THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1917. A RUMANIAN REVELATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16980, 17 April 1917, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1917. A RUMANIAN REVELATION.

To look back upon the disappointment brought to the Allied peoples by the failure of the high hopes founded by them upon the entry of Rumania into the war is to contemplate a painful page in the history of the great European conflict. Instead of realising these hopes, the intervention of Rumania brought upon herself invasion and grave danger of annihilation, and so far from assisting the cause of the Allies, only tended to their embarrassment in enabling the enemy to reap welcome advantages. Why did Rumania enter the war if she was not ready? Why did the Allies urge her to do so if they were less than assured of her ability to do more than hold her own ? Why did they not make certain that their support would render her campaign victorious? And why were their calculations in the whole matter so seriously upset? 'These are -questions which, for all that has been said, have not been satisfactorily answered. The Allies were jubilant over the intervention of Rumania, since it represented something for which they had striven tenaciously. It was to bring them great results— to enable them to sever communication between Berlin and Constantinople, to throw open the Dardanelles, to put Russia in contact with her allies, to deprive the Central Empires of the military and economic help they had been receiving from Turkey and Bulgaria, and to accomplish a good deal more. But a golden opportunity was mishandled,' and not the Allies, but the Central Powers, had cause for satisfaction. Rumania's intervention augmented the territorial pledges held by Germany for the time bein°for bargaining in peace negotiations, extended her ■ war map, put her in' possession of certain reserves of cereals, petroleum, and other necessaries, allowed her to gain a firm footing in Rumania, shortened her Eastern front, dealt a blow at their prestige which the Allies could ill afford, and threatened Rumania with complete conquest and her armies with destruction. The charge of neglect and bungling which the Allies have had to bear in that it was their duty to support Rumania in such a way that her effort could not possibly be a failure, if it were entered upon at the correct moment, is not easily disposed of. At the best they badly misjudged, in conjunction with

Rumania herself, the moment suitable for the intervention which they nrged, or els© they made the mistake of relying too much upon, and leaving too much to, Russia as the Power most closely concerned. Certainly they contrived in the result to play into the hands of the enemy, witnessing the transformation of the Rumanian armies from victorious assailants into discomfited defenders of their native soil, hard pushed to extricate themselves from annihilation. The spectacle brought delight to the Central Powers. Marshal von Hindenburg is reported to have stated to a journalist: "The Rumanians are in retreat. ... I

hailed with joy their entry into the. struggle, for, thanks to them, we have emerged from the war of positions and. passed anew to operations that are fresh and joy-bringing." When Rumania took sides with the Entente Powers in August last she presumably believed that all the help she required from them would be readily forthcoming. Dr Dillon has pointed out that the representations made by Rumania to the Allies, long before she entered the war, laid repeated emphasis on the measure of Allied assistance that would be necessary and on the possibility that, should this not be supplied, her intervention instead of helping the Allied cause would harm it, particularly in the respect that it would deprive Russia of the advantage of having her left wing protected by Rumanian neutrality against attack. It is very far from im- | possible to believe, in the light of all that has happened, that the Central Powers realised, once they had gained Bulgaria, that their most profitable game was to play, not for the continued neutrality, but actually for the hostility of Rumania. Speculation of this order gathers a fresh interest from the sensational revelations now made by the Rumanian Chief of Staff, which allege nothing less than the base betrayal of Rumania by the Russian Government under the pro-German, M. Sturmer, who is said to have died of fright after the revolution—a not very surprising end in view of the position with which he was then confronted. According to the statements of the Rumanian Chief of Staff, the Sturmer Government was guilty of deliberately pushing Rumania into the war, with the intention of abandoning her and of furthering its own ends, which included the conclusion of a separate peace, and that this precious scheme was carried through with disastrous results. It is said that the Russian troops for which Rumania looked were held back, and that even British and French consignments of munitions were stopped. If these disclosures are well founded, they surely explain a great deal that has hitherto seemed more or less unintelligible. Rumania entered the war in response to the solicitations of the Allies, including Russia. The plan of campaign which, for political reasons, she adopted, that of-Jnvad-ing Transylvania, may have been unwise, as the military critics aver, but it rieed not necessarily have proved a failure if she had received from the Allies the measure of help which she had been led to expect. The one Power among the Allies, which, from the very nature of things, was- in a position to help Rumania, and upon which the great responsibility in that relation rested, was- Russia. Yet if, through the agency of a Russian Government, led by a man who was a tool of Germany, Ithat help was deliberately and treacherously withheld from Rumania, simply in order that the Central Empires might achieve her subjugation, the tragic tale of her defeat requires no further explanation. The story of M. Sturmer's perfidy furnished by General Iliescu is sensational enough, but in the light of past events it by no means lacks probability. Its verification should be a simple matter. If Rumania was in truth thus betrayed by M. Sturmer, the obligation upon the new Government at Petrograd, and upon the Allies as a whole, to render her all assistance in their power to recover compensation for her sacrifices is only the greater. Fortunately, the armies of Rumania, hard pressed as they have been, remain intact, and after reorganisation may be Capable of a recoil movement that may yet prove of great value.

It will be observed with concern this morning that there is some prospect of the coalminers' strike extending to some of the mines in the northern coalfields— upon the supposed pretext of opposition to the Military Service Act. In' the meanwhile, however, as the outcome of the conferences which the Acting Prime Minister and the Minister of Mines have been holding with representatives of the miners who have "downed tools" on the West Coast, a secret ballot on the question of the resumption of work will be taken this week, and it is assumed that the action of the men in the northern coal mines will be influenced largely by the decision that will then be arrived at. On the West Coast also the ostensible ground of the stoppage of work was the opposition of the minors to the Military Service Act. Yet we notice that Mi P. C. Webb, M.P. for GTey, whose constituents include a number of the strikers, spoke at a meeting on Sunday night at Christehurch, at which he indicate'd that the miners' grievances consisted in the diminished purchasing power of the sovereign, in their inability to "get along fairly," and in the prices that are being realised by wool and meat. He did not show how the purchasing power of the sovereign is to be increased through the action of the miners, which can only have the effect of increasing the price of coal in the dominion as well as of increasing the difficulties of the people of the Mother Country in securing the means of sustenance. But it is quite clear that his explanation of the strike is not that which the miners themselves have given. In the circumstances, it is pertinent to remark that he would bo better employed if he were to remain in his own constituency just now and to study the position on the spot. It is, perhaps, rather too much to expect that he should recommend the miners to have some regard for the interests of the nation during the present crisis and to N abandon a course which necessarily hampers and delays the shipment of foodstuffs to the Old Country, and disorganises the plans of the Government for the performance of the part that is being taken by New Zealand in the prosecution of the war. But if he and other leaders of the Labour Party

were to address advice of such a kind to the men they would be doing a really national service.

Wiien Mr Lloyd George declared a few days ago that the Allies' absolute assurance of victory might be summed up in the one word " Ships," he emphasised the importance -which the maintenance of food supplies has assumed in tho war. Great Britain depends upon the preservation of her overseas trade, which Germany is making frantic efforts to destroy, in order that her people may be sustained through the remaining months of the struggle. The overseas trade .of Great Britain is, as it were, the life-blood of her inhabitants. If it were stopped, the people of tho British Isles would within the space of a very few weeks be reduced to dire straits. Even the partial interruption of it, through tho sinking of food ships by German submarines and through the effect which the submarine campaign has had in deterring certain neutral shipowners from employing their vessels in the British trade, has confronted the British people with the need of exercising small economies in the matter of food consumption that have never previously been practised by them. The warning, which Mr Kennedy Jones, as a mouthpiece of the department of the Food Controller, has issued, nerves to illustrate the narrowness of the margin which exists in Great Britain,- pending the next harvest, between privation and actual want. The people are enjoined to avoid waste to even the smallest extent. By using every crust and every crumb of bread they are strengthening their ability to withstand the pressure which, is being exerted upon them. That they will withstand it we have no doubt. But the fact that it has been deemed necessary to issue this warning to them is distinctly impressive. Among other things it should convince us in New Zealand of the utter lack of patriotism which is associated with any steps that are calculated to interfere with the transport of foodstuffs .to the Mother Country.

The submarine campaign is -unquestionably, producing a great food problem in Great i Britain. • It cannot be reasonably doubted, however, that the British blockade—the "brutal blockade" as it is called in a message from Germany which,is described as " inspired " —has produced a much more serious problem in the Central Empires. Occasionally we read statements which are designed to convey the impression that the position in Germany with respect to the supply of foodstuffs is far from critical. But some of fche correspondents who assert that Germany will not. be Teduced through the hunger of the people, make admissions that materially discount the conclusions which they express. Thus Mr Raymond Swing, a representative of the Chicago Daily News, who said recently that hunger would not beat Germany, acknowledged that the food question was " terribly complicated," and he mad© the following interesting observations concerning it: Let me say at once that the blockade is putting a fearful strain on the German population. Undoubtedly it is sapping their vitality. The death of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of weak or invalid German civilians is directly due to the lack of proper food, which would have kept them alive. But' Ido not think the blockade can_ have its full effects during the war. It is, however, undermining the health of the country, and Germany will pay for it in 50 years' time.

This correspondent added : " The food question has become an obsession. German women talk of nothing but food and means of eking out their rations and making new combinations'. Even among the intellectual classes it is the main: top'ic of conversation." Where the food question has "become an obsession" and where, as we learn this morning, an already scanty bread allowance has been reduced, there the problem of supplies certainly seems to be exceedingly acute. ,

In the fact that Germany is suffering the effect of- the British blockade in her present privations and in, as Mr Raymond Swing puts it, " the failing health of the nation," consists, in the view of her people, the justification of the submarine campaign. The opponents of the campaign are said to be confined to a few persons who are actuated by purely political motives. By the -majority of Germans the submarine is regarded as the one weapon by means of which the country that inspires their deepest feelings of hatred can be humbled. Among them is Ernest Haeckel, the famous zoologist, who was one of the first of the German professors to preach the doctrine of hate of Great Britain. For two years and a-half he has employed all the resources of vituperation in working. up sentiment against that country. In a recent outburst, contributed to the Vossische Zeitung, he writes : We are entitled to expect from our new submarine fleet that it will compel proud Great Britain to accept a German peace. But this is only possible if we hold out with all our strength and powers of endurance. It must be repeated again and again that it would bo futile to nope for a friendly understanding with the AngloSaxons, who are. bent at any price on destroying their .Teuton-Saxon brothers. . . ./ Henco we, in our imperative need of _ defence, must employ all our available spiritual and material forces in order to save our freedom and our good right of disposing of ourselves in this last act of the great cultural tragedy. It is only with the assistance of our iron energy and endurance that we can beat down the tenacious and sea-ruling Great Britain, and conquer equal rights in international commercial intercourse.

But if the Germans, fighting -with their backs to the -wall; are capable of showing "iron energy and endurance," the people of Great Britain, with much, less in the way of hardship to bear, will, as Dr Newman said last night, "stick if out" resolutely and determinedly to the end.

Mr Justice Sim will leave for Wellington this morning to attend a sittrosr of the Court of Appeal.

.. The Hon. Mr Myers stated yesterday (says a Press Association message from Christehurch). that it gave him great satisfaction to announce a record collection through tho customs. Ho said that in view of tho curtailment of shipping tonnage investigations were being made by departmental officers to show in what directions, if any, importations could be restricted! Dr A. K. Newman, M.P., in the courro of his address in tho Burns Hftll last night, said that one of the questions he had addressed himself to on his recent visit Home and had put to everyone- in authority he met. was "When will tho war end?" Tho peculiar thing was that not one man he spoke to would commit himself to a definite prophecy. They all knew well enough some time ago, they said, when it was going to end, bur they did not know anything about it now. " Dug in" war, Dr Newman explained, is necessarily very slow in progress.

In the Supreme Court yesterday Mr Justice Sim gave judgment in a will case. Mrs Helen Cockburn died on September 7, 1916. She was about 73 years of age, and was the widow of a farmer at Mataura, who had died in November, 1809, leaving all his property to her by his will. In 1910 Mrs Cockburn signed a will disposing of her estate. On April 29, 1915, sh© signed another will, of which her three sons, John, James, and Henry, were the executors. In December last they applied for probate in common form of this will. A caveat had been lodged previously by another 6on, William, and on December 15 an order nisi was m'ado for a grant of probato to the applicants. This came on for hearing at In,vercargill on March 9, and the hearing was continued at Dunedin on March 15. Mr" A. S. Adams appeared for the applicants, Mr W. C. MacGrcgor, KC, and Mr A. B. Haggitt for the caveator. His Honor, in his judgment, expressed the opinion that the applicants had failed to prove that the instrument propounded was the will of a free and capable testator, and the order nisi was discharged. No order was made as to .costa,

_ A Press Association telegram from "Wellington states that owing to the coal trouble the Mapourika lias been withdrawn from the West Coast run.

Tho men employed on the public works in Otago Central apparently set out to have a " good " time when there are holidays. On one of the works tho men went off on tho Wednesday before Good Friday, and many of them could not be prevailed upon to turn to till yesterday. The holidays mean good business for th;> hotelkeepers, but it would, appear that the licensing laws aro not very closely observed. On one road last Thursday one "good timer" was noticed sitting on the bank side with a far-away look in his eyes, while his mate danced the fandango as a motor car went by. A third man who came staggering down'tho road apparently could not seo tho car at all. A fourth man rolled along with vacancy in his eyes and a full bottle of beer in each pocket, and a fifth lay half slumbering on tho roadside. These were a few only of the men who wero out for a good time—somo of them single, some married. How these men wero allowed to get into tho condition they wero in might perhaps bo. a matter for police investigation. On a rough estimate it would appear that there are more hotels in tho ' goldfields than in tho City of Dunedin itself. A few surprise visits by tho police to the hotels of doubtful reputation—there aro not many of them—would no doubt aid considerably in preventing tho men being " retained," as it were, «till all their money has been exhausted.

In concluding his annual report to tho parishioners of St. Martin's Church, the Venerablo Archdeacon Woodthorpe made the following eloquent appeal to church people:—"As I look back over the history of the Church and Empire, I am greatly impressed by the gravity of the present position, and the need for serious thought on the part of our church people. Tho great response of the men and women of" 1 our church to the needs of the Empire is very striking. When I consider the fact that our Empire covers ono quarter of the world's surface, and numbers one-fourth of tho world's people, I am impressed by the responsibility that weighs on the Church at tho present moment. It is well, understood that grave industrial, economic, and political problems will face us after the war, and wo shall feel tho pressure of them here in New Zealand, but the hope of the future lies in the realisation" of Christian ideals. The only hope of a stable peace lies in applying the Christian ideal to international politics. " When the nations respect ono another, show a spirit of good will to one another, put right above might, and seek justice under the forms of law, there will be stable and lasting peace. Tho great need to-day is to realise our churchmanship, and to bring the Christian ideal into touch with our lives."

" There are very wiso people in England," said Dr Newman, M.P., last night, "who believe wo are on the verge of world-wide famine." Ho found people in the - Old Country exceedingly anxious about tho shortage of food, he said. The food menace was a very serious one. The food reports from all over the world showed that there was a shortage everywhere, and it was obvious that the energies of most of the nations were being directed increasingly away from ordinary productive channels. He advised all his hearers for a year to plant all the food they could, and, if necessary, to give their flower gardens a rest for that time. They would yet see how much, all tho food they could grow would be needed.

With an irrigation system and rabbitproof fencing a great proportion of the vast track of country in Otago Central can be made to flourish as the green bay tree. Ocular demonstration will prove this assertion. At the present time there are large plots of land in the Ida Valley, rabbit netted and irrigated, which in the greenness of their grass stand out as an oasis. The cattle, horses, and sheep look sleek and fat. In fact, the solution of the rabbit, pest woiiM seem to rest in the proof netting, as where there is netting, even without any irrigation at all, the land bears a heavy solo of grass. If any farmer desires to know what can bo done iby irrigation and netting let him visit tho Ida Valley or Gibbston district. This latter place provides quite an object lesson. The farmers here have evidently had enterprise and initiative, and the netted, irrigated paddocks have responded in magnificent style. It is interesting to compare one unnettcd paddock with a netted paddock anywhere in Otago Central. The ground is apparently of the same quality; but tho growth on the two is vastly different. With the addition of. a supply of water to the netted paddock the difference in growth is even more pro? nounced. With rabbit-proof netting the Otago Central district could • produce many times the quantity of stock, wheat, etc, it now grows.

Cr Hay ward writes to us as follows:— "It having been pointed out to mo by his Worship the Mayor'that the report of my speech, which appeared in the Otago Daily Times of the 16th inst., may bo liable to misconstruction, I have pleasure in acceding to his Worship's request to make it known publicly that I did not personally hear his Worship promise Cr Green that he would help him when his turn came round to contest tho mayoral chair. I would like this", to bo made clear. I was merely stating what Cr G-reen says on the subject. I in no way want'to cast any reflection on tho Mayor's patriotism, which is recognised by many."

Tho Dunedin Horticultural Society has received a letter from Mr E. J. Hcaley suggesting that the committee should take steps to acquire from, the City Council or Domain Board several areas in different localities in the city and inaugurate a competition in the growing of potatoes during the next year. "If such areas," ho writes, " wore divided up into equal plots, containing a few square poles, and these plots were given over to competitors on the payment of a nominal entrance fee, tho supply of potatoes would be much augmented, tho crops of tho country districts cquld bo exported to relieve the wants of tho Homeland, and much information could bo gathered ancnt the varieties, manures, and cultural treatment of potatoes in the several localities. Also, by making it a condition that each competitor should exhibit at tho show in May, 1918, additional interest would attach- to the vegetable class in tho society's show." The suggestion has been referred- to a committee of the society, for consideration.

The new bridgo to span tho Shotover River near Arthur's Point will be of the parabola, or more or less arch, shape. It will bo of reinforced concrete, and tho highest point of the parabola will be 48ft abovo a straight lino drawn from point to point of tho arch. The superstructure will bo on pillars from the arch, mounted on top of it. Provision will bo made to allow of tho expansion of the concrete through changes of temperature. Tho old wooden bridgo over the Shotover is just about done, and tho commencement of work on the new structure, which will bo practically the first of its kind to be built in the dominion, i 3 eagerly awaited. Tho stono abutments at each end of tho old bridge are to bo utilised for the new crossway, which will be about the same level as tho old structure.

Owing to the annual meeting of householders at Port Chalmers last night, the meeting of 'the Borough Council was adjourned till Wednesday.

At tho conclusion of the meeting of the Otago Patriotic„.Association yesterday, Dean Fitchett drew attention to certain criticisms that had been lately passed on tho association. The meetings of the association wero public, the press was always present, and the committee's reports wero always published, ~ and there was no excuse for ignorance of the affairs of the association. He should think that the criticisms were not duo to ignorance, but were disingenuous— he might - use a stronger term. Ho thought tho criticisms that had appeared in print were not bo much due to ignorance as to .a desk© to mislead.

A good .record in the way of service on a. school committee may bo claimed by Mr A. Youngson, of Anderson Bay. For 23 years lie has been a member of tlio local school committee, and during that time has been absent from only two meetings. All the elements of a tragic, accident were present in a " runaway" which took placo in the Clyde-Cromwell gorge last .Thursday. Five little girls, dismissed for the day from the Wacnga School, which is situated close to tho Halfway Hotel, were being given a ride homo towards Cromwell in a two-horse empty wagon. The wagon had gone but a little distance when one of the traces came loose, and the driver, with the reins in bis hand, got down from bis seat, and foolishly stretched himself along one of the swingletrees to reach tho pole, with his legs resting horizontally on an outsido trace. In a moment tho horses bolted, and tho driver was carried somo 30 or 40 yards before he was finally ejected, unhurt, on to the roadway from the peculiar position in which ho had placed himself. Tho horses galloped on, while tho five little girls, paralysed with fear, clung to each other in a pitiful manner and screamed in terror.' Tho horses had just reached tho cop of an incline, and were gathering greater speed, when a man ploughing on tho river side of the road, heard tho screams, grasped the position in a flash, scrambled through a close barbed wire fence, and pluckily stopped the startled animals.

Seven juveniles (boys) appeared before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., yesterday on a charge of breaking 10 panes of glass and damaging 40ft of paling fence, valued at £3, the property of John Robert M'Keeman. Two of the boys pleaded not guilty, and, after hearing the evidence, the magistrate ordered five of the boys to' pay 4s each towards the cost of tho damage done.' The information was dismissed against the other two. .

A new regulation has been made' under " The Labour Disputes Investigation Act, 1913," providing that the chairman of any Labour Disputes Committee set up under tho Act shall be entitled to receive a feo of two guineas for every day or part of a day in which he is actually engaged in the investigation of a dispute under the Act, or is travelling to or from the meeting place of the committee.

The Clyde-Cromwell railway line is now completed to ijho Halfway House, and the rails are also laid and a great portion of the ballasting dono to Gibraltar—some 10 miles 30 chains from the starting point at Clyde. The length of the line will be 12miles 30 chains,, and it will end about a quarter of a mile from Cromwell. The great cost of a railway bridge over the Molyneux is, it is understood, the reason for the line not being taken right up to the township. • Tho excavation at the Cromwell end for tho station, sidings, turntable, etc., is well under way. It is satisfactory to know that a considerable quantity of produce and fruit from the Cromwell district was this season placed on the train at the Halfway House for transport to Dunedin. The line crosses and recrosses the main road, but the advent of the motor car has apparently accustomed horses in the district to unusual sights and sounds, and they take little notice of the ballast engine and trucks, which now run on th« line'as far as Gibraltar. Mr J. E. Menzies (Vincent County engineer) states that so far as he is aware not one accident has occurred through the horses talcing fright at tho engine and trucks. The .damage which may be done to the line and the-, road by thunder plumps cannot, of course, be totally averted iby any engineering devices, but residents in the locality accept the possibility in a, philosophic spirit. Some idea of the slackness of the building trade is afforded by an illustration given an Auckland Star reporter by Mr Moston, officer in charge of the Labour Department last Wednesday. He mentioned that ho was recently waited upon by a builder who, before the war, regularly employed 40 hands. The man's object in interviewing Mr Moston was to ascertain what he could do with four apprentices, for whom ho could not find building employers. "The position is," said Mr Moston, "that owing to the conditions, high prices of materials, and dullness of the trade, many employers have closed down."

State control of the liquor traffio was suggested by the Timber Workers' Federation to the Acting Prime Minister (Sir Jas. Allen) on Thursday, and received short shrift (says the Post). "I do not know the mind of Cabinet on this question,." said Sir James, "but personally I think it -would be disastrous to place such a powerful force in the field of politics." "You think it would be. used to keep a government in power?" asked a member of the deputation. "Or to help a candidate into power," replied Sir James. "That goes on at present," said another member of the federation. "Well, I think it is' a great pity if it does," said Sir James. "-I believe in straightout platform work and free speaking, with nono of this underhand work." The attention of travellers up the Kawarau Gorge cannot fail to bo focussed on tho two large concrete columns now being erected by tho Cromwell Development Company on either side of the river, a short distance from the entrance to the gorge at the Cromwell flat end. These columns are being constructed of reinforced concrete. They are each 16ft square, and are to bo built up. to a height of about 50ft. They have already reached a. considerable height, and their construction has entailed a work of great magnitude to the employees. The columns stand on a rock foundation, and when they are completed, and everything is ready, quantities of explosives will be placed in tho -cavities provided at the foot of tho columns and the two huge piles of concrete "felled" into and across tho river. It is hoped that the columns will fall in one pieco and not bo too much shattered —that is why they are reinforced; They should dam bock tho river, and from this dam the company anticipates that it will secure a velocity flow down a race oil the land side sufficient to drive turbines and force the water up 27in pipes a considerable height so as to allow it to gravitate along the irrigation race provided at tho foothills abutting on tho Cromwell flat. A largo area of ground has been cultivated on these foothills by the company, and many thousands of fruit trees planted. Tho trees are growing very well, and tho long line of cultivated foothills shows that great care and patience have been expended in the work of getting it ready. Presumably the water not required for the foothills properties will be carried out on to the Cromwell flat proper, where a piece of ground, which has just been ploughed, shows blackand productive-looking soil. The work of tho Cromwell Development Company is fraught with the greatest promise to the people of tho Cromwell district, and if it is as successful as it is hoped it may bo it will ako mean that many tons of produce and fruit will one. day bo carried on tbo gorge railway line. Tho company is risking a largo sum of money, and if its venture is a success it will not only reap its reward, but tho City of Dunedin, and also the dominion, will benefit by that success. Moreover, tho company has in hand a scheme for generating electricity, and distributing it to fruit-growers and others on tho banks of the Molyneux, to be utilised for pumping water from the river for irrigation purposes on the present unproductive flats.

At a meeting of the Miramax Borough. Council on Thursday evening (says the Post) the following resolution was received from the Waipara County Council: " That, owing to the serious decline in the quantity of the world's foodstuffs, everyone with a small area of land bo urged to cultivate it and grow potatoes and other essential vegetables; that every endeavour be made to grow wheat and oats in large areas, and thereby help to keep our nation's granaries full; that a personal canvass be mado throughout the country making these requests and securing promises to comply with them; and also that half-holidays could bo profitably and healthfully used in the cultivation of the 6tnall areas." ; The coun-' cillore appeared to favour the suggestions .contained in &bs letter. -

The sequel to an ' affiliation caso in the City Pdlico Court was the arrest of tho parents of tho complainant. It appears that as the parties left tho court tho girl's mother, who was somewhat irato at the caso being' dismissed, attacked tho defendant, and a general raeleo took place amid tho shrioks from tho girl. Constable Sivyer (court orderly) then appeared on tho scene, and was in tho act of separating tho woman and tho dofondant when tho husband took a hand in tho proceedings. Ho was promptly placed under arrest along with his wife. A few minutes later Lena Hanley and Ernest John Hanley were brought before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., and . charged with assaulting Hugh Paterson. Senior Sergeant Hutton applied for a remand until next Monday, which was granted, tho accused being liberated on bail in their own recognisances- of £5 each. Rabbits in tho Otago Central district are boing purchased at present at 7d a pair. The rabbits are trapped, cleaned, and hung on a convenient fence, and tho buyers' carts come along and tako delivery. The rabbitcanning factory at Alexandra is in full .. swing, and it is said that its output has been purchased for export at £1 per dozen 21b tins, equal to lOd a lb. There aro rab- • bits everywhere in Otago Contral, and tho trappers are making very largo money. Ono family is said to have trapped over 200 rabbits in ono day, and to bo making anything up to £17 a week. Dno resident of Clyde has a boy 10 years of age, going to school. Tho boy has some 18 traps, and night and morning sets them.on the Clydo Domain. His father had just received a cheque for £3 lis for ! a short period of work by tho boy. A 6tory is told of a huge- catch by a man living near the Manuherilria. Tho thought struck him 'that if he blocked up tho end of a long road fenced on each sido with rabbit-proof netting and then dragged from tho open end he might meet with great success. Ho blocked tho road accordingly, and after the roqtrisito interval started a'drag from tho other end. Whether the statement that 800 rabbits were captured, and that more than this number escaped past tho outsides oftho drags is an exaggeration or not cannot bo ascertained, but it is certain that a hugo haul resulted. Somo farmers are now prepared to assert that more money can be got from rabbits than from sheep. Tho rabbit trapping season lasts for about five months, and tho pay is so satisfactory that it is now freely stated that in somo localities the rabbits aro being farmed. Any working man with a fow traps can, at the present prices, considerably add to his wages. If he is a trapper pure and simple, and can secure a good "pitch," he can, with hard work and a good knowledge of the art, bo assured of earning at least £6 or £7 a week. Like most other industries, the coachbuilding trade has suffered considerably through the loss of workers who have joined the colours. Many of its departments call for highly-skilled work, andj as several of these specialists aro now no longer available, the output of vehicles is considerably restricted.. With the shortage of labour, some of tho employers are hard pressed to complete contracts of an essential nature which they havo in hand, and reference to tho fact was made at the con- ' ference of tho \ New Zealand Coach and Motor Vehicle Trades' Federation at Wellington on Tuesday, when Mr H. A. Whitaker (president) moved:—"With a view of counteracting the shortage of labour, a problem seriously affecting our business, it is advisable to petition tho Efficiency Board to extend the hours of ■work per week 25 per cent, before overtime rates commence, also that provision be made whereby apprentices employed in businesses closed down through stress of war ,may bo taken over by other firms irrespective of the proportion laid down by tho present award." Mr ,J. W. Scurr seconded the motion, which was carried without further discussion. . A trial of boys' voices (ages 9 to 11 years) for the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir will be held in the Cathedral vestry on Friday evening at 7 o'clock toy Mr Ethelbert Heywood. W; Wilson, of America, has declared war ' 7 ' W"s°n, of Dnnedin, is selling 1917 model Harley-Davidsons. Year by year (for nearly 20 years) many improvements have been added which make it a mechanical masterpiece having no equal — Advt. Mollisons offer this week lovely Jap silk dressing gowns, 37s 6d for 255; dressinc jackets, 22s 6d for 15s; all new colourings — * Advt. Your health demands best. Watson's No 10 is choicest of whiskies.—Advt. You wouldn't accept a counterfeit sovereign! Treat imitations of "No Rubbing" Laundry Help the samo, way. Only the best is imitated. We sell the genuine Is packets, with "thinker's" notebook free Allan and Smith, Great King street.r-Advt For Influenza take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, Never fails. 1 3 6d, 2s od — Advt. A. E. J. Hakeley, dentist, Bank of Ans tralasm, corner of Bond and Rattray street* (next lelegrapo Office). Telephone 1859 — Advt. Launch owners, motorists, and. others don't havo trouble. Buy our Columbia Hotshot Batteries. We havo a fino assortment of Dry Batteries, Accumulators, Lamps Holders, etc., for ignition and lighting purposes.—Turnbull and Jones (Limited), electrical engineers, Dunedin. —Advt. Who is Peter Dick I—The most reliable Wntchmaker, Jeweller, and Certificated Consulting Optician, 480 Moray place (off Princei etroet;, Dunedin Charges moderate.—Advt.