GENERAL NEWS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1376, 20 March 1915, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

Groat, care, is taken to provide against the possibility of secret despatches trom the Imperial Government io the New Zealand Government, which have to l>e carried by steamers, falling into the hands of the enemy. They are placed in a special mail bag, and handed over to the custody of the master of the ship. The bag is heavily weighted, and if the capture or the ship appears at any time to lie unavoidable the captain’s instructions are to throw tho bag overlxvml. The heavyweight causes the bag to sink at once. The despatches are lost, of course, but they would be lost, in .such circumstances in any event, and if they go to the bottom of tho sea. they are safe from perusal by any alien enemy or any one vise. A Sydney cable states that the NewSouth Wales Government ha* definitely decided to carry out the State bread monopoly.

Hon. Mr Black has decided that the public of Sydney be allowed to obtain soft drinks and fruit on Sunday. During church hours, however, the doors of shops must be kept only slightly ajar so as not to offend tlie susceptibilities of church-goers (says a Sydney cubic).

A 100-year-old Maori war canoe has been placed in the grounds of the native church at Ohinemutii. The canoe, which is about 45ft long, and capable of carrying 70 men, was named Iro Iro, and belonged to tho Ngati Rangiwohiwehi hnpu of the Arawa tribe.

Amongst the visitors to Sydney at. present is tiie Rajah of Pudukota. who ha.s a, territory of 1380 square miles ami vinos ovt'r a. population of 400.000. lull tifln is ills Highness Rajah Martaml Bnhlrava Tomiiman Bahadur. Pudukota lias been ruled by the Tomiiman dynasty from time immemorial. This Indian prince from tbo State of Madras has helpful tonsiderab y with gifts during the present, war. Ho saul t<» an intorviowoi' that was inaking a pleasure trip to Australia and would proceed to England via America. Influenza is rife in Wellington and Auckland. An Auckland doctor has informed the New Zealand Herald that the disease, as in the past, was bringing a number of ear. nose, and throat troubles into prominence. The coming ot influenza from Siberia over twenty years ago, ho explained, had the WiVct of bringing the car, nose, and throat specialists into prominence. In’ its present form in Auckland the epidemic was causing' abnormal troubles, and it was known with certainty that, many eases of apisendicitis followed outbreaks*of influenza. When it first appeared in England the disease swept away thousands, especially those with a. tendency to bronchitis.

“A pile of bricks drying in tic sun with tlic cmk of the straw slicking out reminded one of the Jewish captivity.” write- a soldier from Kgypl. The woni'ii, mo, with their irracctnl gitnnetd- trailing in all kinds of'dirt, and with pitchers water on their heads, are strangely familiar. They are also very industrious, washing clothes in the canal, dyeing the black cloth, which is the universal feminine colour, weaving baskets, working in the fields, grinding torn, and generally keeping things going. Many New Zealand enthusiasts would get an awful shock it they saw the. way they hrin.r up ha hies here. The poor little things are not wa.-hed trom the day they are horn until they are 12 months old, and their faces an- tonally covered with (lies. They don I seem to mind, hut. eye disease* and blindness are very common as a result.'' “Finally there is the exceed\e drinking amomr a, minority of workmen. '1 he Admiralty and the tVar Office report that it is very serious in some districts, and is gravely interfering with the output and_ transport of munitions and other necessaries for the troops. The Clovernmont cannot take effective aelion without the support of the Labour leaders.'’

Air Lloyd concluded: “At the end of the war .Britain will cither be the vassal of the tier man military caste drunk with success, or will have broken militarism tor oyer. It is because 1 realise the importance of this as a democrat that I appeal to the leaders of the workmen to assist the Government.”

.Mr W. 11. Field, ALP., and party, who made a start to erase the Tararuas from Grey town to Otaki on Sunday last, got as far ms .Mount Omega, and then had to return owing to the weather.

Th<‘ llorowhemta Fruitgrowers’ Association at it meeting at Levin passed a resolution to the effect that a conlcrenco of those interested in the extermination of small birds be called to devise means to deal with the post.

The price of copra in Fiji is now uj> to £l7, a rate about equal to that piling beloro the war broke out. Immediately after the war copra tell to LS a ton locally, and the outlook lor those engaged in the industry was a very dispiriting one. Since then, however, the figure has gradually risen, until it came to its present point.

Timaru has been made a> grading port for honey. It is calculated that 100 tons wi 11 ho sent away from the port this season.

A doctor has been shuck oil the Shropshire panel as a sequel to an inquiry. One witness at tho inquiry said that Hie doctor told him that patients might nag Jos bell ns long as they liked : ho would not leave bis warm bed for anyone.

Mr G. \V. Miller, a Rothsay veteran of the Crimea, and Indian Mutiny, has just been presented by the War Ofiiee with his medal for the latter campaign- Hr- has waited for forty-six years lor the decoration which has been overlooked by the authentic*. \ well-known Rangitikei boy, who is with the troops in Egypt, had rather an interesting venture, a» a result of which ho forwarded a. parcel ot ancient ( beads home'. In his narrative he says;— As i think I have told you m previous letters, wo are enca-mi«?d almost on top of a. vast buried city, at least 3000 years old. Owing to religious principles the natives stnctlv ‘taboo’ this stretch of country, heuoe up to the present it has been left undisturbed. The hoisting of the Union jack has, however, put a different face on the matter, and there is no Jaw so far that can prevent tho members of the Imperial Ami' from shouldering their entrenching tools and sallying forth in search of hidden treasure. The pastime was too fascinating to be missed by your humble servant, so last Saturday afternoon 1 followed the string of khaki for the lirst time to the happy hunting ground. In about half an hour we had upset tho surface of the desert for about a square mile, in a most remarkable fashion. My fuck was in, and I just happened to strike the top of a tomb. In a short time I removed the stuno flags and found a shaft about 20 feet deep, built of stone, with stops down each side. xVs soon aa the air cleared I commenced my investigations. On reaching tho bottom I found a door leading from either end. Entering the lirst one I found myself in one of the ancient mummy boxes. I soon tried the </h.-r, however, ns tho roof of the Crst chamber had fallen in, and a good deal of work would have been necessary to find anything. My second venture was much more successful, for no sooner hail 1 entered than 1 found myjidf confronted by—what do you thigh

a real Egyptian iiimumv. Well, we just sat and looked at each other for about five minutes. 1 had met similar gentlemen at Ihe museum, but its quite x different matter digging one up yourself. Naturally I was the first to move, and 1 seized upon my find to investigate, when it had its revenge by enveloping me in :i cloud of dust, which well-nigh suffocated me. Good-bye short, dreams of £ from the museum for a 3000-year-ohl mummy, etc. Well, t<> cut a long story short, the lieada ] a’m sending [ found round the nock and head of my mummy. Now ! know you will value ihoiii for their antiquity, my adventure, and myself.’’

Dr. Angus McNab, who was reported to have been killed at the from while attending wounded British, win- married to a Melbourne lady, Miss Evelyn t alder, a well-known tennis player and golfer. Recently it wa? reported that Dr. MoNab was a prisoner in Germany, the news coining from a private in the Ixmdon Scottish, who had been taken prisoner. He wrote from Germany to his mother in Scotland that he was sure ho had seen the doctor lying unconscious in a hospital belonging to tho enemy. Mrs William Carson, a Sydney lady now in England, says the hope that the doctor is alive is a, slight one, as will be gathered from tho following letter she has received [rum a member of the Igmdon Scottish who has returned wounded io England. Ho writes as follow?: —“In regard to your enquiry regarding Dr. Angus McNab, I shall tell you all I know. He was, as you are probably aware, our regimental doctor. Wo went info action at Messines at 10 a.m. and again after the darkness had net in, and the shelling had somewhat abated. I saw him with stretcher-bearers attending to the wounded. He rendered first aid to a. good many, and got down into (ho advanced trenches. Tlie Gonna ns broke through these about 2 a.in., while ho was attending there. and 1 behove he wis bayoneted along with the other occupant? of that, trench. Whether (hi- was doin' wilfully, or whether his red cross was unseen in the confusion, cannot bo said. It was a bright moonlight night, and tho cross should easily' have been seen. Howover, the doctor is officially listed ns killed. I have heard it said since that he is in Germany, wounded, as a prisoner of war. and perhaps this has given rise to no .many enquiries.” Dr. McNab was one of the most brilliant students at Edinburgh of his day. He chose the eye as his speciality when ho started practice, and he was fast becoming tho most famous oculist in Harley street.

A Manchester firm, who, following their annual practice, .sent a present to a Stilton cheese to an American customer, had ttio package returned to them, with an intimation that the. Government had prohibited tho exportation of foodstuffs. An uniiMial claim ha? just been decided by Mr Bailey, S.M., at Christchurch. Suit was bought, by J. W rat hell against John (Vick in respect of a nuisance caused by tin' bellowing of cattle. The plaintiff and defendant occupied adjoining sections, a.iiil the plaintiff's complaint was that a cow and heifer got into a yard adjoining his section at. night, and created such a diatiiirbance by bellowing that it was practically impossible for tho occupants of his house to- got any sleep. The Magistrate said thin the defendant had created a nuisance by the management of his cattle, but ho was perfectly entitled to keep cattle in the district, and tho neighbours must be prepared to -o'-uit to a certain amount of annoyance by the lowing of the animals. It was possible, however, to lesson the annoyance, and defendant had not endeavoured to do so, although several complaints had boon made to him. It was not a ease for heavy' damages, and he would give judgment for the plaintiff! for £3 and cost*.