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Otago Witness, Issue 3292, 18 April 1917, Page 3

An octopus measuring about 6ft across from tentacle to tentacle was caught at Portobello on the 7th. The monster was dragged to shore after a tussle by means of a boat hook wielded by two men, and looked a fearsomo object as it lay stretched out on the wall running alongside the roadway.

The Grand Orango Lodge concluded its annual sessions on tho 10th inst. Tho remaining office-bearers were elected as fol-. lows:—Grand Executive—Bro. B. J. Middleton (Christchurch), A. Donald (Masterton), A. Noble (Invercargill), E. N. Buddcri (Palmerston North), and I. M'Farlano (Dunedin) ; Grand Committee—Bros. W. Dixoni (Auckland), J. Patterson (Auckland), E. L. Moore (Wellington), H. W. Ashley (Invercargill), and W. J. Harvey (Auckland). Tha installation of the officers then took place.

Tho Gazette of March 8 contains a dor claration of the reserving of a block of land in Central Otago as a sanctuary fop imported game. The land referred to extends one mile up tho Taieri River, from where tho Styx Creek enters, a belt id chains wide on the left bank of the. river, and sill the land on the right bank betweei the river and tho publio road. *■ Messrs Walter George Foster (chairman), William Drummond Stewart, and Dr Charles John Iteaks, all of Wellington, have been appointed a Requisitions Committee in connection with the acquisition by tho Government of the New Zealand wool clip. A letter received from a Wellington resident who visited the scene of thermal activity at Waimangu states that the noise made by tho geyser could be heard soma miles away, and that by the time the party reached Earthquake Flat they could sea flashes of flame ascending skyward. Weatherboards from the e'estroyed accommodation house could be seen a mile away from their original position, and tho whole place had the appearance of being covered with cement. Rainbow Mountain, some miles behind the hostel, was all covered wi h mud, and trees everywhere were flatteneo down. While the visitors were there tho geyser was very and threw up a fine shot to a distance of five or six hundred feet.

Now Zealand does not appear to very many "shirkers," but the Dominion states that there are a few young men who put themselves to quite a lot of trouble to avoid receiving the official notices that (hey have been selected under the compulsory clauses of the Military Service Act, Apparently they have an idea that -if they do not receive the notices they will not bo* oomo liable for service. The issue of theso notices is purely an act of grace on the part of tho Defence Department. The essential notification, under the Act, is tha publication of tho name in tho Gazette, and no reservist can excuse himself by claiming that ho did not receive a special comc;unication from tho Defenco Depart* mc.it. It is the duty of oach man to ascer« tain whether or not his name appears in tho gazetted lists. The Lord Mayorof London (Sir William Dunn), presiding at a Mansion House meat.

ing i:i aid of fcho Women's Wartime Workers' Fund, said that there were now over 1?0 munition and military centres in which the Young Women's Christian Association was maintaining huts. Lord Sydenham said that we owed it in a very jjreat measure to the women that our splendid troops no longer felt inferior in artillery, &nd were able last autumn to storm

the strongest position that enemy engineers ever created, when they dealt a blow from which the enemy had not yet recovered, and from which he thought they would never recover. " When victory has come—and w© know that it is coming—we shall owo the women a debt whioh wo can never repay. Without them wo could not have commended victory." Dr Addison, Minis-

ter of Munitions, said that if they had been deterred by many prophets there would have been many fewer than 800,000 women now acting as substitutes for men in industries. At the present time there were more than 500,000 of them engaged in munition production, and the number was increasing daily. The employment agencies were now bringing into the munition works about 34,000 additional women a month.

At a recent meeting of the Otago Land Board it was resolved that soldiers on active service should be placed on the same footing as discharged soldiers with regard to making applications for land. Information has now been received by the board that it is not intended to amend the Discharged Soldiers' Act to enable undischarged soldiers to participate in a ballot for land. It may be suggested to the Government that this is a question which requires careful and sympathetic consideration. Those who are still in tho trenches have very strong claims in the matter of the disposal of land during their absence, and it is certainly arguable that the Land Board is on the right lines in endeavouring to preserve the interests of the men while they are away from New Zealand.

Mr R. T. Sadd, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Mr. Ritchie, chairman of the Land Purfchaso Board, last week inspected properties in the Outram and Roxburgh districts which are under offer to the Crown for subdivision for settlement purposes.

In Victoria mice are now being slain in millions as the result of the campaign for the protection of the wheat stacks. The biggest catch for one night at a single stack so far has been 30,000 mice at the Lasoelv.s station. At the Marnoo station the figures for the first three nights were 8000, 10,000, and 12,000. It looked as if the numbers caught were going to rise in-" definitely, but after the third day the haul settled down to about 10,000 a night. Banyena and other stations on the LubeckMarnoo line show results similar to those at Marnoo. So far the system adopted of fencing in the stacks, with traps at intervals, has worked well judging by tho number of mice caught, but it seems to mako little difference in their numbers. At Wahring bi-sulphide of carbon proved effective in driving the mice out of the stack, but most of thorn were only dazed, and recovered afterwards, though some died. In the Gouiburn Valley and tho North-East tho wheat is being rapidly moved away. In the Western district, to the south of tho Adelaide line, the mice trouble is not serious, and the same is true of the district north of Bendigo as far as Kerang and Cohuna. In tho districts most affected, such as tho Wimmera and parts of the Malice, the whole country is overrun with mice. The more adventurous mice are coming clown to the seaboard. Sometimes when railway trucks full of wheat arrive at Geelong the mice jump out in dozens. Up in the Mallee the mice are now invading the houses, and doing much damage. At Donald a travelling representative of the Wheat Commission found in the morning that a mouse had made a nest under his pillow, and it is said that the mice also eat holes in the bedclothes.

Butler, who is charged with murdering Miss Foster ut View Hill, is a single man, born in Canterbury. He has evidently been thrifty, for his account at the Savings Bank is in credit of £406. After his arrest ho spoke in a whisper only when spoken to, and appeared to bo in a very nepvous state, bordering on collaps-v. He is at present, in gaol at Lyttolton, where he will be kept under close suivejlian-n, especially so in view of his confessed attempt on his own life at View Hill.

At a -meeting recently of the governors of the Middlesex Hospital, Dr C. H Drowning, director of the Bland-t Sutton Institute, made an important announcement. He said that since the war had created by tens of thousands wounds infected with the ba of sepsis there had been a clamant need for chemical substances which would aid the surgeon in his treatment of these terribly distressing cases. Ho was glad to bo able to say that the Bland-Sutton Institute had discovered an antiseptic, which they had called " Flavino," which afforded the surgeon in his jfight against sepsis what was probably the most powerful accessory weapon known so far. Before the war all the potent antiseptics were also highly poisonous to the living body, and many distinguished surgeons despaired of the discovery of an ideal antiseptic which should

kill the bacteria, without harming the tissues. With flavine they had come very near to reaching this goal, and the sum total of saving in individual suffering, as well as the economic gain to the nation, effected by cutting short sepsis in wounds , was a gain of which the magnitude could scarcely be realised. The possibilities of such ! a discovery were by no means exhausted, 1 and the investigation of agents for the treatment of tuberculosis and other infective diseases had already begun. He earnestly appealed for means to pursue these and similar important researches which the Bland-Sutton Institute had in . hand.

At tho annual meeting of -the Institute ' for tho Blind at. Auckland, the secretary (Mr Leslio Hunt) announced that a gentleman who arrived recently from the Old Country had presented a gift in the shape I of a handsome silver watch made for the 1 use of tho blind. It had raised points on the face at tho five-minute marks, and enlarged points at the quarter-hour denoters. The donor merely stipulated that the Board of Trustees, at its discretion, should hand the gift to a • returned soldier. The chairj man pointed out that the institute so far I had not received any afflicted soldiers as ' pupils, but there was.no saying what the war would produce yet. The generosity of tho unknown donor was much appreciated.

j The traffic returns for the New Zealand railways for the financial year just closed show that the total number of passengers for tho year was 13,124.986, as against 13,252,063 for 1915-16, a decrease of 127,077. Season tickets, on the other hand, show an increase of 25,980, from 303,596 to 329,576. •The number of cattle, sheep, pigs, and calves carried during the past year was 6,297,351, as compared with. 6,655,880 for 1915-16, a decrease of 358,529; and the tonnage of goods carried also shows a decrease of 182,024, from 5,499,789 tons to 5,317,765. Tho revenue for the year, on the other hand, shows an increaso of £207,886, from £4,171,451 to £4,379,337; while the expenditure for the year shows a decrease of £38,263, from £2,687,775 to £2,649,512.

A cable message from Potrograd, published in the Australian papers, states that the Russian Provisional Government has created a Ministry of Fine Art. Maxim Gorki, the novelist, will be the first Minister, and he will have a scat in the Government.

At a meeting of the Waikato Hospital and Charitable Aid Board (says a Press Association message from Hamilton) the engineer reported a serious shortage of coal supplies, and stated that the whole of the power plant was in danger of being stopped on account of the shortage. Fifteen tons of coal per week were necessary during the winter The board resolved to communicatewith the Minister, and that, in the meantime, labour be put on to secure firewood. Mr J. H. Walker (chairman of the Otago Hospital and Charitable Aid Board), who announced recently that he would not seek re-election to that body, has decided, as a result of a requisition that was presented to him. signed by a largo number of representative citizens and the whole of the members of the present board, to accept nomination.

A suggestion that the State should acquire colliers was one of the many ambitious Socialistic schemes propounded by a deputation of timber workers who waited on the Acting Prime Minister last week (says our Wellington correspondent). "We have a Stats coal mine," said Sir James Allen," and, judging by recent experiences, a State collier would not b& of very much use to us. Ws can"; get any State coal now. If State industriet ar--> going to be Bubjs&i to these strikes, they are not going to be much more, uso to u 3 than private indtuU'ies. If we had colliers w«j might have the men on the colliers striking. I don't see how W 6 are going to have any security unless there is going to be some better understanding between labour and capital and the Government, all agreeing to work together for tho good of the whole community. This seems to me to be the only way in which efficiency can bo produced."

A correspondent of tho Poverty Bay Herald relates an extraordinary affair. A Finn named Jack Matson, who works at Messrs Coop Bros.' station on the Mahia Peninsula, was attacked by a stag within

300 yards of the homestead. He was driving a pack horse in front of him, he being on foot, and looking around Tio saw the stag walking behind him. He had never seen deer before, and called out to his mate, -who was working on some cattleyards about 100 yards way, to look at the devil following him. When he stopped the stag bayed at him, and the boy tried to get behind a stump, but the stag was too quick, and drove one of his tines in between two of his ribs, piercing his lung. The boy pluckily caught hold of the antlers and yelled out for his mate, who came as fast as he could with an axe. By that time the stag had Matson down, and was doing his best to kill him, tearing his clothes and inflicting another nasty wound in his thigh. When his mate got there the stag drew off about 12ft, and stood, and with his mate's assistance Matson was enabled to get on to a high log. Anderson then ran to the homestead for a rifle, and the manager went with him. The stag in the meantime tried to get at Matson, but could not reach him, and 'when he heard voices, he went to meet Anderson and the manager. Five or six shots made him groggy, and he went into a small gully, and the manager followed him, and the next shot killed him. A doctor was sent for from Wairoa. The- patient is still in a dangerous condition. He had a bad shock, and except for his mate being near would havo been killed. The manager has the stag's head (10 points) and skin.

A story of heartless desertion of a brideelect is told at Napier. A wedding was to have been celebrated a few days ago. All arrangements for the ceremony were well in hand, and an hour before the appointed time the bridegroom, who is a returned "hero," borrowed his prospective mother-in-law's bicycle to go on a small errand. The bride and the attendants and the impatient minister, after a considerable wait at the church, were obliged to return to their homes in great disappointment, the bridegroom having failed to put in an appearance at the church. He is believed to have pawned the cyole at a well-known dealer's*, and then made good his escape, for he has not been seen or heard of since.

. During the past week or two the Otago Bible Society lias had somewhat heavy calls made upon it for the supply of Testaments to our soldiers. In response to an appeal by Chaplain-captain Irvine, of the 24th Reinforcements, a package of 80 Instalments was forwarded. On Tuesday, 10th, Chaplains _Balfour, Small, and Miller distributed 180 Testaments to the men of the 28th Reinforcements, who were proceeding to camp. The Otago Bible Society has from the very outbreak of the war endeavoured to arrange for the supply of soldiers' Testaments to the men leaving the dominion, either by means of local supplies or on the arrival of the troops at their destination.

The Southland League communicated by cable with Sir Joseph Ward a few days ago soliciting his aid in a protest against the proposed curtailment of the railway services in so far as it -affects the through train from Invercargill to Christchurch. The secretary of the Southland League has received a cablb in reply from Sir Joseph intimating that lie will do what he can regarding the matter.

Keports that were presented at the monthly meeting of the Southland Hospital Board this week indicate that there is a serious incidence of infectious disease in the district. During the month of March 85 cases were notified, including 16 of scarlet fever, 62 of diphtheria, and five of infantile paralysis. The outbreak of diphtheria, it was reported, increased in intensity during the month, the number of cases notified being very much larger than in any previous month, 'whilst the area affected seemed to be spreading also. There were two deaths from diphtheria in the Southland Hospital during the month, and several of the staff contracted the disease.

Following upon the recent prosecution of newspapers hi Wellington for breaches of the War Regulations, proceedings are to be taken against Dr Bedford and the proprietors of the Evening Star, summonses to that effect having been issued. The charge against Dr Bedford arises out of the subject matter of an interview indicating the movements of ships and the disposition of troops; and that against the newspaper is a contravention of the regulations in respect thereto.

Mrs Lindo Ferguson, who was approached on Thursday by a deputation representative of various women's organisations in the city, and asked to recall her decision not to offer herself as a candidate for re-election to the Hospital Board, made her decision known on Friday in terms that make it impossible for her to refuse nomination. She said that she had been counting much on a rest from public work, but if the deputation attached so much importance to lier services as they had implied, she felt that she had no option but to put personal considerations on one side, and allow herself to bo renominated. She thanked them all fof their very generous recognition of h'jr efforts in the service of the pubU<>.

Tho many in Now Zealand who have an acquaintance with Apia, Samoa, will bd interested to learn that the Tivoli Hotfif there was totally destroyed by fire oil March 18. The firo was discovered by Private Ruffin, of Victoria, an "Anzac,'-' who was staying at the hotel, but as he waa a stranger to the place he could not locate the hand-grenades. The natives, with a posse of soldiers under Lieutenant Wollermann, succeeded in saving the church next door after a big fight. The natives especi-

ally (says the local paper) strove with frantic energy. There was something touching in the grave concern they exhibited at the prospect of losing then- beloved place of worship. "Slave the church," Seumanutafa, the high chief, exclaimed: "We must save the church if we lose our lives!"

John Robert Lee was charged before Messrs R. Aitchison and P. Haggart, J.P.'s, at Kaitangata on Friday, with the theft at Lovell's juiat ol £1 6s, the property of the Lovell's Flat School Committee, on or übout April 10. Constable Martin asked for a remand till the 19th inst, and this was granted

The collections taken at the services of the Presbyterian Church, Middlemarch, on the occasion of the harvest thanksgiving, along with the offerings of fruit and produce, t>.cc\ -/anted in value to over £ls. They will be devoted to tho Presbyterian Orphanage, Dunedin, and the social service section of the church. ,- Sir W. C. Buchanan remarked at V a meeting of farmers, held in Master ton, on tho 9fch, that in Germany th« authorities were encoi.i.aging potato growing in order to cope with the shortage of wheat, etc. He wished to know whether it might not be more profitable to grow potatoes than wheat. The Minister of Agriculture replied that he was obtaining a report from his department on the subject of potatogrowing. In growing potatoes the fact of the blight must not be los~, sighc of. The more potatoes that were grown the less quantity of flour would be required. At a meetiner of Anglican clergy, held at the diocesan office on Friday, it was decided ttuit o.i ijay thure should bt an early celebration in ail the churches, and that so far as Dijjiedin is concerned there should; be a joint service in St. Paul's Cathedral at 11 a.m. It wa3 also suggested that all offertories on that day should be sent to the diocesan treasurer, to be forwarded to the official organiser of the Military Affairs Committee.

Private advice has been "received o£ the promotion of Major C. F. D. Cook to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Lieutenantcolonel Cook is a son of the late Professor Cook, of Christchurch, and partner in the legal firm of Messrs Fullerton-Smith, Miles, and Cook, of Marten and Feilding. He left with the Main Body. In an article in tnc New. York Times, Mr Sutphe'n, in speaking of an order received from the British Government for submarine chasers, says: "Our first contract with the English was for 50 boats. Although we do not know juslgwhat they did with them we do know that soon after the first of thorn had been delivered and put to work, the British sent over a rush contract for p,n o more of the Fame pattern. We finished and delivered the last of the batch on October 31 last year, although tho contract did not call for the delivery of the entire outfit until December 15. The English declared all along that it would be a physical impossibility for us to do the work ot. litr.f:, but we finished six weeks ahead, and in lees than 550 days after getting the first contract. On getting under way we turned out the boat 3 at the rate of three a day." The article indicated that it was proposed to build thousands of these boats, which are 80ft long, of 32 tons, and 500 h.p., giving a speed of about 19 knots an hour.

During last month 17,593 persons visited the newspaper and magazine rooms of the Carnegio Library, and 1933 the reference library, making a total of 19,526 as against 19,331 for the corresponding period last year. The total number of books issued for home reading was 18,675. The new books added to tho library in March totalled 145, and the number of books in stock at the end of that month was 23,619.

Mr Basil Watson, the Victorian aviator, who had gained fume for many long flights in Australia, and was regarded in England as an intrepid airman, was killed in tragic circumstances at the Point Cook aviation grounds on the afternoon of March 28. He had flown from Albert Park to the Aviation School, and when at an altitude of 2000 ft above tho A.I.F. camp, which adjoins tho camp of the Flying Corps, his machine suddenly collapsed while looping the loop, and fell into the bay, about 40 yards from

the shore end of tho military enclosure. Death is believed to have been instantaneous. Those who were witnessing Mr Watson's terrible plight estimate that the biplane dropped the 2000 ft in a little more than two seconds. The machine crashed nose first into three feet of water, only a few yards from where a number of men were bathing. In Westport, on Saturday week,, sugar was almost an unobtainable commodity (says' the News). The majority of the grocers were doling ft out in small quantities, and some were even compelled to inform customers that they could not supply that much. One grocer telegraphed to a Greymouth firm an order, but received a reply: " Not a bag in Greymouth." Not only is the Coast kept in short supply, but tho price i 3 steadily mounting up—from something like £ls a ton at the outbreak of the wax to £2O or more at the present timeSome time ago the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society applied to the Minister of Internal Affairs for permission to collect swans' eggs round about Lake Ellesmere and to sell them for certain named objects. Mr Russell gave-the permission, and during the season a rich harvest has been gathered. The net profit on the collection and sale of the eggs was about £l3O. Of this sum the society retains half and the other half, -which was handed to the Minister, has been appropriated to assist the sick and wounded soldiers in the Queen Mary Hospital at Hanmer Springs. John Mackenzie, the old man 80 years of age, who was knocked down by a. motor car at the corner of Frederick street and Princes street about a month ago, died at the Hospital at an early hour on Sunday morning. Several rainbow trout, varying from eight to 121 b in weight, have been netted in Lake Hawea this season. In past years these trout were usually secured near the mouths of the various streams, but they are , now reported to be obtainable in almost any portion of the lake.

The Montreal Empire Resources Committee proposes to form a 200,000,000-acre State farm in tho west of Canada. The scheme staggers the Federal provincial officials, though it is recognised that the backers of the idea are not visionaries, but hard-headed, practical statesmen of vast experience, used to handling enormous problems. It is believed, however, that grave difficulty will be presented by the fact that State-owned land does not exceed 25,000,000 acres, in Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, and that the balance of the land is owned by the railways or privately, the latter land being more settled, and commanding a far higher price than that suggested by the committee.

The Taranaki Herald states that MiKeith Matthews, of New Plymouth, who has been working in Wellington for some months past on a war invention, has been cabled for by the Admiralty. It is understood that the invention is very highly spoken of, and has passed all tests successfully. It is currently reported that a local syndicate has taken in hand tho construction of a steamer for the New Zealand coastal trade,. capable of carrying some 350 tons of cargo. The proposal is to make use cf the engines from a wrecked vessel. Owing to the impossibility of getting steel plates at tho present time the new vessel will necessarily be of the composite typo, wltb steel frames and wooden planking instead of plates. It is intended to have the ship built locally.

Major C. H. S. Snow, who has recently received the Military Cross for distinguished services in the campaign in German East Africa, is a New Zealandor (writes the South African correspondent of the Christchurch Press, tinder date of March 1). The prospect of fighting attracted him to South Africa at tho outbreak of the Boer war in 1899, and when he was 17 years of age ho worked his passage to Capetown in tho engine room of the "Waiwera. Enlisting in the South African Light Horse as a trooper, the New Zealander saw two and a-half years' service in tho field, chiefly under Colonel Byng, in General Buller's column on tho Natal sido. During the Boer war Major Snow was promoted to the rank of armourer-sergeant, and he received two medals and eight clasps—a generous reward and one well deserved. During the late

B'oer rebellion Major Snow joined the Transvaal Special Motor Service Corps as lieutenant in charge of the armoured motor cars. Towards the conclusion of the rebellion, Major Snow, like the man in the parable of the talents, was given charge of 20 armoured motor corps, and he accompanied General Botha to "Windhuk, where he received his captaincy. In German East Africa, Major Snow was attached to General Beit's column. Major Snow has two brothers fighting— D'Oyly Reis Snow, who was in Egypt and Gallipoli, and is now in France, and Lieutenant F. H. Snow, who entered the Union Forces as a cadet on November 15, and is now in East Africa.

The cocksfoot campaign inaugurated by the Southland Education Board (says our Invercargill correspondent) has resulted in remarkably good work being down by the country schools and by individual pupils. A notable achievement is that of the Waikaka School, no fewer than nine full sacks of seed being sent in by its pupils. The children deserve to be complimented on their efforts, especially on their generous action in giving a portion of the proceeds to the Red Cross Funds. It is understood that the bulk of this large quantity of seed was collected by. one family of children, one boy having gathered 1501 b. It is evident that if this matter of cocksfoot collection were taken up heartily by other schools muCjh more than sufficient of the seed for the needs of the province could be collected, while it is patent that our farmers themselves would be well advised to sow down cocksfoot for seed, as the quality of the samples which aiv< being- received is excellent.