NURSES FOR FRONT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15889, 9 April 1915, Page 6

NURSES FOR FRONT.

DEPARTURE BY ROTORUA. NUMEROUS PRESENTATIONS. ll'.V ra.l'JßU'll. — I'IIKSS ASSOCIATION'.] Wkllini.tux, Thursday. Fifty muses, who arc to go to the front under arrangement with the Imperial i authorities, left by the Rotorua for l/m- ' dun to-day. They had nil enthusiastic ' farewell. A number of buildings were decorated, and a large croud assembled , on th(! Glasgow Wharf. There was much , I cheering as the voel moved "if. ; Sir Joseph Ward addussid the nurses i on the wharf, and, mi behalf of the Patriotic Society, presented Miss McLean, ! assistant inrpector of hospitals, who is in charge of the party, with a bouquet. The Nurses' Association presented each nurse with an electric torch, and the Mayoress [.'resented them with fountain pens. Badges designed for the occasion were presented by the Prime Minister, and will remain permanent badges of their service in the Dominion. The emblem is a fretted medallion, centred by a Geneva cross, with a silver fern leaf on either side, and the letters '' Z.A.N.S." (JURKHAS AND COLONIALS. MUTUAL ADMIRATION. I SUEZ CANAL INCIDENTS. [lit TELEGRAPH". OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Dpneihv, Thursday. The following is an extract from a letter just received from Egypt by the parents of ait officer .if the 4th, Otago, Regiment, who wrote on February 25: — I ''To-morrow, we shall migrate hack to Cairo, having had quite a good time here. For the lust fortnight we have been .stationed on the east side of the canal I with a company of the 7th Gurkhas, and, , !as there wore no oilier troops for two ' miles or more, wo pulled together very ' well. Immediately previous to our arrival ! here, another company of our regiment had been hero and the Gurkhas gave them , a great send-off. They insisted.o3l moving ! . all our men's transport onto the boats ana it was a sight to see their eagerness to do .their utmost. Oar company immediately chummed up, and made good friends. 'I "Our men were simply adored by the Indians. We taught them ' Tipperary,' ! and hakas. One could hear them somei times in the night quietly practising songs 1 over together. It is wonderful how a 1 community of interest cm unite races so wide apart as ourselves and the Gurkhas from the hills of India. Neither under-t-Unds th? other's language in tho least, 1 yet our chaps used to sit in the Gurkhas' tents at night, when oil' duty, and play cards with them end explain the latest war news from the front by means of illustrations from the papers. It was quite a ■ common thing to see a Gurkha and one of our own (■entries be th peering at an object i out in the desert, using the same telescope and comparing notes in mute eloquence. 1 "I s;iw an incident which shows how 1 grateful and intelligent they are. There was I a "scrap' at , a few miles further ■ down, and a cruiser transported the Gurkhas down from our post. One was killed, and the cruiser supplied a Union Jack, and a firing party and all the officers i turned out. The honour paid to their dead . comrade, and the impressivencss of it, moved many of them to tears. It was said by them that their comrade- was given "the same honour as was given to Lord Roberts. They will never forget this as long as their regiment exists and I next time the cruiser eanie up the canal, i ■ the) gave her an ovation. i 1 "They are a long' way the finest troops ' 'I have see.i and they are simply perfect • soldiers. They have received a dispensai lion freeing them from all racial and religious customs, from tho Rajah of Nepaul, ; unci they can thus mix quite freely with . white or Christian races. « DONATIONS FOR SOLDIERS. SUCCESSFUL VILLAGE PLAN. TAIRUA GIFT SCHEME. An account of the successful effort by the residents of Tairua, the small settlement noar Mercury Bay, to assist in providiiK.' comforts for soldiers has been for- ■ warded by a correspondent. The letter states that the scheme not only serves to help the soldiers, but also to keen alive the feeling of indebtedness to those who are fighting for the protection and welfare of the nation. Tairua is a village of about 25 families, most of the bnad-winners being engaged in bush work or logging. All the people are very willing to do something to help, but most of them are able to give so little individually to any of the various war funds that they hesitated to send subscriptions. A plan has been brought into operation bv which a subscription! of not more than Is each is made each month. It has been eagerly supported, the only objection raised being that Is was too little. The promoters of the movement considered that it would bo wiser to fix an amount which could be regularly subscribed throughout the whole period of the war. Nearly every house produced two contributor*, and the children are giving Id to 3d a month, according to- aces, the amount collected being about .€3 a month. The names of the contributors, the amount obtained, and its disposal are announced by a notice at the local post office. The first month's collection was sent to the Overseas Club tobacco fund, asking that the tobacco which it provided should b' sent to th New Zealand regiment in which a Tairua boy is serving. Next month's contribution is to he sent to the Queen's Fund for the sick and wounded. NEW ZEALAND PRODUCEEFFECTS OF THE WAR. PRIME MINISTER'S ADVICE. IllY TELlWlUl'ir.— I'RKSS ASSOCIATION.] ! Cheviot, Thursday. The Prime .Minister, the Right Hon. W. F. Massey, visited Cheviot to-day, I and opened the local A. and P. Show. | In the evening be was entertained at a I I complimentary social by the officials of '| the show. In responding to the toast |i of his health, Mr. Massey reviewed at 'Ilength the influence of the war upon New Zealand in relation to shipping, meat, and wheal questions. Refer.ii M,' to the shipment of meat, Mr. Masscv laid that there would not be enough vessels till June, hut the British Hoard of Trade had granted an increase in freight rates amounting to about 40 per cent., and was bearing the expense itself. In the Dominion there were now over 1,500,000 carcases of moat stored which could not be despatched. That dav, however, 200.000 carcases had left Wellington in two ships. By Juno enough vessels would he avail'ible to meet tho requirements of the Dominion. touching upon mutters relating to . wheat and oats, Mr, Massev advised farmers to cut their stacks into chaff and sell it to Australia. FOOTBALL AS USUAL. [by TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] CilKiSTfiirnnr, Thursday. Canterbury Rugby Union yesterday evening decided to proceed with the competitions as usual this year. This decision was arrived at on the unanimous recommendation of affiliated clubs, which are all able to enter teams, though in most cases this has to be done by promotions.