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Hokitika Guardian, 14 December 1920, Page 2

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose history of the war was one of the most intimate records of the historians engaged on the task, in the course of one of his public speeches in Sydney tributed tile British Army. His tribute is well worth reproducing as a reminder of what we owe to the “Old' Contemptibles.” He went on to say that he thought that we had hardly yet obtained the true perspective of the course of events of the war, and he doubted whether our children would be ablp to focus it. One -thing, however, was very certain—that again and again it was the British Army which stood between William the Kaiser, and the domination of the world. (Loud applause.) There were many military exploits which commanded attention; hut nothing he thought, could over equal the stand made by the old British Army at the first battle of Ypres. (Applause). Without trenches, without shelter, with every disadvantage, they stood up, outnumbered by five or six to one, and held the Germans back from the eoqst line; and that great battle, lasting from month to month, was, he thought, the most terrific achievement in the whole world. So terrible was it that an obelisk might be built eight or ten miles to the east of Ypres on which might ho inscribed, “Here lies the old British Army!” (Applause.) When they thought that 85 or 90 per cent of some divisions were lost, and that 92 per cent of officers in the 7th. Division were killed, they must agree

that LOOhidas, tliid his SjJartani never held tilts pass better than tht( old army held the. pass to Ypres. (Loud applause). Sir Arthur proceeded to speak thildgistically also of the Australian forces. He instanced, amid renewed applause, two supreme achievements on the part of the Australians when they stood between world-disaster and tile Germans—one on March 26th, 1918 when they stood in front of Amienß after Gough’s defeat, and another three weeks later, wliqn the Ist. Australian Division, disembarking at Hazebrouck found that the 4th. Brigade of Guards had been literally annihilated. Nothing but the Australians stood between the Germans and our central railway post, and, undoubtedly, if it had been taken, the whole northern line would have crumbled. It was terrible to think of what might have occurred—how intolerable our lives, how broken our pride—if that vain' glorious, conceited braggart tlis Kaiser had triumphed.

A large Wellington dairy exporting firm is advising cheese factories with butter-making equipment to turn their attention to butter production, as substantial sales this week indicate the difficulty in getting more than Is Id per lb. for cheese f.o.’b. Private advices received in Wellington show that possibly "a strong feeling against chee*s” is attributable to _the poor quality that is at present being offered to the consumer in England. It is argued that if this inferior cheese is cleared out of the market by selling -at a lower price it will improve the position for the new make of New Zealand, which will then be better ■ able to command the return due to its freshness and liiph quality. The suggestion is made that the turning over of factories possessing dual plants from cheese-making to butter will help the cheese factories which are unable to make butter and thus create a shortage of production, and' consequent hardening of price for wliat cheese is being put into the market.' Melbourne' provision houses announce in an advertisement as an attractive bargain cheese at Is 9d per pound refail. This is 7d to 8d per pound more than first rate New Zealand chees e is lieing offered at retail. The wholesale prices of cheese in Melbourne at latest advices were as follows: New medium size quoted at up to Is 2d; loaf size to la 2Jd ; matured medium size at Is sd; and loaf size Is 5Jd. The high prices ruling -were restricting consumption, and the new make was meeting with a poor demand.