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Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14651, 4 March 1918, Page 2

It is stated that during the absence of Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward at the Imperial Conferer.ce, the position of acting-Premier will be filled by Sir James Allen. The, "New Zealand Times" says that some opposition is certain to be offered to the proposal at the approaching siort session on the ground that Sir James, as the head of the military department, is already overloaded with work, and-is unable to satisfactorily discharge his .existing responsibilities. There is a. further ground of opposition on tire.score that, by combiring £he military control with the leadership of tlie Government, Sir James Allen is being invested with fat too much power.

As showing the distinctness of tho telephonic communication between Wellington and Blenheim it may be mentioned (says the "Express") that on a recent Sunday morning Sir Joseph Ward, speaking from the former place, and Mr R. McCallum, M.P., from his residence here, ' held a conversation that was perfect in audibleness. The member for Wairau says that Sir Joseph's words were as plain to the hearing as if he had been standing a i few yards away.

Among inhabitants of the -,var zone there -is" an increase of tuberculosis, "especially among children, from the habit of" sleeping and spending a considerable part of the day in cellars and other underground shelters, in order to be safe from enemy, guns and aeroplanes, which bombarded every town, village, house or hospital' from ten to 15 miles behind the firing line This statement "was made by Dr Woods Hutchinson, at the Royal Society ol" Medicine. He also declared that not a little of the superb health and vigour of. our armies on the Western front was •.due .-to; the rich and abundant supply of. food furnished"' them. The men had "simply revelled" iv meat, red meat at that, three tunes a day, with abundance of sugar, sweet jams, tea and coffee, and yet gout was unknown, and rheumatism rare. The "ridiculous ravings" of the whole tribe of -vegetarians against meat-eating had.been shown to lie utterly absurd by experiments on a scale of tens of millions..

The extraordinary efficiency of the Lewis gun, which has come into such great use in the operations of the Allies in France, is .demonstrated by a story told by Caw tain Cariv.icha.cl/MCIT, of the Australian Imperial Forces, while on a visit to Auckland. On one occasion he was with one. of his gunners in an advanced post o': the Australian lines, which were about seventy yards separated from Fritz's pil'-boxes. 'In the- early hours of the morning, when there was a heavy fog, the gunner was standing alongside his qiuck-urer, ever on tiie alert, but for the moment put out of action hy the darkness and fog. He was talking to Captain Oarmichaei when there was a sudden lift in the fog, and at the same moment the moon shone out, showing.Up.-a mass of (.tcilmans going into the trendies, probably |to relieve those already holding the I line. The target was a splendid one, but what counted most was the ■amazing.swiftness with which the Lewis .; gunner got to work. . In a fraction of a second he had seen the target and .was pouring in a stream of lead. Oilier gunners picked the target up almost immediately after, and the result was shown in the morning,- wheiv under the cover of a Red Cross tlag, the Germans came out to pick up their dead and wounded, and continued to pick them n#K until noon that day. Later, Captain .Oarmichaei' recommended that Lewis gunner for. the Military Medal, which was duly awarded, arid shortly afterwards the clever marksman .gained a bar to his decoration. Incidentally, s Captain Carrnichael said that it took" at least six months to make a soldier efficient in the use of tho Lewis gun. 1