WOMEN IN PRINT.

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 58, 6 September 1926, Page 13

WOMEN IN PRINT.

Mrs. Mathew Holmes and her two daughters are the guests of Miss M'Lean (Timaru), on their return from a visit to Mount Cook. Mrs. Alison, who has been paying a sessional visit to Wellington, has left for the North. Mr. and Mrs. Bedpath (Wellington) are visiting Wanganui. Dr. and Mrs. Bradshaw (Cashmere, Christchurch), are visiting in the North Island. Misses E. L. Kendall and L. Pownall (Wellington) are visiting Auckland. The engagement is announced of Noreen, oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. Spear (of Oriental Bay, Wellington), to Leslie, eldest son of the late Mr. Bispham and Mrs. Bispham (of Barrow, England). Tho Misses Mcc (2), Wellington, are visiting Mrs. J. A. Flesher, Shirley, Christchurch. Dr. and Mrs. T. A. Gibbs, and Mr. S. Gibbs (of Nelson), are visiting Christchurch. Mrs. Ostler has returned to Wellington from Hawkes Bay. Colonel G. J. Smith, M.L.C., and Mrs. Smith have returned to Christchurch from Wellington. Miss E. Tabart has returned to Christchurch from Wellington. Miss Dannef aerd, general secretary of the Zenana Bible and Medical Mission in New Zealand, has arrived in Christchurch from the north, and is the guest of Miss Elsie Lilly, Cashel street. Tho Eev. and Mrs. E. C. Crosse left Christchurch on a motor tour of the West Coast, which will include a visit to Franz Josef Glacier. Mr. J. B. Harcourt and Miss Harcourt will leave on a trip to America by the Makura on 14th September. The sea voyage is being taken for the benefit of Miss Harcourt's health. Hostesses for the week at the Community Club will be as follow: —This evening: Wellington South Nursing Division. Tuesday: Mrs. E. M'Leod. Wednesday: Mrs. N. Broad. Thursday: Mrs. F. T. Clarke. Friday: Mrs. Pow. Monday, Mrs. G. MacGregor. Dr. Mollie Fisher returned to the Dominion yesterday by the Bemuera. There are 47 old churches within the confines of the old London boundary. One ancient church which will remain so long as the nation has any pride of nationhood is All Hallows, Barking-by-the-Tower. It was founded in 675 A.D. from the Abhey of Barking, and it is the oldest parish church in London. New interest attaches to it, because it it now the Guild Church of Toe H., says a London correspondent. Just across the road from the church in Old Tower street is an unpretentious building which was a public-house ten years ago. Tho greater portion of the house is now occupied by business firms, but the top floors have been taken by the Too H. Leaguo of Women Helpers and transformed into the first hostel for its members. Perhaps it is appropriate that it should bo in the city and near the East End of London. Once the social centre of the ancient town, Tower Hill in these days is a deserted place when the work of the day is done. The hostelry is known as "New June," for that was the name of a great house which stood near the spot in the Middle Ages. The Duchess of York paid a visit to "New June" recently, and perhaps it is natural that the work of the Women Helpers should have come into prominence. The Duchess was met by tho president of the league (the Duchess of Devonshire) and members of the council, with whom she had luncheon. She visited the new luncheon club in connection with the league. Here girls working in the city may have their midday meal and spend a part of an hour in the comfortable clubroom or on the roof garden. Miss Irene Manton, who has taken a double first-class for botany in part two of the Natural Science Tripos at Cambridge, is stated to be tho first woman for twenty years who has secured this ' distinction. Although there were other candidates, both men and women, who were considered brilliant, they were not successful in gaining a double first. Miss I. Manton took the examination in her third year instead of the usual fourth year, having been placed in the first division last year for part one of the Natural Science Tripo3. Following on her success this year she has been awarded the Ethel Sargant Studentship. Tho Old Thames Girls at their reunion showed in a practical way their appreciation of the good work being done by the Plunket Society, the announcement being made that the surplus in hand from reunion subscriptions would be donated to the Thames Plunket Society, which was in need of financial aid, says an Auckland exchange. At a later stage it was an 7 nounced that Mrs. Dewar, oldest of all the Old Thames girls, had promised a further donation and had appealed to all grandmothers and mothers to help on the splendid work which the Plunket nurses were doing for the babies of the Thames. Tho announcement was greeted with loud applause. A concert on behalf of St. George's Church was held last Thursday in the Presbyterian Church room, / Seatoun, which was lent by the church authorities for that purpose. In the absence ot the vicar through indisposition, his warden welcomed the artists, who had come from Lyall Bay and other parts to give tho Seatoun residents an enjoyable entertainment. The party was in charge of Miss E. M. Bartley (who acted in the capacity of accompanist). The evening closed with a hearty vote of thanks to the artists. The proceeds o. the concert were in aid of the church funds. A Dunedin citizen is very urgent on .Iho subject of a rest-room for tho women of th. city, and writes a3 follows: —Every woman in Dunedin, single, married, or widowed, contributes her quota to the city purse. During this year the City Council, by cutting out the Health Week collection of rubbish, saved nearly £400 at the expense <•!' women workers in the home. Donations promised will reduce the initial cost o. tho rest-room. Though, naturally, mothers and young children are the (;hief consideration, this rest-room is to be for tho use of all women. It will be a permanent erection. All citizens should unite to see that a central suitable site is procured. For several years tho women of Dunedin have begged for this consideration of the needs of themselves, their children, and visitors to the city. Disappointing as delay may be, it would be wiser to wait a little longer than to build where the restroom will be of comparatively little use. Tho success of the Wellington restroom, and tho appreciation shown of its comforts, should be an incentive to the Dunedin "City Fathers" to provide this accommodation for their own woinenkind. The latest flowers worn on the shoulders of evening frocks are made of chiffon, in pale colours. Large single flowers, without much foliage are used, and are placed rather far back on the shoulder —sometimes when tho frock is cut very lo^v in the back, they are actually worn fixed on the back of the shouldei strap. They do not match the frock, but are made in some flower colour which harmonise, with it. n

News from Madame Eobertson Hill (Mrs. Alfred Hill) comes from Melbourne. She writes that there are splendid art educational chances to be had there; science also moves towards still greater progression. New Zealanders there were getting into touch with each other, and they were. hoping to form a New Zealand club to keep alive sentiment and comradeship. "The Maori team of footballers," writes Madame Hill, "bound for France and" the United Kingdom, were entertained at 'Wattle Path' Palais, the largest dance hall in the world, not excepting the Albert Hall in London. I wrote out two Maori melodies for foxtrot and waltz, and got the orchestra to sing them in Maori, alternately with the instrumental part. The conductor (Mr. Aronson, New York) was greatly taken with them, and the crowd wanted encores galore. The orchestra finally stood, and made an attempt at a haka, and the Maoris replied with a war dance. It was a great New Zealand night." ' A great many friends' will hear with much regret of the death of Mrs. Jessie Catherine Sando, wife of Mr. Archibald Sando, of Freyberg street, Lyall Bay, which occurred yesterday at her residence. Mrs. Sando was the daughter of well-known old Wellington residents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Dugald Campbell, and sister of Messrs. Alec, Colin, John, and Archibald Campbell,' also well-known in the city,; her sisters being Miss Barbara Campbell, and Mrs. F. Shaw, of the Lower Hutt. Mrs. Sando had a very fine and kindly personality, and was a consistent worker for her church, the Kilb.irnie-Lyall Bay Presbyterian Church, and will be missed by a large circle of jriends and fel-low-workers. Mrs. Sando has left her husband and four sons, tor whom great sympathy will be felt in their bereavement. As part of a.movement to alleviate the hardships of women living in the outlying districts of New Zealand, a branch of the Women's Division of the Farmhers' Union was formed in Masterton on Wednesday, says the Wairarapa "Age." The meeting was called by Mrs. C. C. Jackson. Mrs. T. E. Barrer was elected to the chair. "What we aim at for the first year," said Mrs. C. C. Jackson, "is to raise £1000 to provide nurses and visiting housekeepers for back country woirrcn." It was felt, she added, that bal les should bo born in the farmers' homes. Although these problems were not so pressing in the Wairarapa, in other districts women suffered fearful hardships, and it was to alleviate these sufferings that tho provision of nurse sand housekeepers to care for the home while the mother was away or in cases of serious illness, were desired." Immigration and the care of migrants was another branch of work for women in the procuring of adequate help in the households. "Backblocks women were joining the division and trying to help themselves and each other, but to accomplish anything worth doing, a large membership,was needed," continued the speaker. "Tho prosperity and interests of town and country were so closely bound together in New Zealand that there were few towns-women who had not relatives on farms; even thoso who could not attend meetings should join the division and help those who could not help themselves. Other pressing problems would also be dealt with." The following officers wore elected.—President, Mrs. T. B. Barrer; vice-president, hold over; secretary and treasurer, Mrs. I. E. Cameron; committee, Mesdamcs C. C. Jackson, J. James, A. Cooper, and B. Cameron, Misses M'Kay, Barrer, and Cameron. The greatest assemblage of women over gathered together within one arena in America was seen in Chicago in the course of the second public session of the Eucharistic Congress recently. ' It was "Women's Day," and out of a crowd of nearly 200,000 fewer than 5000 were men. Tho weather was perfect, with brilliant sun and cloudless skies. The Eov. Joseph Palico, Vice-Regent of Borne, said the High Mass, while a woman's choir of 15,000 voices, together with 5000 nuns, chanted the famous "Missa Eosa Mystica." Prior to the Mass came a series of addresses. The first was_ delivered by Cardinal Piffl, Archbishop of "Vienna, a striking figure in his red robes of offW. who spoke in German, his resonant voice ringing to a distance across the „.at stadium. Monsignor Hanna, Archbishop of San Francisco, preached a sermon in the form of a message to Catholic women. "Never since the pages of history first recorded the deeds of mankind," he said, "has woman held the place and the power that she holds to-day. She is the mother of the race and the upholder of life's high traditions, while in her love of God and Christ she is, perhaps, the mightiest force for the triumphs of truth, justice, mercy, and love, and above all things, for that mightiest, power for victory, that purity of mind and heart which gives beauty to all else." Few women in the towns can realise what a tremendous difference tho women's institutes have made in tho lives of the country people, states an English writer. Yet the figures given at the tenth annual general meeting, held recently in London, must open our eyes to what the institutes mean. Ten years ago there were 137 institutes, for the movement was in its cradle. Even then the 137 had, among them, 3478 mon_bers._ Now there are 3037 institutes, which enrol among them no fewer than 221,857 women, chiefly living in country places. Tho founder of the movement in the British Isles—Mrs. Watt, M.8.E., of British Columbiamust be a proud woman. One hold the institutes have over women is that they aro' so many-sided. Handicrafts, botany, cooking, acting, public questions, health, all come under the notice of the members, and each, no matter how humble, may have something to add to tho general fund of knowledge. Moreover, the institutes link women together, so that they are more conscious Of their common interests than of any difference in class. Here is ono case whore women are being invited to remember that "the Colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady are sisters under their skins." Some of the most beautiful wild flowers in the world are in northern Canada and Alaska, and two English women havo started on a joiirney of thousands 'of miles to bring some of them to the museum at Kcw Gardens. They are Miss Clara Sogers, of Truro, and Miss Gwendoline Dorrien-Smith, of the Isle of Wight. Both havo been wide travellers and both wero nurses in the war. Beaching Edmonton by train, they have already set out for the head waters of tho mighty Mackenzie Biver system, whence they travel by boat to Fort M'Pherson, near the Mackenzie delta, a tremendous journey in itself. From there they go up the Mackenzie's tributary, the Peel Biver, whence they will cross the water shed on horseback to Bat Biver, which flows into Porcupine Biver, which flows into Yukon Biver. Following all these they embark at Seward for Vancouver, "and so home." Much of their way will be gay with flowers, like the Berlins. Oberland in May. Classified lists of 250 plants exist already. Fort M'Pherson and the Porcupine are sixty liles within the Arctic Circle.

An interesting woman who has just died in England was a relative of the late Bishop Hobhouse, formerly of Nelson, New Zealand. An English writer says: —Few people can have done more to make possible the wonderful reconciliation of races after the South African war than Miss Emily Hobhouse, who has just died at 66. Her name was a word to conjure with among the Dutch-speaking people. It was after the Boers had been defeated 'in the field, and had entered on a determined resistance by guerilla warfare, that the British Government felt compelled to adopt the stern policy of burning down their farms behind them. It is probable that the war could .iave been ended in no other way, but the question arose what to do with the women and children made homeless. They were put into hastily erected camps which could not be very well equipped. Soon news began to come through that things were not going well, and Miss Hobhouse went out to investigate. The terrible things she revealed were later confirmed in all essentials by an official commission. Bad food, bad covering, dirt and shocking sanitation worked their inevitable effect. In one month 3200 died out of a total camp population of 118,000, the annual death rate among children be- | ing at the rate of 629 a thousand. The total number of deaths of women and children was 26,000. Miss Hobhouse so far succeeded that the camps were put under civilian control, and the death rate gradually diminished till peace came. After the peace Miss Hobhouse spent years in helping the Boer women to restore their homes and learn home industries to relieve the poverty which had come upon them; and then grave illness overtook her. In 1913, after Sir Henry Campbill-Bannerman had given the Boers self-government, and friend and foes had joined in the creation of the Union of South Africa, she was invited to unveil a monument to the women and children who died in the camps. She went, but was too ill to be present at the ceremony, and her speech was read for her. In it she appealed to all South Africans to forget the bitterness of the past and to unite for the common welfare. It was in that hope that she lived and worked and died. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the supreme legal tribunal for the Empire, has had many strange disputes to settle, but none, surely, more strange than that from India which now awaits its judgment, says a writer in an exchange. A wealthy Hindu has had removed a male idol from the shrine it shared with its female partner, and has set it up in a shrine of his own. His elder brother and his nephew, who are part proprietors of the original shrine, challenge his right to do so, and the three have been fighting it out in the law Courts for years. Two Indian Courts have given judgment, one each way, and now the Privy Council is asked to take a hand. The father of the two brothers built the original shrine, the idols having been made by his own adopted father, and he left idols and shrine to his three sons, the eldest of whom has since died, and is represented by a son, saying each was to have charge of them in turn for a year. This strange suit is declared to be of the greatest importance to millions of other Hindus. They have called themselves "Old Thames Girls," but it was the spirit of youth, not of age, that hold sway over the happy reunion on Saturday afternoon in Scots Hall, Symonds street. Over 300 pioneer mothers of Thames, and their descendants, wero present, and the sight of these venerable ladies, some of them far over the allotted span of years, greeting old-time acquaintances, strengthening the links of oldtime friendships, and interchanging reminiscences of early days, was one of deep interest and charm (says the "New Zealand Herald"). Mrs. Dewar, aged 93, was the oldest lady present. She was born in Edinburgh in 1834, and started her life in the colonies in a slab hut at Ballarat in 1854. She married Mr. Alex Dewar, one of the earliest mining men of the old Thames days. The Dewars arrived in New Zealand in 1870, and went to Thames, but were not among those who found the rich deposits. Mrs. Dewar still takes a great interest in public affairs, and was one of the most animated of those present at the reunion. Mesdames T. L. Murray, Steedman, Brodie, Toke, Cahill, Watson, and Smith were among the old-, est guests, and Mrs. A. Oldham occupied the chair. The Bey. W. S. Potter, the Bey. E. H. Taylor, and Mr. W. Blomfield, president of the Old Thames Boys' Association, were among the speakers, and an enjoyable programme and tea served to make up a particularly enjoyable afternoon.