LOCAL AND GENERAL

Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 January 1915, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Olio of "our boys," writing from Egypt, before Christmas, eays tliey fully expect to tackle tile Turks. He relates that lie had a rido on a. camel to the Sphinx, and whilst sitting on the ears of the Sphinx, "toastetl success to New Zealand." A pro'bate sufferer from the Belgian anguish will be the Dukes of Wellington For 99 years the city of Brussels has paid the Dukes of Wellington £8000 per annum in consideration of their ancestor's services at Waterloo. There have been signs of late years that thu Belgians had come to regard the annual tribute as a fair thing to drop. A New Zeala.id merchant who is an undoubted authority on flic subject, his written to the Prime Minister pointing out that, comparing the present prices of wheat and the prices at which the Government has made its purchases in Canada and Australia, the Government has saved the Dominion .something over £20,000. Lieutenant Anne, attached to the Kith B/attery Royal Field Artillery, now- at the front, tells a story of the Indian troops. A dusky warrior was asked* how he liked being in action. His reply was: "Oh, sahio, all ware are beautiful, but this one is heavenly." On Saturday night Feilding's municipal electric light installation was turn- ! ed on with a popular demonstration. Tho light was (switched on over the borough by the Mayoress, Msr A. M. Ongley. The scheme cost £11,000, and it supplies light for 20 miles of streets, also private lighting and power There are two Diesel engines, each of 100 horse-power, at the generating station.

Tho Egyptian Mail says tfiat the anduct of the colonial troops in that country is above all praise.

It has been decided' to change the names of a number of streets in Ngarawahia (Waikato) which at present bear names of German origin.

The following are tho statistics for the OtaJci Hospital and Sanatorium for the month of December, 1914.— Otaki Hospital: Admitted 9, discharged 6, under treatment 0 males and 4 females. Otaki Sanatorium: Admitted 5, discharged 6, under treatment 13 females ;uid 13 males.—Mail. •

Argentine is shipping horses to England. Of a November sale in London o! "100 high-class horses imported direct from the Argentine," mail advices i-oport that competition ruled spirited and) keen to the end of the sale, two private buyers having accounts of over £1000 each. Every horse brought into the sale ring, 98 in number, was sold and made the satisfactory average of £41 J 14s. Prices were Aery steady, for the highest was 56 guineas.

The AVest Coast rogadrs with patriotic pride the manner in which the ■young men of that part of the Dominion have responded to the Empire's call. Up to the present (says Greymonth correspondent oT tho Christchurch Press) 500 men have left the Coast for the front, and of those , . 230 were recruited and fully oquipped\ in the town of Greymouth itself.

But for the honesty oi a British soldier, a famous Parisian actress would have lost her satchel containing jewels valued at £5000. ' She umoonsciously dropped the satchel as she was getting into a taxi, and the soldier who was passing along picked it up and restored it to her. So pleased was the actress that she took off a valuable ring from hei' finger and presented it to the finder saying: "This ees for your leetle English ainie."

The , Hon. Alfred Deakin, who has thrice been Prime- Minister of the Common wealth, was in Auckland on Monday on his way to San Francisco as President of the Commission which is to represent Australia at the Panama Pacific Exposition. He is a passenger by the Niagara, and is accompanied by Mrs Deakin and Miss Deakin.

No less than three army reservists who were a few months ago engaged on the railway works in the Gisborne district have been killed in action in France while fighting with the British forces. AVilliam Tait. of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, who was formerly stationed at Ngatapa. left Gisborne in August last and proceeded Home by passenger boat to join the colours. AVord has since been received that he has been killed in action Tho two other men who have > been killed, were Messrs J. and S. Todd, who were employed' on bush work on the railway line at Matawai. They were on the way home when the war broke out. and hadi only four days in England before they joined the colours. Another brother of the two men had his leg shot off.

"Do not let the workers suppose," said Sir Robert Stout, at Christehurch, ''that they are in a class by themselves. AVe who came here in the early days wove all workers, and those who think that we did not have to do manual work are mistaken. AVhen I came to tho colony 1 got 25s a week, and I was able to live on it and also spend time in study. All the young Englishmen had to do the same thing. I remember meeting a young man one day and asked him if he had anything to do. He said: 'Yes, I have got a contract for fencing 15 miles up the country.' I said: 'Do you know anything about fencing?' He said: 'No. but I'll soon learn.' That man died not long ago a wealthy man, and he won his position by hard work."

It is pretty well known by County Councils who have natives to deal with that it is like drawing blood from a stone to expect to collect rates from the Maori. The Pa tea County Council is one of tliu unfortunate local bodies in that respect. At its last meeting the name of one Maori was mentioned as being a debtor to the extent of over £100. "Why," interjected a Councillor , "that Maori has just gone in for i<, valuable motor car." "Yes,"-re-plied the chairman, "it's a. caution! These fellows buy motor cars, but cannot pay rates to the Council to assist in maintaining the roads over which thoir cars . travel.''