DOMIMION NEWS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4, 31 July 1918, Page 7

DOMIMION NEWS.

SOLDIERS' CRAVES. Per Press Association. i Dunedin, July 27. ! in replying to a deputation repre- ' senting the Returned Soldiers' Asso- ' elation, in regard to the question of j providing suitable headstones for re- ! turned soldiers' graves in each cemeI tery, | Hon. G. W. Russell said, a design had been prepared for a uniform headstone made of reinforced concrete with "N.Z. E.l'Y' in raised letters and a cross dividing the four letters, and towards the bottom a marble slab of about lOin. by loin., on which the. names would be engraved. Three , or four of these had been made by , the Public Works Department and : submitted to the Defence- Department for approval, but the Defence Department seemed to have different ideas, and there had not yet been an agree- ' ment, though it must be nearly a year since the stones were made. He would endeavor to have the matter brought. to a conclusion, though he was not sure it could be till Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward returned. Twenty Or thirty soldiers had been buried in Wellington, but he had authorised disinterment so as to have all in soldiers' -sections, and he was prepared to give the same authority here, provid'ed the relatives would consent. Ho approved of the suggestion .to have one large monument in the centre of each soldiers' plot in each cemetery so used, and he thought there would l>e no difficulty in securing money for such monuments. The Government would pay for the headstones, the total cost of which might come to anything from £70,000 to £IOO,OOO. The headstone designed by the .Public Works Department would cost about £;{. It was generous of the Dunedin City Council to offer to pay for maintenance,*, but the Women's, National Reserve in Wellington had promised to do this, and he felt'sure the \7o-

men's National Reserve in Dunedin would be equally willing.

I DEFAULTING RESERVIST I ARRESTED. Pahiatua, July SO. I Two Wellington constablos this morning, proceeded to a farm at Pukehinau, in the Pongaroa district, and arrested a sturdily-built First Division reservist. The man wag ordered to parade for medical examination on April 4, but failed to respond to repeated notices. He declared he would have to be fetched. On j the production of the warrant he elected to come quietly. The party 1 came into Pahiatua by the mail coach, after a rough trip. The man's family record is said to be a good one, one brother being at the front, one,,in camp, and one.died in camp. The arrestee is stated to have objections to military service of any kind. ANGLICAN SOLDIERS' INSTITUTE Rotorua, July 20. The Anglican Soldiers' Institute was opened this afternoon by the Governor-General, the Countess of Liverpool being present. There was a very large gathering, and addresses were given by the Governor-General, the Bishops of Wellington, Auckland, and Waiapu, and two Maori chiefs. The speakers emphasised that the institute would be open to all ranks, creeds and nationalities. The Maori Patriotic Association of Ohinemutu undertook to provide the cost of a billiard table (£140). The institute hag been erected by the Anglican Military Affairs Committee. RETURNED SOLDIERS' UNDERRATE PERMITS. Wellington, July 30. The Labour 'Department has decided to ask representatives of the Returned Soldiers' Association to be. present when applications for the issue of nnder-rate permits to returned soldiers are under consideration. There have been suggestions that partially disabled men may not always be fully protected without the assistance that the returned soldiers' organisation can give.