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PEDLAR'S PACK.

"Love is no huckster; that Is ruin's is Uiine."

TO —~. On through tho night, my faint track scarce discerned,. Under the Stars of Heaven I sped, and free My thoughts soared to the Infinite. Suddenly A warmth, a gleam, a murmur, and I learned Thou wert bceido. me. Lovingly I turned, And there mine eyes were holden, nod « by Theo But by tho Morning Star, that over ma With deep, still, radiant beauty burned ) and burned. Soft Lamp of God, set in His midnight Sky To illumo His sun-reft sea, and plain, and hill— Thy perfect symbol [ For Thou, too, ark high As Heaven above Earth; Thcu, too, dosk fill Our night with radiance wheso sources lie Deep as the depths of Godhood, and ad still. MAESYA3.-

A Press Association cable message from Sydney states that the half-year's revenue of New South Wales shows a decrease of £75,592 as compared with the corres]K»nding six months of 1916. Aviation Day was observed in Napier on the 26th ul't. under good weather conditions; passenger flights being made by a 90 horse-power Curtis seaplane, belonging ■ to the New Zealand Flying School, Auckland. Twenty-seven passengers made flights, including several ladies. The first few passengers paid £lO for tho trip, bub tho price was afterwards reduced to £5. The general opinion expressed by the ladies concerning their experience in the air was: "Oh, it was great. I wouldn't have missed it for anything." Mr Winston Churchill, presiding at a, ■ Boy Welfare Conference in October, made this memorable statement: "The scythe is swinging to and fro, cutting its swathes, and each year a new and terrible toll is taken. We cannot tell .when this awful motion will cease, but wo know that the day will come when, suddenly—quite suddenly—as uncontrollably a 3 it began, the scythe will stop, and then you will see a clear line drawn between those who have been precipitated into the abyss of war and have suffered in mind and body these terrible experiences, and those who have been arrested, as it were, upon the very verge. Those will bo tho boys, the youth, the new generation, the intact, lyxshattered generation, at once the hope of the. future, the judges of the past. They need your caro and that of all who wish to see tho fruits of this great struggle not cast away." .

There have been some excellent? records of war service established by New Zealand families, but probably the following would bo hard to beat: Mr Thonia3 Pratt, late of tho Baptist Manso, Lincoln, and now of Linwood, has a cousin of the same namo living in. Bradford, Yorkshire, tho wholo of whoso family of nine sons and one girl are engaged in war work. Three of tho sons are officers, four are non-commissioned officers and privates, one controls a munitions works, and'r>no is a scout. Tho daughter is a Red Cross nurse. There was recently published in a Home paper a photograph of this patriotic family. Tho 1918 military boot will be an improvement on tho previous pattern, though there were no complaints last year. It. has bceu found that, as tho soldier has to do a groat deal of kneeling:, the boot toe' wears cnit and loses its shaipe, especially "in wet weather. Pads of leather were used to keep up the shape of-the toe, but tho wet softened them, and now tho leather is being reinforced with a small piece of metal, so that the boot will remain in good shape under tho worst conditions. Canvas shoes for rest time and ship wear have been discarded in favour of comfortablo leather shoes, which keep their shape and appearanco longer, and aro therefore better value to the State, which has so many thousands to keep in footwear.

In pre-war days, when a captain managed to bring his ship into safety after unusual exertions, it was the custom of underwriters to see that his conduct received some substantial acknowledgement. It is therefore the more to be regretted that when vessels are attacked by submarines, and, in spite of enormous difficulties, masters manage to get their vessels into port in a badly-damaged condition, little is dono

to show a. proper appreciation of their pluok and resource (says a •writer in Fairplay). fieverai cases have been brought before my jiotico recently where, apart from any recognition, tho master was paid of? "until ■uoH timo s.s the ship was repaired." If one- of his Majesty's vessels is damaged, the officers and crew are not paid oil'; and when it is remembered that the mercantile marine is "carrying on" for the sake of ,tho country, it is certainly not quite the thing that mercantile officers should lose their job and their pay. Tho difficulty, of course, rests with the Government War Risks Office, in which the hulls of steamers aro Insured—tho owners receiving only tho paiserable Blue Book rates, which do not leave any. margin for generosity; hut I would suggest that whero the master and officers manage to save their vessel for the jmtion, and in doing so save tho War B-isks Offioe from a heavy total lor.s of ship and cargo, some substantial reoornpenso should bo paid by the Government.

Japanese .goods havo been plentiful in Wellington shops this Christinas (says the Dominion), but it does not appear that

they have given satisfaction everywhere. It is a common complaint that these goods, while cleverly made, and often smart in appearance, have not the quality or the wear that will give satisfaction. " We are notgoing to handle Japanese stuff in this shop next Christmas," 3aid one retailer. "The Japanese goods sell, but only in a few cases do they give satisfaction. People who are accustomed to European standards of quality will not readily accommodate themselves to tho Asiatic standard, and we ere finding that tho shortage of fancy goods that followed the outbreak of war is rapidly disappearing. The British firms are ready to supply now, and their quality is good." The Stato meat shops in Auckland are to bo operated >mder a ne?v schemo from the beginning of the year. Dr Reakes, of the Department of Agriculture,' and members of tho Board of Trade have visited Auckland lately to arrango tho details. The shops have drawn meat from the cold stores in the past, but they have been required to take carcases in the order in which they entered tho stores. This meant often that tho. meat had been held in store

to the order of the Imperial Government for six or eight months before it was re-, leased for local sale, and the accumulated storago charges have been added to the price. The Prime Minister stated, in reply to a question on the subject '.hat the meat would be released in future at the price paid for it by the Imperial Government without tho addition of storage charges. It is considered unfair that local consumers should bo burdened with tho storage charges when at the same time there is available meat that has only just entered the stores and so has not been burdened with any storage costs. Some details connected with the management of the shops are to be improved. Mr J. D. Foster ,a returned soldier, and a member of the Y.M.C.A. Gymnasium, on Thursday made an attempt to swim Wellington Harbour. He left Day's Bay at 11.30, heading for Pipitea wharf. The temperature of the water (44deg.) proved too low, and at 1.15 Mr Foster gave up the enterprise. He had then swum three miles. Some time in February, when the water will be warm, he hopes to repeat the venture with better success.

A light, drizzling rain set in shortly before 8 o'clock on New Year's eve, and gradually increased in density as the evening wore on, till towards midnight there was a steady heavy downpour. As a consequence there were not the same number of people in the streets as were to be seen on Christmas eve. Probably, however, had the weather been fine there' would not have been a much greater number of people about, as there has been a big outflow from the city to the various holiday resorts. Most business people had a very slack day. There was an almost complete absence of rowdyism in the streets and practically no drunkenness. The leavening effect of the thoughts for our men in the trenches restrained anyone giving way to undue exuberance. The traffic on the railways for' December 29 and 31 and January 1 shows that 6087 passengers travelled from Dunedin, as against 8462 for the corresponding days of last year. The decrease occurred principally in the night trains run on New Year's Eve to Ohristchurch and Invercargill, and was also brought about owing to the fact that races were held on January 1 last year at Waikouaiti, when 1200 people were carried on the trains. About 330 people travelled [to Oamaru on the Ist, where races were held, but otherwise the traffic was not up to expectations. The vital statistics for Dunedin for December disclose that there have been 124- births, 61 deaths, and 53 marriages. For the corresponding month of the previous year the figures were: Births, 147; deaths, 77; and marriages, 84. There have, therefore, been 23 fewer births, 16 fewer deaths, and 31 fewer marriages last month than in December, 1916. The total figures for the year closing December 31, 1917, are: Births 1742, deaths 941, and marriages 459. In 1916 the births were 1802, the deaths 951, and the marriages 613, the result being that there have been in 1917, 60 fewer births, 10 fewer deaths, and 154 fewer marriages. A Press Association message states that the vital statistics of Auckland city and district for 1917 were:—Marriages, 1135; births, 3178; deaths, 1428. In 1916 tho marriages were 1346; births, 3265; deaths, 1420. Speaking to a Christchurch Press reporter, Sir Joseph Ward said that the question of allowing subscribers of small sums in war certificates in the previous loans to convert these and future subscriptions into bonds, for convenience sake, had been mentioned to him, and ho hoped to be able to find a way of it possible for this to bo done. If the end of the war was definitely in sight it would be a comparatively simple matter, but as the situation was at present the problem was not quite so easy as it appeared at first. A steam collier belonging to Huddart, Parkor, which arrived at Melboumo'on a ,recent Saturday, had an exciting expevier.ee on her trip from Newcastle, Near Gabo Island the third officer, who was on tho bridge, noticed a suspicious looking object floating above the water almost in a direct lino with the bow of the ship. Passing it less than half a ship's length away on the starboard side, he could seo that it was a mine with four prongs and a piece of wood attached. Several of the crew were looking over the ship's side. Had the vessel been passing the spot a few hours later, when darkness would have obscured the danger, the possibilities were that the ship and many of those on board would havo been sent to the bottom. In conversation with several of the crew, it w as learnt that when the vessel was passing the vicinity on the previous trip to Newcastle a schooner, which had since reached Melbourne, was then almost on the same spot at which the mine was observed on tlie collier's return

trip to Melbourne. It is understood (says the Age) that the naval authorities are investigating the matter. Hugh Holland, who was charged with the murder of Robert Roberts at Ashburton on December 22, appeared on remand at the Ashburton Magistrate's Court on the 31st, before Mr R. Galbraith, J.P., and Mr R. Clark, J.P. Mr Alpers, of Christchurch, who appeared for accused, asked that the charge be reduced to one of manslaughter. Senior Sergeant Ryan consented, and the accused was then remanded to appear on January 8, bail being allowed in two sureties of £2OO each.

In England some rather startling revelations have been made regarding the treatment of German prisoners at the Alexandra Palace. While the nation at large was being urged to exercise the strictest economy in food, the interned Germans were receiving euch liberal rations that one of them elected as kitchen manager by his fellow prisoners, was able to accumulate threequarters of a ton of rice and a large quantity of tea. With the co-operation of the English storekeeper to whom surplus rations were sold, tho prisoners were able to V.iy all soils of drinks and foods —whisky and wine, asparagus, olives, strawberries, bloaters, eggs, bacon, potatoes, etc. Barge quantities of it is stated, Were smuggled into camps at a time when none could be obtained by the British public outside.

Sir James Allen informed one of our reporters on the 2nd that Count von Luckner, the leader of the German escapees from Motuihi Island, is to be placed on Ripa Island (Lyttelton Harbour). Our Wellington correspondent telegraphed last night:—The present, intention of the Defence authorities is to place Count Von Luckner and two or, at most, three of his companions on Ripa Island. It is not in- ! tended to use the island, which is very small, as a place of confinement for prisoner! of war generally, but experience has suggested the advisability of separating the into groups. I Tho number of arrests for drunkenness in Dunedin for the past year was about 630, as against 804 for tho previous year (including 706 in the city alone). Forty inebriates were taken into custody in December, 1917, under 6 o'clock closing, and it is worthy of mention that for the corresponding mbnth of last year, with 10 , o'clock closing, the arrests totalled one I moro (41). The past year has probably I been a record so far as "clean sheets" in the Police Court are concerned. In all 2613 cases were set down for hearing in ' the Police Court, including criminal offences, defence cases, by-law cases, proI hibition orders, breaches of orders, mental cases, etc. —as compared with 2917 cases for 1916.

The shopkeepers of Milton have decided on an early closing movement, which came into operation on the 3rd. The shops will in future close at 8.30 p.m. on Saturdays, 12 noon on Wednesdays, and 5.30 p.m. on the other days. Tin's step has been practically forced on the business people owing to the early closing down of the municipal acetylene gas lighting works. Our Auckland correspondent states that the rainfall in Auckland during 1917 established a record for the city, the total fall being 74.51 inches, as against 67.10 inches in 1916, and 54.48 inches in 1937, which was the highest annual fall recorded up till 1916. The average annual fall for 63 years prior to 1916 was 42,03 inches. Tho last rainfalls in April, May, and July were records for thosq months. The fall for February was tho second highest for 64 years. The past two months, on the other hand, have been drier than the average for those months, tho combined falls for November and December having been only 3.03 inches. Dr G. E. Morrison was entertained by tho Millions Club, of Sydney, at luncheon a few days ago. In returning thanks, Dr Morrison said he was couvince'd that the Republic of China was firmly established — that there was no possibility of a restora tion of a monarchy. He described the Chinese as a hard-working, law-abiding people, and, coupled with the marvellous resources of China, they must have a great future. In one valley alone there was reputed to be enough coal to supply the world for many thousands of years. Alongside China there was another great country, which knew of the illimitable resources of the republic. America also knew of it. He (Dr Morrison) was astonished at the little interest that was being taken by Australians in China. He had come down in tho steamer with a number of commercial travellers. They had all been to Japan, and had bought goods, yet the commodities they had bought had been taken to Japan from China. Japan was now about to obtain control over China's

iron resources, and was bent on establishing a great trade with her. There had been almost an American invasion of China in the way of making use of these resources. "Throughout China," said Dr Morrison, " they have a coin with a square hole in the centre of it. It is estimated that China has 400,000 tons of this 'cash.' Fiftyfour per cent, of it is pure copper, 42 per cent, is zinc, and the remainder lead and impurities. That vast mass is being purchased by the Japanese dealers in large quantities at some £3O a ton. There is every reason to believe 65,000 tons have been bought at that price, and the copper in it alone has been sold l at the great prices copper is bringing in Europe during these war times."

Again the mouse plague is beginning to cause anxiety in Victoria. With the warm weather has come an increase in the number of mice in country centres. The ne-w Minister of Agriculture (Mr Oman) -will endeavour to keep the wheat harvest now being gathered free from mice by refusing them access to the stacks. Stacking sites which have been decided upon are to be encircled by galvanised iron fences, and .every precaution will be taken to ensure the exclusion of mice. When the sites have been thus secured! the greater portion of the harvest will be stacked in the country until required. No low-lying country sites will bo used, so that the wheat may not be subject to inundation by water. If. suitable positions cannot be found in centres where the wheat is grown, the grain will be brought to new sites. Currency is given by the Auckland Star to a . statement by Mr Clement Wragge that never in the course of long years of observation has he seen the sun so abnormally active as it is at present. On Thursday he observed 15 storms raging in the solar photosphere. This unusual state of affairs, ho states, is surely indicative of meteorological and seismic disturbances in various parts, of the world. He warns the public to watch the cablegrams with regard to reported storms and other unusual occurrences. He states that he has reason to believe that the coming hurricane season will be more pronounced over the island's and along Queensland, likewise all the north west of Australia. He states, further, that he has reason to believe that the tropical disturbances will pass further south than is usual, and that before April North Auckland may be more or less affected thereby. The degree of injury which the human body can survive is exemplified by the case of a soldier who returned to New Zealand recently, states the New Zealand Herald. The man in question, Private Frank Morgan, the son of Mr F. S. Morgan, of Neutral Bay, Sydney, and an Australian by birth, enlisted in New Zealand and left with the Eighteenth Reinforcements. During the fighting at La Basseville, on August 4, Private Morgan was wounded in the head by shrapnel, and was being carried off the field when another shell showered a hail of metal on the stretcher party. Both bearers were killed, and the injured man was peppered witb shell fragments andl stray bullets. He was finally conveyed to. a dressing station, where it was discovered that his wounds were so numerous that it was a difficult matter to catalogue them.' The patient suffered from lapse of memory for some weeks, but an operation, during which a piece of shrapnel.was taken from his head, gave him relief. Although he still has several small pieces of metal embedded in his skull, he is rapidly recovering his health. Private ■ Morgan has also at least two bullets in his lungs. By the time the coast of New Zealand was reached he had so far recovered that he was able to walk about on deck.

During the past 12 months only 10 bankruptcies were recorded in the Dunedin district. None of the bankruptcies involved a serious amount of money. For the 12 months of 1916 there were also 10 bankruptcies in the Dunedin district.

The bulk of the tide gate washed away at Puerua (Port Molyneux) in the flood in May has been recovered, and Mr O. J. M'KLenzie (District Publio Works Engineer) is now arranging for the timber required for the repair work. The department is also going to put in tidal gates at the end of the Kaitangata Canal, for the Bruce Cotlnty Council, and an overseer from the department is now on the work. The Benmore soldiers' block is now looking particularly well. The oat crops bear a healthy appearance, and are carrying good heads. There has been a good percentage of lambs, and taking the holdings all round there is every indication that before many seasons are past the soldier-settlers will be firmly established as successful farmers. Two of the settlers have been married since entering into occupation of their leases, and have erected comfortable residences. The most difficult portion of the race from Quailburn Stream, which is to provide tho settlers with a water supply, has been completed, and the remaining portion of the work is well under way.

The number of soldiers who have taken up Government leases in the Otago district now stands at '27. This number is exclusive of those discharged soldiers who were in possession of Crown leases before they enlisted. These latter are, however, eligible for the samn financial and Other assistance which has been provided for soldiers now applying for land.. The general tendency on the part of the soldier-farmers in Otago is to apply for sheep runs. It may be added that so far very few sections in theClifton Estate have been applied for, but the soldiers who are in possession of leases on this estate appear to bo satisfied, and are making good progress. Why more applications for sections on this block have not been made is a matter of some surprise. No valid reason is put forward for the slow manner "in which the Clifton sections are moving off. On the 28th 'the following motion of protest was passed at a meeting of freezing employees representing 12 works in Wellington and Hawke's Bay:—" That in the

opinion of this meeting the Government is not justified in bringing men from Australia to .carry on essential industries in this eountrv, thus replacing men sent fciooamp.

Further, the National Efficiency Board considers that 600 slaughtermen are* sufficient to do all slaughtering in this country, and according to returns prepared by the companies for the Efficiency Boards there were over 1000 slaughtermen in New Zealand last season, exclusive of those who came from Australia. On these figures there should be sufficient men in this country to carry on the work; but even if there were not, It should be possible to find men in other branches of the industry to provide for slaughtermen if required."

After holding the post of governor of the Bank of England for five years—a tenure of unpredecented length—Lord DunlifFo will be relieved of his arduous duties next March, and will be able to enjoy a well-deserved rest (writes a correspondent of a London journal). He became a director in 1895, and in 1911 he was elected de-puty-governor,-while he was made governor in 1913, so that the outbreak of war found him in that most responsible position. For three and a-half years he has borne a strain which few can realise, and which probably few could have stood. The immensity of the financial problems which had to be faced from the early days of August, 1914, now partly alleviated by the entry of the United States on the side of the Allies, is thoroughly recognised, in the city, and if, as is only natural, there has been criticism of the policy of the Bank of England at times, there is the fact that so far phenomenal difficulties have been overcome with the minimum of inconvenience to the country and the banking world. The boldness and determination with which the prestige of London as a monetary centre was preserved at the outset by the discounting of hundreds of millions of bills at the bank will not soon be forgotten, and the success with which our huge imports from America were financed so long as the Treasury left the matter "to business men to handle is another point that. will be remembered. It is too soon to attempt to appraise the financial policy whioh has been carried out, but it can be said that the country was fortunate in having a man at the head of the Bank of England who knew his own mind and was not afraid to pursue what he believed to be the best course in the national interest.

Captain Smith, well known in Australia la the E. and A. Mail Line, claims to have assisted in bagging a submarine in the Mediterranean. Writing to Mrs Smith, of Cremorne. Captain Smith tells of an exciting voyage to Marseilles under convoy. " The submarine broke surface on my starboard quarter," ho writes. "The captain spotted her first, and opened fire, obtaining a hit with the third or fourth shot. Wo immediately followed, and obtained a hit with our second shot. Immediately afterwards an explosion occurred, and a dense volume of thick black smoke arose from the spot for some minutes, leaving no doubt as to the fate of the submarine. Escorts afterwards picked us up again during the afternoon, and we proceeded safely on the voyage. In the hurry of going to boat stations to stand by two of the Chinese sailors fell overboard. One was afterwards picked up by a destroyer and returned to his ship at Marseilles; but tho head of the other was blown off by gunfire from the destroyer." Since the maternity allowance of £5 for each child born within Australia came into operation on October 10, 1912, a total of £3,418,960 has been distributee! to mothers in tho six States. The claims for the allowance numbered 683,792, but this does not mean that this total represented the number of births in the commonwealth during the period referred to. A very small percentage of parents did not claim the allowance, but in the case of twins only £5 was allowed. In addition 2931 claims were rejected for various reasons during tho fivo years.

The largest of professional incomes rarely approach the largest of the business incomes, but sometimes they do. Barristers havo been known to make very large incomes. The present Lord Justice Moulter. and the' lato Viscount Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice, used to do over £30,000 a year when at the bar. Lord Chief Justice the Earl of Reading, many years before ho was elevated to the bench, was doing over £35.000-,. But Sir John Simon, late Attorney-general, who lately renounced his practico in order to render war service—for' which purpose he has been given the position of staff captain in the Flying Corps, with the temporary rank of major, has broken ail records. His fees for 1917 aro »aid to havo touched £IOO,OOO. But lie fcad the extraordinary good fortune to have kardly any rivals of his own calibre in competition for lo£ral business. Some aro en-

gaged directly or indirectly in .war work, while during the last few years the men who were leaders at the bar have been translated to the bench or have died. In the medical profession, Sir Frederick Treves holds the record, for he was over the £50,000 mark when he retired from his surgical practice in the full plenitude of skill and powers of work. Sir William Fraser returned to Dunedin on Thursday night from an extended tour through Southland and Otago Central, including visits to Queenstown, Pembroke, Hav/ea, Cromwell, Clyde, Alexandra, Roxburgh, and Lawrence. At several of these places he was met by deputations who desired to discuss with him questions of roads, bridges, and railways. The Minister-replied in general terms, pointing out the difficulties of starting any new works during the war period, but indicating that a number of works would be commenced as soon as possible after the declaration of peace.

A Press Association telegram, from Wellington states that the Prime Minister says he ha 3 communicated with the Imperial Government asking that the increased freight should not apply to commodities in store awaiting shipment prior to the New Year—that is, that reasonable notice should bo given before the increases come into operation. The supply of ships during the month promises to be particularly good. Mr Massey said he believed the. amount of produce shipped within the month would constitute a record. A Roman Catholic church i 3 being built at Tiiapeka Mouth, and it is expected that it will be completed to allow for the opening ceremony in two months' time. Father Lynch,.of Lawrence parish, who administers to the spiritual wants of his flock in tho Tuapeka district, is to bo congratulated en his enterprise, as are also the members of this particular part of his parish in their effort to have tho church opened free of debt.

J While tho Allies are engaging the best brains of the nations on the problem of 1 destroying the submarine or of protecting | ships from tho torpedo, it is certain that I Germany is just as busily engaged trying j to perfect the submarine as a commorco destroyer. According to an article in the : Revista Maritima, quoted in the Journal ! of the Royal Society of Arts, U boats have now been constl-ucted without periscopes. . The arrangement substituted, which appears to be in the experimental stage, consists of I two lenses, one on either side of the vessel, i which are used in conjunction with other j lenses and mirrors. If necesesary, these ' lenses arid mirrors can also be utilised to project a beam of light outwards from the vessel. The drawback to the device is that the vessel has to be navigated nearer the surface, owing to tho fact that light vill penetrate only a short distance through sea water, but it is thought that this is outweighed by tho advantage that the arrangement is loss visible from a distance. I Tho following is taken from the Kansas Oity Star of August 8: "The New Zealand troops, wearing field hats, just like . our own, peaked at the top, and with a led hatband instead of our U.S.A. cord, seem to me to possess a certain lithe grace of I carriage and distinction of countenance all ; their own. They, too, are tall, slender fel- : lows, without the awkwardness of the Australian, or the beef of tho English. They remind mo of Harvard and Yale track teams done up in khaki. You would think : them born aristocrats, from their cleanly- ! ohisellcd features and well-set-up forms. I find, too, that others hero have received the same impression of them."—Dr Burris : A. Jenkins, writing from "Somewhere in France."

! Sir James Allen on the 4th gave a Daily Times reporter details of the New Zealand Military Department of the Y.M.C.A., which has been authorised for duty with tho New Zealand Expeditionary Forces. Sir Jurats explained that this department would be organised in three sections —No. 1 in Franco, No/ 2 in England, and No. 3 in Egypt, and would bo administered by the New Zealand Y.M.C.A. Commissioner in London. No. 1 section (France) will consist of one commissioner, one field secretary, one assistant-field secretary, 15 secretaries, and 51 attached private soldiers. No. 2 section (England) will consist of one commissioner, one supervising secretary, one as-sistant-secretary, five patrol secretaries, 14 field secretaries, and 51 attached private soldiers. No. 3 section (Egypt) will consist ' of five secretaries. In addition, there will ' be five patrol secretaries for street work, ' guides, hospitals, etc, At Hornehurch there will be 11 orderlies for canteen arid relays, and two instructors and two ordin-

ary orderlies for tho hut. At Brockton, two hut orderlies, four men in relays of two for the big hut, and two for the small one. At Torquay, three orderlies fer each of tho three buildings. The subscriptions to the second American Liberty Loan amounted to 4,617,532,000 dollars, the subscribers totalling 9,500,000. The total issue, according to the original conditions, will bo 3,808,765,150 dollars. The Excess Profits Tax Bill and the Income Tax Bill passed by the extra session of Congress, which adjourned on October 6, are so drastic in somo particulars that it was thought probable that Congress would modify them at its regular session, which was to begin on December 3. Tho Excess Profits Tax is based on the percentage of return on the capital invested, and it bears very heavily on a business employing only a small capital or ono using borrowed money extensively

I Tho Representation of the People Bill, ! which, proposing a redistribution of the English constituencies after a generation, on the basis of the Boundary Commission, is before the Imperial Parliament, makes many drastic changes. London gains three members, and the parliamentary and municipal boroughs in London are to be the samo areas. The boroughs outside London gain 27 members. The email Cathedral cities, such as Canterbury, Winchester, Hereford, and Salisbury, cease to jeturn members, but York, Lincoln, Worcester, i Carlisle,' and Exeter have been saved by their modern industrial development. The great cities will be more fully represented, Birmingham, with 12 members, being followed by Liverpool with 11, and Manchester with 10. Tho densely populated areas round' London .now assume their true importance. East Ham, Leyton, Tottenham, Walthamstow, and Willesden will each have two members.-. Ealing, Edmonton, Ilford, Hornsey, Kingston, Richmond, Bromley, and I Wimbledon are also taken out of the home ! counties. Other new boroughs are erected in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Tho county divisions will be reduced by one to 230. The home counties gain eight seats, but most counties lose. In Wales, which gains one member, Cardiff is to ; have three seats, the new borough of Rhondda two, and Swansea two instoad of one. Glamorgan and Monmouth will each have two more members. The Boundary Commission gravely explains that by a little readjustment it has been able to presorvo Mr Lloyd George's constituency, the Carnarvon boroughs, although its present population of 30,757 is less than half the average for a borough. In Scotland, which gains one .member, a separate Commission has swept away tho hopeless old system of grouped boroughs, a relic of the historic past. Glasgow's importanco in Scotland is recognised by tho allotment of 15 seats to her out of a total of 71, apart from the universities, and Edinburgh is to have five seats instead of four. Tho Western Isles are severed j for Parliamentary purposes from Inverness "and Ross-shire, and the crofter in "the lono shelling on the misty island" will at last have a member to represent his special interests.

For the past fortnight the weather at Pembroke has been very squally (a correspondent writes), and cold southerly winds have been frequent. Good rains have helped to fill the late crops. Grain cutting, with the exception of some wheat and oats, has been nearly finished, and some very heavy crops are recorded.

A good deal of public feeling has been aroused in Pahiatua over what appears to be undue leniency extended to a local reservist by the military authorities. From the information available it appears (says tho New Zealand Times) that the reservist in question was drawn in a ballot some time ago. After being passed as fit by one medical board, he appealed for reexamination, and was again declared to bo up to the standard physically. Ho then appealed against service two or three times. Once hia ease was reopened, but it seems ho resorted to letter-writing instead of personally appearing before the Appeal Board. By this moans he got several months' respite. Finally, however, ho was ordered into camp, failed to report, and was gazetted as a deserter. Because of his mode of living, his previous history, and other incidentals, somo trouble was evidently expected, and on tho day ho was required to report for military aVtfay the local police descended on his place of residenoe and found ho had vanished. A diligent search was made, ajid after several weeks the reservist was run to earth by tho Palmcrston police at the foot of the Tar ax u a ranges, after a number of farmers' larders had been raided in tho neighbourhood. The man

appeared before the magistrate at Palrherston on charges of theft, and was sentenced to i 4 days' imprisonment, tb be afterwards handed over to the military authorities for punishment as a deserter. In most instances desertion means a spell in gaol, but the' reservist is now again at large, and it is stated that ho has been granted extended leave without pay. Local residents are inquiring, why ? Pupil teachers came in for a rather bad time at tho conference of the New Zealand Educational Institute, states the Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times. They were variously described as "one of the tragedies of the service.V "a lluisance," and as being "quite unfit to do the work asked of them." One lady said that none of the female pupil teachers intended to stay in the profession. They were just using the schools as somewhere to stay "until they went to bo a nurse in tho hospital or something else." A Canterbury delegate (Mr F. T. Evans) said that he felt the remedy lay in an alteration of tho whole system of training pupil teachers. Probationers should not be sent to the schools first, but direct to the training college, then they would not be the menace to the children that some of them undoubtedly were. Tho conference unanimously decided that in the matter of staffing it was imperatively necessary that pupil teachers as well as probationers should not count upon the staff. It is expected (a Pembroke correspondent informs us) that the work of extending the north end of the motor traffic bridge at Albertown, for which a grant of £SOO has been made by the Government, will be undertaken without delay. The Frankfurter Zeitung, in an account of the autumn meeting of the German Agricultural Society, states that, after an address by tho new Minister of Agriculture, a representative of Breslau spoke on "German Agriculture Production and Food Supply After the War." He stated that, owing to the different methods of obtaining nitrates, the subject of manure would be entirely revolutionised. and production WQiild bo greatly increased by nitrate manure, tho supply of which would be quite independent of Chile saltpetre. Meadows would produce two, or even three, hay crops. Tho cultivation of several kinds of pulse would bo limited, but that of lupines extended. Tho scarcity of concentrated fodder would lead to a reduction in the stocks of cattle for fattening, to a change in the keeping of milch cows, and pig-rearing would lose its importance. Tho conditionsof labour would be altered, and wages would rise. Foreign casual workers and prisoners of Avar would bo wanting. Native workers would have to be induoed to settle, and machines would be used more and more.

Field-marshal Viscount French, speaking at a meeting in London in support of the enrolment of commercial motor vehicles for national emergencies, said for such a force as the Volunteers, and for such objects as they had to attain in case of invasion, mobility was the one- great essential. It might, indeed, bo justly said that the motor volunteers were absolutely essential to the effective defence of the British Islands. He had no hesitation in saying the volunteer force was a most valuable adjunct to tho ordinary forces of the country. In fact, ho did not see how they could undertake the defence of' the country without them. The first lesson he was taught as a soldier was that in war it was the unexpected that happened. The' history of war in all ages afforded, ample proof of this, and ho did not think such examples had ever been so forcible as iif the present war. It had been a string of Surprises from August,- 1914, up to a few days ago. They had occurred to friend and foe alike, and perhaps the greatest surprise of all was what then was going on in northern Italy. They might possibly have another surprise—the invasion of their country. It was their duty to be ready for anything, and see that in such an event the volunteers were provided with all the motor transport which their national resources could afford. Mr Henry Ford, the well-known motor manufacturer, has been devoting himself to the production and improvement of tho farm tractor, which, by facilitating cultivation, is to help England to defy the submarines. This motor, according to Lord Northcliffe, is a remarkable machine. "It can be used either as a stationary engine or to propel ploughs, mowing machines, and reapers and binders. The 1917 pattern, which Mr Ford is building for England, is 25 horse-power. It ia literally true that a boy or girl, with neither mechanical nor agricultural knowledge, oan drive it. I

mounted the tractor," says Lord North-' cliffe, "and ploughed a half-mile furrow, with easo and accuracy at a speed of between three and four miles an hour,. and with no time lost at turning." In appearance the tractor resembles one of the early racing cars, with a very long bonnet. "lb is low, is steered by a wheel, and when, pulling a set of disc- harrows seems fairly to romp across the country." As might be expected, it is of light construction. Mr Ford, wo are told, has no belief in heavy machinery, and he is making every successive model of tractor lighter than its predecessor. But every machine it put through gruelling tests before being sent to England, so its lightness cannot bo regarded as an indication of weakness.

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Bibliographic details

Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 3

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7,036

PEDLAR'S PACK. Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 3

PEDLAR'S PACK. Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 3