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Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16613, 10 December 1919, Page 2

The committee of the East End Bathing Reserve bogs to acknowledge with thanks donations towards the improvements of the reserve from the following gentlemen; Dr. H. B. Leatham £2 2s, P. J. Flanagan £1 Is, U. Weston £1 Is, W. C. Weston £1 Is.

The total number of officers, noncommissioned officers, and men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force returned to New Zealand up to November 30 last was 78,966. Of these 75,686 have been discharged and gazetted out of the forces and 1449 have returned to duty.

Jn an address at Brancepetll, Mr. J. T. M. Hornsby, the fate member and Liberal candidate lor Wairarapa, stated that unknown to him Ibir Waiter Buchanan was charged by Mr. Massey with the duty of going to Wairarapa to express to the itslonn Party the hope that they would not oppose him for the seat.

In connootion with the band competitions on Friday next at the Good Templar Hail arrangements have been made with Mr. Chas. H. Lawn, of Stratford, to act as adjudicator. There being six junior, four intermediate, and six senior solos to be got through, besides the seven quartettes (including two clarinet parties), it has been decided to commence with the junior solos at 6 p.m. Admission is one shilling to all parts of tho hall, and the net proceeds go to the Bandsmen’s Christmas Fund.

“This piece of broom that I am holding may not seem anything unusual to the casual observer,” stated Colonei Hon. It. Heaton Rhodes, M.P., in tkp course of his opening address at the Lincoln flower show. “It is very' like the Spanish broom, but, nevertheless, it has a sentimental value for .me. It is grown from seed I picked at Gallipoli, and it is treasured because it brings back memories of the gallant New Zealanders who fell there.”

“Tlio Road to Muritai,’ is a little collection of verses by O. N. Gillespie, of Wellington, made during his daily journey homewards from Wellington to .Muritai. Most of the verses have already appeared in tho Sydney Bulletin, a fact which argues tiiat there is merit- in them. The best of them perhaps is “Flower of War,” a poetic picture of the war fields of France with their red flowers and rows of white crosses.

“If all fho available coal in New Zealand were in the United States it would bo worked out in eighteen months,” said Mr. R. Speight, curator of the Canterbury Museum, at a meeting of the Canterbury Philisophical Institute. Mr. Speight, in the course of a paper dealing with the Broken River coal area, said that the known coal in Now Zealand would only last about 100 years, and there would bo permanent shortage in 50 years' time. It was therefore extremely important that all waste should bo eliminated. At the present time there was no doubt waste took place on a very large scale. Quite a lot of information concerning horses and horse racing eddied about the court house on Tuesday during the hearing of a civil action by judge and jury. A veterinary surgeon astonished somo of his auditors by saying that originally a horse had five toes. “Splint” in a jior.se. he continued, was caused by something or other becoming ossified. The Chief Justice remarked that the complaint was evidently something like our rheumatism, but the vet. replied that it was hardly the same, being caused by inflammation of the periosteum. Later, a jockey-was in tl;e wit-ness-box and said in reply to a question that before a certain race he was given instructions, which were to win. “Is that usual?” the Chief Justice asked. For some reason or other nearly everybody in the court laughed.

The shooting of a rabbit which had been doing considerable damage to a Mount Eden resident’s garden Jed to a man being prosecuted in the Police Court at Auckland this week for having discharged a firearm without reasonable cause and to the danger of passers-by. The defendant said he had shot the rabbit in “self protection,” and complained that he could not use poison Jor fear of killing his neighbour’s ciogs; and that if he failed to, destroy rabbits ho would bo liable to 4 fine of £SO. Ho rose at five o’clock one morning to kill the rabbit, and hark been shooting for 45 years withoht accident. Sub-Inspector Wohlmann stated that the prosecution had been made as the bullet had ricocheted and penetrated the bed clothes of a neighbour who had slept on a verandah. The Magistrate (Mr. J. E. Wilson, S.M.), said it was not a trivial charge, and imposed a fine of £l, with 9s costs.

In reference to the depreciation of tho exchange value of the franc, one of the foremost French financiers states that the adverse balance by way of imports for the first six months of the present, year figures out at 10,000 millions of francs, and there is every likelihood of the same thing happening during the second half-year. The exchanges are just as much a commodity as are coal or potatoes; they constitute something which must be procured to pay for purchases abroad. It so happens that France is lacking in this commodity, because it is exporting nothing. It has to pay out 10,000 millions of francs, and has nothing with which to make payment. There is nothing surprising in tho depreciation of the exchanges. There are several ways in which Franco can get out of this critical position—export gOods. obtain credit in foreign countries, and restrict its imports to the very strictest necessary articles. Tho less required to provide exchange, the less will the franc depreciate. Importations should be confined to such goods as can bo re-exported,, and as far as possible purchases should be in enemy countries where the exchanges are favourable to France. The root of the evil resides in the_ destruction and devastation of the richest industrial and economic district of France. For up-to-date printing call at tho Herald Office.