The Te Puke Times

Te Puke Times, 14 September 1917, Page 2

The Te Puke Times

Some interesting information j\Vas elicited in the House last in"regard to the cost of keeping interned enemy subjects in New Zealand. From this it appears that, the cost per head for food for 336 Germans on Somes Island is 3s 8d per day, whilst atMojtuihi Island the cost for first-cjass prisoners is 10s 7£d per head, each ration costing 3s sd, andjfor second-class'prisoners 6slld'per head. Judging by these figures, it is apparent that Fritz is not being starved by. our paternal Government-in fact, it looks very much as if his daily menu was decidedly more varied than that of our soldiers in the training camps, .where the daily cost per head is Is Bd. Possibly the stew that the latter enjoy is not deemed gooa 1 enough for the subjects of the -Kaiser who are at present

enjoying the hospitality of the New Zealand Government.' One is inclined to ask who and what are these fir9t-class prisoners, Whose food alone is posting between ten and eleven shillings per day, a greater sum than many families have to subsist on.', We are also curious to know why any discrimination should be made between the prisoners; ably the more favored- ones are men who have-occupied a certain position prior tothewar, but we fail to see why this should en* title them to luxuries. We hold that good, plain, wholesome food such as the soldiers in ,camp receive, and which .they thrive on, should be quite good; enough for any interned enemies. The Government has recently been urging upon the .people the necessity for economy and retrenchment, Might we point out that a considerable" savings could be effec-

ted. judging by the above figures, if the living expenses of the prisoners on the various islands were reduced to those of the soldiers •in the camps, To spend between 103 and lis per head daily for food alone for first-class prisoners is an unwarranted extravagance 'that no-amount of argument will justify.

, A patriotic 'social will be held in the Alliance Hall on Wednesday next to bid farewell to ner Robsrtson, a son of Mr and Mrs Robertson, of Te Matai. Tlie Northern Steamship Company intend closing their agency at Canaan Landing from the 29th ihst, The funeral of the late Mr Jas. Henry Penton, which took place yesterday, was largely attended. The Rev. J,.W. Chapman,, officiated at the graveside. Word has. been received that Pvt. Colin Jameson, eldest son of Mr John Jameson, who left for the front sometime ago, has been wounded in the heel. Mr Bishoprick and the stall: of No. 1 School desire to thank Messrs Williams and Geraghty for the free use of their, hall on the occasion of the recent School entertainmerit. They also wish to acknowledge the receipt of £1 2s, contributed' by the Manoeka Natives to the Xmas Billy fund. The illustrations in this week's issue of the Sporting and Dramatic Review should attract general attention." They include snapshots of wounded soldiers in Dunedin, Mounted Rifles and Army Service Corps at Featherston Camp, New Zealand Roll of Honour list; scenes at Salonika, snapshots of the Marton races, and a host of miscellaneous subjects, For Chronic Chest Complaints, Woods* Great Peppermint Cure,' Is 6d, 2s 6d,

A Wellington merchant who cabled orders to Sydney on Wednesday received the following reply :-" Strike continues: ; no prospect of shipping meantime. A notice is inserted in to-day*s issue by Mr J. A. Griffiths, County Clerk, re the confirmation of a resolution making the road to the Te Puke Gold Reefs a main road. It is not expected that.the first ballot of the Second Division will be held until the last week in October, as the Statistician's plans are not sufficiently forward. Notice was given in the /"House on Tuesday, by the Prime Minister, of a bill provfding for the earlier closing ofXotel bars during the war period. The bill proposes that\|#e hours for selling liquor shall' be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. V ■";;'/-■ .;.';.,./■' : K\v : ■■•;■'■■ Referring'to the Ngawaro-Te Puke Road the foreman' of the' Rotorua County Council reports that work on the portion of the road through the bush hds been carried out at-'a cost of ! £10, including the insertion of one timber culvert. ' ;'■; ,

The programme for the concert to be given in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund on the 21st inst., is published elsewhere. The entertainment is being organised by the Native Patriotic Committee, and should receive the hearty support of the puDlic! '. The serial -picture," TheStingaree,'' which was shown in Te Puke a few weeks ago, is to be called in by the Government, as the result of 3 prosecution in Auckland, some juveniles confessed that their misdemeanours were the result of a desire to emulate the deeds of the famous bushranger. , ■

At a x sitting of the Warden's Court at Taurariga on Thursday last application 1 was made by Mr Sharp, on behalf of, Messrs T. and'W, Harray, of Te Puke, for a license for the "Jocelyn " special quartz claim, being part of sections 8 and 23, Block V, Maketu S,D.' The application. was adjourned for survey of the claim.' '' •■'■' ,; : \ It is stated by the Sydney newspapers that the strike has had a effect on recruiting. Each week /the" total has shown a.' decreasing number, tluringlast month .'the.total enlistments in. New South Wales were 1978.,' Of that number 855 were deferred, leaving 1123 to go into' camp./ Under the recruiting scheme recently, adopted, the monthly quota for New South Wales i 5,2318, so that on this occasion the number is nearly 1200 short of that required.. The figures for the week ended September. 1 show that out of 382 men who volunteered 207 were accepted, 175 beingdeferred*

The farmers of North Otago (says the • iQamaru. Mail) have given a substantial; response to the appeal of the Government to sow wheat. Practically all the wheat-sowing has now been completed, though a 'small area may yet' be put in. The total area under wheat will, we believe,' be found to be ..between 22,000 and 23,000 acres, last year's total was 1,500 acres, so .that the increase will be equal to 30 per cent. The harvest was an indifferent one, the total wheat production being only about 490,000 bushels, and thus, with fairly good yields all round at the next harvest, ,the; wheat threshed, shou)d reach about 780,000 bushels' or an increase ! .of something like 290,000 bushels, \ .

At last week's meeting of the Technical College Board in Christ* church, the chairman (Mr. W, R. Gahagan) said the German ex«. Consul for Christchurch was learning wool-classing at.the college, and he thought it altogether undesirable for such a man to be in contact with the students. He moved that J the Board protest to the Department at 'having to accept an enemy subject as...a student. Mr J. Howell,.director of the college, said, that a former student of the college was now a prisoner of war in Germany, He was first at Hamburg, when the war broke out, and the people treated him with nothing but kindness. He was later sent to Ruhlben, .where he was also well treated, having quite a large library of his> own, composed of books mostly 'given by his German friends. As the college was' au educational institution, he thought that they should show an example in "bearingno malice." A lady member, of the Board was the only one .to coincide with the director. Eventually it wa3 decided, by 10 votes to, ,4, that the Board should apply to Wellington for an opinion on the matter of having the .ex-consul removed as a student. ' . For Influenza take Wood's' Great • Peppermint Cure. Never fails. iß6d,2s6d,

..; Mr Bishop, S.M., who was ap- J; pointed to investigate the charges ~ brought by the Rev. Howard y Elliott;against the officials of the '* Auckland Post Office, reports that he is convinced that no pos- ' , tal official responsible fdr ,;, > any improper or corrupt .dealing -,'•', with any of the letters. -,) Mr George Thomas, of Te K ' Matai, was notified '■ that his son, Gunner Hugh' *' ? Thomas, had been' slightly '' wounded in the thigh. Gunner ■•. Thomas left New Zealand with ' the Ninth Reinforcements, and has been on active service ever since, participating in many engagements in Prance, including > *■ the Battle of the Somme. Until . * now he escaped without a scratch "' and without illness of any sort. , 4 For Children's Hacking Cough at Night Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Is 6d, 23