A Courageous Girl.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 20, 17 May 1911, Page 5

A Courageous Girl.

The inquest on the body of the girl Lilian Wilson, who with her sister wa* drowned at Tahuna on Easter Monday,

concluded last week. The coroner returned * verdict to the effect that the deceased was accidentally drowned while endeavouring to save her sister from a similar fate. The Coroner said the girl had given her life for her sister. He commended the courage displayed by May tsinith, another young girl who endeavoured to rescue her companion. The Territorial F orces. Formation of catholic corps. in connection with the compulsory enrolment of youths in the Territorial forces, Bishop Cleary has intimated his wish that all Catholics enrolling should belong to separate Catholic companies, in charge of a Catholic commander, with a Catholic chaplain. Chaplain-Captain Holbrook, of St. Patrick's Cathedral, ■who was gazetted two years ago under the old regulations, has the matter in hand, and has issued the following circular to the priests in the various parishes in Auckland: —“I am instructed by his Lordship, the Bishop, to call your attention to the following regulation under the new Defence Act:—‘Each male inhabitant of New Zealand who, on the first day of March, 1911, is between the ages of 14 and 21 years (inclusively), and who is a British subject, and as resided in New Zealand for at least six months, shall register himself under the Defence Act on or before the second day of June, 1911.’ The Bishop is anxious that all men and boys who must enrol should form separate Catholic companies (to which the military authorities have agreed)—those between 14 and 18 years of age joining the cadets, and those between 18 and 21. the Territorials. To give effect to this, his Lordship desires: (1) A meeting to be held in each parish at the earliest convenience of the clergy; (2) a list to be compiled of the names and addresses of the Catholic men and boys resident in each district between the ages of 14 and 21 years.” Speaking on the subject of the proposal to allow the different denominations to form separate companies under the new defence scheme, Colonel Wolff, officer-commanding the Auckland district, told a "Graphic” reporter on Saturday no provision was made in the regulations to have the idea carried into effect, but it had the approval of the Commander of the New Zealand forces. So far as be understood the position, the arrangement was to apply only to cadet corps with lads from 14 to 18 years of age, and not to the territorials. The idea was to allow any denomination at all to form separate cadet corps from their own numbers, provided there were enough boys to constitute a company. ‘‘lt will be absolutely free from any suspicion of sectarianism,” the colonel emphasised, and there should be no difficulty at all. All denominations of whatever religious thought will be granted equal privileges.” He remarked that one feature that recommended the arrangement was the force that it gave in the matter of enrolment. With all religious bodies active in forming corps the result would be the speedy enrolment of cadets everywhere. He did not see how the same thing could work in connection with the territorials. In explaining some points that had cropped up. in the course of an address at New Plymouth, on Thursday night, Major-General Godlev stated that it was desired to help the new movement in every possible way. and as the interests of Boy Scouts or patrol companies would be protected, so other institutions ■would be granted privileges. For instance he mentioned that if branches of the Young Men's Christian Association or the young men of any particular church would form their units of boys or young men who were liable for training, then they would do their best to keep them in these units and allow them to train together and live In camp together. The International Fair. Speaking of the question of the Government lending financial assistance to the international exhibition to be held at Auckland in 1912. the Hmi Geo. Fowlds (Minister of Education) said that he had read the protest recently made by the "Wellington Post” against the suggestion that the venture should be aided by the State. The “Post." he said, was evidently making the mistake of regarding it as a purely provincial industrial exhibition, such as that about to be held in Wellington. There had never yet been an international exhibition in New Zealand to which the' Government did not contribute very considerably. The International exhibition

at Christchurch five years ago eoet the (State a very large sum of money, but it reaped a very much larger return in the way of revenue from Customs.' railways, and other departments. There was not the slightest doubt that the Government would readily assist in making a success of the international fair to be held in Auckland at the end of next year, and he was confident that the exhibition, when it was held, would be one of the most successful yet held in the Dominion.

Overcrowded Mental Hospitals. The Minister in Charge of Hospitals (the Hon. Geo. Fowlds) has just returned from a visit to Te Kuiti, where, in company with Drs. Hay and Gribben, of the Mental Hospitals and Prisons Departments, he inspected the site now finally selected for a mental hospital and reformatory farm. A temporary building for the accommodation of about twenty prisoners will be finished in about a month, and as soon as it is ready, will be occupied by men who will go on with road-making and the erection of permanent buildings. “We have fixed a site for the first buildings on the mental hospital farm,” said the Minister, “and it will be located about 11 miles from Te Puhi station. The plans and specifications are practically complete for the other buildings, an I tenders will be called at an early date. The main hospital will lie erected some four or five miles distant from the building which is now being erected, and it is probable that a branch line of railwaywill ultimately be built by prison labour and mental hospital patients, so as to connect it with the main line. The building first to be erected will accommodate about 300 patients, and the main buildings w ill not be gone on with for a couple of years. The site is an ideal one. that for the mental hospital covering about 5000 acres, and that for the reformatory farm about 1300 acres. Asked what would be the effect on existing mental hospitals, the Minister said the existing institutions had already been developed to as large a size as was desirable, having due regard for the area of land with which they were surrounded. In nearly every ease they were geting overcrowded, and in building a central hospital at Te Puhi they were looking 25 years ahead. In future the only buildings to be added to existing ■lnstitutions would be those which would c<able better classification of the inmates, and in this connection plans were now being prepared for additions to the Auckland mental hospital for the treatment of refractory prisoners. The tendency to overcrowding was greater at the Auckland institution than any other in NewZealand. Washed From a Launch News has been received in Auckland of the death by drowning near Tauranga on Wednesday last of a young man named Andrew H. Russell. 31 years of age, son of Mr. Geo. Russell, of Collegeroad, Ponsonby. The young man was in charge of the passenger launch Reremoana, and had as an assistant a young man named Walsh. On the day of the fatality they- took four passengers from Tauranga to Opotiki. They were returning in the afternoon, when the weather became rough. An effort to reach Whakatane failed, and the launch got close to Town Point, where a big sea broke over the small craft and washed Russell overboard. The water also stopped the engine?, and Walsh was unable to help his companion, who was drowned. With difficulty Walsh succeeded in landing at Town Point uninjured. The launch drifted for about five miles, and was then washed up on the beach. A report from Te- Puke states that the body of a man found on the Maketu beach is believed to be that of the unfortunate man. Formerly Russell was a clerk in the Auckland Gas Company’s office, but some years ago he took to the sea, and from a position before the mast became a certificated master mariner. More Members for the Norta. Interviewed on the question of electoral representation, the Hon. G. Fowlds (Minister for Education) said he had read with interest the proposal put forward recently by Mr. James Allen, M.P., that the law should be amended so as to provide that while in the future the South Island should lose no more seats, the North Island should have additional electorates created if the increase in population warranted it. The Minister said he would not object to the principle, if the electors of New

Zealand expressed a willingness to endorse it, but it had to be remembered that- when the South Island had predominance in the matter of population, the same commisseration was not expressed for the size of the electorates in the North Island. In fact, even now the majority of the electorates in the North were more unwieldy in size than those in the South. Then again it had to be remembered that if the question of representation was to be dealt with in the way suggested, it would not merely be, as in the present case, a question of three or four more representatives for the North Island. On the contrary, it would mean, under similar circumstances as those now obtaining, that if the South Island was not to lose representation to the extent of three or four seats, then the North Island would have to gain to the extent of seven or eight. Merely granting the North three or four new seats, and taking nothing at all from the South would be a far from reasonable adjustment of the position as disclosed by the census, and Southerners who were favourable to Mr. Allen’s proposal would have to bear that fact in mind. Then there was also the question of the number of members of Parliament ultimately growing too large under such a scheme. Nothing, however, could be done to change the existing law thia session, and there seemed little doubt, judging by the census returns available, that at least three seats would be transferred from the South to the North before next election