Entre Now.

Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 871, 16 March 1917, Page 11

Entre Now.

A MO'NG the visitors to the Wellington Club's bowling green in Wordsworth-street on Saturday afterawqn was a little old, fresh-coinplexion-' -ed gentleman, who walked in sedately, leaning lightly on his stick, and took, a .seat in the pleasant sunshine and •watched-the play with evident interest. A casual observer might have judged him to be 65 or 70 -years of age. It was Mr. R. B. Haybittle, and as a .matter of fact he is in his , 94th yearjust six years short of the century—and, it is-just 64 years since he took up his residence in the city of Wellington. ■■.:'*'.--■'■* - '■ » ■ -.'•.'.• •' • ■ / Mr. Haybittle carries his 94 years with a fairly erect figure, and his mind and memory are still active. He ari rived in -Wellington in 1853 as a sailor in an English merchant vessel, and he took-his discharge here and for many years plied the- useful calling of lighterman. In those days Wellington consisted chiefly of a semi-circle of shops and 'dwellings fronting "the> Beach,'-' and wooden jetties were "built out into the water, from the principal stories/ Most of the cargo from deep-sea vessels had to be lightered ashore. Perhaps, the principal merchant in those days was Mr. C. J. Pharazyn, who died not so many years ago, aged 100. Mr. Haybittle remembers still the sensation, caused by Mr. Pharazyn when he came along "the , Beach" one nioi-ning wearing a sandwich board hung round his neck and inscribed —"Lost: A Pair of Specs." It was the old gentleman's unconventional way of advertising his loss. * ; ■» ■ *■'..■■ ■*■■'....' Mr. "Haybittle has brought up a. family of five sons and three daughters in Wellington. The sons are: William, Richard, Henry, Fred, and Walter. Fred is head of the well-known auctionfirm of Geo. Thomas and Co., "and, being at Home when war broke out, he' offered himself and his motor car- for • ambulance service in- France, and pretty well ever since has been engaged/in that branch of work.' Walter, the youngest son, took to the vaudeville stage- and died in America a few years ago,. His death- and that of his mother (some years ago) are the only blanks in a large family circle. * . ' * * , '*■ ■ The other day there was an "Old Identities" gathering in Auckland, and it' would be very interesting for Wellington to follow suit. Mr. R. Woodman informs us that his cousin, Mr. Levi Lovelace, is the .oldest living .Wellingtonian, and Mr. Woodman self is close up, although he confesses that he is junior by three months to Mr. William M. Muir, of Majoribanksstreetf. Mrs. Brewer (mother of Mrs. A; Richards, of Upper Willis-street), is another very old resident; and Mr. Freeman and Mr. J. Lock'ie are others. The two latter have'turned the 80th year of their age, andyet~fchey can both hold their end- up with the best at the game of. bowls: . Here's to the Old Identities. .'■■■■* » » 3 • The Canadian war specials often fee -and hear things at'the front thai :,ie missed by Australia's Captain Bean •{who is generally well-informed) and by New Zealand's Captain. Malcolm Ross, who only comes to light in spasms at long : intervals. Arthur S. Draper is a

Canadian special, who, as long ago as February 1, was able to wire to the "Vancouver Daily Province" items of news and opinions about probable events that are only cording over the wires to the New Zealand papers in March. ■■-'-.« * # ■*■.■■"'•■ For instance, on February 1, Mr. Draper is. able- to wire: "The grand spring offensive is now considered inevitable; in fact,; it is more than likely there will be two. The Allies are ready 'to the last button' —are the people with chronic cold feet listening ?—-for the

first time since the war began. It is possible that Germany may not have food to last all until the next harvest, though London has'heard reports along this line too often to take new ones at .their face value. But it is certain that exhaustion will not come for months yet." Another message, of the same date, says: "A finish fight at sea between

Germany and Great Britain, in which all : pretence-of carrying on the war, according to the. practice of civilised nations, will be abandoned by the Kaiser's naval forces, is expected here, as the inevitable .consequence of Germany's latest note to tlie United States." * ' - ."* ' .-.■;■*..-' • . (Dear Fbbe Lakce.— As far as..l "know 1 the Leland Stanford ".' University : of California will be the first; University to keep open all the year-'round, which seems a •reasonable" move in university reform. .Why should a university be open only, six months in the year? I

presume that these professors in California will work in shifts ?—Yours, Undergead. » «• ■ * « Straws show how the wind blows, and here is a trifling incident which shows how keenly Australian soldiers at the front resent the Referendum vote of the Cold Feet Crowd. Many months ago Mrs./ Percy..' -j. Russell, Mayoress of Hawthorn (a Melbourne suburb), started the ' 'Cigarette . League of Melbourne." The ideas was to provide the soldiers at the front with smokes; not, as might be thought from the title, to induce ladies. to smoke cigarettes. In each lot of cigarettes sent out is included a post card so that the men can send acknowledgements of the gifts. One such acknowledgment came back the other day. On it was inscribed: "Send us men; not cigarettes!" The card was signed "N. C. Shierland, Captain, A.1.F." It certainly is a significant message. Here is one of the yarns brought back by Dr. Newman, M.P., from the Anzacs fighting front in France. During the "big push" on the Somme some months ago when the New 'Zealanders cleaved the Germans at the gallop out of Flers, the New Zealand stretcher bearers were kept going at top carrying wounded men to the nearest dressing stations. One party were rejoiced to' pick up a light-weight soldier, apparently not heavier than eight stone, and on their way asked leave to drop into a roadside estaminet for "a spot." "When they retui-ned wiping their. months, lo and behold, their light-weight patient had disappeared, and, occupying the stretcher in his place, was • a wounded soldier of massive proportions, whose weight could not have been less than 16 stone. What had happened was

obvious. Another ambulance party '- had come along and stolen 'their jockeysoldier, leaving the son of Anak in his place. * . .*'"■.■ * .'■■".•;* '"• " They were discussing'woman's rights. on the crowded.' Karori car,,just "after .5 - p.m. Quoth the lady suffragist; a stout. matron with a square and. hard chin, "What do you call a v :party in. which there, is no: woman'?" The bland citizen, who was endeavouring v to: hold up the conservative -. male side of the question: "A stag party, I suppose you mean?" "Yes, of course," said the stout matron exultantly.- "A •'stagparty. And what would : the state" of this country be without women,: but stagnation, eh?" The bland.male citizen collapsed under that home-thrust and nothing was heard for some ; time but laughter and recurrent giggles. * * *-../ '*.""' An American paper remarks thdt over half-a-million dollars in free-will offerings has been the Rev., Billy. Sunday's material reward since.he entered the revival business. It evidently still pays.- '. .;;.:.• v. •< ■ Over in Sydney the "Mirror" accuses the Administration of showing partiality" to interned Germans at Holdsworthy Internment Gamp. "lasten ■to this" it says: "A well-known German chemist in Sydney was caught red-handed .providing recruits 1 . with 'dope' so that they should not. pass the medical examination, and thus receive a rejection certificate. The authorities knew that this practice had been going on for some time. A trap was set, with the result stated. This is such 1 a grave offence that it is amazing no., prosecution has taken place, although all the evidence necessary was available. Who blocked the prosecution? Who are this German's friends in the Defence Department? We have attempted to expose the very grave state ■' of things',that exist at the Holdsworthy Internment Gamp, but we have been prevented from bringing the true facts . before.the public." v * -*_'..*■ # - . i It proceeds to cite instances to support its indictment. It says that ah official who has had practical control of the Intelligence Department in Sydney since the beginning of the war is mar- ; ried to the daughter of a German in Sydney,, who is an intimate friend of many of the leading •• and most dangerous Germans over there. Also that this official has ignored and ridiculed all the information which the "Mirror" sent to the Intelligence Department, and that when it supplied a list of about a dozen names of Germans and : Austrians who, from information received and from it's own. investigations, it was satisfied were dangerous to the country, and should be placed behind barbed wire, the list was torn up by,. this Intelligence officer , with the remark : "I am not going to enquire into these damned foolish cases," or words to that effect * * * * . • Then some alleged flagrant cases are mentioned: One of them, is that of a naturalised German, who was asked to attend at Victoria Barracks in order that he might produce his naturalisa- ; tion papers. He attended, threw his papers down with a curse, and indulged - in filthy language, which made perfect-/ ly clear what his sentiments were both is regard to the British Empire and his naturalisation. The man was prosecuted and fined £5! Had he been a British subject in Germany, says the "Mirror," he would assuredly have been ~ placed against the nearest wall and shot. - . ■ ' .** * * Even the members, or leaders, of the I.W.W. have faith in mascots or talismans—and thereby put themselves 'on a level with the believers in the sacredness of a shirt once worn -"by one of the martyrs of the dead past. The ashes of the body of Joe Hill, the organiser of the 1.W.W.. who was''found guilty of murder and shot by the State of Utah in 191-5, were distributed, Novemher 19, 1916, in 600 parchment packets to the delegates of the I.W.W. locals who were in Cliicago to attend their Tenth Annual Convention,