THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1914. Notes and Comments.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, 20 November 1914, Page 2

THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1914. Notes and Comments.

The triennial election now alThf most upon us has Elections, greatly disturbed the political horizon which, until Parliament was prorogued, had been comparatively cloudless, all parties having, both tacitly and verbally, agreed to le ive all matters of controversial nature severely alone. Now that a contest is at hand the tongues of political candidates have been unloosed, and the country is flooded with ex parte rhetoric which leaves the reader or hearer more puzzled than he was before. All parties have the same end in view—the betterment and progress of the Dominion and its inhabitants, the only difference being the means adopted to obtain tlie desired end. On the chief question of land tenure —there seems absolute unanimity, though on other measures there can be detected the revival of a bitterness that will become worse as the date of the election approaches. It is only natural that feeling should run high, and find expression in literary pyrotechnics that fizz and splutter, and finally fizzle out, leaving the erstwhile opponents, once the numbers are u]), as friendly as if an election episode had never intervened. The friendship of Lord Salisbury and Mr Joseph Chambelrain, at one time the most bitter of foemen, is typical of the British and Colonial statesmen ' who can say on the public platform or in the House the most bitterly personal things, which, however, were never allowed to interfere with social relationships. And that is as it ought to bo; for, unless we tolerate the adverse opinions of others, how can we expect others to tolerate our views? And the other man’s views may be as sound as, if not sounder than, our own. In a political campaign, tha candidates must work so strenuously that the strain becomes excessive, and in the unseemly heckling, often of a personal nature, little exhibitions of temper are to be anticipated, it being as natural for the aspirant to political honours to resent an imputation as it is for the voter to try to score at the candidate’s expense. Hence, the plea for toleration and courtesy at a time when toleration and courtesy are requisite. By the removal of the great and gallant soldier, J and the enthusiastic patriot, Earl Roberts, who woro his many honours .lightly as a dower, the British Empire lias lost a citizen who spent his life freely, and freely gave of his best in*the interests of his country; a patriot, who fought, and bled, and may be said to have died in his country’s service; a soldier, who loved his fellow soldiers of all ranks, who saw to their welfare, who improved their Conditions, and who took a very personal interest in all that concerned them; and a chival- | ions gentleman, who during his i strenous life kept himself ” unspotted from the world,” and lias left a memory as imperishable as the example he lias bequeathed to us of loyalty, service, chivalry, humanity and modesty. Full of years and of honours “Bobs’” end was the one that seemed most fitting; for, after visiting the front and inspecting those Indian troops with whom he had served for over forty years, he may be said j to have died in harness, with his face to the foo, and with the big guns of the allies and the enemy booming their requiem as the pure soul crossed the border leading from a convulsed world to the region of eternal peace—and that amid the universal sorrow of the living who cannot but be benefited by the example of his noble life. The outspoken editor of the -p „ Triad, who disq rtpo claims holding a brief for the liquor party, and who is certainly no advocate of prohibition, points out that while “ in all troopships, in all other concentration aiid training camps throughout the Empire, (lie needs of men who care to make m uierate use of alcohol are provided for, the Government of New Zealand has chosen to keep camps and troopships ‘dry’,” and goes to point out the anomaly that, although Parliament was most solicitous in its efforts to give the members of the Expeditionary Force the opportunity of recording on a ballot paper tlieir vote for or against license, they were not giyen a chanee to vote on question of whether during their voyage on the ships that . ore conveying them to the battlefields on which the fat* of (ho Empire would be deed I d. they should or should not he permitted to buy a pint of ' r, “ a right freely bestow,*/! > i the meanest passenger in a.iy ship that trades.” The position is certainly anomalou ; for while “our boys” arc proceeding to d;he front to ti-\ i ! control the miiffeirist tyrano • of tho German hordes, they . precluded from excycising i lat self-control winch, by nv .Tcomiug tempta-R tioti, make---. •. weak man strong, j| an r tic* :ig mail stronger. ” l\h*\ tho editor adds “ mat M ; assay could have afforded to bo courageous in a A matter such as fhr#. HP could have n died at bigots, mA Australian Ministers did/ He

could have taken his stand once lor all on his honest and reasonable convictions. By doing that he would have los* a few r votes hero and there, but he would have gained many, and he would have solidified his position all over New Zealand. The first public man w r lio dares defy the bigots in this Dominion is going to be the most popular man of his decade. ” Such is the opinion of the editor of the Triad. What do you think ? According to Mr Asquith the Somp present war costs Wyr Great Britain Figures g 0 a mil j ion sterling per day, and a faint idea of the requirements of the army may be obtained from the orders already placed for army clothing. These comnri-c* 5.250,000 dress jackets; and 1,500,000 great coats ; 7,000,000 pairs of trousers ; 6,500,000 pairs of boots; 7,000,000 pairs of pants ; 11,000,000 shirts; and 11,000,000 pairs of socks. The Khaki material ordered from the Yorkshire woollen mills is estimated to extend to* 10,000 miles. THE following war poem extracted from the .Sydney Sun, though p 0! not pitched in so lofty a key as the two already printed in these columns, while presenting the Kaiser from another point of view, strikes a veil of humour that is as refresh - as it candid : BROTHER BILL. You are out to win a battle, brother Bill: And your sabre loud you rattle, Brother Bill; Bnl your dead lie by the hundred just wherever they have blundered, For you’re killing them like cattle Brother Bill ! You have sworn you’ll worry through it, Brother Bill; But I wonder if you’ll rue it, Brother Bill; As you trample like a savage down a road of lust and ravage, Are you satisfied to do it, Brother Bill ? For the blood the Prussians swim in, Brother Bill. Comes in apart from kids and women, Brother Bill; Have you heard what your dragoon did in the killing of the wounded ? Does your glory welcome him in, Brother Bill ? You command a mighty nation. Brother Bill; And you’re filled with exaltation Brother Bill ; is the murdered Belgian’s scream quite a comfortable theme For your midnight meditation, Brother Bill ? You have mines to hit our navy, Brother Bill, For to send it down to Davy, Brother Bill ; But your ships are nabbed securely, and they’re bottled up so surely That they’ll stew in their own gravy, Brother Bill. There's a Russian army inarching, Brother Bill, Over Prussia pale and parching, Brother Bill ; And before you’ve finished sweating for the victories it’s getting, Your moustache will need some starching, Brother Bill. Somehow your triumph tarries, Brother Bill; For the smartest scheme miscarries, Brother BiT ; All your ships are off the ocean, and your troops will get the notion That the road is 1 >:tg to Paris, Brother Bill! You’re a lough chi') in a d iel, Brother Bill, But your ways a re strangely cruel Brother Bill ; And when this war is ended I’m afraid you won’t look splendid Nor your fame shine like a jewel, Brothel Bill.