Untitled

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14516, 30 January 1918, Page 2

Advice has been received- by Mr. H. '.Hill that the Licensing Committee elections will take .place on March 12. • .Mr.- Leslie - Reynolds expresses the "opinion, froni iny estigatioris he hag ' made whilst surveying the '-harbor,- that, the Waikanae beach Vfrbm the groyne to Grey street is . most dangerous * to : bathers . Even when the sea is comparatively smooth he ; has fourid a strong drawback, and he urges that this "information should be made generally known for the protection of young people who may be unwittingly trapped, as were the victims- of last Sunday's mishap. "Do you know you are liable to : a fine of- £100?" remarked Mr W; A. Barton, S.M., at the Police Court this morning to a Maori 'named; John Reni, who was charged, with wearing a returned soldier's badge that did not belong to him*. — Accused, who had pleaded guilty, said he found th© badge at the Te Arai bridge. — Questioned by his Worship, accused said he knew he had no right to wear the badge, and his only excuse was he had been drinking. He put the>badge on three .weeks after.' when' he came to town; — Did you want people to think you had been to the war and had fought for your country?; — Accused said he did not. ' Everyone knew he 'had not been to the war, and he just put it on for a, joke. — His Worship pointed out -that there was no difficulty in ascertaining the owner, and imposed a fine of £5 and costs 19s-, in default one month's imprisonment. For wilfully damaging a door of the Masonic hotel on January 5, a Maori named Kaw.au Kingi at the Police Court this morning, before Mr. W. A. Barton, S.M., was fined £1 and .costs £1 9*. 6d, in default four days' imprisonment. Mr. Burnard appeared for accused, and entered a plea of guilty: The circumstances as related by Sub-Inspector Dew were that accused was ejected from the Masonic hotel on account of his condition, and subsequently deliberately damaged the hotel door. Mr. Burnard explained that accused was annoyed at being put off the premises, and instead, of venting his anger on someone personally he did it on the door. Accused immediately recognised he had done wrong and had gone in and paid for the damage next day. His Worship: He probably did less damage than if he had applied his anger on any individual. In connection with the unfortunate drowning accident on Sunday, and in order to remove any misapprehension as well as to demonstrate the value of the telephone installed by the Harbor Board, Mr. Morse states that the accident was observed 7by his Wife_, who was at home. She immediately telephoned him and -was fortunate in getting the signal station without delay. He at once telephoned for the police and medical assistance. In the meantime signalman Patty, who happened to be available at the time, immediately went for and got the Harbor Board launch. This was ready for Mr Morse as soon ns the telephoning for medical assistance and the police had been completed. The launch was actually on the spot whilst spectators and others were hurrying to the scene of the accident. Mrs I Morse supplied rugs and hot water, as well as other assistance. The house was not locked^ as • was stated at the Borough Council meeting, and the use of the telephone on this, unfortunate occasion demonstrated 1 ' its great value . ih' circujmstances . similar to the unfortunate occurrence of Sunday last. There are notices erected indicating that the telephone is available for suoh purposes.

At last night's Council meeting the Engineer (Mr Slinger) advocated the lay- a ing down of a. concrete road of ono block, a where the heaviest traffic was as a, test. — After some discussion ifc was found impossible to proceed with the test, | 1 owing *to the difficulty in securing Motu- tl hora metal. * , . ...... * In convicting a 'man for supplying c liquor to a prohibited person in* the court this morning, Mr. Barton remarked that the accused was more to blame ?■ than the prohibited man, and if such a practice was allowed to continue no good a , would be done by the issue of prohibition orders. n The Magistrate's Court was engaged for some time to-day in the hearing of an affiliation action in which Rose Davey * proceeded against Frederick George J; Rowley. Mr. Burnard represented plaintiff and Mr. J. Wauchop appeared for a defendant. After hearing the evidence, ( his Worship dismissed the information. Word has been received that the Min- £ ister of Defence, Sir James Allen, finds 1 it impossible to visit Gisborne for the * purpose of presenting , the Serbian gold ' medal to Private A. East. It has now \ been decided that the medal will be pre T { sented in Wellington, as Mr. East is j leaving at an early date to take up 1 teaching there. . ! "My wife was ill and. I was feeling , run down" was" the remark offered to '\ •Mr. Barton, S.M.'j in the Magistrate's i Court by an offending inebriate who Was ; charged with a breach of his prohibition \ order. The^-Magistrate replied : "The trouble is that when you people feel run j down yon run up to the nearest hotel." - (Laughter). i Ex-President ' Roosevelt, addressing * 10,000 people at Toronto, said : "Now i I can come with my head up," the allusion being to his previous refusals to visit Canada while America was neutral. He suggested that future disputes might be settled by a permanent court of three American and three Canadian judges, with a seventh member to be chosen the other sex. Durinor the past fortnight the Borough tramways worked 1 220 hoprs- covered 1280 .miles, and carried 10,542 passengers. The revenue was £65 13s 4d, of which £45 5s was spent in wages, and £15 2s 5d in power expenses.' ■'■ Oa^'ifo"- 1 only worked. three shifts, amounting td ; 25 hours, on account of. the* tyres being worn out. The new ones will not arrivefbr a fortnight at the earliest, and it hasbeen impossible to make temporary measure's. During the discussion; a. the Borough Council meeting last night on the water supply^ Cr. Hill caused some amusement by seriously exolaimrng, \"I am in the deep blue sea in tlie matter — I am in the mud." (Laughter.) Continuing, he said : t 'T ask the .-* Chairman to protect me."— The Mayor (jokingly) : "Yes. Shall I throw out a life-line?" (Loud laughter.) Councillor 'Hill sat down. Reference appeared in these columns recently to the fact of 10s notes being "palmed" on to totalisator officials as , £10 notes. A local citizen stated today that a similar incident had occurred locally recently in connection with a leading hotel, but happily for the licensee, only by way of a practical joke, the note being tied in a knot with the 10 showing. Two "fivers" were un-' puspectingly given in change. A petition bearing the signatures of 20 carriers and carters was last night presehted'to the Borough Council, drawing I attention to the fact -that tlie owners of i taxi-cars and cabs were in the habit of carrying luggage in excess of the amount allowed, which imposed* an injustice to the carriers. They asked the jCouncii to s enforce the by-laws. — On the motion of i the Mayor, seconded by Cr. Mouat. it - was decided to draw the attention of the * Inspector to the matter.— The Cflerk in- * timated the cars were entitled to carry ■ 401bs per passenger. , Among the innumerable : rumors of , changes predicted in the Federal political sphere (stated a Melbourne ; telegram to Sydney Telegraph last week) [ is the - translation of the present Prime . Minister, Mr. Hughes, to ; th'e : post of , High Commissioner in London, 'follow- . ing upon the appointment of Common- . wealth representatives in the principal world centres. A proposal has been made that Mr. Hughes should take the High Commissionership, and that Mr.' ; Fi^er shoifld-be appointed-Vas' the first i representative of the Commonwealth at Washington. The proposal to have 1 a . Cbmmon wealth representative at Wash- \ ington has for some time been under . consideration. It is stated that the present High Commissioner, Mr. Fisher, t would not be averse to the > change, owing to the climatic conditions of . London not agreeing with himself or ims family.- „ .- V. ,- „-■ , ' Mr. WV A; B.arton presided over the sitting of the Magistrate's Court this morning when a number of cases were dealt with. George Wisley, who had .only been convic'ted yesterday lor drunkenness, '. was fined £1, with 2s costs, in default four days' imprisonment. Herbert Wil- ■ liam Smith was charged* (1) with enter- ; ing the Record Reign Hotel ddrihg the ; currency of his prohibition order on January 23 ; : (2) did enter the Royal Hotel on the same date (3) procuring liquor during the currency of a prohibition order. On the first count he: wasi lined £2, .with 7s costs, in default seven days' 'imprisonment; on the second he 1 was fined £1 with 7s costs in default 4 days imprisonment, and on the third £s' with 7s costs 'in default one month's imprisonment. .He was given 14 days to pay the fine. David O'Corinell for procuring liquor during the currency of a prohibition order was fined £3 with 7s costs in default 14 days' imprisonment. John Sterimgeour was fined £5 with 7s costs in default one month's imprisonment for supplying liquor to a prohibitted person. .7 •-.'.. „ ■..■'•', " > Before Mr W. A. Barton,* S ; . My, at the Police Court, . Wairoa' an .elderly Maori named- Pekawai was charged that he did, at Ruataniwha, bury the body ..of a child on private property, thei-e' being, a cemetery within* five miles, to wit, the Wairoa cemetery. Accused pleaded guilty, but stated in evidence -"''that he Hid not know he was breakiiig the law. He called to see Mr McGregor, but*, he was a-way at the time, soVhe' saw- Mr Signall, the County clerk, , whom he understood to say that it would be all right to bury the . child at. Ruataniwha.^ The body was placed in a concrete, grave.—* Air, Signall' stated that he.,remeinberedi Pekawai calling ', upon > him. . He^ told accused he had nothing 'to do with the matter, but, as Mr McGregor was* away, he endeavored to set the old man right. The native spoke very bad Einglish, and he understbod' that the child was to be buried in a Maori cemetery which he knew existed; thereabouts, He therefore told^him that h_ thought it would* be all jright. % The Maori cemetery was about a mile away. — The pointed out to accused: that the maanmum penalty was £50, but he believed that the wrong waa done innocently. * lie' would therefore, be fined £S and 12s costs. 7. -..-._ - A somewhat serious assault Which was committed upon a county ranger formed : the subject of a ijarosecutaon at the Police ■ Court this morning,- before Mr W. A. I Barton, S.M. A Maori named Puriri J Etreatara was . charged with assaulting < John .Edward Parsons by -biting his nose. ' The assault was alleged- to* have taken ' place at Matawhero ou January 5. Ac- ? cused pleaded guilty. .— Stab-Inspector " Dew> ■•■ in detailing the ciroumstahces, sai _ accused was at the Matawhero hotel, and * called Parson^ ii}*,. asking. him if he had ' impounded his (accuseds) horse. Ac- 1 cused alleged Parsons had taken the |J horse out vof a paddock, and without 1 provocation accused seized Parsons by the nose, which he eventually got in be- i tween his teeth and hit. — His .Worship i asked to see the Witness Pai-soins, who < stated that accused drew blood, having < broken the skin. — His Worship (to ac- i •cused) : You seem to treat it as a joke; i it was no joke to Parsons.— Accused denied having bitten Parsons' noae.— His Worship pointed out that had hi* horse* ! been improperly impounded, accused had } his remedy: without taking th. law into „ ] his. own hands, It. was a 'cowardly as-! sault,. •'; A fine iof •'£_.. was imposed, with ' costs £4 Bs, in default 14 days' imprisonment. -„=., ..... , . -,■••■'"'■.;."; Gordon, Rjeiiable Optician, for accurate! | testing., Rimless Glasses. Opposite' ( Bank of New Zealand.* '"" ]

Tlie Morere-Wairoa coach leaves at ? a.m. to-morrow and the Coast coaches at 8 a.m. For driving a motor-oar nvor Peel street , bridge at a greater speed than five miles an hour, Dorothy Watt, at the Pol ice Court . this morning,' * before' ; Mr. W. A. Bartcm, s:M.-,Wrfihed-£l, and costs 7s. ..-.•'• "The. Glad, Eyedlers" is the, title of a combination which has secured' . His Majesty's Theatre for Monday next, fjbr a first-class vaudeville entertainment. An announcement will • be- made *.. tomorrow. At last night's Coun.il meeting Oft Hill asked permission* to withdraw hU notice of motion, that the Government be asked to open up a meat store, as he had carefully; perused the butchers' agreement, and as arranged by tbe Council he was willing to sigh the agreement. Arising out of the committee reports at the Borough Council meeting lasitf night, the recommendation to impose the £200 penalty _on Messrs '* TuriibuTl ind' Jones was vigorously opposed by Or. Hill, who held * * that the delay in arrival of the material was not' the fault, of the firm.-— Cr. Munns said, i.mui-tV'he. taken into consideration that the accepted tender was £200 aboveythatt of the lowest tenderer, and it -was accepted; merely because th© Council Understood the plant, was to have been installed' vrithout delay.— Cr. Ball supported Or. Munns' remarks; and the recommends* tion was adopted;; A charge of allowing four .cows, -two heifers, and a bull- to trespass on the Waipaoa railway yard on December. 'VVt6 last was preferred at the Polioe Court this morning against Robiria ' Mahd_ Scnmgeour. Mr. T. Alston Coleman entered a plea i of guilty on behalf ofde^ fendant, acknowledging that his clienfc had been fined for a. similar offence ;iii November last.' Defendant's property was in close proximity to the line, and the river, and in taking the cows ..to water the, children occasionally had Allowed them to get away on to the line." His Worship expressed regret at haying to .convict <a« woman • struggling witfiv't family, but wandering stock on the rail- • way were a. considerable .iji). fine. of £2 and costs lis was imposed/ ; Among, the cases dealt with at Wairoa, last week -^wa. one in which Phylli? "(ioL loy (Mr. Foot) proceeded' 'against''William Webb (Mr. Saihsbiiry) for assatili. on November 15,' .1917, Evidence; Wftfi * giveh to the effect that : the >-plaintiff.^Wia in the employ 6f the defendant, a circus proprietor, and wiheh a performance 'was being given at Kaitaratahi, defendant complained that she was ; too lbrig; r i«f changing between the ' acts. Plaintiff explained that she had only' taken -i -thei period of one item to change, and Webb replied : "Don't give me any of ybu. cheek or I'll smack you on the jaw'.". Plaintiff said, "You'll do what?",-De-fendant then struck her on' the face." His Worship (Mr: W. A. VBartoh) )itas posed a fine of £1, with costs amounting to £1 16s, in default seven daya* imprisonment. On a charge of -assault*, ing a late employee named Montague; he was also fined £1 17s 6d, with costs 19s. . . ' It became known at Detioit recently , that Federal agents in , Detroit were ini yestigatirig an alleged plot "to abduct ci* , kill Henry Fbrd, the second infant sort 1 pf Edsel Ford and grandson of tha' multi-millionaire manufacturer.- A letter demanding 10,000 dollars (£2000) fro-fit Edsel Ford as the price for tlje baby'a safety, was turned over to' the post office inspectors. , The letter was v sighed "Sicilian Anarchists' Association." Jacob ■ Yellin, aged. 20, was, arraigned in United 1 States Districts ' Court, charged with; sending^ the threatening letter to Edsel * Ford. When Yellin was taken ihtd> court, Government agents said thht*"-* hd. was the second person taken into custody. 'Yellin was arrested when 6» decoy package supposed to contain 10,000 dollars was delivered to himv/by. a messenger boy, who . called . for .itiaft ' the Detroit post office, where the letterto Mr. Ford directed the money should 1 be left. Yellin admitted he had "Ingaged the messenger: .but declared tha. he did so for an unknown third 'party. . Fede^l. agents accompanied vYellin-tp ». street corner, where, he said -he had*'7an appointment with the nhknojiyh man, bnt ! the latter -failed to appear. •' V y.-XvsX-The number 0f, .13 isVregarded by; -iMgy . as fatal,. Jby- thousands as, l'merely : .VytA?. • lucky," and by '.a few , as,"*3ucky.''.;'WhMt** ever it may be, it has at least figu^d prominently on numerous occasions j and it has been responsible for some* strange coincidence^. .. Those adher'ehts.^toyVft^ "unlucky" theory will be interested; (sa^js, the Evening Post) in the remariiabW'.wa^ ' in which 13 clung to the late PrrvßtoV' W. Gillohj youngest son- of?'Mra. .^itton, of 111 Adelaide i:oad, : Ntewt6w;ns*lt j proved a fa^ful number for^him/l Early, f in the war he enlisted, but ■ was turned? down as medically , unfit. ; Then - he .-.wa«. ■ called up by ballot^ on JanaurylSj^ 1917./ 'He went into camp on March *;•. 13, left y New Zealand . on June 13, * arrived;; m<{ England on August 13,' left for i lFi^_ic* , on October 13, and oriV January 13^ 1918 ) -— exactly one vear after' he had* entered i* camp—his :mdther f eceiyed a cable, stat^ -j ing that her son had been killed on De^/ cember 13. • The/ late Private -.-Gillonf v "wrote a letter to;, his brother, ;Mrl R. : -•* Gilloh, of the-, Wellington 'Meat Export / Company's staff, ■ Ngahau.aftga, op Oc- ' tober 13, and it was received by c Mr. Gillon on' January l3, the date ott.wWcbJ the cable announcing his brother's de_tht came to hand. - 7 "' . ' .*.•'*.,* . / An interesting fight* between ''a^'sfiaffc and a big'eel was witnessed '.itttn^iGhiß rocks, at Scott's Point, Humpybongy (says the Brisbane Daily; Mail). A" big eel foraging up the tidal basin "was. attacked* by a, blue*; shark; between three *- and four feet lortg.Vand a.dirig-don^go,^ lasting a full three or ; four y minutes,'. Was fought out. V sharkv held the v.eel*across the head and^ throaty -*arid with " powerful forward thrusts^vsavaged > _da prey, the eel meanwhile* forcing the fight inshore. TAvice the; eel threw the 'shark cleai ; • of the . water,*" somersault • fashion, '-• and 1 the altern.ating flash' of ■ white bellies and flushing,: tails' wasi quiie inspiring. The fight held till the.oom* batants cariie into v&hoal ; water, and^ha shark let gd, but as the eel • broike-^qlfeap he made affinal stroke," which severed a foot or 18in. of tail. . The eel, dreadfully wounded^ : ; swam ' ! slowly along tha. 'rocks., and sought refuge in a cranny, not deeply submerged-; x where 7he "'.^j*aa marked down. --Patience and a stoht boathook seoured him as the- tide waters receded. Investigations showed hijn,* tobe a rock eel, or moray, 6i the l VilVer variety, thicker than the upper arm off a, powerful, man,; ahd what was left of him was 4ft. long., * ...... Referring to Chinajs; part in the war* the newly-appointed Chinese- Consul for New Zealand, Mr. „Shih-Yuau liin,Vstated at Auckland that the. r.pulflicls chief service' in the cdiise.of freedom 'Was J in the supply of raw material* -to the Allies. Huge quantities of cottoh ; had been delivered to the Allies from China, ih addition to many other raw' materials. , During recent years the small. farmers in many parts of China had gpn.9 ' in for cattle raising, aha M the 1 export^ of beef .to the Allies during the war. had reached considerable dimensions.' ''As. in other countries China Wa^ ' nbw'^.be.Sniii^g to feel the shortage of shi^ and stores, foodstuffs/" ahd raw* ma&wSjsf of all kinds had accumulated^ at, *portsV of export. In addition to suppli-sT W _oaterial, China had also undertaken to send 500,000 Chinese to France to work behind thee lines,.- Of "this nnmber" 80;OOQ had already left for the front.' "Acbordi ,ing tg hi!o-miation--eceivedy ; the republic was also preparing- to send >t least 30,000 regular troops to th'e'fiiihg-liqo in France, and. it was intended td do more in this direction. "The Chinese," concluded the. Consul, '"intend to Vdp their utmost in carrying on their shar* in the war- until victory over a com* mon enemy, is achieved." V, The making of rose beacls dates ha^k hundreds, of years, ahci each- year sees an improvement. Grieve, Jeweller; has just landed a beautiful ■assdrtinent-ndfi these goods, and they are simply perfection,.* ■-.-■* -. . - •. - ■ - •'■,,•... y*" -,'.'• .7. ■■'- ?.<:;- .-•.■;. ;.'•*. ?.i -f '.. •- -■•■-.. .■*<*. il January First is i always 1 a tihiii- for good resolutions/ You .hould- res«lT» ,i *ita tvoe .atVLawrie^s Pl?Mniacy dhniw Wjj&i Quality, goods, Superior servioe; a^id righ| prices is his .slogan;* ' . p rx. pa

During the past fortnight two building permits were issued by the Borough Council, to the total value of £1202, comprising a store re-erection £63, and a new store £1139. A welfare scheme is being prepared for munition) workers in* a large Midland area to oost £60,000. The money ia to come from excess profits of firms engaged on munitions. "Here we've got a tin-pot thing running up and. down Gladstone road, and it makes: me sick. lam proud of Gisborne. bnt when they talk about tramways I get a headache."— Cr. Hill at last night's Council meeting. A proposal is under consideration for the removal of the ambulance men in training at Awapuni camp to Featherston. It is understood that owing to the reduction of the reinforcement drafts the men in training at Awapuni can be easily accommodated at Featherston camp. The proposed transfer is being considered with a view to effect- , ing economy. Animated bidding at Mr. Wm. Perry's ram sale, on Thursday (says the Wairarapa Daily Times) finished up with keen competition between two breeders. The ram was finally knocked down to Mr. William Rayner at 280 guineas. Some laughter was caused when it was seen that the runner-up was Mr. Bland Rayner, a brother of -the purchaser. "No sentiment in this" jocularly remarked an auctioneer. Four skulls and a quantity of bones Were unearthed on the beach at Arkle's Bay, Auckland, by some workmen. The bones, which lay at anout high-water ihark, were apparently those of old-time Maoris, for a large number of flint chips were found amongst them- 'Mr. S. D. Chiles, who carefully examined the skulls, says that two of them have absolutely perfect sets of teeth, another indication of the Maori. It was mentioned at a sitting of the Third Wellington Military Service Board that the Post and Telegraph Department had sent over 2000 men to the war. In regard to men called up in Ihe most recent ballots it -'was pointed out that the Department is picking out, for the purposes of appeal, only those whom it deems to be most efficient, and with the object of allowing the most men to be released. The body of Sir Starr Jameson, the South African statesman, who died in ' London, will be taken to Buluwayo for burial in the Matoppo Hills. It is there that Uecil Rhodes, with whom Sir Starr Jameson worked'. in South Africa, was buried. The funeral at Kensal Green Cemetery was private and was attended by members of the family only. There the- body will rest until after the war, when it will be removed to Rhodesia. , The severe electrical disturbances last week caused considerable alarm at Dipton, Canterbury. On Mr. Stewart's farm the lightning furrowed the ground hi the direction of a dog kennel. The current was evidently attracted by the cham attached to the dog. It killed the animal — a valuable one— and destroyed' the kennel. Mr. Stewart had just tied the dog up about five minutes before the lightning struck dog and kennel. Some amusement was created at the Council meeting last night , during the discussion on the water supply, when on several occasions two . councillors stood up simultaneously .to make a statement. From thajt time on each councillor was asked before he made a statement whether "it was in explanation," and as soon as the councillors wandered from the explanation the Mayor did not lose any time in reminding them of the fact. It would seem (says the Southland Times) that, from one viewpoint at any rate, neutrality is, like honesty, a very good policy. Mr. John Macdonald told Saturday's meeting of the Invercargill Farmers' Union that in Uruguay and the Argentine, where cattle were once raised for their hides, growers are to-day getting, through the American Meat Trust, ? rices right up equal to those paid in T.S.A. Those prices are just double those at present . ruling in New Zealand 7An elderly woman, named Annie O'Shaughhessy, a resident of East Invercargill, was tak6n to the hospital on ~ Friday suffering from severe burns, particularly on the upper part of her face. It appears that she was carrying something which was alight, and fainted while she had it in her hand. She fell on to a mat which caught fire, and Uk fire caused the injuries. So serious were the burns that the patient died late bn Friday night. Deceased apparently met with her accident on Thursday Evening. She lived by herself and her plight was not discovered ' until the following day. •Cr. Munns said at last night's meeting of the Council that some aspersion, hao been cast at that body for not contributing to the cost of. placing the telephone at the beach. He said that when the accident took place last Sunday, tht telephone at Morse's house could not be got at, as the house was shut, and an. other 'phone altogether had to be used. Tt was decided to see if tlie Government would place a slot machine on the beach. >-The» Mayor said that the fatality showed ihat something should be -done to ensure the safety of swimmers.— Ci*. Munn.« moved that the committee recently set up to confer with the bathers' representatives, consider the best method of installing protecting precautions. Writing to friends in Australia, Mrs. Wal'i (Misa Beatrice Day) jstates that (jhe has been endeavouring to establish ' a hostel in Paris for the convenience of oversea soldiers. Her suggestion has been favourably received, and recently she had the pleasure of seeing tht "Leave Club" opened. This is a central bureau where Australians and New Zealanders can obtain information for their guidance while "in Paris .on furlough. Two months ago \Miss Day paid a. visit to the Somme district, and met many of the peasants, on whom Australian and New Zealand soldiers were quartered last year. Miss Day states that it was most affecting to hear the kindly way nr which the motherly women spoke of the/ oversea soldiers, and to see their interest ' in hearing news of soldiers whom _ they had fed and sheltered. Mis* Day's son, Robin, is now flying in France. . The confidence felt by the New Zealand Infantry on the Western front 1 , in the New Zealand! Field Artillery was expressed by a returned infantry officer to . a Post representative. The officer in question, who . served* in the Rifle Brigade, stated that when they were in the front line the New Zealand infantry never felt so comfortable as When they had their own artillery behind! them. This was the highest praise he could bestow, because it was on the artillery that the welfare of the infantry depended. He doubted whether . there were better gunners in the British expeditionary force than the N.Z.F.A. Coinciding with this tribute, it is instructive to note that the N.Z.F.A. in fulfilling its mission has lately , been paying an exceptionally heavy price in casualties. Of 149 casualties reported in the lists issued on Thursday no fewer than 59 were in the artillery — 16 killed) and 43 wounded. Writing to a friend in Dunedin, a member of the 28th New Zealand Divisional Signallers, who was in England at the tune the letter was despatched, stated, inter alia : "Most of us here have $ grievance. We are not receiving even JhaK -civilian pay, while the 'Tommy' __oyal Engineers from the post office are reviving f_u civil pay, even those who have . joined iip quite recently — both Bingle «nd married. In other words all British Post and Telegraph men employed in a special capacity receive full civil pay plus roijitapy, while the New Zealand men employed similarly receivie military, or flt most, half civil pay. Itis not as though they were more efficient than we. ' Comparisons are odious, but I cannot refrain from quoting our O.C in this connection — viz. "Our men can beat them at everything bar saluting.' He has worked with them all at the front, but I suppose some allowance must be made for bias." * It's an ill- wind that blows nobody good. Grieve, Jeweller, had ordered a big selection of Rose Beads for last Xmas trade, but these goods only arrived today* «o prices have been marked low to clear. Inspection invited.*

I Five railroad heads have been appointed by the United States Government to work out the plans for welding 260,000 miles of line into the Great Continental System for winning the war. * | The United States Department of Agriculture has issued a poster urging the wholesale slaughter of rats. "The rat," states the poster, "has, by spread- j ing diseases, killed more . people than bullets, and he is just as filthy and dangerous as ever. The rat is the most destructive and dangerous of animal pests." Bread discovered in the Zeppelins which came to grief in France last month has been found, on expert examination, to consist of two kinds. The first sample of the baby-killers' loaves proved to be made of unmixed rye of precisely the kind ordinarily consumed on a considerable scale in Germany. The other sample was from a loaf made of wheaten flour containing an admixture of 10 to 12 per cent of rice fiom*. The carbo-hydrates necessary to sustenance at high altitndes were furnished in the form of a thick layer of lard between slices of rye bread, while sandwiched between slices of the wheaten loaf was a generous portion of honey.