The Chronicle LEVIN. THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1917. LOCAL & GENERAL

Levin Daily Chronicle, 29 March 1917, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN. THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1917. LOCAL & GENERAL

A destructive fire occurred at Heatlieilca last night, on the J. iR. /McDonald estate. A large grain storo containing c-ats and chaff (the crop i':om ninety acres of ground) was completely destroyed, together w|'jth farm implements, harness, etc. Ono lon:ie, loaded with grain, was about to be saved from the burning 'building when a pillar-post fell and prevented its removal. Practically everything was lost, the damage amounting to hundreds of pounds sterling. Mr J. Smith, of Levin, has received a letter from his son, Private Sid. Smith, of the 4tli Battlion of, the Jlifle Brigade. Private Smith, after being wounded in September, went back to the trenches on New Year's Day. Since then he has suffered with trench fever and was in hospital for a short time. The letterwas written on January 19tli, and the soldier mentions that the "boys" expocted a big push to be made in April or May. He also met "Tim" Close, who went away with the Main Body, and states that "Tim is just as well as ever." He also met his brother "Nap" who went with the Australian forces, and who is driving an ambulance at the front.

I 'liulku" Wilson, a well-known .Levin native now at the front, writes (per liis friend Bill Hanson) to liis brother in Levin Somewhere in France. January 26, 1&17. Dear Brother George,—How are you getting on all ibis long time. I thought it was up to to me to send you these few lines to let you know I am quite well. My word, this the very cold place here George; plenty snow, plenty frosts, no good for Us Maori Pioneers. Dick Simeon is here, with us; lie ie getting on kapai. We Maoris done the good work on the Somme; by golly, George, plenty still looking for the Pioneers but Buku he say no; so the Germans he no get me yet; I still alive. Plenty champagne, plenty waipiro; so yoVL see us fellow not doing too bad over here. We have the good time Xmas, but iby gorry we no get the dried shark, the tuna and pipi: no good Maori kai here, so, we have the French feed: chipped taiwlia and eggs. How all the Maori there now? This tlio big -war ; I think some tliein fellow better come over help us. Might I get beaek to old Maoriland for next Xmas; then we have the big time. Kia ora kia toa.—From Brother Buku Wilson, Maori Pioneers, France. P.S. I met 'Buku a few ( days ago, so I tell him why you no writ, so I say Bill he write for you, ißuku. The standard merchant ships that Sir John Maclay has ordered on behalf of the State of Great Britain (says the London correspondent of the Glasgow Herald), are to be vessels of about 4000 tons gross. Their propelling machinery is to be of about 2000 i.li.p., and their speed will be about eleven knots, They are what the average shipbuilder' would caill "very simple jobs," although in some quarters the opinion prevails that the simplicity might very well liave been carried a good deal further. Only one standard type has so far as this eorresponent knows been ordered; but another design exists, and will no doubt in due time be embodied. An art union drawn at Hastings, in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund, resulted in a profit of £2000. There were no expenses. The Waikato Times says that construction work on the Wailii-Atlienree section of the East.Coast railway lias ceased, the engineer having left the camp, and the department being unable to replace him. The Newcastle Evening Mail has suspended publication for the duration of the war, owing to paper restrictions and the cost and scarcity of labor. Th Eden~Gazette (Auckland) possibly with an oblique cognisance of its own local body, remarks that the Onehunga Borough Council, "by minding their own business and looking after their own affairs, raises £5400 by its 'services,' necessitating the raising of £2300 only by means of special rates."

| The Belgian Concert to l>e held toi night is certain to be well patronised. ■ A largo number of tickets have been 1 disposed of and the management is j working hard to make the affair a | success. The screen at the theatre ' has been especially painted by Mr. Procter and Mr W. Whi taker has been busy erecting arches. A beautiful dell given by Miss Rita Farland which has been 011 view (by the kindness of Messrs Harvey Bros.) in their window for some tune will be put up for 6aie, and it is hoped that 'bidding will be spirited and a goodly sum realised. Ihakara-iKoputaroa Patriotic Fair was opened yesterday afternoon fey Mr "W. JEL Field, M.P., in the presence of all Ihakara and Koputaroa, and of many settlers from Levin and further away. The function was continued in the 'evening. Excellent business was done throughout. A detailed report will appear in a future issue of The Chronicle. The Horowhenua Fruitgrowers' Association depot (Queen-street, Levin) reports that a brisk market for fruit lias been experienced in Levjn lately. Jonathan apples have been realizing 7s to 7s Gd per bushel. Locallygrown lemons have been reaching the market this month, and bringing Is per dozen. Onions are selling freely at 1-J-d per lb. Locally-grown tomatoes now are off the market. •During this month the depot disposed nf about 2CO cases. Exhibits for the Donvnion Apple Shew (patriotic), to.be held at Dunedin in May nest are being received by Mr D. Smart, Levin, who grades and packs the fruit free of charge. Quito n number of Levin enti;ie-s alL rc;dy have broil made, and moro will •bo welcome. In a recent issue the Greymouth Star says:—"We understand that two more men who failed to report for L service after being called up by ballot \vc:e arrested to-day. One was a Government official. A number of the dairy factories in ,hc Taran::k districts which have dual liians "aiVs this month aibaudjon'iiijg chec:-e-jr.aking in favor of butter-mak-ing. Contracts for 12 months for sup- " plies totalling £200,000 have been en--3 teied into by the Munitions Depart- ' nient. No firm guilty of wilful j breaches in the past has any chance of ' getting work under the contracts.

General Richardson lias advised tlie Minister" of Defence, after visiting France to inquire into tlie causes of delay in clearing up untraced casual ties, that the delay is due to the units concerned and not to the records system. Tlie fact that some units 'have cleared up casualties quickly showed that others could minimise the delay. "The greatest blot in our industrial system," said Mr W. D. Hunt, of the National Efficiency Board, speaking at the Expansion League luncheon at Dunedin (says the Otago Daily Times) ''is the position of the casual labourer. In many cases lie has to fpend much cf his time in cnforcsd idleness. To my mind tlie man who can live in this position and not go to the devil must be an angel from heaven. (Applause and laughter). "Hoiv many hours did you say appellant worker! ?" asked Ml" Povnton of a farm manager at Mastet'ton who was appealing for the exemption of a farm labourer in his employ. "Sixteen hours sometimes," was the reply. "And what wages do you pay him " asked Mr Poynton. "Thirty shillings a week." "Thirty shillings a week." echoed Mr Poynton. ''X© wonder yon do not wish him to go to the war. Thirty shillings a week! I quite agree with you that lie is an invaluable man to you in those circumstances. Discussing the treatment of mental cases among returned soldiers, the Minister for Public- Health, the Hon. G. H. Russell, stated that the Department's policy regarding soldiers suffering from neurasthenia, shell slid&k. and other forms of mental injury, has been to treat them in a special institution at Puketaraki, Otago, under trained specialists the treatment being largely outdoor, with facilities for fishing and boating. Great success has resulted, said Mr Russell, but in certain cases, the department was unfortunately compelled to send the men to mental hospitals. "I find that there are only ten returned soldiers in this category," Mr Russell added referring to the matter, the director of mental services General R. S. F. Henderson say 6 the majority of the cases are due to 6hell shock. Only in dangerous cases where no other course was possible, were such patients sent to mental hospitals for observation. Otherwise they were sent to tlie convalescent camp near Dunedin, under Dr. Trub Ging. Mr R. Delebere Baker, in an acticle on omens and superstitions in ''The Reveille," published in Nairobi, British East Africa, states that years ago, when he was in the New Zealand Alps, he was left in a hut in sole charge of some thirty sheep-dogs. One night all the dogs began to howl very dismally. Some spirit seemed to possess tliem, and they uttered most blood-curdling howls until midnight. Ao he was unable to sleep, he walked outside and gazed at the surrounding rocky crags, and listened to the reverberating roar of the snow river that raced along the stony bed of the valley. Suddenly ho heard a shrill cry, evidently a human scream. It seemed to come from a hut across the river, where an old gold prospector lived. In tlie morning the old man's body was found, brutally mutilated, and his gold gone. Private 'William Davis, of the South Staffordshire Regiment, who at 'Loos was deprived of speech and hearing by shell shock, in 1915, regained his speech on being unexpectedly kissed by a young woman.

At the Belgian Poor Concert tonight a number of surprise packets will Lo given away. The doors will be open at 7 p.m. and the first adult to enter the hall will obtain a prize; also the tenth and every succeeding until 8 p.m., when prize-giving will cease. There 'being no one else who could do the work, wounded New Zealanders in Walton-on-Thames hospital dug the graves in the local cemetery in which to bury two comrades who had died there, says the Times. General Nivelle has instituted a war tea, which the soldiers have christened "Marmite o'clock." 'Each soldier will receive a special allowance of three grammes (about 1-lOth ounce) of tea and 10 grammes (about £ ounce) of sugar daily. At Shannon, 011 the inquest into the cause of the death of John McGurk, 3 producer of butterfat "kicked-up" strongly about -non-payment of his expenses (says th> Shannon correspondent of the Manawatu Daily Times). He spoke feelingly of tlie 45 per cent, war profit tax, but added vehemently: "On top of this to ask me to come here without payment is the l.mitl" It is needless to say that the flaxhands around wept for this despoiled son of the soil, concludes the Shannon correspondent. There is every indication that the' dredging industry in Otago is going to be severely handicapped 'by the want of first-class dredgemen, many of the best men having either volunteered for service or been called up in the ballot (says the Otago Daily Times). It is very questionable. whether some of t'lie dredges will be able to secure a sufficient crew to commence operations. At the present time there is a shortage of dredgemen in both the Cromwell and Alexandra districts. How horses get their names is often the subject of enquiry (says the iManawatu Times' sporting writer), and the meaning of names also is a topic of general interest. " Mr. W. Duncan, of Wanganui, bought Po'helie through a mistake, and as he was- got by either Achilles or Benzonian, Mr. Duncan decided that the Maori word pohehe (mistake) would do his new purchase admirably for a name. 'It was a mistake on the part of the rider of Thames that giave Pohehe his first win, on the Wanganui course. Lieut. P. Brandon, the young Wellingtonian, who was decorated last year for his part in the bringing down of a Zeppelin in England, was unfortu. Nat in one -of his recent flight. He collided with a tree while exercising at Dorking (England), and: broke his leg through a fall. He is in hospital, and is reported to be recovering. The Sydney Sun says :—T. M. Hodges the man who organised the first strike of miners for an eight-hours-day, has just ''passed out" after scoring a useful 71 in the game. He had been in California beforo going to Victoria in 1869, and was among the rushers to the new find at Bendigo. He was working in the Great Extended 'Hust'ers when the men resolved to put in their - claim • for an eight hours' day, and was oue of the strongest movers in getting it. After Bendigo' he went to the Northern Territory with a party of miners who thought there was good geld there—tliere are men who think so still—but, as the men heard their women were not being paid the £2 a. week which it was arranged they should receive, the men 'broke their contract with the prospecting syndicate and left the district. Hodges reached the Mauritius, and in his absence from Australia he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for the breach. He was not called on to put in the time.. At the outbreak of Broken Hill he was one of the first to make for the 'field, and did: a profitable gamble in Broken Hill shares. 'When gold was struck at Coolgardie he went to the field and made his fortune. In New York, where they have no liquor control board:, a new drink has been achieved. It is called a "hippopotamus," and costg half a dollar a drink. A man who drank one and also lived long enough to reach New Zealand describes the drink as "something that came in a tall glass with ice and about a thimbleful of something that tastes like perfume." People who fancy that when peace is declared there will be a Niagara of American tourists let loose on Europe and that Englishmen can at once vis : t the Continent as of yore, are living in a fool's paradise, remarks 'Loa>lo:i Opinion. For many a long year there will be passport regulations in vogue, pnd the mere fact of the shortage of shipping and hotel accommodation hero —as well as the continu :d high price of food—will operate as an effectual ' ar to the tripper to or from the tight l ; ttli« island. Peace will mean tiie ' stcT page of slaughter, but war conditions will continue in most other respects for a long time. The proprietors of the three Wellington daily newspapers announce that on and after 2nd April next the prioe of their journals will be increased to twopence per copy, in consequence of t!i3 greatly increased cost of prod t - t : on. On paper alone the rise in price since the war commenced is close on three times the old tariff. German (in trench stormed by the British.—Kamerad '.Kam'erad! Mercy 1 Ve vas Pomeranians. British tommy: Pomeranians, are you "Well, you're blooming lucky to drop into my hands. I'm a dawg fancier!

A resident of Levin (Mr W. O. Na- | tion) who has been paying a visit to Christ church, Dunedin and Southland, informs us that from Oamaru to the Bluff the country is green and herbage plentiful. Passing through by train from Cliristchurch to Oamaru the country, last week, was brown j and bare, but on Sunday last good showers fell and the grass is now taking on its green tint and springing wtith fresh (life. The weather, sq far, has been free from severe frosts in the South Island. * . In competition at New York for the best developed child, mentally and physically the judges awarded the prize to three-year-old Adelaide Atherton, whose father claims to have had his portrait en more side-show banners than any other living skeleton in the country, and whose mother asserts an equal reputation as a bearded lady and snake charmer. Shannon ißow'liing Club's patriotic* tournament was concluded yesterday afternoon:, when Bawd'en-Harris and Pollock (the Levin pail*) played off with Chikls and Seifert (Palmerston North). The game was keenly contested right through. At one stage tho Palmerston pair established a lead of eight points, but the Levin duo cut this down point by point, and in the final few heads the game was "anybody's." The Palmerston pair, however, were equal to the strain, and the final record read: Seifert 17, Pollock 14. The game, which took some four hours to play, was followed with keen interest by a large gathering of bowlers. Saint, late of Ohau, and now on active service, sends Mie Chronicle a copy of "The Oilsheet," being, the souvenir of the Nineteenth Reinforcements, and dated 25th December, 1916. The publication is brightly written and well arranged and a credit to all concerned in its compilation. ** The' Manawatu Daily Times, in discussing the proposal to cut down the number of racing days in New Zealand, says that too much racing is impolitic in peace time and intolerable in war time. Summing up the whole case in a living sentence, the Tmes remarks that "we cannot all be heroes, but there is no reason why we should be Neros"—an apt allusion to tlie gentleman fiddler of Ancient Roane that will please many a classicist. • A cricket match was played in Levin yesterday "between an elevn id"" Ofcaki Maori College and an eleven of iLevin District High School. The Levin lads won the match. Details will appear in our next issue. ' The management of the Belgian concert desire to tender their hearty thanks to Wr "Procter for the painting of the screen at the picture heatre free of al lcost, for the Blgian concert to be held this evening.