NOTES AND COMMENTS.

White Ribbon, Volume 14, Issue 152, 15 January 1908, Page 7

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Nominations for N.Z. W.C.T.U. Officers. Nominations received during the past month are :—Ashburton: President. Mrs Cole; Secretary, .Miss Webb; Treasurer, Miss Powell. Several other Inions have also sent nominating the present officers for re-election to their present positions.

Money for Life and Money for Death. Speaking at Christchurch on January 7th, Mr Keir Uardic said that old-age pensions had been talked of as long as he could remember at Home, with tin* everpresent problem as to where tin* necessary £15,000.000 a year was to come from. Yet there had b»*en no trouble in finding £40,000,000 a year by which tin* expenditure upon the army and navy had been increased in the past twenty years.

Socialism and Equality of the Sexes. Mr Keir llardie remarked recently that “Socialism stood for equality of men. equality of sexes, and equality of nations. It had nothing to do with the wickedness its calumniators had associated with it. and made no attempt to interfere with any man’s religion. Hip the Sermon on the Mount and the general principles of Christianity' could never be applied in the life of the people mud Socialism prevailed.”

The Holiday Season and Drink. - If further incentive were needed to whole-hearted service this year

iii tlx* war against drink it lias surely been given by tin* events of tin* present holiday season. In Oiristelmreh. even the daily papers felt constrained to eoninient on the number of drunken young men to be seen in the streets, while from all parts of the Dominion has come news of suieide. manslaughter, rioting, and erinie and evil of all deseription on both land and sea. as tin* direet result of tin* traffic in aleohnl.

The Possibilities of Drawing-room Meetings. We sineerely hope that note will be taken of the Napier Union’s report this month. Fifty new members have been gained, eliierty through tin* agency of draw-ing-room meetings. There is no surer way of arousing and deepening interest in the many-sided work of the W.C.T.r. than by wisely organised gatherings in private homes.

Miss Agnes Slack in India.— During the latter part of 1 DOT, .Miss Slack, World’s W.C.T.U. Secretary, was on tour in India, and from the Rev. Dr Mansell we have received a lengthy and interesting account of her vis»t to Bareilly, an important city, and tin* seat of a large military garrison. Miss Slack visited many o.' tin* native homes, and gained an insight into tin* need for and possibilities of Zenana work. A splendid opportunity for temperance work was given, and splendidly utilised, in connection with an At Home given by General and Mrs Speiis. Miss Slack was invited to give an address, and her words made a deep impression on the officers and their wives. Many members and honorary members were gained for the W.C.T.U. during her visit.

A Dearth of Nurses - The In-spector-General of Hospitals, Dr. Valentine, reports that one of th»* principal difficulties in connection with the hospitals of the Dominion is tin* lack of nurses. So many occupations are now open to women that they do not come forward so readily for hospital service. Hospital Boards are therefore arranging that probationers must serve four years instead of three.

Prohibition in Finland. -According to reports received, the Finnish Parliament has been most thorough in its measures dealing with the drink traffic. Kxeept for medical and technical purposes, tin* importation and production of spirits is absolutely forbidden, and a non-alco-holic beverage must he used for the sacrament.

The W.C.T.U. in the United States. The annual Convention of the U.B A W I JT I was held in Nashville, Tenn., the meeting place being the First Presbyterian Church, a fine old building, which in 18M was tilled w ith beds holding bINI sick and wounded soldiers “wearing the blue and the grey.” The only woman nurse among the sufferers was Mary Jeanett Telford, a white rihboner w ho has but recently passed away. The Convention “put itself on record as overwhelmingly opposed to limiting the term of service of the National officers.”