LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12084, 13 August 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

" A nice idea- that of the Minister of Defence to announce that half of the boys at the front who have been there from the first can come back if they apply,'' remarked an Auckland man last week. "My boy is out there," he added, "but I reckon neither lie. nor any of the rest will run the risk of being called cocktails by wanting to leave half their mates behind to carry on the lighting. It should be all or none."

While condemning the National Government on certain matters in the House of Representatives on Friday night, Mr Forbes, member for Hurunui, admitted they had some degree of wisdom. "Ha! you are throwing a. bouquet at them'," remarked a Reform member. Mr Forbes admitted it was a bouquet, but proceeded to temper his praise with qualifying adjectives. "Oh, you are making it a small bouquet now," remarked one of the Reform Ministers regretfully. Mr Forbes smiled, and unconsciously t rocceded to further hail down the wisdom he attributed to the Government. After awhile a Liberal member soitly remarked that the bouquet was " only a lit'tlo flower now." The faces of the members of the Cabinet grew pensive.

A farmer who appeared on behalf of his son at a sitting of the Military Service Board at Palmerston North stated that it was his intention to put in 110 acres of cereals this reason, and if his son were taken to camp ho expressed doubt as to whether the harvesting could be done successfully owing to the labour shortage, (,'aptain Walker assured witness that he could rest easy about the harvesting. The Government had guaranteed labour for 'taking in this season's crops, and if it came to the worst the men in cany? would bo called upon to do the work. Captain Walker further stated (according to 'the " Standard ") that the New Zealand troops did a large share in the harvesting of the French crops last season, drafts being regularly given leave for this purpose.

"The total number of suicides in the New Zealand military camps has been eleven," said the Minister of Defence (>Sir Jame3 Allen) on Friday. " Throe of the suicides occurred .in 1916. The matter has been very thoroughly investigated, and it appears that in all military camps the suicides are more numerous than in ordinary civilian life." The Minister added that the military statistics of all countries showed that the suicide rate was higher among the military population than among civilian?. In England and "Wales the civilian suicides were at the rate of 1.07 per 10,000, while the mili'Uirv filicides were at the rate of 3.70 per" 10,000.- The Endish ratio of civilian to military suicides was as 100 to 227. The Minister quoted similar figures from European countries.

That the spirit of giving was in the people yes'terday is proved by a rather touching incident which led to the raising of quite a large sum of monov (savs the "Dominion" of Saturday). Whilst a number of commercial travellers were scouring the city for Red Cross money yesterday, a woman with a baby in her arms approached one of the flag-bear-ers, and said tha't. she had no money to give, as her husband, who had gone !o trie front, was now lying wounded in hospital. Before be had gone, he had given her n gold brooch, which'she begged them to sell as her offering to the Red Gross. The brooch was handed to the secretary Inst evening and wa« put up for a action anions " the members ; £3O in .CI bids was the resujt and it was then decided to band the brooch hack to the. gcnerous-IK-arted lady who had given it to them to dispose of.

t> Mr A V - lllldr '0". of the General tost Office staff at Auckland, a. wellknown astronomical observer, states that he picked up, with an astronomical telescope, the big spot on the sun on Sunday week. This is only one of several spots now dotting the face of the sun, but is tho largest by far. Indeed, it is only once in four or five years that so large a spot as tho present one comes under observation. Ho stated that it would b e opposite* the earth last Saturday, but whether it would ho in the centre of the .solar disc he could not say--it may be a little above or below the centre. Asked whether the theory that abnormal spots on the sun could be held to have any seismic influence on the earth, Mr Hudson replied that he thought, it was possible that they might have. Tt had been proved that they have an influence on the magnetic poles, and if that was so, it was conceivable tbut they might exert forces, not apparent here." which might cause earth tremors.

A case which is believed to be the first of its kind came before Mr E. Page, S.M., at Auckland on Friday, when a barmaid was charged that she asisted Gilbert Walker in the commission of an offence, to wit, the making of a bet in the manner of a bookmaker on licensed The circumstances stated, and admitted, were that on several occasions when a constable in plain clothes wn,s on the trail of a man named Gilbert "Walker for betting as a bookmaker he saw "Walker niako bets with men and discuss race results in the bar Avhere defendant was employed. Defendent seemed to be obviously fully aware of the betting, and friendly to "Walker, and on one occasion when the constable made bets with Walker the latter asked defendant for his betting book, irhich she took from a place on her own side of the bar counter and banded to "Walker. Walker was subsequently fined on three charges of betting on the premises. The Loach stated that the case would probably act. ns a warning, and the circumstances did not seem to call for more than tho minimum fine. Defendant would be fined the minimum, £2O, and 7s costs, and would be allowed a month in which to pay.

At the Supreme Court at "Wellington on Saturday Marcns Joseph Patrick Keogli charged with forging an application for a newspaper reporter's railway ticket. The jury, after a retirement of three-quarters of an hour, returned a verdict of not guilty, and accused was discharged.

" Jt's almost impossible to avoid a certain amount of waste in the camps,'" said Sir James Allen (Minister of Defence), answering a charge in the House of Representatives on Friday afternoon. He inrifed members to go to the camps and see for themselves wha't, »vas Roing on. New ideas, ho added, were beinsr evolved. A verv enjoyable concert was given by the juvenile choir of the Cambrian Societv of Canterburv on Saturday night'in the Y.M.C.A. Hall. Mr H. M. Williams presided over n. very large attendance. The choir's numbers consisted of folk songs of "Wales, and were well received. Other items were given by Misses Dolly Williams, Clara Bowden and -Daisy Williams, and Masters E. Cuddy, W. Williams, F. Squire and E. Williams. Miss N. Davies- played the accompaniments. During the evening a motion of sympathy, uiovsd by the chairman, was passed with the relatives of soldiers who had been killed or wounded at the war.

A farmer who appeared on behalf of his son at a sitting of the Military Service Board at Pahnerston North stated that it was his intention to put in 110 acres of cereals this season, and if his son were taken to camp he expressed doubt as to whether the harvesting could be done successfully owing to the labour shortage. Captain Walker assured witness that ho could rest easy about the harvesting. The Government had guaranteed labour for talcing in this season's crops, and if it came 'to the worst the men in camp would be called upon to do the work. Captain Walker further stated (according to the "Standard") that the New Zealand troops did a largo share in the harvesting of the French crops last season, drafts being regularly given leave for this purpose. The use of phosphorescent paint was very interestincly demonstrated by Mr E. E. Stark in Ids lecture at the Trades Hall on Saturday night. He first showed his audience a sheet of glass v:hh some faint writing on it. Then turning out the lights he held the glass up, but it was invisible, like everything else in thi room. The limelight was then turned on the glass at short range for a few seconds, .uid snapped off again, and the glass was then seen to bear the words " use electricity." The letters were a steely blue, of beautiful luminosity, glowing in the dark. Mr Stark remarked that the preparation was calcium sulphide, which was capable of storing light, and giving it off again perhaps for siS: or seven hours. lie added 'that the same idea was employed in making luminous watches.

The conversion of power into light without heat, said Mr Stark in his lecture on "Light 1 ' on Saturday night, was the, big problem awaiting solution. Once solved, it would be, a case of goodbye to transmission lines. Pointing to an electric globe, he remarked that 80 or 90 per cent of its energy was being lost in heat, leaving about 10 per cent in the form of light. This was bad enough, but it had also to bo remembered that from 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the water-power in a hydroelectricnl plant was lost in the turbines, while transmission and transformers took their toll The firefly and certain marine .animals already transformed energy into light without heat, hul, the man who could find tho secret would be, the man everybody was looking for. Mr E. E. Si ark. city electrical engineer. delivered the Inst of a series of three lectures on "Light" before tlie Workers' Educational Association on Salurday night. There was a very large, audience. Mr Stark completed his"demonstrations of spectrum analysis, showing how varying bands are piodticcd in the rainbow according to the suostp.nce analysed. He went on to deal with fluorescence, a subject on which some very interesting demonstrations were given, and phosphorescence, a moro easily comprehended subject, which also lent itself to interesting: demonstrations. The polarisation of light, u-as also dealt with, and tho wonders and beauties of the polariseope were shown, accompanied by a simp!* explanation of its principles. Mr Mtark answered a number of questions at ibe close of his lecture, and was accorded a. hearty vote of thanks.

The Auckland "Star" states tbat Mr and Mrs Thomas Lynch, of " (-artside," Ellerslie, have given five sons for the service, of the Empire. The father, who is clerk of works at Waihi, is himself a veteran of the Maori war. Last week the death was recorded of one. son, Lieutenant Cecil Audley Lynch. He was the youngest _of five brothers who have been on active service with the colonial portion of the Army of tho Empire. His death_ occurred in the ith General Hospital, Boulogne, on August 1. of wounds received in action on July 29. Lieutenant Lvnch left. New Zealand with tho Nineteenth 'Reinforcements, and was offered the position of a. musketry instructor while at Sling Camp, but declined to accept it in order to go to the field of battle. Another of the brothers, Lieutenant Ronald Lynch,. left New .Uathmd with the Second Reinforcements as scryeant-maior in the Votcrinarv Corps. He saw service in Fran-e coming through the Somme, unharmed'. Me fiiit for bis commission •tt Oxford, England, and i,s on Ins way to Ncv Zealand on duty to return to England with a later reinforcement.

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