establishments, to slightly increase the fees and to apply the surplus thus acquired, to tlie of necessary works at the'school. The scale of fees prevailing at Waitaki was found to bo the .lowest in the Dominion, but the increases will still leave the school in the same position relative to other schools. It was decided to instruct the architect to call for tenders for the erection of a new buildiiig forfbjlfhs, for the extension of the present library by the inclusion of the present bathroom and for providing additional locker ac : eommodatioii. j

The British Home. Secretary lias thrown a bomb into :i nrotion picture circles by declaring that "many chief constables . . . have represented that children are led to commit offences by witnessing cinematograph films depicting crimes, the use of firearms, etc." He adds that children "often steal money in. order *ta : admission to cinemas." But British eommonsense hints strongly that this is a . good deal of an afterthought. Cinemas have been portraying cowboy episodes, the adventures of scalp hunters, musketeers, plundering (Drakes, and moss troopers, for years, without perceptible ill effects. Punch satirizes the "I saw it in the cinema" explanation by recording the case of Sam Browne, who in bidding farewell to his finance as the; train' ; mov(;s out, wow sword, threw away the scabbard, and at stiff attention saluted the lady —he had seen it on the screen; also the case of a Saxon who kissed a Belgian urchin repeatedly, and when rebuked explained that- Prussians did it constantly—at the cinema, A more probable cause of increase in juvenile crime 19 the agency that cuts down the teaching staff of schools, cripples the club for working boys, sends youths from the factories with wages to spend at pleasure,"and relaxes the whole moral tone of the nation—war, Readers of the Home Secretary's denunciation of the cinema as exhibiting "the use of firearms" must have smiled.

A f|iiu named Jack Matson, who works at Messrs Coop Bros.' station on the Maliia Peninsula, was attacked Ity a stag within three hundred yards of the homestead on Friday, says the Poverty Bay Herald, He was driving a packhorse in front of him, lie being on foot, and looking around he saw the stag walking behind him. He had never seen deer before, and called oiit to his mate, who was working on some cattle yards about a hundred yards away, to look at the devil following him. When he stopped the stag bayed at him, and the boy tried to get behind a stump, but the, stag was too quick, and drove one of his tines in between two of his ribs, piercing his lung, The poy pluckily caught hold of the antlers and veiled out for his

mate, one Anderson, nnd lie came as fast as he could with an axe, and by that time the stag had Matson down and was -doing his best to kill him, tearing his clothes and inflicting another nasty wound in his thigh, When his mate got there the stag drew off about twelve feet and stood, and with his mate's assistance Matson. was enabled to get on to a high log. Anderson then ran to the homestead for a

rifle, and the manager went with him, hardly crediting what was told hini. The stag in the meantime tried to get at Matson, but could not reach him, and wlicn he heard voices he went to meet Ande(son and the manager, Five or six shots mhdo him groggy, and he went into a small gully, and the manager followed him and the next shot killed him. Jt is more like a tale from a Deadwood Dick, nnd one can hardly credit such a thing, but these are facts. Dr Keith was sent for from Wairoa, and at the time of writing the nurse from Wairoa is here, and if the patient gets safely over to-morrow' wiVrecover. He had a bad shock, and except for his mate being near would have been killed, The manager has the stag's head (ten points) and skin. The stag was. undoubtedly looking for trouble, for when lie heard the others coming J he left Matson and came to meet them, t as by that time- he wanted more blood, and in one. way ho. got at from the result, of a 44 bullet, ,