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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 14124, 17 October 1916, Page 5

, Writigg from Northern France on August 22_d, Captain Malcolm Boss sa*ys that &i the head of affairs m London is a brigadier-general, who only a few ye_rs ago was a, master gunner m New Zealand. He is a Staff College man, whose organising qualities are well recognised, and it woifld scarcely have been possible to have chosen a better man for the work. New Zealand is undoubtedly very fortunate m, having such, a man'; at the head of affairs, and from what I have myself seen I know that he has : done, and is still doing, invaluable work. He is m close touch -with •the General m whose hands is the administration of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and also with a thoroughly, conscientious and hard-working Military, Secretary, who has the interests of the expedition at heart. From top to bottom the organisation has-been placed on an excellent basis.

, It isj now possible to mention the circumstances under which Sergeant-Major Edward v Jftrost was awarded the D.5.0., for , gallant conduct during a raid early ; in July, says Captain Ross, the New Zealapd' official war correspondent. When a party vras withdrawing through No . Mail's Land under enfilading fire from machine guns and grenades from the enemy's .support line, Frost, who comes from Wellington, twice returned through the German wire to their lines, and under heavy fire rescued and brought^ back, tvfo wounded men. It wo§ largely .owing to. his courage, energy, and exainble&aii during a retirement lasting an hour and a-half, some 30 wounded men were brought safely back to our lines. The. other evening, when the Germans were indiscriminately shelling a town, the horse of a passing team was .hit, and a lieutenant killed. Frost jumped through > window on to the street .and dashed o& to tHe assistance of the driver, and was*- himself wounded by a second shell. He is now m hospital making satisfactory progress. On the following day he **iras to go south to receive a further distinction from the hand of the 'French Cbmmander-in-Ghief.

Mr Clement Wragge, the well-known meterologist, blames the sun for the mild defcge last week. "The sun is m an altogether abnormal condition," said Mr Wragge to an Auckland Star reporter. "In fact during my long experience ■ 1 do hot remember the sun having been so active*. -Fjive eniormioujs disturbances arei now.in operation m the solar photosphere, iand they average from 25,000 miles t0j;45,000 miles m diajneter. That, the _nusUal season, including the heavy i rains, Is. due to solar influence there is! no dou§>i> whatever. The sun's Condition, in^very fact, was the main cause of the heavy rain and floods m Australia r and the storm that has just been experienced m New Zealand is the same .one that produced the heavy rainfall m Australia. We wish our Australian friends to know that further heavy ranis may be expected, and that the season m .Australia, apart from the damage caused) by the floods, will be very distinctly , good." Asked whether he thought um-. brellas might be discarded and more j seasonable' garments donned, Mr Wragge was not too hopeful, and said it would take some time before the influence of the disturbance ceased.