OTAGO WOMEN'S PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16664, 8 April 1916, Page 8

OTAGO WOMEN'S PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION.

STIRLING "RED CROSS SOCIETY.

JOTTINGS.

NJE. VAELEY BRANCH. At the weekly meeting of this branch of the association on Thursday 17 pairs ,_of hospital dippers, 30 balaclava caps, 17 pairs socks, 8 suits pyjamas, and 1 1 dqjen housewife® ware parcelled up The monthly contribution was sent in from the pupils of the N.E. Valley School (per Miss Andrew), and contained 4- pairs socks, 1 pair cuffs, 6 handkerchiefs, 6 towels, 20 house wifea, and 6 girdles, also £2 towards nn autograph qnflt. As a result of a busy afternoon and evening's work, those in charge of tile "Red Gross department packed up 8 dozen bandages, 1' box diet cloths, 6 drawshegts, and 7 boxes of old linen. The committee thanks all thoso who send in quantities of clothing, whioh. is carefully sorted out by a sub-committee, and l so adapted for the u omo poor. The following donations aro gratefully acknowledged:—Mrs Begg (money), Mrs J. Brown (Balaclava), Miss Chapman (clothing), Mra G. Ross (old linen), Mrs Bailey (hospital slipper's).

ST. CLAIR BRANCH. Tho meetings aro now held on Thursday. An exhibition of work and also a jumble sale will bo held shortly. Donations of every description will bo accoptablo. A special appeal is made on behalf of tho Russian prisoners for men's clothing of all descriptions in good' condition. The following donations are acknowledged with thanks: —Mrs James Gray, £1; Mrs Wright, £1; per Mrs Wright, 9s 6d; Mrs Russell, ss; Mrs Isaacs, ss; Miss Vera Taylor, ss; Mrs Collier, Belgian reliof; Mrs Dunham, Belgian relief; Sirs Fleming, Belgian rolief and Lady French box; Mrs Railton, Rod Cross; .Mrs S. G. Smith, Belgian rolief; Mr James Gray, clothing and overcoat for Russian prisoners; - 'J. II.," magazines for soldiers.

ROSLYN-KAIKORAI BRANCH. The weekly meeting was held on Thursr day, when a fair number of workers attended. A large amount of work was received, and a considerable quantity of material given out to be made up. A jumblo sale will be held next month in aid of the funds of the branch, for which contributions will be' gratefully received. Thanks are duo to tho following for donations:—Mrs W. C. MacGregor, material for face cloths; "Imperialist," material for tea towels; Mrs Milne, two balaclavas; Rhoda King, two sponge bags and marble bags for jumble sale; Ellen Beverid&e, 11 marble bags; Bessie Beveridge, 11 marble bags; Mrs Elliott (Mid diem arch), five service bags, five pairs cuffs, parcel old linen; Mrs Horn (Middle march), parcel old linen; Miss Stewart (Middlemarch). old linen; M«s Bowler, sen., 10s; collected by Mrs Wright, £4 8s; Mrs S. Webb, 26; Mrs Milne, 3s; Mrs Bews, Ss; Mrs J. Glendining. ss; Mrs Dawson. 7s 6d; Mrs Black, ss; salo of cakes, £1 4s; Mrs John Elliott (Middlemarch), salo of fruit, £5; Miss Dawson (Middlemarch), 2s 6d; Mrs Ellis, ss; Mr A. Anderson, for cartage. A parcel containing the following was sent to the Early Settlers' Hall:—1 suit pyjamas, 6 pairs cuffs, 1 dozen balaclavas, 2 dozen shirts, half-dozen flannel shirts, 43 handkerchiefs, 1 dozen pairs socks for dominion parcel, 1 dozen tea towels, 2 dozen service bags, 2 dozen soap bags. i

WORK AT MORNINGTON. Twelve huge parcels of clothing for British and Belgian relief, 200 holdalls, 24 pairs of socks, 18 balaclava caps, 72 tins of jam, and three dozen books and magazines for tho wounded soldiers were packed and sont to the' Early Hall from the Mornington Council Chambers this week. The sum of £1 17s 6d was handed in for the various women's patriotic funds. The pupils of the Mornington School (per Miss M. King) sent their weekly donation—7 face-cloth® and 1 knitted scarf. Thanks are due to the Baptist Guild for mailing 3 dozen servioe bags. A number of garments we're received for the "Babies', Box," and som£ old linen for Red Cross work. The dominion tercel, which is to be sent every month to each of tho men at the front, win contain one pair of socks and' articles of food, such as chocolate, condensed milk, etc. The value of one parcel is 2s 6d, the, prioe of which will be thankfully received from any lady. Two thousand parcels are required monthly. On Thursday Misses Rattray and Geerin will be at the. chambers from 2.30 p.m. to receive donations ' of socks, balaclava caps, teatowels and soap bags for the reinforcements, also clothing of all kinds for British and. Belgian relief. Men's clothing will be gratefully received for the Russian prisoners. Baby garments and men's, women's, and children's boots and shoes are specially needed. In knitting wool double, a good plan is to run the trwo ends through a large glass bea4; this keeps the wool from tang-, ling. Tho following have sent donations:—For the Lady Liverpool Fund: Mesdarnes J. Henderson (Belleknowcs), Hutton, sen., T. B. Low,,,Kerr, Waite, Miss. M'Larem, I.R:. pupils of the Mornington School, 'and the Baptist Guild. Belgian relief: Mcsdames Harraway, M'Callum (Belleknowes), White, and J. Henderson. Woundod soldiers: Mesdames Reay, Lrtolff, Harraway, Small, Stuns, Congalton, F. Smith, Davidson, Kingston, B. R. Stock, H. D. Brewer, P. Power, Payne, Aikman, W. Henderson, and G. W. Reid, Misses Power and Fonwiek, ,Mr and Mrs James M'lnnee. Dominion Parcels Fund: I.R. 2s 6d (monthly), R.K. 2s 6d (monthly), Mrs Harraway 1 pair of socks (monthly). Wool Fund: Mra O'Shea 7|d. A soldier's mother sent a balaclava cap, which has done five months' service at Gallipoli. It looks none, the wonse for the wear. Money for the dominion paroek is i:rgently needed.

Work in connection .with the above branch has been carried' on steadily during the last month. A large box of goods was forwarded to the Dunedin Centre last week, containing tho following : —l7 pyjama suite, 16 underpants, 18 singlets, 15 shirts, 40 surgical veils, 200 swabs, 18 eye bandages, 12 service bags, wringers, 11 maintail bandages, 6 pairs of slippers, 19 pairs of socks, 6 pillow cases, 2 towels. Besides tho above the following were forwarded for distribution in hoepitals in Mesopotamia:—292 roller bandages, 34 body belts, and £5 in cash. The ladies of the district are entering into the work with great enthusiasm, and' it is the intention of the branch to forward a parcel eveiy month. ,i

According to a Rome correspondent of the Daily Chronicle, the question, whence Germany gets the special substance for the manufacture of lachaymatory gases, has been cleared up by an Italian traveller, who sojourned long in Venezuela. "In many regions in that country," says the traveller, "there grows in abundance a species of seed in form and colour liko oats, and locally known as sabedilla, whioh, when stored, oniits a piquant smell' eo strong as to cause the eyes to water copiously, besides making breathing very painful. Sometime before the war Germany began ordering huge quantities of these seeds, which till then had no export salo at all. For a long time neither tho bands of natives employed in tho new industry of sabedilla gathering, nor the forwarding agents themselves, could discover the uses to which this merchandise was being put, and the matter remained one of eager speculation. Lately, however, the secret leaked out." No officer in the French army has had such rapid promotion as General Petain, the hero of Douaumont. At the outbreak of hostilities he was a colonel on tho verge of retirement owing to his age. He is now 59 years old. Though never particularly successful in theoretical manoeuvres, he has shown in war unequalled judgment and qualities of leadership, and attracted attention at onoe in the retreat from Charleroi. He went rapidly through the line of promotion up tp the command of an army. In the Artois fighting last spring General Petain's name was first associated with the "Iron Division" of Colonials, which by September had become France's finest striking force, as was shown in the Champagne, and now form the French counterpart of the German assaulting "phalanx."

Allusion to the phenomenal growth of the Auckland d : strict since January 1, 1907, was made by Mr P. G. Harwood, assistant chief postmaster, at the presentation to Mr M. D. Holdsworth, ra*rring chief postmaster, on Friday (states the Herald). Mr Harwood said that in 1907 tho Auckland Chief Post Office staff numbered 164: in 1916 the number was 351. The staff of the country offices in 1907 numbered 197, and in 1916 it numbered 604. During the period under review the number of permanent post offices had increased from 52 to 120, Ifind the number of non-permanent post offices had increased from 479 to 630. In tho nine years mentioned, the city population had increased from 82,101 to 114,287, and the country population from 211,223 to 287,789. There wero now 573 mail services, as compared with 308 in 1907. During the last three years 75 rural post offioes had been established, and over 1000 letter boxes had been erected.