SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2605, 29 October 1915, Page 2

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

Women's National Reserve at Wanganui. A meeting convened by the Mayoress of Wanganui, Mrs. Mackay, was 'hold in the Borough Council Chambers on Wednesday evening l'or the purpose of forming a Wangamii branch of tho Women's National llcscrvc. Tho council room was too small to accommodate the attendance, and many had to be content to stand in the corridor. Tho Mayor, Mr. C. li. Mackay, addressed the meeting, also Mr. W. A. Veitch, M.P. The following officers wero elected at the close of tho mooting:—Pre-, sident, Mrs. Neame; secretary, Miss Newcombe; treasurer, Miss Darley; osccutivo committee, Mesdames Mackay, Veitch, Williams. Keesing, and .Hope-Gibbons. A largo number of those who were present enrolled themselves as members. '

Red Cross Tea at Hamua and Hukanui. The first round of the Ked Cross teas at Hamua was concluded on Wednesday afternoon, when Mrs. I'arker entertained the previous hostesses and friends. Two iirst-aid students who were present with splints and bandages practised on the other guests, who showed great interest in the work. Tho honorary secretary is forwarding tho sum of M 35., the proceeds from six teas. In all the sum of £10 4s. has Been collected as a result' of these afternoons. The second round will bo commenced with a Red Cross tennis party to bo given by Mr. and Mrs. I'. A. I). Miekle on Saturday of next week. Among other amusements there will be a putting competition, and golfers are requested to bring clubs. Welcoming the Returned Soldiers. To somo among the sick and wounded soldiers who returned to Wellington yesterday, via the South Island, from Egypt, a vivid contrast must have presented itself to tho scenes amongst which they had been living. Beyond tho sight of khaki uniforms to ho seen here and there in the streets as they passed by and on the wharfs, there was little to remind thorn in the appearance of things that war was raging in the world, and Wellington, its hills and .harbour sleeping in tho sunshine, looked the very essence of peace ami comfort. All the more welcome to trenchweary men, one would think. Their reception in the Town Hall was of a very cordial nature, many people being present, even though tho morning is a time in which some lincl .it difficult to bo abroad. All. the arrangements.were carried out on linos similar to previous occasions, tho floor of the hall having been reserved for the soldiers and their friends, who wero entertained at morning tea by the Mayor's Patriotic Committee, tho ladies of the various Town Hall committees Assisting in waiting upon tho guests of tho occasion. Brief speeches of welcome wero paid by tho Mayor, His Excellency the. Governor, the Prime Minister (Mr. Massey), Sir Joseph Ward, and Mr. Horries, and some very line tributes were paid to the soldiers and to tho work of the nurses, two of whom wero present in the hall a Speeches necessarily-had to bo brief, as tlio Auckland section had to leave to catch the northern train, and as a matter of fact they had to be whisked off to the station quite hur-. riedly after all.

Occupying seats upon-the platform, in addition to the speakers, were Her Excellency the Countess of 'Liverpool, tho Mayoress (Mrs. Luke), Mrs, W. F. M'asseyj Mrs. George Massey, Miss Maesey, Lady Ward, and Miss Robin. The nurses who returned to New Zealand by the Tofua are Nurses Eddy, Humphreys, and Utting, all of whom left • with tho returned soldiers for tho North. They will in all probability bo returning by tho same troopship, when she leaves ' with . further Reinforcements.

The Feilding Horticultural Society 'lias a schema whereby ladies of the district may subscribe to a change of food for the soldiers in camp, states tho "Star." At the Spring Show, to bo held next month, a special prize is to be offered for the best plum pudding, tho condition of entry being that all exhibits become the property of the society to be forwarded to the military camp.

For the V/ounded Soldiers' Fund. Two ralflos wore drawn at the Town Hall yesterday in tho. presence of tho Mayor and the officers of tho law. Tho crochet suppsr cloth which was worked by Miss Allen, of Owen Street was a handsome piece of work, and as a result of tho raffle tho sum of £12 10s. was handed over to the Mayor's Wounded Soldiers' Fund. The winner was Mr. Jackson, of Owen Street. _ Tho other raffle was that o£ a green silk cushion embroidered with "a basket cl (lowers, the work of Mrs. Isaacs, of The Terrace. Miss Biggs, of Te Aro House, was the winner, and as a result tho sum of £30 10s. Gd. (gained with sixpenny tickets) was handed in to tho same fund. Some time ago Mrs. Isaacs raffled a bedspread which realised the sum of £GO. That, howovor, was handed in to the Belgian Fund. Between the two, however, close upon £100 was gained for patriotic purposes, so that Mrs. Isaacs should feel that, she lias helped to some purpose in such good causes. Serbian Relief. The Eastbourne Girls' Guild have now completed a box of clothing for the suffering children of Serbia.' The guild, which was formed sis months ago, with the object of making garments, decided at- its first meeting that thev would provide a complete set of clotliing for 12 girls and lii boys, and so successful have their efforts been that they now have everything ready for packing away. All the underclothing is made of woollen material, and is the work of the girls themselves, in addition to knitted vests, coats, and'caps, and has been done in spare time after school, and on their ■regular weekly meeting nights. Warm jackets for girls and ovorcoats for boys, as well as a few other articles, had to be purchased, and the t'hanlcs of the guild are duo to Messrs. George and Kersley and George and George for valuable concessions in the prices of these articles _ and in material purchased at their establishments. The necessary funds have been provided principally by the girls' own efforts, each mernbor paying a small weekly subscription, which had to be provided by savings from tlieir own pocket-money. An entertainment given by tho girls under the able tuition of Miss Speed realised £15 10s., and several friends have very kindly sent donations, the, whole resulting in 'sufficient warm clothing being provided for 24 children.

At an afternoon given Tjy Miss Marsden. the president of tlie guild, tile mothers of the girls wore invited to. inspect tlie articles and the work of thoir children, and much surprise and pleasure was expressed a,t tlie result of their efforts. The box is being sent to Serbia through the High Commissioner for New Zealand, London, and it is hoped will reach its destination by Christmas time.

The executive of tho Citizens' Defence Corps in Clii'istehui'cli has been considering tho matter of forming a women's branch of tho corps oifthe lines of tho women's branch of the National Reserve /in Wellington, the object of irfiich is/the providing of women. to replace men in civil positions, so that tho latter may go t>o the front. A considerable amount of approval has been expressed of the scheme and preliminary steps ar© being taken in the matter.

' Mrs. W. Hart, who has been on a visit to Wellington has returned, to Hastings. The Westshore (Napier) School Committee has passed a resolution congratulating Dr. Elizabeth Gunn for having volunteered for service at the front. Mrs. Boyle, Christchuroh, is visiting Mrs. Algar Williams. Mrs. Gov, who has been spending some weeks with the Prime Minister and Hrs. Massey, has l'ciurned to Cambridge. Mrs., Massey wishos to acknowledge the receipt of cases of books for the soldiers from Mr. A. H. Ivnigge, Marten; Mrs. A. \V. Newman, Feilding; and ten boxes of books from tho Patriotic Society, Feilding. The Misses A'Deane (Takapau) are staying at the Empire Hotel.

Sandbags for the Front. The voluntary workers who for the past few days liave been engaged at tlio Y.M.C.A. rooms in Auckland in making sandbag; .for tho use of the troops at the Dardanelles liavo enough to fill ten bales (states the "Herald"). Each balo contains 2-50 bags. It is stated that the Defence Department requires 250,000 sandbags. In addition to the Y.M.C.A. rooms the social hall of the Working Men's Clnb has been placed at tlie disposal of the committee in charge of the work. Many farmers in the province have offered gifts of bags, and representations have beeli made to the Minister for Munitions (the Hon. A. M. Myers) asking to have the bags carried on ths railways to tlio placo'where they are being made up free of cost, the Department having already agreed to carry free the bales of newly-made bags from Auckland to Wellington. Major D. H. Lusk, vice-president of the Auckland branch of tho Farmers' Union, lias now received a reply from tho Hon. Mr. Myers to the effect that he is referring the matter to tlio Minister of Defence. The volunteer Helper, Tlio work of the Red Cross in connection with tho Gallipoli expedition 1 is developing in every direction.. Tho latest l has been, the demand of the War Office for 200 "voluntary aid women orderlies" to work in the military hospitals at Malta (says an English correspondent). . This is the first occasion on winch these invaluable volunteers have been sent to tlio Mediterranean. For months past- many hundreds have been working in the baso hospitals of Franco and England; and they liave fully proved their efficiency as supplementary to tho fully-trained nurses. The voluntary aid department of the British Bed Cross Society, which now has its offices at Devonshire House, is selecting 100 of its members, and tho St. John Ambulance another 100, and it is expected that tlie whole body will leave England in the course of this week.

Tho applicants are exceedingly numerous; their qualifications are carefully -tested, and thoir records of previous work, as shown by - tho testimonials of their commandants at home and others, receive the closest consideration. When tho candidates are passed, it is the business of the two societies to obtain t'heir travelling warrants and give them their marching orders. From the women of Wadestown and Goldie's Brae has been collected the sum of £25 18s. 6d. towards the equipment of the Hospital Ship Marama. The sum was handed in to the Mayoress, Mrs. Luke, by Mrs. C. R. Smith and Mrs. Willis, of Wadestown, and was collected by the Wadestown Committee of the Women's National Reserve.

A meeting of the Citizens' Military Hospital Guild was hold in the Mayoress' room of the Town Hall yesterday morning. There was a full attendance of members. Accounts amounting to close upon £200 were passed for payment.; A good financial position was disclosed 'at the meeting; and the guild will be able to do without .appealing to the Government for further assistance in regard to hospital equipment at Trentham. Liberal outsido help has been accorded it in the scopc of its operations. Hospital bed equipment particularly has been well supplied. Mr. and Mrs. Britten, of Fritz Street, Palmerston, have a worthy record in connection with tho war. Five c.f their- seven soils have enlisted .for active service, and four of them are at'the front, while the fifth is returning to New Zealand invalided. The two remaining lads were too young for enlistment. The Committee of the Petonc "Working Men's Club has arranged a shooting competition for ladies, to bo held oil December 17. Each competitor must shoot with the rifles issued by the club, and be nominated, by a financial member. The nomination fee is Is., and the "shoot" will be conducted on the same lines as the club's Riflo Club. About fifteen ladies have already nominated.