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Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 January 1915, Page 3

Cromwell once said: "There is some contentment in the hand by which a man falls. It is some satisfaction ir a commonwealth must fall, that it perish by men, and not by the hand of persons differing little from beasts." That is Cromwell's judgment on the devastation of Belgium audi all this savagery perpetrated on a harmless little country ! by their big neighbor, who had solemnly passed her word to protect them. There must be a revised version of one chapter of the Scripture for Belgium: "Who is thy neighbor? Thy neighbor is he who falls On theo like a thief, strips thee and wounds thee, and leaves thee half dead." If Britain after passing Iter word, had' left that little country bleeding on the roadside without attempting to rescue her, the infamy of Germany would be shared by the British Empire.—Lloyd George. The man that has had a glorious New l'eai cannot go to work for a couple of days, he is to be seen sitting on a form or doorsten llfl thn

mini or uoorstep ana considers the season the driest lie has experienced • for many years—drier than Queensland the flies also are troublesome, they will keep bothering a fellow. On 6uch an occasion it takes a lot of feeling to corner a vest pocket. It means a lot to the traveller in the parched desert of a New Year season to find a solitary sixpence hidden in the tweeds. It is reported that the Defence Department are considering the advisahleness of quartering 800 mounted men at Levin, and that the site for the oamp will be in the vicinity of Weraroa. It is recognised that the s ; te is an ideal one, being well-watered for horses and convenient to the high pressure supply. It is said fchaf ground iwider inspection near Levin is preferable for encamping an<l for drill purposes to either Trentham or Palinerston North. A splendid training ground is available on the coast from Foxton to Ohau. practically unfenced. and is unoccupied land, consisting of sand, scrub, hills and gullies. It is just what is wanted for military tactics. Wo are ' not aware whether a final decision has ' been come to. .Should the decision '< favour Levin, accommodation for 800 ] horses can easily be found and the tents would bo an imposing array. The sum of £47-1 is the maximum pay i which has now been fixed by the Commonwealth Government for chaplain , service with the Australian Expeditionary Forces, and the rev. gentlemen think they ought to get more. M first the chaplains were paul for at '.'io following rates: Six rev. gentlemen who, wove given posts as chaplains to tho Contingent were granted pay at the rate of £821 : the remaining six got pay rate of £821 ; the remaniing six got pay as captains £474 per annum. The contingent is in Egypt with the New Zealanders, but the rates of pay do not seem to have Income generally known in Australia, till lately, and now there ' is a "holy row" among the public, who

object to such big salaries being paid to chaplains. The pay is now fo be £474 per annum. Jack Johnson and Jesse Willard have arranged for a forty-five rounds contest for the -world's championship, in Mexico, next March. Jack Johnson (recently remarked nn English paper) has at last been induced to take part m a boxing match to decide' the heavyweight jbhannpionship ol the world Articles have been signed for him to fight Jesse Willard. who throughout li : s career has only been beaten on lone occasion, and that was by Gunboat Smith. He has -never appeared in this country but it is probable that he will do so in the near future. He stand's 6ft (iiu high and weighs nearly 17 stone. According to the conditions of the fight Johnson is to receive £6000 before he enters the ring, together with a. guarantee of half the proceeds of the picture rights, whilst £200 lias already been paid him as forfeit money. lii connection with a statement made in London at an inquest into the circumstances of the death of a butcher who had succumbed to anthrax, that the man had handled Now Zealand rabbits, a prominent veterinarian informed an Auckland Herald representative that it was about ten years since any I case of anthrax had been known in New I Zealand. Anthrax in a rabu'it would Ibe detected before export. The disease generally originated in imported J manure, and ho had never known a rabbit being infected with it. It was ;■• that a steer might become infected with anthrax through eating the roots of a plant that had manure adhering to them, but rabbits generally i consumed tops rather than roots. A j butcher handled all sorts of riieat 'it I the course of his work, and as the disease took a week to develop, it was somewhat risky to assign the cause of anthrax to any particular shipment. Writes Albert Dorrington: How long will the war last r" Many speak glibly of a three years' campaign. Now the German losses in the first three months are estimated at one and three-quartet-millions. If they continue at the same rate for three years Germany will sustain 21,000.000 casualties out of a total population of 65.000.000. Doubtless , the Powers of the Triple Entente could, with their superior resources, crush j Germany in a. three years' war, but the . complete downfall of Germany will be j like the death of Samson. As the j Jsraelitish hero fell buried beneath the ruins of the Philistine temple so Ger- | ninny would fall burird beneath the i debris of European civilisation. |