LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume L, Issue 14700, 3 September 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The latest addition to the Telephone I Exchange is No. 1151, Lieut. Q. L. Buckley, Queen Alexandra Band (residence), 35 Wilson Street The Christchurdl Meat Company has donated two challenge cups to the Wanganui Agricultural Association. They will he allocated to the classes for most points in fat sheep and (at cattle. Mr. B; Stavelcy, representing “With the Fighting Forces of Europe,” has extended an invitation to the children of the Wanganui Orphana'ge to be present at the matinee performance to-mor-row. It is stated that the proceeds of. the bazaar at Waitotara in aid of the Belgian Funds have already amounted to .£320, with ' several small amounts, yet to be ha ; nded in. The amount is a record for Waitotara. The Citizens’ Patriotic Committee ate giving a send off to ten N.C.O.’s and a welcome to the officers and N.C.O.’s of the B Company, Lord Liverpool’s Own, Regiment, at Dustin's, at 8 o’clock this evening. Members of the National Reserve and other citizens are invited to be present., A. tax oh bachelors who are not going to the front was advocated by Mr. C. Uitty (Ricqarton), when speaking in Parliament last night on the Budget proposals.; There were many bachelors, and wealthy bachelors, too, who , had not attempted to go. They were shirking their responsibilities to their country, ' and shirking family responsibilities. It was not a laughing matter, said Mr. Witty, and if those men would not go they should be taxed. The - successful contractor for the erection of the 800 feet jetty at GoriVille for the, Christchurch Meat Freezing Company is Mr Donald McLean, of Wellington (hot connected with the Otira tunnel), who five or six years ago carried out the Wanganui wharf extension works. Mr McLean is well-known in contracting circles, and as far hack as 1879 constructed some of the railway workshops at Eastown (now Wanganui). Mr McLean hopes to make a start, with the jetty in - about four months’ time, when the hardwood, will have arrived from Australia, Apparently all is not quite os it should be in regard to communications with the lads in camps, and there .are still unnecessary delays in answering inquiries bv, dnxious parents. Mrs Jennings, of Alma Road, complains that several days elapsed before she was able to get any information concerning the whereabouts of her son (Private J. Watts), whom die heard was sick and/removed to hospital. ; Dp to the present she has not been advised by authorities as to the nature of his illness, though many inquiries- have been made by her on the subject. Fortunately, however, - he .has recovered and has resumed duty, and Mrs Jennings has now been-advised of this. Some discussion took place at’to-day’s meeting of the Wanganui County Council with regard to clearing the road-sides of gorso and other noxious weeds. The clerk reported having sent put notices to the’ settlers interested, but in the great majority of cases no notice had been taken of them. He had been sending notices out for years. Cr. Poison thought that the .trouble’with the settlers waa’tbat of security of labour, and that if the Council did the work the settlers would cheerfully pay the cost. The Council decided to clear the gorse in front of one settler's place and charge the cost of the work to the settler. ■■ At the Supreme Court yesterday aiterlocn, evidence was given by drovers that it was a common practice for drovers to take instructions from strangers about ■' ifting and trucking sheep, without making any inquiries. His Honor l recommended drovers to discontinue the pracudp, as they ran . considerable danger, proven, wh»n taking instructions from if rangers, should make inquiries as to the name and whereabouts of the employer, or they would be liable to pet into trouble, although' they ' would be innocent in their Intentions. “It was a foolish way cf doing bu-iress—business should be done in a businesslike manner)” concluded his Honor. The Auckland Star says that a resident if Manurewa wrote to the High Commissioner in London offering to assist or , pay the passage money of one or two I roung or middle-aged Belgian farmers, to this resident’s letter the High Com- \ missioner has just replied as follows:—/ ■ “In reply I would state that I have on me or two occasions recently approached ; the Belgian Government with u view to ; getting their sanction to send Belgian children.,and grown-ups to New Zealand, : with a view to bettering their conditions. In, reply, however, his Excellency the Belgian Minister states that, in view of the Belgian Government, it is unwise to encourage such a procedure, as, at the conclusion of the war, owing to the enor- . ■nous wastage of human life in Flanders, every able-bodied man, woman and child will be wanted to re-populate the country. Under the circumstances, therefore, i can scarcely put your request before the authorities.” j A strange case of the seeming total disappearance of all trace of a man was mentioned in the House of Representatives by Mr. J. Cr'aigie, member for ■ limarn. The man enlisted and sailed from. Now Zealand as a private in the; Fifth Reinforcements. Some time prior to sailing he visited his wife and family -, it Timatu and informed his wife that he had “Signed a paper” assigning. to - Wot/ his pay. She received a letter, an interesting- and. affectionate letter, from Her husband at Albany, then on troopship No. 24. Since that day she had heard nothing about him, and she had received no ,money at all; The wife had made application to the Defence Department and had been informed that nobody of her husband's name could be traced in camp: nor bad anyone of that name sailed with either the Fifth or tlic Sixth Reinforcements. The only suggestion the Defence Department could offer was that-the nian had enlisted under an assumed name,. ; Meantime the wife was : very anxious | about her husband, and sorely in need .of money. -Mr., Craigie asked the Defence Minister-to have inquiries made, and this -the -Minister promised ,to do.

1 the Defence Minister has received a telegram from Alexandria to the effect that it is intended- to establish there- an i information bureau- in order that inquiries about members of the Now Zealand Expeditionary Force may receive more satis-f-icfccry Writing to a friend in Christchurch a member of the crew of 11.M.5. New Zealand states that the ship was not hit at all during the two engagements she has been in. The sailor believes they all hear charmed lives, or owe their immunity to the charm of the Maori tiki they have on hoard. The mascot, Pelorus Jack, a bulldog puppy, came to an untimely death by falling down the funnel casing and being burned to death. -His loss js mourned by the men, who had become very attached to the dog. as he was on deck barking at the shells all through the two engagements, and he was to have been presented with a medal. It is believed that the New Zealanders in England are going to present the ship with another mascot, as a little black kitten is the only pot they have now. - Hand grenades, which are playing a prominent part in the present war, were revived in modern times by General Baden-Pbwell during the siege of Mafeking. They were afterwards used with dire effect against the Russians by the “slim” Japanese. But they first appeared among the equipment of the British army in the summer of 1678, when John Evelvn records: “Now were brought iuto service r. now kind of soldiers called Grenadiers, who Were dexterous in flinging hand grenades. They had furred caps with coped crowns, which made them look very fierce.” These primitive grenadiers, after hurling their missile, charged the enemy with hatchets, and were frequently killed by their own fireworks. Besides grenades in pouches and battlcnxes, they were armed with muskets, slings (!), swords, and daggers; and bayonets, when first invented, were, appropriated to the grenadiers. So they must have been walkingarsenals..

Major H.E. Tuokiy, formerly of Wellington-,. w'uo took part in the campaign in German South-West Africa, has contributed : some interesting notes to the Diamond Fields Advertiser at Kimberley. At the outbreak of the: war, .ho states, the Germans confidently counted upon the Dutch residents in German 'Vest Africa taking up arms• against the Union forces; but everywhere it was found that the Dutch were heartily sick cf German rule, and were eagerly looking forward to a better state of things when the territory passed into the hands of the Union Government. Regarding the nature of the country. Major Tuckcy states that there was an abundance of grass on the veldt, and the farms were well watered. At one place, on the river Auob, there was a 9-inch artesian well from which a stream of Tinches of water was constantly flowing. Some of the finest farming country in South Africa was passed through on the route; to Windhoek, the capital of German West Africa.