LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2589, 11 October 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The postal authorities advise that the s.s. Moeraki, which left Sydney .on October 7 for Wellington, with an Australian mail only, is due here to-day.

No Australian mails will arrive at Auckland to-day, as the Victoria wap to have left Sydney for that port on Saturday. 1 She should arrive there on Wednesday with an Australian mail.

A cablegram from London "was published on Saturday stating thpt tho Bnt : ish steamer Arabia had been sunk. Tho local a«ents for the P. and 0. Company (Messrs. Johnston and Company) stato that tho opiuion is held that the vessel referred to is not tho P. and 0. liner Arabia, because she left Sydney on September 19, and -was only to-at Colombo, last Friday. / The Minister of Dofcnce (the Hon. J. Allen) has received a letter from Colonel MiGavin, medical officer in charge of the No. 1- Stationary Hospital at Port Said. Ho states that they havo beds there now for 450 patients, and have mad© a very good'hospital of ; it. For a while at one time they had 460 men on thoir hauds. They are on tho sea beach, where they get the benefit of a beautiful breeze. They have only ono building, the rest of the accommodation being in marquees. '

As the. result of an altercation between two men in tho train leaving Wellington at 10.35 p.m. on Saturday evening, / one of tlie disputants was pushed against ft window and sustained-cuts about the face.

The presence in town on Friday ana Saturday of so large a' body of soldiers made the work of tlie local staff of the Telegraph Office very heavy. In addition to the messages that poured in through tho ordinary channels, an office was established by ilie Department on the wharf, where a very brisk business was done on Saturday. When the limited Sunday's staff went on duty yesterday morning, it was found that tho after-hours telegram box was crammed full of messages, some of them stamped in tho proper manner, some with tlie cash wrapped up in tho form, and others with neitlier stamps nor cash. In tho latter case the Department is postr ing the message direct to the addressee, ivliicli will probably please the recipients more than tho telegraphed message, as they will be in possession of the mesr sage in the sender's .own halidwriting.'

Fine..cloth, light-weight pyjamas for summer wear, 10s. 6d, and ISa. 6d.; tusMta fillki.M?, M, _OM, Fwldj, Win JW-muwiA. .• ■

Cricket practice was to have opened on the Basin Reserve 011 Saturday, but was postponed. Next Saturday a Wellington representative team proposes to play a Treritham Camp team in an effort to swell the Christmas Cheer Funds. Treiitham hasia strong team, including players like Sandman (New Zealand representative),.Bennett (New Zealand representative), and Quin (Wellington representative).

All who have seen the Boys' Institute swimming bath in Tasman Street express astoifishmsnt at its dimensions, having no idoa that-it was to be on such a largo and grand scale; in fact it ranks as ono of the finest in New Zealand 1 . Tho fittings now. being erected, combined with tlie whiteVpaiut which ha 6 just bc-011 applied to the walls', and the white tiles of' tho bath itself, give the place a most inviting appearance.

Proposals for a University Battalion liavo been rejected by the Professorial Board of Victoria. College for various reasons. Already.many college men liavo reached the front, and it would be difficult to fill a battalion from those left. 111 any case the task of providing forcements for such'a battalion would be an.impossible .one.

Second Lieutenant Hubert R. W. Meager, of the 3rd Australian Infantry, who was killed 1 in action at the Dardanelles, soon aftor being given his com. mission for services in the field, was evidently well prepared for death, A letter received Dy his mother a few hours before the official intimation of Ihls death readied her contained tho following ■ passage"During the next few days wo shall bo facing death every minute.. If lam taken off, do as the Roman, matrons of old—keep yo<ur tears for privacy, steel your heart, and try and get a dozen recruits to fill my plaoe. Pray hard for me, and, if God wills it, I shall see it through with a clean heart, and if I emerge'l hope I shall have proved myself a man and a leader, and thereby have justified the. confidence of my commanders."

. Most newspaper readers are -by this time aware that the word "Anzac," wtic]i occurs so frequently in communications from Gallipoli, is made up_ of the initial letters of tlie Australian-New Zealand Army Corps. It appears, however, from a letter whicli : appeared in "The. Nearv East," • a few w'ooks ago, that it is actually a Turkish word. The correspondent writes:—"A . captured Turkish officer has just pointed out a quaint coincidence aboiit tho word 'Anzac.'. Tlie name, lie says, is actually a Turkish word signifying ,'only just:' Having regard t<i the conditions under: which 1 our gallant, overseas divisions effected their landing, and made Good their footing; upon this precarious bluff, the applicability of tho word is somewhat striking." '■:.'■■

To dig 572 postlioles in 3J hours is no niean performance for ten men, but this is said to be tho record' put np 'by a band of men at the racecourse, Cambridge, a ; few days ago in preparation for the forthcoming annual race meeting of the Waikato Hunt. Club. The local paper says one of the workers, a man of over 60 years of age, wore down most of his competitors, and only failed to reach tho tally of tho "speeder" by a few holes.

At the final korero of the Wellington Savago Club, reference was made .to tho list of members-who had offered their services to their country, and " all the members stood in perfect silence whilst the Chief Savage, F. niade a feeling reference- to' those, members who-would not'return, and whose names would never be forgotten in the club— Major Arthur Hume (an ex-committee-man), Major Wilkinson, and Mr. Lance Bridge. Many compliments were paid to Mr. D. J. Kenny, tho society's conductor, who is going into camp next 'week as a lieutenant iii-'-the -Tenth Reinforcements/ and Mr. G. P. 1 Hanna, whose facile tal'ent with the' brush' thpy all knew and appreciated so much, who was also v going into oamp tliis week. A tribute was paid to tho members of tho orchestra by the Chief Savage and by Conductor Kenny, and they were honoured in the hearty manner peculiar to the club. .' ■

Tho manner in which the mounted police managed their horses in keeping back the crowd from the main thoroughfares on Saturday was a. : theme of general admiration. Tlie splendid horses they rode had evidently been trained for the work, as: in some instances 1 they were used actually to push: back, quite gently, • the ; people who were crowding Forward. Splendid stable accommodation has been provided for the' horses of the mounted police in the. new Police Station in Lower Taraiiaki Street, now approaohing completion. This station will probably be ready for Occupation by the end of tho year. ,

' Recently the . Defence Minister (the Hon. J. Allcu) asked for a cablegram from the Officer Commanding the Now Zealand Base at'Alexapdria at the beginning of every month, as to the most urgent requirements in Egypt; 'His. latest information is that in addition to Cardigans,there ar<? also required mittens, sou'-westers, oilskins, water-, proofs qf suitable' colours, aiid boots. ' ' '

A presentation from passengers and residents of Eastbourne will be made on the top depk of the sis, Duchess at tho Ferry Wharf, Wellington, at 5.15 p.m. to-day, to Captain G.-P. Erai3, prior to his departure for England to offer, his-services to. the Admiralty. All passengers and friends are cordially invited to be present..

The Concert: Chamber of the Town Hall was comfortably' filled on Saturday night, when Mr. John ClejK, ,of Duiiedin, delivered a most' interesting lecture on his travels and experiences in England, on the Continent, : qnd on the Atlantic at t])e outbreak of war. Anione othon incidents, Mr. Clegg described his experiences oh board tlio Indian Prinoo, which was overtaken and by the 'German auxiliary cruiser. Kronprinz Witlieltn, The Germans decided to sink their capture, and after a most excitr inc and anxious time Mr. Clegc and his fellow passengers were taken aboard the German cruiser. 1 Of their treatment- on the Kronpriiiz Mr. Clqgg speaks rather well. Tbe : prisoners were subsequently transferred to a Gonrian collier, and after aimless wanderings over the Atlantic for live weeks, Mr. Clogs and his friends were again landed and released at Rio de "Ja'uiero. Tho lecture, which was givon in liid of tlio Wounded Soldiers' Fund, was punctuated with most interesting and frequently humorous detail. ■ ..

1 News has been; received from Rarotonga reporting a father serious stato of tilings among the planters, owing to" ilio prolonged drought. It is statodjihafc during tho past twelve months there has onlv. been a- rainfall. of 2(£ inches, as against tho averago of 70 inches. The cffect of this abnormally dry season is ovidont in the banana plantations. Where at this timo of tho year tlio bunches should bo packed with big welldeveloped fruit, the bananas are small and separately ar&'wizened and'- sadly stunted. The" Moalla picked up somo 2000 cases" on her last trip, where in a normal season the number would havo been nearer 6000 cases. Good rains aro absolutely essential to tho banana trees, but the orange crops do not ■suffer''so severely from tho drought. Tlift 'latest development in planting is the culture of the tomato, • w ; liicli in timo will keep New Zealand supplied throughout tho winter months. Some of the planters, liavo something between 13,000 tind 15,000 ' plants, and tho climate and soil are said to be ideal for. tho perfect culture <jf tho fruit- "■ / Aeroplane. Engines—Tlio' most perfect mode—havo shown the lyorjij that to obtain 'I' 6 'gwatest possible power from an engine it is necessary to use. overhead valves, similw to (jioto used on tho fain, ous Chevrolet cars. You will readily understand the reason for this-if you communicate with the Dominion Motor Vehicles, Ltd.,.65 Courtenay Place, who will ba pleased to explain- fully this feature.-*

Inquiries were recently ." made; from' the ''principal chaplain; of.: the Mediterranean Expeditionary -Force as to t'ho places .where New Zeaianders have been buried. In reply, he states that the information required cannot be supplied, at present. It is likely that oven if a clorlc were sent to make investigations ho could Jiot'get tjio record hooks for the purpose, as they are in constant use. It seems, therefore, the" chaplain adds, that this information will havo to be collated at tho closo of hostilities. ■

Various mementoes of the war. axfl finding their way Cto Now South Waloo. A Turkish bayonet, n keen blado about 3 inches longer than the ono supplied to British soldiers, is occasionally seen. It is stamped witilv the orescent and the star. A nurse who went from Sydney has sont back a collection of bullets, including French, German,. and Turkish specimens. Even moro interesting are two ash-trays, cacli about 18Ln. in circumferonce, beaten out of copper, from' tho dome of the lighthouse at Heiles, which, was demolished by shell fire from the British warships Princo of Wales and London. There are also several sections'of Turkish shells. Evidontly the shells fell into soft earth or sand, and did not explode, as the parts sent to Sydney are complote. :

In our issue of Saturday the name of Mr. F. J. .R. Heath was published is having enlisted for the front. Wo have been aeked to state by way of correction that Mr. Heath, who is a draughtsman in the Civil Service, is at present in./hospital suffering from a fractured leg. '. ,'x . ■