LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 55, 28 November 1917, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Tho Third Wellington Military Service Board will resume sitting on Decomber 3. Mr. D. M. Findlay will preside, and tho other members of tho board will bo Messrs. A. O'L. Considino and M. J. Mack.

The annual conferenco of delegates of coalmiuers' unions. will bo opened in Wellington on December 3. A joint conferenco of representatives of the coalminers' and metal-workers' organisations'is to bo hold on December 5.

"Havo you reason to beiiovo that tho spirit of prayer among our people has deepened during the past three years?" Tho Life awl WorJ: Committee of tho I'rosbyterian General Assembly somo months ago forwarded this question to a. number of men throughout tho Church, and somo of tho answers, it reports, aro very pessimistic in tone. "Not a straw publicly." "No outward evidence." "No; fear tho opposite is true." "Meetings no bettor attended." "I-think that it has weakened." Others took tho view expressed in theso sentences: "Yes, deepened, but not widened very much." "There is a deeper pulse of foeling in the prayers offered." "Individuals pray moro, and feel more need for prayer." United services for prayers did not seem to havo been a success. In one iustance only was it said: "A united monthly meeting for intercession has been well attended for nearly two years." Elsewhere tho report was: "Attendance of a most disheartening character." Services on special days had been moro encouraging, and the meeting on Christ-' mas morning was, in most places, very satisfactory.

Strawberries are in plentiful supply in Wellington at the present time, tho warm weather having favoured the growers. The prices vary widely according to quality. Baskets wero selling retail yesterday at Is. 3d. to 2s. Gd. each, tho higher price being for very choice berries. Raspberries will bo reaching the Wellington market soon. They are reported to be forming and ripening well in the Nelson district. A scarcity of pickers is feared by the growers, who are trying to arrange for labour in Wellington at tho present time.

The fund for tho benefit of destitute Belgian children, has been augmented in Dunedin to the extent of £2302 by a bottle-collecting campaign by ihe school children. A correspondent suggests that as bottles are scarcer and dearer than over in Wellington, if the school children could undertake a similar campaign in Wellington during the summer vacation, fully £5000 could lie raised for some deserving fund.

Writing to' a friend in Wellington, a soldier who hails from the lower slopes of Mount Victoria says: "We eacli received a parcel from the Wellington Patriotic Committeo yesterday, and the parcels were very acceptable. Mine was* from Mrs Luke, and included one tin jam, one tin paste, one tin milk, a packet cisarettes, one tin sweets, handkerchief and towel. They wero. hcautil'ullv packed and everyone was overjoyed." "Whilst"admitting the duty of the Government to place the interests of the Stale before those of the individual, we. arc doubtful of the wisdom of tho continued employment of officers who have reached G5 years of age. There may be cases where an officer at that ago has retained his faculties unimpaired, but it more often happens that he has outlived his full usefulness, and would be glad of relief from tho cares of office. In. such cases the State would profit by the services of younger and more vigorous men, especially at such a lime as the present. It would probably have served the purpose in view just as well if all officers who have qualified lor superannuation were allowed to retire if they so desire, or were compelled to do so by age, and then oll'eied temporary employment at their former salaries. By this means they would profit by the cessation of superannuation contributions and the element of comjiiilsion would not exist."—"Public Service Journal."

Tlio cadets forming the Officers' Training Corps (medicol) at Otago University were inspected last week by Surgeon-General Henderson, Director ot* Medical Sen-ices, and Lieutenant-Col-onel ,1. h. Sleoman, Director of Military Training. Tim corps is over 100 strong. Owing to tlio shortage of doctors, medical students are not permitted to onliet in the Expeditionary I'oivo, and the senior students at the Ol;\go_ Medical School are being given facilities to eompleto their courses of training in order that they may be-, ('dine available for medical work. Twenty-five students sat for tlio A certificate examination last week.

Mr. Cyril Maude is an excellent raconteur. When travelling through South Carolina ho heard of an old negro who was very loyal to tlio Allies, and one had only to say something favourable to tlio Cifirmnna to get the old man excited. Mr. Maude determined to test the aged aegro, and on meeting him said that it was a great new gun the Germans had—could shoot twenty-three miles." "That notbing nt all, boss," said tlio old negro, "deAllies have got a gun which will shoot and shoot, and all you want .is the address of de person yo want to Lit!" There was nnotlier good story told about a bookmaker-soldier. Ho was in an advanced trench, when, after n shower of shrapnel, ho called out to a pal, who was observing in a shellhole: "All right, Bill?" "Yes, all right," came the answer. Then Bomo shells, gas, and other horrors canio along, and again the bookmaker hailed: "Are you all right, Bill." "Yes, I'm all rightl" camo the response. Five minutes Inter the "bookie" again asked the same question, when a lionet jerked out, and said: "What's all this about being all right, anyhow?" "Oh, it's all right, Bill; I was only anxious because I've drawn you in a sweep!"

Details are now to band of tlio deed, the performance of which gained for Flight-Commander Keith L. Caldwell, R.F.C., tho only son of. Mr. D. R. Caldwell, of Messrs. Macky, Logan, and Caldwell, Ltd., Wellington and Auckland, tho. Military Cross. The fact that the honour had heen conferred was announced on August 6. The London "Times" says the award was mado for conspicuous gallantry and deration to duty when leading offensive patrols. On one occasion ho led a patrol of five machines against twelve hostilo aircraft, all of which ho drove down out of control. Flight-Com-mander Caldwell has personally destroyed five hostile machines, and has had over fifty contests in tho nir, in all of which he has displayed splendid skill- and fearlessness, and set an excellent cxamplo to his squadron. Flight-Commander Caldwell, who was ono of tho first pupils to graduate from tho New Zealand Flying School at Kohimaranu, is a grandson of Mr. James M'Kcrrow, of Wellington, and was formerly employed on' the staff of the Auckland branch of tho Bank of New Zealand.

The death of Second Lieutenant David Kitto, an Amorican airman attached to the Australian' Flying Corps, who was killed by falling a thousand foot from his machine, was inquired into by a Warwickshire coroner ly._ Captain Wilson, giving medical evidence, said that the airman, who foil out of his machine, probably died beforo reaching tho ground, but Tecontly another officer, who fell 3000 ft., declared ho retained consciousness till close to the earth.

Tho board set up by tho Education Department to hear appeals lodged by teachers against thoir positions on the Dominion grading list, haa opened its sittings in Christchurch. It consists of Mr. John Caughley, Assistant-Direc-tor of Education, tho Senior Inspector, Mr. W. Brock, and two teachers' representatives, Miss A. Spenco and Mr. E. TJ. Just. Tho board has held sittings at Auckland, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Napier, and Nelson, and will at tho conclusion of*TS sittings in Christchurch proceed to Invercargill, finishing its work at Wellington. An agitation is proceeding in Victoria to render it illegal for shopkeepers to weigh the paper with tho articles purchased. Th© Melbourne- "Age" says:— "Tho weighing of the paper means that oyer an extended period even tho individual householder pays considerably more for her tea or sugar, or whatever it may be, than she should be required to do. The injustice has been recognised in various other parts of the world, and in several countries legislation has been introduced to provide for the sale of goods by their net weight."

The Christiania correspondent of the "Times" writes:—ln North * Norway thero has just died a man who attained tho ago of 121 years. Ho was horn in 1796—h0 himself said in 1794, hut this could not be verified, as the parish records had been destroyed by fire in the course of time. One of his most vivid recollections was a chase to which ho was subjected by an English brig near Bergen, in 1813, during tho war between England and Norway. He was in a boat with some men sailing along the coast, and they had a very narrow escape. His name was Abel Eliassen, and he was a fisherman by profession, and stayed in North Norway all his life. He was a hard smoker, thus proving that tho nicotine is a very slow poison indeed. At tho ago of 98 Abel, who had been married twice before, married for the third time a woman some 30 years his junior, Lad a 23 years' marriage with her, and still outlived her by a couple of months.