THE TOURIST and TRAVELLER

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1295, 18 February 1915, Page 40

THE TOURIST and TRAVELLER

HERE AND THERE.

The guests who were staying at the Grand Hotel, Auckland, during last week included: —Miss B. Cohn, Mr. Massey and Mr. F. D. Thomson, Wellington; Mr. R . L. Louisson, Christchurch; Dr. Newnham Davis, Auckland; Rev. T. Gray, N.S.W.; Rev. E. Robor, Sydney: Mr. J. Myers, London; Mr. W. J. Prouse, Wellington; Mr. H. Young, Palmerston North; Mr. and Mrs. Rae Peacock, Mr. G. Stubbs, Seattle: Mr. H. Fels, Dunedin; Mr. H. B. Williams, Wellington; Mr. Vernon Reed, M.P., Bay of Islands; Dr. and Mrs. Wall, Wanganui; Mr. O. Watkins, Wellington; Mr. Algar Williams, Wellington; Mr. H. M. Francis, Wellington; Mr. J. H. Miller, Wellington; Mr. H. C. Taylor, Melbourne; Mr. H. A. White, Sydney; Mr. J. S. Brown, Wellington; Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Dyer, Rotorua; Miss Myers, Wellington; Mr. T. H. Moore, Christchurch; Mr. S. Knott, Sydney; Mr. A. D. Webster, Wellington; Mr. T. M. Larkin, Sydney; Mr. C. H. Reece, Christchurch; Mr. Higgins, Christchurch; Rev. and Mrs. Van Stavern, Wellington; Mr. Marcus Weal, Sydney; Mr. and Mrs. J. Macdougall, London; Mr. J. A. Smith, Sydney; Miss C. P. Fimcham, Sydney; Mr. H. T. Morgan, Sydney; Mr. P. Reynolds, Melbourne; Miss E. Ward, Sydney; Mr. E. A. Cash, Melbourne; Mr. H. Kirby, Melbourne; and Mr. G'. Elkington, Cavton Grove.

The guests who were staying at the Central Hotel last week included the following:—Mirs. M. T. Foster, Gisborne; Mr. and Mrs. Collin Norris, Parenga; Rev. R. McDonnell: Mr. A. D. Cox, Calcutta; Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist, Sydney; Mr. and Mrs. G. Whitehouse, Fiji; Mrs. M. Fraser, New Plymouth; Mrs. P. Buck, Ohaiawei; Mr. and Master MacCullock, Hamilton; Mr. E. P. Andreas. Sydney; Mr. S. M. Dempster, Sydney; Mr. and Miss Gilchrist, Mr. R. Keen, Wellington; Mr. and Mrs. Fleming, Palmerston North; Mr. W. Robinson, Manchester; Mr. J. W. Clayton, Manchester; Dr. Rivers, Sydney; Mr. C. J. E. David, Sydney; Mr. S. Perry, South Australia; Miss Harrison, New Plymouth; Mr. J. Jorgenson, Taihape; Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, Te Awamutu; Professor T. W. Kirk, Wellington; Mrs. M. Fraser, New Plymouth; and Mrs. W. T. Pitt, Wellington.

Amongst the guests at the Royal Hotel were} the following:—Messrs. Gray, Davey, and Hunter, Wellington; Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Harding, Dargaville; Mr. B. Collman, Dargaville; Mr. Rudge, Thames; Mr. lan. Simpson, Te Arolia: Mr. J. W. Ellis, Hamilton; Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, Johannesberg; Mr. Fleming, Dargaville; Mr. McCrae, Tauranga; Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Harding, Mangawhare; Mrs. Peat, Whangarei; Mrs. Boult, Whangarei; Mr. McClinstock, Wel--I’ngton; Mr. E. S. O’Brien, Waikeke; Sergeant McGrath, Napier; Mr. Percy Smith, Wellington; and Mr. Geo. Andrews, Rawene.

During last week the guests who were staying at the S f ar Hotel included: —Mr. J. M. McCarthy, Hamilton; Mr. H. Wright, Fiji; Mr. and Mrs. Bowles, Auckland; Mr. L. Simpson, Wellington; Mr. Ayson, Wellington: Mr. G. Burns, Christchurch; Mr. Balfour, Dr. and Mrs. A. Gabites, Edinburgh; Mrs. Hennenstall, Hereford, England: Miss Hounsell, Hereford, England; Mr. J. B. Starky, Morrinsville; Mr. C. Harland. Fiji; Mr. O’Brien and Mr. and Mrs Gillies and family, Te Kuiti.

Mr. and Mrs. Dan. Cottle, of Te KuiH, have booked to leave by the Maheno on March 2nd z to catch the Orient Company’s Orsova for England.

In the fiords on the Norway coast the clearness of the water is wonderful. Objects the size of a shilling may be seen at a depth of 25 to 30 fathoms.

Colonel Surgeon Gore Gillon, of Auckland, leaves shortly to proceed to Europe. The doctor’ will most probably proceed straight to the front.

Rev. and Mrst Hordern, of Sydney, are on a visit to the Hot Lakes District and the Wanganui River.

Mrs. Heppenstall and Miss Hounsell, of Hereford, England, are touring the North Island before leaving for England in April. The tourists included Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands in their Australian wanderings.

Dr. C. J. E. David, of Sydney, has left Auckland on a trip to Rotorua, where he intends to follow the sport of rod and reel round Galatea.

Mrs. E. C. Johnston and the Misses E. A. and C. V. Terry, of Hawkesbury, N.S.W.. are at present on a visit to Rotorua, and will travel right through New Zealand before returning to Australia.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Cockburn, of Syd ney, are at present at Rotorua.

Mrs. Fenwick and child, of Auckland, are at present on a trip to Dunedin.

The Rev. Father Ormond, of Auckland, accompanied by the Rev. Fathers Grey and Rowan, left by the Riverina last week for Sydney.

Mr. and Mrs. Hipkins, of the firm of Messrs. Hipkins and Coutts, of Auckland, left for Sydney last week by the Riverina.

The French Government is making immediate advances to ruined farmers to enable them to buy seed and renew stock.

Mr. Sidney Whitman, in the “Fortnightly Review,” gives King Edward’s opinion of h’s nephew, William 11. “There will be trouble for England with this man,” he said, “for he is not a gentleman.”

Wairarapa Lake and its foreshores has been acquired by the Government from the Natives as a public reserve.

Mr. and Mrs. Casdown, of the staff of the National Bank, Auckland, left last week by the Maheno for a holiday to Sydney.

Recently the waters of Lake Rotomahana have changed their hue, taking a darker yellow tint than hitherto. This is stated to be a rather unusual occurrence. The level of the lake has fallen considerably, as also has the level of the Tarawera and Rotorua Lakes.

Mr. Moore, of the Isle of Man, who became entitled to the estate of the late Mr. Moore, of G'lenmark, Canterbury, upon the death of the latter’s daughter, lejft Auckland last week for Sydney. He was accompanied by Master Moore and Miss Christian.

As illustrating the popularity and fame of the beautiful Waitomo Caves over -700 people had visited these wonderful works of nature between Christmas and the end of January.

A boy of 15 caught a trout weighing 14’/a lb in the Waitaki.

Over 70 boys trained in the Glasgow Newsboys’ League and Home are serving with the Army.

The German unsuccessfully offered money to the Tyd, a Dutch Catholic paper, to publish German war news.

The King of the Belgians has been made an honorary member of the University of Petrograd. At the same sitting the Senate struck off the roll the name of the German criminologist, Franz Liszt, who was one of the signatories to the recent appeal made by German savants to the civilised world.

Mr. Glen Addison, a member of a well-known Victorian lawn tennis family, has enlis’ed. His eldest brother, Mr. J. J. Addison, the holder of many Australian championships, was among the first to enlist in England.

Only two picture shows remain open in Sydney on Sunday. In Melbourne nearly all are in full blast. An agita-

tion is arising to close the film palaces as firmly as are the theatres. • • • • That Roumania is making active preparations to join in the war there is now little doubt. It is the psychological moment for the Roumanians to strike to realise the dream of years, The Roumans are a Latin race, inhabiting not only the kingdom of Roumania, but also Transylvania (annexed by Hungary in 1 868), and the Austrian province of Bukovina, which is now in the hands of the Russians. Roumania itself ha? a population approaching seven m ilions, and in Transylvania there are about four million and a half of other races. Austria-Hungary, indeed, is an extraordinary mixture of races. The fact that the proclamation of the Grand Duke Nicholas, when the Russians entered Galicia, had to be rendered in eleven different ’anguages is sufficient evidence of this.

The Austro-Hungarian armed forces, including the Landsturm, are estimated at 3,500,000. *** ’ *

The deepest lake in the world, so far as known, is Lake Baikal, in Siberia.

Mr. G. L. Lilly, of Christchurch, has returned to London from New York, and leaves this month again for the United States.

Captain L. McLaglen, having completed his course of special instruction in bayonet fighting to the Australian troops, 6865 of whom passed through his hands, has returned to Europe.

Many instances are related of the marching powers of the Russians. One soldier stated to a pressman that during the strenuous advance at Ossoviec the troops marched over 70 miles in two days, with hard fighting at the end of the march, after which they marched 55 miles to Lyck in 36 hours.

On its war footing the German army comprises, with the 800,000 trained men of the Landsturm, 4,350,000 men, and we know that many others besides these have been called out.

In Russia the trained army ready for war is composed of 5,400,000 men, and the country can call to arms others who would double the amount. Russia only calls one-third of her contingent to arms so far.

The German Socialist paper Vorwaerts estimates that the daily cost of the war to all belligerents aggregates £9,600,000 and it estimates the damage done to property in Belgium at £266,000,000.

A summary order of the Berlin Chief of Police reveals the fact that there is a large traffic in breastplates for German soldiers. As some of these have “been a source of danger through splintering,” those sold in future must have a “military guarantee of their protective qualities.”

A delightful episode has become public knowledge. After the engagement in the North Sea Rear-Admiral Sir David Beatty went aboard the H.M.S. Princess Royal. As soon as he stepped aboard, the stokers, still coal-begrimed with their terrific exertions, yelled in chorus, “Well done, David.”

Mr. F. Gardner, at Woy Woy (N.S.W.), after half an hour’s fight, landed a 161 b. jew-'fish on fine tackle. The breaking strain of the line was less than a third of the weight of the fish. Jew-fish fight well in shallow tidal water. Fishermen will appreciate the merit of the catch.

An experienced angler who tried the Waimakariri River, near Cass, returned from his expedition with only two great lanky trout as the result of three days hard fishing, but a visit to Lake Lyndon was well repaid. A bag of seven, including a fifteenpounder, was made by an angler on the Lower Opihi.

Mr. T. P. O’Connor, in “T.P.’s Journal of Great Deeds of the Great War,” brings out very vividly one outstanding feature of the character of the Kaiser:—“The Kaiser has forty royal palaces—forty! This reminds me that, according to one of his biographers, he is at once the most extravagant and, consequently, the most chronically impecunious monarch in Europe. He has a Civil List of a million a year, and plenty of propertybreeding studs, pottery works; his landed estates alone amount to a quarter of a million acres, and are eighty-three in number. But forty palaces! And these palaces are being constantly visited, and the preparations for a visit are so frequent and so abrupt that the whole court is always in a state of fever.”

Java and the neighbouring islands have been hard hit by the war. One notable example is the closing down of the Celebes Trading Company’s works connected with the pearl shell industry, and employing between 800 and 900 men. Business has fallen off a great deal, though the trade between Australia and Java has not slackened to any great extent. The steamer service has not been cut down. Commodities are increasing in price, and all things are dearer. Even rice—the principal native food —has advanced with the rest. The pinch will be felt very severely before long.

Java contains 30,000,000 people, and there are many half-caste Malayans.

During the present season Mr. T. Parata has caught 390 trout, which is claimed to be a record for Waikanae. The largest caught weighed only lb. Mr. Luxford has also caught considerably ovei- 300 trout.

Dr. Findlay says there is need of much larger accommodation at Mount Cook. “While I was there,” he said, “as many as three visitors had to sleep in one room. While the popularity of Mount Cook is steadily increasing, the accommodation available should also increase. Another urgent need is a lawn tennis court, and also a croquet lawn for visitors who are not able or do not wish to climb.”

Despite precautions to prevent the spreading of news, the citizens of Antwerp are aware of Germany’s failure, and are cheerfully awaiting the departure of their unwelcome visitors. They have even begun to collect Belgian postage stamps with German words printed across them in red, as. souvenirs of the occupation which will soon end.

The Isle of Banda, in Java, is described as by far the most picturesque in the group. It is difficult to realise how beautiful Banda is. Every part is perfectly planned, and streams run down each side of the roads, while there are beautiful marble drinking fountains at intervals. Banda was the home of nutmegs and spices, and is still noted for these products, although they are cultivated in other parts now. There is a wonderful system of irrigation.

The “Eclair” makes a revelation which will surprise a good many English readers. It shows that already half of that part of France which was in German occupation at the beginning of September has been recovered from the invader. “Here a little and there a little” has been the policy of the Allies, or, as the good Joffre expressed it, “Je les grignette.” And the nibbling that delivered the lion from the net in the old story is now delivering France.

In the very centre of Paris, not a stone’s-throw from the Madeleine, says the “Action Francaise,” a French nobleman, the Marquis de Maussabre, found himself face to face with an individual whose presence in the capital at this time profoundly astonished him. Strolling towards him with the leisurely air of the accustomed boulevardier was General von Schwartzkoppen, formerly German Military Attache in Paris. When he saw the Marquis, who was personally known to him, Schwartzkoppen made an undignified dive into a neighbouring arcade and disappeared. The incident excited much comment.

A Swiss doctor of Neuchatel, who has just returned from Berlin, saw a large placard on the walls of the railway station there which read: “Give us bread! Give us our children! Give us the truth!” He adds that the outside of Berlin is as gay as ever, but the inside is sad and anxious, because real news has begun to penetrate to the capital from the frontiers.

King Alfonso is very English in some of his expressions. He was discussing ’ with a well-known British peer the difficulties and dangers of kingship. “So you think, sir,” remarked the peer, “that it is rather a thankless task being a king?” “It is rather difficult work at times,” replied his Majesty, with a grin; “but it is deuced well paid!”

One of the most remarkable incidents of the war has been the flight of hundreds of thousands of fugitives from Belgium, and their reception in Holland. Complaints have been heard of Dutch sympathy for the Germans, mostly from unthinking people who have apparently expected that Holland at a moment’s notice would cast in her lot with the Allies, and ensure for herself the terrible fate that has overtaken Belgium. The Dutch are too rational a people for that course; but whatever they may feel about Germany’s conduct before and during the war, they have done far more than they could reasonably have been asked to do for the Belgian refugees. Generally speaking, the Belgians are foreigners to the Dutch, both in race and religion. But no nation has ever responded more nobly and generously than the Dutch to the sudden claims upon their hospitality made by the influx of Belgian refugees.

Avezzano, which seems to have suffered most) severely in the Italian earthquake, is a town of great antiquity, but unlike other ancient towns, seems to be doing its best to hide its age. Avezzano can boast of having no slums, but the town is ugly, and save for the fine facade of San Bartolommeo, built on the site ot a temple of Augustus, and the strong squat fortress of the Collonas (built by Virginio Orsini, and strengthened by Marc-Antonio Colonno), now a school, there is little to interest the visitor.

Dutch regiments on frontier duty have to be relieved frequently to prevent them from coming to blows with the Germans. The German Minister at The Hague has just received an address from three Dutch battalions at Limburg, who ask him to inform the Kaiser they can personally testify to atrocities committea by German troops on the Belgian frontier. The communication Concludes with an explanation 'of profound indignation at the sights they witnessed, and warns the Minister that if by any chance German troops violate Dutch territory the Dutch will kill them to a man, if only to take some small revenge for what the heroic Begians had to suffer. The Minister has communicated all this to the Dutch Government, and has made a formal demand that the affair be inquired into and the soldiers punished for “their insulting and lying communication.”

What a moving show has passesd across the world to defend a great idea of justice. From the snow heights of the Himalayas and the plains of the Punjab, from Lancashire’s teem'ng hives of industry, from the Antipodean Islands of the Pacific Ocean, and the great southern continent of Australia they come to Old Finland’s call ready to .die upon the field of battle sooner than see a great Empire torn to pieces.

The sons of Empire roll up to war. Fifty-seven arrived at the chief recruiting office in a batch from Rhodesia, two came from Burma, seven from South America, and numbers from Canada. These men paid their own expenses.

Hilaire Belloc’s lecture, “The Strategy of War,” writes a New Zealander at home, was the clearest and most instructive explanation of the whole campaign one could possibly listen to, and the man was so himself.

The Galician oil fields were mainly worked by German capital. In ordinary jfimes they supply Germany with about 2 75,000 tons of petroleum products per annum, and it was expected that during the war thi|S amount could at least be doubled. This fact had a good deal to do with the despatch of a strong German force to join the Austrians, in their recent great attempt to wrest back Galicia from the Russians. But it would appeal' that the Galician oilfields have been definitely closed to Germany during the war, and as with copper and nitrates, she is now faced with the vital necessity of obtaining increased supplies from neutral countries.

“Vorwaerts,” the German Socialist paper, prints a pleasant story of a Russian soldier and vouches for its truth. It is told by a German peasant in East Prussia, and is as follows: — We were terribly frightened one day when a Russian soldier entered our room rifle in hand and began to gaze around him, and especially at my old mother lying in bed. He said to me: “You are a Russian —I am a Russian. Give me bread and some money.” I told him that I possessed neither bread nor money. “Have you nothing to eat?” he asked. “Nothing.” He again gazed round the room, and again demanded money. In great fear I showed him my empty purse. He carefully examined the purse, and asked: “What have you got?” “Nothing,” I replied, “but a sick old mother.’ He shook his head and departed, saluting with his hand to his cap.' Towards evening he returned, and, addressing me, said: “Thou-hast nothing. Here, take this money.” He laid a German mark piece on the table, and beside it a tin can of jam and a loaf. I was so astonished that 1 could not utter a word. The Russian nodded in the most friendly way and left the room.