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Otago Witness, Issue 3383, 15 January 1919, Page 36

A draft of 26 men who returned to .New Zealand on the Maunganui a few days age arrived in Dunedin by the express on the 13th, and were met at the station by their relatives or friends. Seven of the. men belong to Dunedin, and they were conveyed to their homes in motor cars provided by the Motor Club and the Patriotic Association. The remainder, who belong to the country districts/ were billettcd at various city hotels/ and left for their homes next day. The hospital ship Marama is due at Auckland on tho 26th inst. She has on board 556 men for all parts or New Zealand. The list of names is not yet available. There are many pretty stretches of bush along tho banks of the Taieri River, between the Taieri Ferry and the mouth. The majority of these are scenic reserves and a heavy penalty may be imposed on anyone who destroys the bush. Notwithstanding the notices, posted up to this effect, every now and then fires are set alight, which destroy portions of the. bush, and often cottages in the near vicinity are threatened with destruction as well. The latest of these offences took place a few days ago, when quite" a large area of small bush,, in the vicinity of what is known as the Governor's Chimney, was blackened. It is a pity that those who either carelessly

or intentionally allow fires to spread on these reserves cannot be caught and punished. Should the bush on the Tiver sides be destroyed the trip down the river will lose much of its enjoyment. A prisoner named Archibald Andrew Charles Scott escaped from the prison gang at Invercargill on Monday, afternoon at 3 o'clock, and no trace of him had been discovered up to a late hour. The office of the Naval Adviser in Weilington is in receipt of information that 44 New Zealand naval ratings, lately of H.M.S. Doris, left Colombo on January 10 for Melbourne, from which port they will be returned to New Zealand on the first opportunity.

The London Daily Express understands that a plan has been found to dispose of the Red Cross pearls, which were given by many donors for the purpose of forming a necklace -which might be - raffled. The plan will ensure the highest price, and yet not transgress the Gaming Act. It involves the formation of a public company, with debentures to be drawn as usual. The drawn numbers will receive not only their original £1 investment, but bonuses amounting in some cases to £IO,OOO. The pearls will be sold at auction, and the price obtained might 'be £150,000. The company will have a debenture capital of £600,000 besides. The £150,000 proceeds of the sale will be distributed in the debenture drawings. Of the £600,000 capital, half a million will go to the Red Cross, and the remaining £IOO,OOO will go towards expenses and the Italian Red Cross. In this manner the Companies Act and not the Gaming Act will rule the proceedings, and the Red Cross will, get a large isum—larger, indeed, than it would have received from a mere lottery of the pearls.

One thousand Victoria Crosses have been awarded since the decoration was instituted by Queen Victoria at the time of the Indian Mutiny, when 182 crosses were awarded, in the Crimean war 111 Victoria Crosses were won; in the South African War 78, in the Zulu war 23, and in the Afghan war 18. Nearly 200 were awarded in the present war up to September, 1916, and the thousandth on the roll was obtained by Driver Dalziel, an Australian. It is calculated that not more than half the recipients of the honour during the last four years are now alive.