The Ohinemuri Gazette. WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1918. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XXIX, Issue 3942, 10 July 1918, Page 2

The Ohinemuri Gazette. WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1918. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A full report of the public meetingconvened by the Second Division League will appear in our next issue.

A troop mail arrived in Paeroa yesterday, which brought a good many welcome letters from England and

France

At the court this morning the magistrate, Mr E. D. Mosley, said that it should be more widely known that women who are b m in New Zealand „or are British subjects become aliens by virtue of their marriage with aliens and should register under the Aliens Act.

The Waihi Telegraph of Monday says that several cases of chickinpox have occurred in Waihi, particularly at the East End, and that the number is increasing.

About 70 sheets of corrugated iron, on dwelling at Karangahake, is advertised for sale. Particulars.may be obtained from Mr W. Yuglar, Kaianga-

hake

MS- W. C. Thompson, orchardist instructor for the Department of Agriculture, will give a demonstration of fruit tree pruning at Mrs J. Nathan's place on Thames Road on Tuesday afternoon next, July 16. The demonstration will commence at 2.30 o'clock with an address on "Control of Orchard Pests," by Mr Thompson.

One reason for the very large increase in the importation of whisky into New Zealand (says the Domniion) is said to be the "drying up" of Canada and several of the States of America. As is pretty well known, the whisky consumed in America is not all rye whisky, and while the French-Canadians have a taste for white whisky there is a considerable demand for "Scotch," and well-known Scottish brands of whisky are purveyed in America. The "drying up" of a number of States and the whole of Canada has congested stocks which had to fte get rid of—and one of the few open doors —though there was a cry for essential building and manufacturing materials —is New Zealand.

The officers of the Maori on Tuesday morning (says the Dominion) on the vessel's arrival at Lyttelton, stated that the previous night's trip was the worst the ferry steamer had experienced for five years. It will certainly be a memorable trip to a party of. four ladies, and to the passengers also of the top deck cabins, who were startled at 12.45 a.m. by cries of "An explosion ! An explosion !" The four lady passengers, apparently startled by the sound of smashing crockery un^ derneath them, and the crash of deck seats overhead, which followed a particularly bad list of the ship, rushed upstairs panic-stricken. Two of them later explained that what did happen was that an elderly lady was first to give the alarm, whereupon all four endeavoured to don lifebelts, but without effect. They then rushed upstairs, lifebelts in hand, and clad in nightdresses only. And yet the only consolation to their distressful cries came from the proverbial Scotsman — an A.B. on the ship—"Fur . . .

goodness sake get to your beds !"

In the present war a soldier has 29 chances of coming home to one chance of being killed ; 98 chances of recovery from wounds to two chances of dying ; only one chance in 500 of losing a limb; will live five years longer because of physical training ; and is freer from disease in the army than in civil life. In other wars, from 10 to 15 men died from disease to one from bullets. In this yar, one man dies from disease to every 10 from bullets. —Exchange.

Two Waihi lads, scarcely in their teens, the sons of a local resident, imbued with the spirit of the times, set to work,on their father's section in Victoria Street, digging a trench. As the work progressed they were joined by other juveniles, and in course of time the trench, about five feet deep and the orthodox width, was connected up with a communication trench, and two or three dugouts' were added. This work completed, the youngsters set about covering their work with a camouflage, and by Saturday evening the top of the trench was effectively covered. The sequel to the military works occurred at an early hour yesterday morning, when a valuable horse, which had been deceived by the camouflage, was discovered in the main trench. The assistance of a couple of neighbours was forthcoming, who with picks and shovels cut a sloping roadway into the trench. Then a rope was fastened round the entrenched animal and hitched on to another horse, and with a strong pull the quadruped was hauled out, none the worse for its adven-_ ture. —Telegraph.

A few remarks bearing on the Wellington milk supply were made by the chairman of the Second Military Service Board (Mr J. W. Poynton, S.M.) on Thursday last, to a dairy farmer who was asking for the exemption of his son. Mr Poynton said: "If we were to exempt your boy (I don't say that we will) you would have to give a guarantee to supply the City of Wellington, and not go sending the milk to a factory. There is a temptation for dairy farmers to do that, and in ordinary circumstances a farmer has a perfect right to do it, but seeing the urgent call for milk for the city, we would only exempt him on condition he sent it to Wellington."

The usual monthly meeting of the Paeroa Borough Council will be held in the Council Chambers to-morrow j

evening

The old saying that "a man who actsi as his own solicitor usually has a fool for his client" was well illustrated in Court this morning, when a bylaw case was bein,g heard as a test case. The magistrate was very emphatic in his remarks that in a test case the Borough Council <"ught to have instructed counsel as it could not expect a layman to know and argue the law.

The Karangahake Red Cross Committee concluded their work on Monday night, when the raffles were drawn, Mr S. Ray winning the steer, Mr J. Kennedy the pig, and Mr B. Neil the gladstone ba,g. The committee also drew the surprise packets, and prizes can be obtained up to Friday night next. Karangahake did remarkably well with their Red Cross effort, raising a total sum of £491, including the £50 raised by the Ladies' Crcquet Club.

Theae is advertised for sale, cheap, a lot of useful building material, including rough and rusticated weather* boards, registered grate, double brick chimney, etc. Particulars may be ob-tained-from Mr A. Reid, Mackaytown.

Miss Thorp, of the New Zealand Church Missionary Society, has (says the Church Gazette) been located to Chun,g-an, which is in the far west of the Fuh Kien province, China. In a recent letter Miss Thorp announces her safe arrival there after a journey of two and a half weeks up the River Mm. She was much impressed with the very beautiful scenery all the way up^the river. The journey through the* rapids was exciting to a new-comer. There were also rumours of robber bands in the vicinity. The mission station at Chung-an was opened four years ago midst much distrust, but this has largely disappeared, and there are now great openings for mission work, in the thickly populated district. Miss Thorp is the eldest daughter of Mrs A. J. Thorp, of Te Aroha Road, Paeroa.

Referring to land' for soldiers in the course of a chat with a Gisborne Times reporter, Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald mentioned a fact that is not generally known. He said that if a soldier came across a property which he thought would suit him, he could apply to the Government, stating particulars, and if it was deemed suitable, the Government would acquire the place for him, and, furthermore, would advance him up to £750 for stock, etc. Similarly, a number of soldiers together might see a larger property which they might desire to divide. They could draw a rough plan of the place and ballot for the sections among themselves, and then apply to the Government, which, subject to approval, would acquire the place for them.

An illustration of how casualty lists may be made to appear more serious than they really are, or need be, is recorded by a Dunedin soldier in a letter to one of his friends. The soldier (an ex-Otago representative cricketer) was reported wounded for the fourth time some weeks ago, and he now explains the nature of his "wound.'' "I had a slight accident with my rifle a couple of weeks ago," he says, "and grazed two of my fingers with the bullet. It was nothing, but I went to the dressing station to get a piece of bandage wrapped round them. To my surprise and annoyance the doctor said it. would have to go through the , casualty lists. Fancy worrying one's people with cables, etc., over a little thing like that. However, 'it's orders,' and had to be done."

At his lecture in Hamilton on Wednesday night, Rev. H. L. Blamires mentioned that he had met many Hamilton men on active service and in hospitals. Among them was Private Tom Davies, of Claudelands,'who had lost both his legs. A nurse told him that she had rarely found a more cheerful man in the hospital. The New Zealanders had gained a name for themselves for their cheerfulness and helpfulness while in hospital. "I don't wish the New Zealanders any harm," said one matron, "but I wish my hospital . was . full of them." — Times.

"A man should not be penalised for his whole life because he is a little backward in his courting," said a member of the Returned Soldiers' Association at a meeting at Wellington last week. He explained that under the existing law a returned . soldier drawing a war pension on account of some disability incurred on active service can get a pension for his wife if he marries within two years of his discharge. The recent conference of returned soldiers at Auckland decided to urge that the time limit should be removed, in order that partially-dis-abled soldiers might fte enabled to marry, and assist in improving the birth-rate.

The following extract from the life of that distinguished German, the late Professor Max Muller, written during 1884 and 1885, must interest anyone at the present time :—" When one reads the discussions in Parliament one might easily fear for England ; tut they are mere fireworks. The nation is of good old stock, and woe to him who forgets this. England will never be conquered, never before the last Englishman, the last Scotsman, the last Irishman—aye, the last Australian, the last Canadian, the last Newfoundlander, the last Sikh —- aye, the last Yankee has fallen. Every man in Europe is now a soldier ; England is the only land that has not taken to arming her people. Drive England into a corner, and to-morrow every man is a soldier. There may be jealousies between her colonies, but if it came to extremities the colonies would allow no hair of England to be touched. Even India, which was formerly a danger, has shown that England's enemies are her enemies."