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Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14038, 22 April 1920, Page 4

The annual meeting of parishioners is to be held in S. Luke's Hall to-mor-row evening at eight o'clock, when tjie reports of the year's work will be sub- | mitted and the' election of Churchwardens and Vestrymen take place. The franchise of the Church lias now been extended to women, and this will be the first occasion on which they have been privileged to join with the men-in. electing the- governing body of the parish. A large attendance of both churchmen and churchwomen is hoped for. The business meetings are always combined with social amenities, and the annual meeting is one of the chief social gatherings of the year. There will be a. good .musical programme, and refreshments will be dispensed by the wives of the Church officers. Any gifts of cakes will be welcome. ' The publication of hooks is being restrained and the prices of those that are published increased because of the greater cost of production. English publishers are very seriously perturbed by the further heavy increase in cost of paper printing and binding, and the scarcity of materials. It is said that binding cloth is almost unobtainable, while paper at any reasonable figure is most difficult to procure. The published prices of many books will be' raised. Messrs Cassell, for instance, announce most of their new novels at 8s 6d net, and it looks as if the day of the 2s popular hook is numbered. The London Daily Mail makes this comment: —We must get busy and economise ; there is no cure for the low pound except to make more goods r and spend less paper money. Alterations made on the Renown included the .construction of a billiardroom and the laying out of a small promenade deck upon which the Prince will receive visitors during his Australasian tour. A meeting of residents of Maheno will he held in the Hall on Monday, 26th April, at 8 p.m., for the purpose of adding 1 to the membership of the society and the election of four new trustees. ' ' In future Miss. Florence M. Reid's juvenile dancing class will be held in the Druids' Hall on Saturday afternoons, from 2 p.m. to 4 p-jn. The securing of the advantages that accrue from the introduction of adequate electrical power in North Otagd has been for some/time exercising the minds of the more enterprising members of our community, and a. meeting is to be held on Tuesday evening at Hayward's Picture Palace to discuss the project. The meeting will be addressed by Sir George Fenwicb. of Dunedin, a prominent member of the Ota go Expansion League, a body that has closely identified itself with a scheme for a big undertaking that will serve the whole of Otago. Southland has already entered upon an enterprise to secure hydro-electric power to serve its requirements, and it is generally anticipated that the people of Otago will recognise the advantages that would accrue from the universal adoption of the principle of electricity for power and lighting. So far no practical steps have" been taken in this direction, and before anything can be attained it will be necessary to define a Power District and set up a Power Board. The question whether North Otago sho.uld. identify itself with the Otago Power District will "be submitted on Tuesday night, and there is a prospect of a vigorous discussion.

The North N Otago Highland Pipe Band is how in splendid order, and will play stirring selection® at the Scottish concert on Monday night. These items alone should be responsible "for a large house. The beautiful trio selection, "Sempre Giovine," meaning always young, will be a'.fascinating item. This will be given by Messrs B. A. do Latour (violin), G. Whale (cornet 1 ), and F. C. Burry. (piano). Miss E. Denliolm, the favorite soprano, will ■sing "Auld Scotch Songs" and "The Lea Rig." , Day sale ticket-holders will be admitted fifteen minutes before the opening of ticket boxes. Day sales can be procure from Messrs A. A. Barsdell, W. H. Dickson, Thames street, and /J. Main, Tees street. Seats may be reserved free of charge at the Bristol; The Prince —just now there is only one Prince —had an adventure at Suva that added -variety to the entertainment which- the of the isles and the denizens of the Southern Seas are according Royalty. Even poisonous snaked have been displaying interest in the event which has put the Southern Hemisphere all in a ilutter, and two permitted themselves to lie caught in a net. whilst another got in the "way of the' Prince's rifle, deeming it nn honor to die for his amusement. Statements as to the enormous price of fowl wheat are of general interest, though they "may he dismissed as of small consequence. Those who are in the poultry industry are driven to their wits' end to find some means or mating the imposition of impossible pricey for Ordinary fowl feed or providing substitutes. Egg.s are nominally 2s 9d per dozen in Oamaru. but the price is not half so serious as the fact that one is lucky to get any-at-all.

It is announced by Gazette that 21,516 acres of Crown land in Otago district, 6162 of settlement land in Wellington district, 953 in Marlborough., and 777 in Canterbury are set aside for soldier settlement. We would 'hare welcomed an assurance that the settlement land was purchased on the basis of the Government valuation, plus 10 per cent. There is still too little; land available, and what' there is is so dear in most cases that one would not wish bis wprst enemy to struggle to make a living, on it. What must rank as one of the foremost anniversary days of the year falls on Sunday next-—Anzac Day. To many the day will bring sorrowful remembrances,- and the day to all of lis will bring recollections of. the heroic sacrifices made by the gallant sons- of our Dominion who landed on the fate-ful-shores of Gallipoli. The Oamaru Returned Soldiers' Association have' made special arrangements to hold a service : |of remembrance on Sunday commencing. at>2:45 p.m., in the Opera House. The general public are cordially invited to attend the service and all returned' soldiers are invited to parade -at the Association Club Room at'l.4s p.m. ill order that a group photo' may be taken, and to afterwards march to the Opera House 'to take part in the service. Relatives and friends of deceased soldiers are specially invited to pay their respects to the cfead by - placing floral tributes on the steps of the Soldiers' Monument in -Thames-street.

The meals provided at the Oamaru Railway. Station have, -given greater satisfaction to travellers than .at any other stop on the through-, runs, and .it is ,not/surprising, that the Oamaru refreshment room chef, has ;been selected for the travelling cuisine, which will attend H.It.H. thet Prince of r WaTesi party during liis tour-. j 'Mrs H.-Campbell's excellent 637 acres, at Ngapara, will be -sold I shortly by Mr Walter - Sumpter. This property "is in splendid heart and oom- ; prises good land. Particulai's are advertised. - I

Kurow is eagerly looking forward toa. record gathering when the final we]come to soldiers-from tho district will be given to-morrow night. The pro-gramme-arranged is of unusual; excellence. but it is not this which will provide fcha chief gratification to the audience, but rather the spirit; of rejoicing and genial, fellowship in th| all-pervad-_mg gladness of the close of the last social activity 'in connection with the war. Every returned soldier is invited to attend and will be heartily welcomed, as this is a. final; function intended to include not only those who lia.ve been severally welcomed but all who may from any cause have been overlooked. A grand' dance will conclude a. memorable occasion.

A letter from Canada received -by a North Otago resident shows a state of affairs in regard to the : cost of living that should make New Zealanders thankful that tliey are 111 comfortable circumstances, whatever they might have thought previously. Writing from Delia, in Alberta, a province that promises to oust Manitoba as the cliiel wheat producer of Canada, tlie correspondent states that wheat is 2dols 80 cents (lis 8d) per btishel, and tfce retail price of flour 6d per lb. Meat has risen to 35 ceftts (Is s£d) per lb, potatoes cost 5 cents (2jd) per lb, while sugar is 18 cents (9d) per lb. An attractive lot of furniture will be sold at Tatiersalls 011 Saturday by Mr Walter Sumpter, including a very line Hicks piano. Amongst the sundries are an excellent pair of Goerz prismatic binoculars 111 new condition. The several I^o rough properties ill the estate- of the late James Corcoran will be submitted to public competition by M essrs J. D. Familton and Sons 011 Saturday, Ist May. These include seven freehold sections in the centre of the town. Four of the sections are improved. Further particulars are advertised.

"1 am not prepared to draw up a glossary of what might be permissible in the pulpit, but some 'slang' is so expressive 1 that you cannot help hitting the nail 011 the head with it," remarked a British clergyman; recently. "If you talk of 'wangling' anything or refer to a 'scrimshanker,' any returned soldier will know what you, mean. And knowing, he will -listen, when the stilted precise form would, as I say, leave him cold." Aai unfortunate position has,'arisen on the Auckland waterfront through a rush on the part of workers to join up with the Watersiders' Union. Already the membership has bounded up from 900 to 1261, with the result that the supply is substantially in advance of the demand. According to the; statement of the president of the union, Mr M. Sanders, there are at present about 600 men in excess of requirements. These men, he states, have been attracted to the waterfront from permanent positions through the rate of wage offering. He points out, •further, that despite the "good" wage offering, the work is only casual, consequently men contemplating relinquishing permanent positions to take up work on the waterfront should take heed of the conditions that prevail. No wonder the rat fed 011 Auckland City Council "poison" throve and waxed fat, in view of the story told »t a recent meeting of the l City" Council by Mr W. J. Holdswortli. He sent some of the deadly stuff to the Government Analyst, and the result was mirth round the Council board. The report stated that- the usual ingredients in stuff tlfat is laid round for wandering rodents were entirely absent. There werer traces of phosphorus in a form that would make it tonic instead of toxic. The report said there was always danger of deterioration when using phosphorus in a- free state, and pointed how the poison could be made as dea<lly as it . was supposed to be. i . In reply to a deputation that waited upon liim in regard to the orphans of fallen soldiers, Mr Lloyd George made these observations Hipon the finances of the Mother Country 4 Our debt is a. very gigantic one. It is a. debt of about £8,000,000,000. It is something beyond the dreams of anybody in 1914. If you had asked financiers whether this f or any other land could have borne a burden of- £8,000,000.000 they, would have thouuht you were a lunatic. Here it is. It is on our shouders. aiid the'country is staggering under it. I have a great belief in the British sovereign, however, and, although it is a little down on its luck in the markets of America and elsewhere, it will be able to look tho dollar straight in the eye in a rerv. short time. I want to put another fact to you: AVc are the only people in Europe who have imposed the necessary . taxation to meet our expenditure'. There is no country in Europe that has given the same pensions to its soldiers as we havp., There-is 110 country in Europe that has given the same allowances to its soldiers as we have. There is no . country in Europe that, has given the same gratuities to its soldiers as we have. If we could give double it is not more than they deserve; but we have taken, into account the limits of our capacity. Cheap hydro-electric power in Tasmania is reported by The Times (London) to lie attracting important industries. It is proposed to establish in Hobart a sewing machine factory to produce 20,000 machines per annum, and to supply them to the Australian and New Zealand markets. The initial capital of the company is given at £50,000, and' it is reported to nave a strong backing of leading Tasmanian and Australian financiers. Sir Thomas Oliver, the well-known authority 011 industrial diseases, proposing "The Immortal Memory" at the Newcastle Bums Club's dinner, said his great-grand-uncle, Robert Oliver, was the man who' introduced Burns to Highland Mary'. . ** Mr Gordon Selfridge, who holds all the ordinary shares in. the stores bearing his name, has decided to release 100,000 of the shares to the members of his staff, and to pay them 2 per cent, more than he himself receives. His reason for taking the step is "to encourage saving and to . reward the delightful loyalty of the staff by loyalty in return."