NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14231, 2 November 1916, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association resolved to hold in trust the sum of £75 collected for the Wilding Memorial Fund until the time is more opportune for satisfactorily carrying out the object of the fund.—Press Association.

; An address on the feeding of young canaries and- nvule ..-.breeding, will be given by Messrs. Huggins and Tibbie at the monthly meeting of the Nelson Poultry Association this evening. '

There will be a working bee at Richmond Park to-day to make arrangements for the forthcoming show of the Nelson Agricultural and Pastoral Association^ and as many members as can make it convenient to attend are invited to do so.

The following letter was received from the Chief Postmaster, Nelson ? by the Nelson Sick and Wounded Soldiers* Fund • —"I have to inform you that the Department has decided, to grant, the following additional privilege to patriotic societies, authorised to post free of postage fees, lot-tors strictly on tflo business of the committees^ In order to provide moans by which gratuitants of the fund may render receipts without paying the postage on them, authority is givon for a single envelope to be enclosed with the cheque sent to them. The envelopes used for the purpose must have printed upon them as a headline the name of the fund and on the upper left-hand corner the word "receipt" in bold capitals. Postage will not be collected on receipts returned in such envelopes, which may be permittod to pass through the post without stamps being affixed."

A Tfmaru, man who is serving with the New Zealand Forces in France mentions in a letter that an Australian battery "has a German field piece firing back Fritz's own ammunition at him. They found a German battery blown up, and out of the pieces they put together one gun. They had plenty of German ammunition, and were highly delighted at their fortune and opportunity for the prank."

An officer of the Fourteenth Reinforcements, writing from Sling Camp to his people in New Plymouth, says that on board the transport on which he travelled there were no fewer than 130 cases of measles, while over 300 cases of various kinds passed through the ship's hospital during the voyage. The two nurses had a busy time, and the men, prior to disembarkation j presented each with a purse of sixteen sovereigns.. ~

A North Auckland' family, says the Auckland "Star," has contributed seven sous towards the war. The father of the family is Mr. J. H. Saies, a timber worker, of Whangaroa, and the boys who have left for the front are James, Frederick, Bert, Joseph, Arthur, Edward and Alfred. Alfred has been killed in action, and two of the, others are wounded. There are still three other sons in this patriotic family, and it is possible that the list will be added to shortly.

Mine. A. de Thebes, the famous French "seeress," who predicted, in 1913 that 1914 would be the year of blood, tears and heroism which would place France in the front rank of the nations, states emphatically that the war will end before the New Year. "Peace will come unexpectedly," she says. "The roar of the guns will cease overnight, and the soldiers on both fronts will be called home to peaceful pursuits. Fate has so decreed it."

A somewhat . extraordinary occurrence happened at Ilotokohu'on Wednesday (says the Greymouth "Star"). An unoccupied house there, owned by Mr. Richard Rowe/ was struck by a whirlwind and stripped of every sheet of iron. The iron was carried some distance into the bush, and there is hardly a possibility of any of it being recovered. A resident who saw the occurrence considers it a most remarkable • one, and it dissipates the idea that wind is unknown in the Inaneahua Valley.

The American Press delights in regaling^ its readers with anecdotes of British royalty, and many are the stories in circulation regarding the

democratic demeanour of the Prince of Wales at the front. The following, cabled by a Yankee war scribe gathering material in France, is worthy of mention:—During a lull in the fighting on the western front the Prince of Wales strolled near the Press camp and came upon a correspondent busily writing. Pausing for a moment, the Prince asked for information concerning a bomb attack. At the conclusion of the conversation the Prince offered the correspondent a cigar, which the latter placed in the inside breast pocket of his tunic. "Why don't you smoke it?" said the Prince. "Because I'm not likely to ever get another cigar from the Prince of Wales, so I mean to keep this one as a memento." The Prince laughed good naturedly, and, bringing out his case again, replied: "Well, you had better have another one—this time to smoke!"

Colonel the Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes stated at Leeston the other evening that an inmate of the enemy prison camp at Malta, which he inspected, was yon Mueller, commander of the Emden. Yon Mueller never left the crews and passengers of the vessels he sank to the mercy of the waves, but always put them on board one of the ships captured, which he did not sink, bub released to convey them to a place of safety. Colonel Rhodes stated that he had inspected the famous British submarine Ell, which had accounted for no fewer than 96 Turkish vessels in the Sea of Marmora, though the officers and: crew felt a little hurt at riot having bagged a century. They had treated tlieir prisoners the same as yon Mueller had'treated his; they collected them and put them upon the last ship they captured at the end of the day, and released her.

A curious revelation of the care with which the British national accounts are audited has been causing interest and .amusement in England. Last year the Comptroller and Arbiter-general noted, in respect of the accounts of the Pay-master-general arid the National Debt Commissioners, that there was a discrepancy of a 'penny. His report for the current 1 year again notes the dis-crepancy,-which has not been adjusted or explained. A. "Daily Mail" correspondent' asked the Exchequer and Audit Office for a statement, but could get no satisfaction. One of the officials explained that it would cost hundreds of pounds to; trace the mistake, and "we feel," he added, "that it is not right to spend that sum in war time. For that reason.;the penny was allowed to stand .oyerv-in the balance of £2,234,7^0a33-:6d ; last year, and again in the balancetof;^£2;oßO,so2 this year.-' The-"Mail's? correspondent produced a penny and.-peered. 7 to pay it in and settle the matter, but he was told that such, a thiiig would be most improper. The search for the missing penny is suspended for the time, but, when the war is over, no doubt, the Audit Office will insist upon the mystery beinc; solved. . .. "

Some interesting- particulars of the [training received by, candidates for commissions in the Royal Flying Crops I hare been given by a New Zealander at one of the schools in England (saya the "New Zealand Herald"). "We hare a hard time of it as regards work," he writes. "After studying for a month,, there is an examination- on the twenty-five subjects on which lectures have been given. It means several hours a day real study. Have to Morse eight words a minute. On leaving here you are posted to any Flying Squadron you would like to go to, provided there is a vacancy. Remain there four of five weeks flying, anci you pass a Lewis machine-gun examination, and Morse 12 words a minute. Then being a qualified flyer, you .go to Hythe for training' in the machine-gun for two weeks—most exciting, as the shooting is done whilst flymg past a target— at the end of which time you are ready for France as a fully-qualified airman. The pay is very liberal—an allowance of £50 for outfit, and 7s 6d a day, with Is 3d allowance while training.* As soon as one comences flying, one gets 4s 6d a day extra, and when qualified £1 a day —in France it increases to 25s 9ri ji day for a sub-lieutenant, and at tb* e^ 2 A eac, h year the £15° bonus w added to that—so there you are!"