LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15748, 24 October 1914, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

DV MEKCCTIO.

? B £ British piiLli,- have made complaints occasionally Out they aio not receiving enough rm '•: their army and navy but » comp«'""' »'» ,| imv 1|I)W Little basis there is f.-r m.- t. a .•nm|,l.- 1I When U|( , (,u».r I M/..v;. ,1 .^|, lo „„„. «,•,.„,,»„ <»trovrr« -fl the Put,!, C(iaM , a ffw days »g" 6he tui: .1 v "•'!'•« message to the Arfrnmliv th.it *|,„ Was coin.* t« i , , * 0l "L, to chase. then. >■•»"'>• .illrrwarrt. she , ont a *.iel«* .n-.5,;0 tl'--'l ;iK , had ,«„ k them and an -vs.- •;■ ,*,, aftenv.-ud., pcop|o " or V'''"- . '"' n, ** M « on 10 Hehali. l,<; It; ( -''' "'»■«•'•■ , h(< battle 0 , Irakis •'- '...:J.« on (Utober 21.1806 Hidl lh«. .:-«.- <■- ,„„ rr.-c.vcd in trig.' land 1,1, N.W.ei- fa. and „„. ~; llllls, ^t ~.,!„• ~ was bef„ ro .J i'mo .■! » ::,•,„ BlK j ~l l)|r> ~, lh| , present a,,.,., .-, «.. ~0 r0( . 0 , v|nj , Vm . prompt .-.-■•> ~ what uk,. ~:; 1, ,, „;, ~,(' V'" , U ' ; - V -'-I ■ea>o„ s whv we •' houid ,'' : ""«"l'l „( what , s intended to take Ui... the despatches sent bv Sir Jot,,, Jren » "'■-!" lv , model f>' «ar CWI.I.U. llay , iIOVV , keen journol»t:Q a.,, a, *ej| a < euiaicri\ prr. iiiicM. ' '

Ueha'c '«••'■ »n,,-|i ,i„ r ;, lh , War of Germany , I',; gens. i.,. M , Us ~r otthectd. ;,,,„ 0! , th„ new British super. Dreadnought Queen Elizabeth The Queen Elizabeth «.-.. launched just „ vear ago and is now, ,„, doubt. „, commission. She is the hrM -I;.;. 0 carry 15in guns, of ~ , ' ''"> J3| n guns, ot which M " eight. Tin. trials of these £'"" """ ,::,i '- ~„ ,o ni parod with the 13.5 gun:-, wth which several of the re cent ship arc fitted, there is an increase of 60 per tent, in the effect of the explosive within the ship whoso armour is none tnted Iho <,),„■,„ Elizabeth should be a formidable ship to meet when the biir » canned Herman battleships are released .Torn Kiel Harbour. The British soldiers and sailors of a century ago wore imbued with a ver'v complete hatred of their enemies, the rrench. There war, nothing impersonal or plakmie about their fighting. I'hev hated .no trench as they hated the devil'- indeed toe letters of \el son and other com . render, would 1.-ad one to suppose that they made little mental distinction between the two. And who would venture to say that boforo the war is over indignation will not flame in British hearts as fiercely as it did a century ago. but against, the Hermans. The reports of 1 .erman atrocities have stirred in tho public and the army an intense hatred of the Prussian and all his barbarous methods. An old eporlman who appears to have a most ferocious hatred of spies argues that sentries and others who are guarding important places at nighttime should be armed with shot gur.s instead of rifles. He says:—"A man with a double-barreled breech-loader wouldn't let any night prowler get away after he had' ordered him to stop. A charge of No. 2 or 8.8. is much more effective than a bullet at anything up to forty yards, and even beyond that range the person shot at could be tracked even if he managed to run or crawl away." My correspondent suggests that sportsmen, oven elderly ones, would make good sentries or companions for sentries, and says that this is a way in which tho old fogies could help. No doubt war i? hardening most of as, and sportsmen are supposed to retain the killing instinct, for my correspondent tooly explains that anyone who has practiced shooting rabbits among fern or game among high cover, could make absolutely sure of a man, even in very bad light. He says that the rifle is of' little use for snap shooting, whereas a shotgun in go d hands comes up to the shoulder naturally, and that a sportsman could hit a man running at top speed far more easily than he could hit an active hare. Perhaps the military authorities will give this matter their consideration. Sentries at- any rate would not have any objection to companionship through the night watches, and what a fine opportunity there would bo to hear or tell all the details of the longest sporting stories. Two classes of people might object to this scheme—the spy and the Milkers, who break bounds at nighttime and trust to luck to get back again without being Been. Wo are evidently- settling down to war conditions, for wild rumours have ceased to fly and the street corner general has been so often proved utterly wrong that his theories are discredited. 'Such rumours ns are now popular have more of humour than alarm in them. Moreover, the public I can now see a printed notice go upon a hoard without rushing pellmell to read it. Even the pessimists are seeing the bright i side of things. They realise that Paris is I still unraptured, that the British Navy has not yet been destroyed, and that the German armies are not invincible. An a matter of fact, those who had the greatest ! fear of the German and the greatest respect tor his military process are forced to realise that, given anything like an even start, the Belgian, the French, or the British soldiers can beat him at every branch of the game. For many years it has been the custom to accuse the British cavalry of conservatism, or. at any rate, of too great a love for traditional methods. And yet we read that in Northern France our cavalrymen have taken readily to fighting in the trenches, ami. moreover, that they have adopted the bayonet as a ■weapon in place of lance o r sword. Cavalry that can li.'ht in the trenches, use the magazine rifle for attack or defer. and lake their part j in shock tactics with such a deadly | v.capon as the bayonet can well endure any soil of accusation, for tliev are bound to prove tienifuidoinlv effective in all widespread military operations. Two mouth* .-.jo wo vera told that no. body was likeiy to have any lime to think of elections this yen-. Now, if we are to believe, all v .- read, even the men in the forts are doing ;i J 111 0 electioneering. "An Ofli ei ." fo/tmiatolv unnamed, is "edited with having .stated that tin- votes ( '> the men ot the . oast defence division are to be . apt m : , lertam way. because of distal i.-fo t, „, ■•;-:, [he /ate',:' ~.-,-.- al- j lotted to them. It ~. „| .oinse, possible that an office, ...•,-,. i,,,,;,.,!, enough it, make ■ *"me sin statement. 11 .so. ;),, re is an | "ffi'or at Hi., forts v.ho would be much better empl-.v.-d „« ,-,„ electioneering "gent. It is a rase ol a round man in a square hole. .v, -,-. ,nder bis pav is not up tO his p.\|,ei !;,(, ~..-, The »r-e»-iir,g up '•'■ the M I'll '1 I'llllli | express as !"|.,„i |..,. X ! month will he wel I C'.mo.a by the travelling pub]..-. '1 he ,■<■ - """"<"'>> m tun'. i...-.-.<.* «.p to an hour ' *"" alia.,. v,:l ~..„.. J ~!,.,. the; "'" um '•! I! , , i;;,,. v !,<.,«, en Air kluuel I "'"' ~..!.,:.. i,„ (.-,v,.11e;, ;„,,; be ' " CIM "1 f, f 1,,, , v thai a nirtlei j sperd.nm,!,-- i, i , follow. 111.. best ', ,ln "' "lidir l. , ~, ,v tone table will be - -' hours ?,;, in.-.-.!.- whirl) for ~ distance . Of 426 mile. -.., ■ .oh .no,. , k ,,, speed, with ' ,l "l is - of ~ , i-„. ..-., '". „,ii.-s an hour. i i ; "'" ■' '■< ~. ■■• ~! New Zr,.|,,:,l voluii- j Jf» (or tin -~, ;,.,,,. |„ (| , ,;,„.[„ |, v the I German ,„,...],.. \ Itniisl,,.,'" writes i l '! I'"' 1 "-! a........ I tio, 'ice in illation .1 I '-wniai; ■■ .. |. I),. , ,|,. s ~ ;ls another in- I rt * ' '.-.i„m - und.rh.Mid methods ! ~f "'"da. i.- . - „::, th;,t thev have sin | reeded i., , ... „;..;,. „„.,,.. , ' fl ,i,. „, (;,.,. I many ~„,, _, V-. /,;,|„,id ti.>ops. It *""ld Lot l„. f; „,. : ,s.,|. to hear soon that • *'!'!" 1 ' ''I . »••.- been airestecl lor illljiortillg ~1,» Gonial, art ie. As lor the volun- I tens w hi. -~,-,-,. attacki'd it is comfoitini.' j , '' ''eai •' at i hey have made the best .f thiugs umiir annoying cirt uinsl-ini •*». | ''"• niaji mm of them j«'-g,ird the measles j a -'- i only another sere they have to pay off j When they meet the Germans.