Treatment of Soldiers.

Manawatu Herald, 25 August 1900, Page 2

Treatment of Soldiers.

The latest cables informs us that the Mansion House War Relief Fund has reached a million pounds ! This is a vast sum and illustrates the earnestness of the people that the soldier who is disab ed should i*eceive kindly care and attention for tho rrirr.aiinirij" of his days. r>ome one ha* oiuuuered, as a private 1 has been sent from the Netley Hospital to the "workhouse, an institution held in the greatest detestation by the poor, who frequently will suffer much before entering those portals of family separation, and want of consideration! To show the facts up we quote from the Dublin Evening News : "At the week y meeting of the Enniskillen Guardians, Private R Weir, of the 27th Inneskilling Fusiliers, who had been sent to the workhouse from Netley Hospital, came before the Board to have his admission confirmed . Mr Eooney (Unionist) said, "He went to South Africa in defence of his country and gallantly fought the battles of the country. It's a disgrace to the ' English Government that this man is now sent home to be a charge, during his life, on the rates of the Union. I think this Board could not find words strong enough to condemn the action of the Government. It's a perfect disgrace to the army.' Mrs Ward followed with ' Yes, to leave him to be supported by th.oi vnrv ??.t^ o .y ?•"?.' v r T^-;-or.cy, M.fmin. ' It's (Jiurrrßfpfn! tn qpo p. i->rq-"n s?oi«iJbi in a pa'ttpe/'b g^ru. iie left the country in sound health.' The clerk was directed to communicate with the War Office on the matter, and its further consideration was adjourn d for three weeks." We are not in receipt of the .fuller particulars of the case, and it may be shown some sort of justification, but it is hard to believe so. When men were wanted lavish promises were held out of good treatment in case ill befel them, and the case we have quoted will be small encouragement for the future. Prior to the war places of public amusement in London objected to so diers in uniform being present, and in many public houses, owing to the uniform, they were denied admission. The absurdity of treating the Queen's uniform as a bar, or disgrace, became evident when the war broke out, and , an intimation was made public that ' the uniform was to be looked upon as an honourable one and its weavers were to be treated with proper respeot. This is only just and right,

but then for the workhouse to loom up as the possible end of the wearers becomes a wretched disgrace to the Government, the Army, and the public. Let us hope that private Weir's experience is out of the common and that the publicity given to it, will rescue him, and so many similar comparisons of him from " the House," the dread of the respectable poor. England can afford to be generous, and must be compelled to be iust,, and " the soldiers of the Queen ' Un <*nh* oov e j for after being wo .i^cl in the wars of t^w j^m,.

Mr H. Austin returned to Wellington by the Talune. A gold emblem has been lost. A re- 1 ward is offered for its recovery. A meeting of the Borough Council is called for next Thursday to finally amend the Burgess List. Kokofu, the King of Ashanti, and Prempeh, the ex-King (who has been iv ex:i_ at Sierra Leone ziucc 18^5) V, •.••-> lip^n e~-> A into cxi'e at 11-r Seychelles Islands. It is probable that the changes intended in a well-known drapery firm in this town, will be different to that we had stated, as circumstances alters j cases, and though a change will occur I it will be in another and more satisfactory direction. The battle ot the sites for the new Manawatu Hotel appears to have been determined, and that the new building will be erected at the corner occupied by A. Pat. Of the £12,000 required for the completed of the Christchurch Cathedral, over £8000 has now been promised in subscriptions. Tenders will shortly be called, and it is hoped that active work will be started by Jubilee Day. The Minister of Agriculture informed a deputation of flaxmillers .that he thought they had made out a good case for the appointment of a Government flax grader. The number ot failures in the United Kingdom during the first quarter of 1 goo was 4,600 of which 413 were in the financial branches of taade. A Frenchman, named Ozonf was at Jersey Police Court in June, sentenced to one months hard labour for using vile :..:.guige concerning the Queen. j li^ani tor steamers of the North German Lloyd line to call at Hobart next fruit season for consignments of apples for Germany, transhipments to that country having given satisfactory returns. With a view to facilitating the proposal that Lord Hopetoun should be sworn in as Governor-General of Australia at Sydney, and take up his residence in the Government House there, the Earl of Beauchamp has decided to retire from the Governorship of New South Wales, and leave Sydney early in . November*. . In the ancient, galley found- 6ft below the surface, at Tottenham Marshes during the excavations for the new reservoirs of the East London W^er Company, we have the rem.irnj of Britain's earliest battleship. The vessel is 50ft. long, and has a beam of 26ft. Its timbers are of oak and elm, and its date, from the form of the rivets used, is supposed to be 894 a.d. An antque sword and some bones of animals, now extinct in England, were also dug up, and have been sent to the British Museum. Sir Howard Vincent says that Lord Roberts moves about the camp freely and rather likes soldiers speaking to I him. An orderly who did not know "L..:\l Roberts !iy sight, to whom he was carrying despatches, riding up to another orderly, asked, aloud, " Where's Bobs ? " " Here I am, my lad, what can I do tor you ? " said a cheery voice close by. A 15-pounder field battery has just been received from England, with full equipment of guns, waggons and harness. This cost the Government £10,---000, but Colonel Penton states it will be money practically thrown away if the old system of horsing and drill is to be continued. Horses should be bought, and twenty-six men enlisted and thoroughly trained as artillery drivers. Eight more Maxim guns have been ordered, and another ry pounder B.L. battery is on order from England. One submarine mining boat, the commandant • hopes, is now under construction, and the money for another has been placed on the Estimates. Four i2-pounder quick-firing guns have now been received. On the nth June at Aldershot the highest temperature in the sun's rays was 153*3 and the highest temperature in the air 80/4. Considerable mortality trom the sudden great heat occurred amongst the soldiers who did some heavy marching on that day. , ri.y^:cia:.j i-i South Africa, says a 1 .•M-ot-<- rimorr ttj'v r?3*'p Toother fhsorv* w i explaining away the charges made by both Briton and Boer that the other is using explosive bullets. The extensive laceration often found in bullet wounds is now said to be due to the air which the bullet drives before it into the wound. " The existence of this phenomenon can be proved easily. If a round bullet be dropped into a glass of water from the height of a few feet it will be seen that when the bullet touches the bottom a large bubble of air will become detached and rise to the surface. In this case the bubble will usually be from 10 to 20 times the size of the bullet. Now a Mauser bullet travelling at high speed is said to carry before it a bubble of commpressed air of large dimensions. Experiments nvide by surgeon who fired a pistol bqll into a 1 glass of water showed the bu'.Ole to be 100 times the size of the ball. From the appearance of the wounds and 1 from these experiments it is concluded that the mass of air dtiven by a Mauser bullet explodes in the body of the wounded man with sufficient force to cause extensive laceration. This destructive air-bubble is well known to surgeons under the name ot projectile air."

Japan is floating a lo;ia of twenty millions sterling. To-morrow night at the Methodist Church a special sermon will be preached at the Rev. W. Woollasr, on the proposal of the Premier to introduce licenses into the King Country. The Good Templars Lodge will attend in regalia, and Mrs Woollass will sing, as a special solo, " The Holy City." The Mapourika missed the Picton Wharf light, and got on the wrong side of Mable Island. She ran ashore on a small reef at 12.15 a.m. on Thursday. No damage was done. The shock was but slight. On Friday, 7th September, Messrs Abraham and Williams will offer for sale the whole of the splendid dairy herd of Mr A. S. Easton who is giving up milking. There are 100 first-class cows, two bulls, pigs and horses. The sale, which is unreserved, is bound to command much attention.