LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1526, 23 March 1916, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A Waikato officer, writing from a hospital in Egypt, says " I was offered a trip to New Zealand, but much as I love my home, I feel I have not done my bit yet. There is too much of this tourist business going on, and it ought to be stopped. Things are too serious at present.”

Speaking at the recruiting rally at Wellington, Mr R. A. Wright, M.P., told a rather interesting little story. Briefly, it was that a young man complained to him that he had been treated badly by the Victoria College Council. “It’s easy to see the reason,” said Mr Wright to the man—"you’re a German.” The man denied it, and repeated his denial again and again. "It’s no use denying it,” Mr Wright told him. "I know you’re a German.” The man at length said he was "a naturalised British ’subject.” Mr Wright made it plain that the time when that statement carried weight had gone by; so many such people were spies. The M.P. and the “naturalised British subject” got to high words, and the latter wound up by breaking down and bursting into tears at the mention of the word “spy,” although he was not accused by Mr Wright of being one of the fraternity. Two days later the man was arrested. Now he resides on Somes Island.

Women navvies are now employed on Prussian State railways. Business premises to the value of about .£20,000 will be erected in Masterton during the next few months, says the Wairarapa Age. The warm rains of last week have caused a wonderful growth of grass throughout the Masterton district (reports the Age), and have freshened up the root crops. The outlook for the winter is now particularly bright. A number of New Zealanders have enlisted at Sydney, giving as their reason that they heard that recruits in Sydney were sent straight tc the front, instead of waiting indefinitely as they have to do in New Zealand. The loose metal on the street near Mr Bryant’s butchery was responsible for Mr W. D. Bauckham getting a rather nasty spill from his motor cycle on Tuesday, with the result that he received a severe cut just above the knee cap.

The local bowling club have issued a challenge for the Dixon Cup, recently won by Feilding from Masterton. The Foxtou rink will be skipped by Mr Ritntner.

The New Zealand Shipping Co., I/td.. has handed a cheque for ,£I,OOO to Sir Thomas McKenzie, New Zealand’s High Commissioner, for the benefit of the New Zealand sick and wounded in England.

At the Coronation Town HaJ to morrow night, in addition to the picture programme, Mr Morris, who made his first appearance before a Foxton audience at last week’s concert held under the auspices of the Catholic Church, will contribute two vocal items.

The annual competition between the rifle clubs in the district for the Field Shield, which in the past has been held on the Palmerston range, and was this year fixed Jor Saturday next, has been indefinitely postponed through the Palmerston range being condemned as unsafe. Consequently shooting on the local range will now take place as usual on Saturday. New Zealand exported 122,747 cwt. of cheese, valued at £427,518, in January last, as compared with 117,958 cwt., valued at ,£347,470, in January, 1915; 113.178 bales of wool, valued at ,£2,626,105, as against 89,164 bales, valued at ,£1,466,791, exported in January, 1915 ; and 1,548 tons ot phormium tenax, valued at ,£44,791, as compared with 1,164 tons, valued at £27,202, in January, 1915, These figures show a very considerable rise in the value of the fibre.

The death is reported of a wellknown identity of Otago, Mr William Guffie, of Naseby, in his 76th year. He was a sturdy type of pioneer, who took a practical interest in public affairs. He was for many years a valued member of the Naseby Hospital Committee, and some years ago unsuccessfully contested the seat for the Waihemo electorate against Mr Thomas (now Sir Thomas) Mackenzie. In 1879 Mr Guffie married. He had three sons and four daughters, and is also survived bv his wife. The harvest festival in connection with the Salvation Army will be held on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday next. The services all day Sunday will be conducted by Captain Foster. On Monday and Tuesday evenings first-class programmes of vocal and instrumental items will be given, the Devin corps providing Monday evening’s entertainment and the local corps being responsible for the programme on Tuesday evening. There will be a sale of goods each night. The price of admission is sixpence. Mr O’Brien, Public Health Officer, visited Foxton yesterday and inspected the various public buildings and schools and a number of private premises, being accompanied in the latter by the local inspector of nuisances. In conversation with our representative, Mr O’Brien said he would officially notify church officials and others as to the steps suggested by the Department for keeping the buildings in a healthy condition. He paid a tribute to the cleanliness of the Town Hall. Some of the back premises he visited needed immediate attention and instructions had been given to effect an improvement.

An incident, which caused considerable amusement to a few unobserved onlookers, happened outside Messrs Stiles and Matheson’s shop yesterday morning. An aged Maori man wearing well ventilated trousers, unsuited to the change of temperature which had set in, after hesitating a few moments, went ipside the premises, and purchased a new pair of nether garments. He tottered outside, cast a careful glance up and down the street, apparently satisfied that the coast was clear, sought the shelter wall near the window, and did a lightning change act. He carefully rolled up the tattered pants, placed them under his arm, and went on his way rejoicing, '* as happy as the boy who killed his father 1”

SEE CHEAP RATES, FRONT PAGES LAIDLAW LEEDS WHOLESALE CATOLOG. The C. M. Ross, Co., Palmerston N announce the opening of their great show of new style Millinery, Costumes, Coats, Furs and Blouses. An advertisement of interest in this connection appears on page 3Quality is the keynote ot our grocery and provision stock ana me importance of quality cannot be overlooked where the household food is concerned. You wont ge a better grocery service anywhere in the district than at Walker and Fume’s, Foxton

la the Napier Supreme Court Percy McQuillan was sentenced to three years’ hard labour for indecent assault.

Speaking at a conference of the Australian Natives’ Association, Sir William Irvine, K.C., said the wretched system of voluntaryism was a relic of a moth-eaten political superstition that was wearing away the vital forces of Australia.

The-Premier informed an Auckland Star reporter that when Parliament meets it will be for the ordinary session and all business required will be done. There is no present intention to hold another session later in the year. This disposes of the suggestion that next session will be for the sole purpose of passing a Compulsory Service Bill and a few urgent war measures.

What must be a record in family patriotism was disclosed at the Palmerston North Recruiting Office, when a young man named William Eaison, 22 years of age, offered himsell for active service says the Times. It transpired that he was the last of seven sons, six of whom had gone to the front. Five ot these bad returned wounded, and there was one'still at the tront, Mr’ Eaiison, who* comes Irom Fordell, is a widower with one child.

It was intimated in the Arbitration Court at Auckland, on Wednesday, by Mr Justice Stringer that he had grave doubt as to whether the Court had power, in granting a preference clause to a trades union, to give it the right to compel a non-unionist to join the union. He was aware that his predecessor, Mr Justice Sim, had held that the Court had such power, but as he personally had doubt on tbe point he was referring it to the Court of Appeal, which would consider it at the coming session.

The Stratford Post reports that while working on the Pembroke Road the other day, two men had the good luck to find the sum of 15s under a stone in the river. The men were carting boulders, and on lifting up a medium-sized stone the glitter of silver caught the eye of one of the workers. On examination it was found that there were two sixpences, three shillings, three florins and a five shilling piece, the date of which was 1817 —99 years old. Unfortunately for the finder, he thought that the crown was only a halfcrown, and after telling his story to a man in Midhirst he thought he had made a bargain when he sold it for five shillings.

Cyclonic wind struck Stratford near the racecourse on Tuesday morning, and for a mile cut a 60ft track through the outskirts of the town to Warwick road. Trees, sheds and fences were torn down and blown away. Several houses and Newton King’s hide sheds were partially unroofed and otherwise damaged. Telephone, telegraph and electric wires along the route were tolled into an inextricable tangle. A small motor house was hurled against the residence of T. G. Grubb from an adjoining section, and smashed through the dining-room window. The damage done was very considerable, but no one was injured. “Our men are an everlasting source of interesting study to me,’’ writes an officer of the xst Battalion N.Z. Rifle Brigade to his father in Wellington. “Some of them are weak. You will see the whole column marching along dog tired, dirty, hungry, and thirsty, with nothing to look lorward to except a cold night on bivouac, with very little water, and yet not a man falls out. Perhaps two hours later an ambulance wagon comes along. One man will fall out, immediately another ten will fall out; and the funny part of it is that you know without looking the sort of men who have fallen out. It is will power and pride, pride above all things that keeps men going. Take for instance physique, and yet he did not fall out once, and, what is mere, volunteered to come with me on Ist January. It was pride and will power kept him going. Of course, nobody who Ins not been through it can realise what a strain it is. One also notices the selfishness of some men. They will drink what is in their water bottles and then calmly borrow from their comrades who have saved theirs ; and the chap who has saved his is the sort of chap who will give the other blighter part ot his. Still the majority of the men are great. They are cheerful, aud laugh at their hardships.” John Stewart, the ex jockey, who forms, one of the band of New Zealand’s brave boys who early in the war threw off the silken jacket and donned khaki to fight for his country, it is pleasing to learn, is still standing up, says an Auckland writer. In'the course of a spirited letter which Stewart sent me from “ Somewhere,” and which reached me yesterday, the ex-jockey says : “We are having a bit of a spell now that Anzac has been turned down, but will get going again soon it it is only on the Suez Canal. I would have been there at the evacuation only for having the bad luck to break a couple' of ribs, and I can assure you that I would have liked to have seen the last of that place. I hope to return to old New Zealand after the war is ended, because, wounded or unwounded, I am going to see the finish. I left with the main body, and I am going to arrive back with the boys who are here when the judge declares the winners.”

A reason why ministers in Ger man churches have made the astounding statements attributed to them regarding the war was mentioned by the Hon. J. G. W. Aitken at a Wellington recruiting rally. ‘‘The German Government pays their salaries, finds them their money, and dictates to them what they have got to preach to the people,” he said, and he asked the audience to think how they would like to have their churches run that way. Says the Feilding Star There is a glaring case against the Defence Department and the head Medical Board in Wellington concerning a Feilding boy that has come under our notice. He saw active- service at Gallipoli, and was invalided back to Egypt in need of an operation. The Medical Board over there decided that the operation should take place in New Zealand. This soldier has been back in the Dominion over two months, and all the lime the Medical Board has dilly-dallied with the sufferer, who is palpably ill, even to the casual eye ot the layman. The last report has it that the Board will give him his discharge—and he must undergo the operation (an expensive one, by the way) at his own cost ! This is not, unfortunately, an isolated case.

When you buy your groceries at Walker and Furrie’s, you may rest assured that you have received the best. That’s the only kind this store sells, and prices in every instance are cut to a fine point.