THE VETERANS' HOME.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13650, 7 March 1908, Page 4

THE VETERANS' HOME.

In the Old Country just now a great effort is being made to suitably provide for the Crimean veterans, whose old age is darkened by poverty and sometimes actual want. New Zealand some years ago, through the active* personal efforts of Lord Jlanfurly to arouse the people to a sense of their duty in this respect, established a Veterans' Home in which men who fought for their country in their .youth and strength may end their days in: comfort and freedom from anxiety as to their material well-being. The re-, suit has been that a great number of these worthy old men have been made happy, comfortable, fend content. Excellent woiik is being done by thej Veterans' Home at Auckland, but itsj finances rest , on<. a , very insecure and precarious oasis, for the regular income is small and the Veterans are only able to contribute fr6m their .pensions a portion of the' cost of their maintenance. The balance is made up by in? comoJrom in^eitnien.ls, i donations and subscriptions, r anp! Government subsidy on^ the latter. , ■ ,Fpr the past three ycjy-s the , Home Has received^fijlOO. an* mially from the Soldiers' and Bailors Help Socioty of London, but presumably there are more pressing claims on the' fund's of ;that, society, for the grant has now ceased and the trustees of the Home have to look elsewhere for funds. Something like £600 or £700 a year v roquired in addition to tho veterans' own contributions, and an appeal it being made by the Hon. ,E« Mitchelsdn. chairman and. Hon. treasurer of the Home, the public for assistance. It is difficult to imagine a stronger or more legitimate claim upon the people of a country-, than the care of those who liavo served it faithfully and, well, as these veterans liavev and finn themselves unable' to provide for themselves in .their old age. Mr. Mitchejson tell* us jLhat the position, of the. Home will ahva-ysr. be precarious until such time as ihe trustees have gathered a sufficient fund, to yield a .permanent income .large enough,, with the veterans' own contributions, to. maintain, tht Hon^e;. He 'therefore appeals to the public f or . greater , support, and w< feel sure that his appeal Will meet witl a gouei'ous response such as it deserves. If <_ {.hare v are' any among our readert who arq willing to assist, we shall bt pleased Bend on to Mir, -Mitchelson any subscription they may. send us, or they may .remit direct to him at Auck-

Tb'e secretary q{ j tHe r Ne^ 'plyniouth Fire"' JBrlgade has received a donation of two guineas to the brigade's funds from Mr W. Gaukrodge?, m appreciation of ~ the services rendered at the recent fife. ...

The Clifton County Council at its meeting yesterday afternoon considered the matter of re-arranging the engh neer's duties. >' The question was <t& cussed in camera. Mr Dowsett offered 1 to undertake the Council's engineering and -survey work- for the- sum of $21Q a year (exclusive of road maintenance supervision), providing that he should not be asked, to supervise contracts of a less value than £30. These terms were eweiitually/aijfr«fidi^., . . i ,, •«> *'■<

The cost of tarring the footpaths in Robe Street and Queen Street was £40 Is 6d. The borough workmen have started the concrete kerbing and channelling in Devon Street on tne north side from Liardet Street to Currie Street. •there has been another "sly-grog" raid at Ohakune, on the North Island Main Trunk railway works. A telegram from Taihape reports that police raided a shop at Ohakune last night and' seized a quantity of whisky. "Well, now I think I have come to the eijd of my notes," said a speaker at the public meeting at Eltham on Thursday. "Thank heaven!" fervently exclaimed one of the audience amid a ripple of laughter and a buzz of applause. The stoker of the "Flying Scotchman," which plies between Greytown and Woodside, had his cap blown off/ by tEe wind the other day. The Wairarapa Standard is told that be jumped off, picked it up, and sprinted for fiftyyards, catching up the "Express," and resumed his duties quite unconcernedly. The New Plymouth Homing Pigeon Club has drawn up the following programme of races for young birds : — Eltham, March 19; Waverley, March 26; Aramoho, April 2. In addition to.these there will be the usual Perby, Oaks, Produce Stakes, Champion Cup, and Novel Interval Race, the dates for which have not yet been fixed. Who is the censor of State school songs? Passing a public school the other day; a Wellington man heard the scholars being taught that touching ballad, "Somebody's Sweetheart I Want to Be." .This was all very well in "Mother Goose" pantomime, j but it is a question if it is not just a little too advanced for . a puWic <schoql. — The Dominion. An attempt to acclimatise lobsters is being made in Otago. The Karam'ea, which arrived ''at Dunedin yesterday, brought thirty-one lobsters from Plymouth hatcheries. Only three had died on the voyage. V3n two previous occasions the greater number or those shipped from England were lost, but on this voyage they were kept ■ in tanks near the refrigerator and fared better. A resident 6f Bristol, Indiana, has written to the New Zealand labour Department asking for information about the prospects offered by the Qominion for people who desire to settle here. The inquirer states that there are several families at the same place, "worth from between 5000 and 10,000 dollars, who are looking for an dpening in a new country where the laws are in the interests of the masses of the*"people." A speaker at the meeting of -atepayers at Eltham on Thursday, called to consider the harbour loan proposals, said there was far more interest being taken in the meetings held in connection with rarbour matters than Mr Hughes was aware of. Even if there were not large attendances, people read the papers and talked things over^ and he (the speaker) was assured that the loan proposals were being supported by a large number of freeholders, and not only by leaseholders, as Mr Hughes had said. ' ' That American workmen turn out on the average two or three times as much as colonials is the opinion., of Mr. G. T. Booth, of the well-known Canterbury firm of Booth, Macdoneld and Co. It, is not hard to believe. -Kectmtly a foof'-*tfleF ,«a*ne«* Svdnoy and went to a job near Wellington. He was soon told that he was working too hard, and he had to decrease his speed by -abxmt half to satisfy bis Fellow "workers." And yet| it is said that the British workman | needs the best food because he works so much harder than others 1 The cause of the householder who receives a load of coal with nothing to ' show whether he is getting full-measure was . championed by Mr J. B. Roy at last night f s meetingof the local Cham- j ber of Commerce. Presumably the remarkable honesty of New Plymouth .'people is shared by the town's coal dealers,' but the inclination of dealers/ in less honest places to guess tno weight •of coal instead of measuring it has become a standard joke. Take the fforl r lowing conversation, for instance: "They say that man's the champion light weight." "Really? He doesn't look like a boxer!" "No, he's a coal * dealer. * "The filthy condition of the bank notes issued in this colony is a, menace to the public health," said Mr C. E. Baker at last night's meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. jHe denounced the notes as cpncoctions," full of microbes. The Bank of England, he mentioned, never reissued a note once" it returned to the Bank. Here the bonks reissued them as long as they would hold together. Other members agreed that the notes were filthy. Mr J. B. Connott said that a short time ago he had seen a note bearing the signature of Mr N. King's father, /who itad loft his ban^ in 1875. It. was decided, on tho motion of Mr Baker, to try to enlist - the co-operation of. other Chambers of Commerce in urging the banks to take such steps as would provide cleaner notes for circulation. "You often hear it said that we priests make our pile. At the hank to-morrow I will have a balance of il 0s 6d to be paid me, and I have been 23 years a priest," declared the 'Rev. Father Goggan at the farewell gathering tendered in his honour sjt the Napier Theatre Royal. Continu1 ing ■ (reports the- Telegraph), Father Goggan stated that half the purse. ■of sovereigns Which had been presented 'to him — and which might have been expected to swell his bank balancewould have to be paid away in order that people who had trusted him might fulfil their trust to the church. The remainder" of the money he would use in taking his collection of books to Wellington, where he would try and getr a little more knowledge into his ? 'old gray head." At the Magistrate's Court, Stratford, yesterday, A. H. Korth was charged with obtaining £10 in money from T. Lawless by means of a valueless cheque. Detective Boddam prosecuted, and Mr R. Spence appeared for accused. . Evidence was given to the effect that accused h«a been boarding at the Stratford Hotel for about six weeks prior to October l','*on which- date he asked for a blank' cheque. Mr Lawless gave one of his own on the National Bank, and accused shortly after1 wards presented the oheque filled in and altered from "Stratford" to "Napier." The cheque was cashed. Ac- ' cused left by the mail train, and the cheque was subsequently returned marked "No account." Horatio Nel- | son gave formal evidence of seeing the cheque at Napier on October 8, and that "A. H. Korth" had not then, or at any time to witness' knowledge, an account with the bank. A plea of "not guilty" wuj entered, defence being reserved. Mr A. Turnbull, S.M., eomi initted accused for trial at New Plymouth. Bail was allowed.

The returns* for electrical energy supplied by the borough last month amount to £131 15s lOd. The Garrison Band will hold a concert at the Esplanade rotunda to-mor-tow afternoon. ' A little church in the heart <>f Mil- ~ ton Abbey Woods. Dorset, which has been closed for 364 years has been re- a consecrated. , Katipo spiders are said to have poisoned several people at Foxton recent- > ly. The local Herald says these venomous insects are most dangerous after a long spell of dry weather. An Otago settler, who came to New Zealand forty-seven years ago had hw first railway ride and his nrst coach ride in the Dominion this week. His s name is Mr Soth Holding *nd he told these facts to a fellow passenger on- the I coach from Naseby to Ranfurly. . The reward of virtue! A lad found a parcel (that had been lost and advertised for) near Cbristchturch a few days ago, and at much personal inconvenience restored it to its owner, wfco signified his gratitude by overwhelming the youngster with gifts, which consisted of one apple and one pear I A well-to-do Russian, who ;arrived by the Arawa from London, was terar porarily detained from landing at Wellington because of his inability to converse in the English language. v The Customs officers, however,; alter going through the usual formalities, eventually allowed the newcomer to land. I 'There are no organised ''tWo-up' schools in Wellington at the present time," said Chief Detective McGratb an conversation with a Post reporter. "Two-up" was, he said, still played,but only under the protection of scouts and in quiet remote parts on the outskirts of the -town. - • "Are you downhearted?" was the greeting given to one of ttoe.Arawaa immigrants t as' the vessel drew alongside the wharf at Wellington. Ifi elicited the spirited reply, "No!" \"iTotf will be before you've been here «njg> retorted another, voice from the wharf -Evidently that of one who had come to"' seek his fortune and failed. „ - Town Visitor (to small applicant for work): "What is your father?" ">Ws me father." T.V. : "Yes; but what is v heP" S.A.:' *Oh! 'E v 's me step-, "father." T/V\: "Yes, yes.. But what does he do? Does he sweep, chimneys, or drive 'buses, or what?" S.A. {with dawning light of comprehension) : "0-o-wT No, 'c ain't done nothin' since we've 'ad 'im!"— Punch, A seaman at the Christchurch Police Court a few days ago stated that a vessel which traded between London and New Zealand did not Uarry a proper crew. "Why." he said, "there are doctors and dentists going, home at ,1s per month <b pass their examination, while the balance consists of soldiers, clerks, and misfits of the Dominion, ' swho sail Home as seamen at 4J2 8s per month." ' \ \ During last month the health officer • iof the Manawatu and neighbouring districts had his attention directed to the . large infant mortality at Foxton. On " going H^o the< locality where the deatjos had taken place he, discovered that in several cases people were using , waW" 1 - from tanks nearly ' empty, and they were unable to say when these- tanks had Jteen cleaned out. A flead fowl and , .the ""bodies of several small birds were found in one tank. , The ' rough - and - ready 1 methods adopted 1 by some natives in the healing of the sick were, it is stated, responsible for the death of a native' . girt *amfcd sj«BS»^Kake s in h.-'mtmr ' ment^ north of Hukerenui on Tuesday la«st week. While she was suffering from inflammation of .the lungs, she was; according to the report, dipped into .a < creek, with the result that she expired* shortly 'afterwards. A- tangi was held,, and the body remained un- N buried, until Saturday, when a warrant <to Dury was obtained by the police. — Auckland Star. 4 1 -The Wanganui Chronicle unders^inds that an exceedingly rich reef of gold ore has .been located in the Motueka district by Mr R. E. Clouston, mining engineer, who has been engaged for some time by two well-known business men to explore a certain, locality. Mr Clouston visited Wanganui and reported the matter to his principals, who propose forming a private company to work the, reef without delay with a battery to be ereqted, if possible, before the winter sets in. , If reports are true, there is a good future for the lucky owners who have already received a highly satisfactory assay of the stone from the. Government assayist. There is in Auckland at present a ]3*>liee constable who becomes very dis- . turbed when reminded of engines. A few 'days ago, at about 4 a.m., he heard what he took to be gunshots in the direction of the Railway Wharf. Scenting, a tragedy, he blew his whistle, and., collected a number of other constables. Then an advance ■was made upon the wharf, each man straining ears and eyes for signs of tragedy. After a long but fruitless search the disgusted guardians of the peace found that the "gunshots" had .btoeft .caused by two, gauge-glasses blowing- out of an engine in the enginesheds. - The Review of Reviews for March, to hand, is, as usual, replete with information of a world-wide character. ■The outstanding features of local and English history are dealt with. The, Character Sketch is a very touching and beautiful one, being a tribute by Mr W. T. Stead to his lato son and to his father. Matters of present worldwide interest are dealt pith in the articles on, "The Naval Status Quo: Must it be Maintained,", and 'The Coming Revolution: The Conquest of the Air and its effect on the World." The review of the world's magazines is very full arid complete. Another interesting article noticed is "Fire-walking in Japan." In addition to these, the wonders of Nitro-Bacterine, which is likely to make a revolution in the agricultural world, are further dealt with. The Book of the Month is a review of a very interesting book called "Fascinating Egypt/ Mr*S. Percy Smith, author of "Hawaiki. the Origin of the Maori," has supplied the New Zealand Times with a good story of the t3ity« of Auckland, the second steamer built in the northern port. In her first voyage fronr Auckland to Coromandel she met with trouble, but managed to reach Drunken Bay, about nine miles from Auckland, and between Rangitoto Island and Motutapu Island. As darkness came on it was decided to anchor there for the night. Those on board evidently had in mind the custom of the old Dutch skippers trading from Holland to New Amsterdam, now New York: as Washington Irving says, "they laid to at - night, by which they secured a good night's wsi, and knew where they were in the morning." It was discovered, however, that there was no anchor on board the City of Auckland. They were men of. resource in those days, and they were not to- be beaten by trifles, so they took out the boiler and used it as an anchor. That, at any rate, Mr Smith adds, is the story which Was current at the time.