LOCAL AND GENERAL

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11216, 23 October 1914, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Some misapprelinesion has arisen as to the rate of postages for carrying the Christmas number of tho " Canterbury Times to different countries. The rates are as follow: —To Great Britain, one penny; to America, fivepence-half-penny; to Australia, one penny halfpenny ; to Canada, one penny halfpenny.

The sarcastic " Bulletin A big effort is being made in iUaoriland to revive road cycling, and with this object it has been decided to hold the M.L. Road Race over the ancient battleground between Christchurch and Tirrpru (112 miles) on October 24. Cycling in louland looks very lite a corpse, but it might arise when it hear the chink of tho cash and the rattle of the electro-plate, to say nothing about the piano.

All the Canterbury trout streams were reported clear this morning. The Rangitata. was tkliable. The pig fattening industry is being found to be a very profitable Cine, according to a statement to members by the chairman of tho South Canterbury Hospital Board. Mr Gillingham said that at the Old Men's Home nine pigs had just been sold for £'2o 15s. The pigs had been crown and fattened there on offal carted by the Board's own cart, from the general hospital. In addition to selling these pigs, sufficient bacon had been grown to supply both tho general arid the Talbot Hospital. Business had been as dead as the proverbial door-nail. Consequently Bagstor was not in an amiable mood. He entered a restaurant, seated himself ati a table, and frowned. "Bring me a chicken," he growled. " Sorry, sir," replied the waiter, " but we haven't a chicken." " Then I'll have a chop or stoak. But for my sake and yours, look sharp and bring it along." " I'm afraid, sir, that we are out of chops and steaks." "Then what the deuce have you got?" the hungry man. "We have tho bailiffs in, sir," replied ,the waiter apologetically. ''Well, hang it all, man, be quick and bring me a bailiff.*'

What politician or party would seek to deprive the shopkeeper of his weekly half-holiday? Yet be and many of his assistants protested strenuously when the Bill was first introduced, on the ground that it interfered with the liberty of the subject and would ruin business. Does it? The proof of the years is that the master is just as Keenly appreciative of the holiday today as is his assistant. We do not bring put this Queen-Anne-is-dead fact as a case, of benefits forgotten, but because of a remark dropped by Mr Philip Snowden, the English Socialist M.P., in an address in Wellington, where he i'emarked: "There are no Worse slaves in .England than the retail shopkeepers. Who are responsible for that position? A ffew tradesmen who will not agree to an arrangement for earlier closing."—Feilding " Star-" A picture postcard recently arrived in Paris from Switzerland, which is said to be all the rage in the land of William Tell, and which shows the spirit at present animating the landlocked Republic., The postcard bears the legen d: The Kaiser in the country of thd > best rifle shots." It shows a conventional caricature of the terrible Emperor, helineted,, spurred and high-booted, with a hand on the hilt of his big sword He is looking with stupefaction at a simple Swiss soldier, in his plain Federal uniform, carrying a rifle. In ihq background is a musketry target showing a hit full in the centre of the bull's-eye. " And so my son," says the terrible William, " there are one hundred thousand shots like you in Switzerland. But suppose I come with two hundred thousands Prussians?" "In that case, ybtir Majesty," replies the Swiss, "we shall each of us lire two- shots." " Moana " writes to " The Bulletin " : —A lot of wild stories are ilopMiic round re the explosives that are being used in the war in Europe. Lurid taies have beeu printed apropos the allegedly marvellous explosive, invented by Tnrpin, which was reported 10 have killed Germans in the trenches in great numbers and to have " covered the bodies with a reddteh powder and left them standing upright. About the only true item in th'iS story is the fact that there is a Turpiii. He invented an explosive, which is used by the French in their shells. But it doesn't leave a reddish powder and it certainly doesn't leave anything it has struck standing upright. Nobody stands upright when lie is dead except a United States soldier from Chicago. Similar stories about a yellowish powder and of men being found dead standing up were circulated at the time of the Boer War when the British first bwran to use lyddite. They were all moonshine. There is really no great mystery surrounding the explosives used by the great Powers. They are all similar. The British use cordite as their propellent and as their shell explosive. The other Powers use the same things, but under different- names. Cordite is a mixture of nitroglvcprine, guncotton and mineral jelly, to which is addnd acetone. Germany and Frrmce use it with small quantities of other substances added to increase the stability and safety of , the compound. Lvddite is picric acid 4 iv el ted and jooured into the shells. The French melinite is ditto, mid the German explosive is ditto. When Turorn invented melinite he followed the French war authorities round w'+b hsijidfulls of it until they were frightened of being Mown skvwnrd. and decided to it. Thr> experts found it was just lyddite, bo they took it without payment and to make it. Whereat Tnrpin himself exploded violently, and was finally jugged, fined and'exiled for selling the secret to foreign Powers.

A Press Association telesrram from Wellington states that the Hutt River Board took a poll yesterday on a proposal to borrow £SOOO for river protection works. The nroposal was rejected by 192 votes to 128.

A patriotic fete will bo held at Sheldon rark, Belfast, to-morrow.. .At 2 p.m. a procession will leave the Belfast Town Hall for the park, where a varied and interesting series of novelty sports' will be held. A tram will leave Christchurch at 1.30 to take visitors from the city to Belfast.

Mr J. B. Adams, of Cliristchurch, patentee of a life-saving raft, has received word from London that, his patent was put to a third very exhaustive test recently by the Board of Trade, and the Board's agent informed him that it has been most favourably reported upon to headquarters.

The member for the Southern Maori District (Mr O- Parata) asked the Prime Minister in the House if provi- 1 sion had been made for taking the votes of the members of the Maori Expeditionary Force before they left New the Prime Minister in reply, " the Maoris will be here on the day of the election, and will be able to vote, in the usual way." The Woolston Brass Band -will play the following programme Of music on the Rangiora Band Rotunda on Sunday afternoon, commencing at 3 p.m.: —March,Faust" (Douglas); air, varied, " Beulah " (Rimrner); selection, "Nabucci" (Verdi); cornet solo, "Distant Voices" (Rimmer), soloist P. Reeves; selection, "Gems of Mozart" (Rimmer); serenade, "In this Hour of Softened Splendour" (Ciro Pinsuti); march, " Valiant," medley. The following report has been forwarded to the Canterbury Automobile Association:—"lt will probably be of interest to members proposing to visit South Canterbury to know that the crossing at the Selwyn railway bridge is in excellent order for motor-oArs. The shingle bed has been covered with clay, and there is no water. Cars going further south than Ashburton will be well advised to keep the railway ofl their right until the new Hinds bridge is crossed, then take first turning to right over line, then to left at finger post. This road is in splendid order and all water races are bridged right to the Rangitata traffic bridge. By taking this route the Maronan Road is avoided." Reports statin? the conditions of roads, rivers and so on will be much appreciated by the Association.

"(Hie) Jacet" writes to Sydney " Bulletin" :—The " Repeal " is (or was) tho official organ of the cranks who are (or, rather, were) in favour of destroying the compulsory clauses of tbe Maoriland Defence Act. Before the war it declared that " for fourteen months, it hadbe"n a thorr> i'i "de °f -he jtiilitary clique in Maoriland; for fourteen months it had carried on ail uncompromising attack upon the wretched Defence Act and everything military." It then asked its readers for a triflihg £2OO "to make the defeat of the military party in crushing decisive," assuring them that "the' Defence Act is tottering. A wave of feeling is sweeping over the country against it, and all it stands for. It is within the power of the " Repeal" to bring about the absolute overthrow of conscription, if our readers will help us to do so." (Of course there never was any conscription in Maoriland, but that didn't matter. The word looked good and large, like the rooster that crowd at St Peter.) Nowndavs the_ " Repeal " is a rather difficult publication to find. Perhaps something has gone wrong with it.

Expenditure on tourist and health resorts for the year amounted to £14,989, the principal part beings used in the erection and furnishing of the now hostel at the Hermitage, Mount Cook. There was a moderate expenditure at Rotorua on works and improvernents, and smaller sums were absorbed in improvements at Waitomo Caves and in the development of the Helensville Hot Springs. It is intended to re-erect the Hanmer Springs Sanatorium, recently destroyed by fire; replace by cast iron or steel pipes a portion of the wooden pipes originally laid down in connection with the water supply system at Rotorua ; to further improve the electrical system at Rotorua; make additions to the Rotorua Sanatorium rendered nocessaiy by the increased number of patients ; to increase the accommodation at the Waitomo Caves Hostel, which has at times been greatly overcrowded, and sundry minor works. A vote is also provided for assistance to the development of the Maruia Springs, on the West Coast of tho South Island. The work provided for in the Estimates will involve an expenditure of nearly £30.0000, on account of which a vote of £20,000 is proposed for the current year.

Amongst the wreaths placed at the foot of the flagstaff in Victoria Square on Wednesday was one from the teach(Tfe and children of the East Christchttreh School in memory of Lord Nelson.

A meeting of members of tho old Christ's College Volunteer Corps ana other persons interested in the subject of the defence of the Dominion will bo held in the Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, at 5 p.m. _ The meeting will discuss the advisability of forming a company or club for anil and rifle shooting in aid of national defence.

Dr A. M. Saunders, of Cheviot, has 6&nt to a resident of Christchuron samples of willoiv twigs covered w 0 dark silhst»nee of a sooty appealancr. to which a number of flies were attached. The flies were tfil. alive when the package arrived m Ohratehurclr, but, apparently,_ did not try to shift from their original positions, specimens were submitted to Mr M. Mforphy, of Armagh Street, Linwciod, who stated that the dark subfetance was saccharine matter exuded by tin anhis. It attracted flies, and, heme sticky, held them captive. Mr Mtii'pby received some similar specimens found some time ago.on a poplar tree at Waiau. He states _ that neither the aphis nor the fly 1S m " iurious to tho trees.