NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1592, 1 August 1916, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

A humorous incident that occurred in Egypt was related by Mr Alexander at the To Awamutu Farmers’ Union as showing the devil-may-care spirit of the New Zealand troops. A column was on the march, when suddenly the major of the foremost regiment came in sight, accompanied by a lady. Several men of his regiment immediately started to sing the ditty, “Who’s your lady friend,” which was taken up by the whole company, and spread from end to end of the column. The officer, said Mr Alexander, was fortunately a New Zealander, and seeing the humour of the situation, joined heartily in the laughter that followed.

Who was the first New Zealander to fall at Gallipoli? This question has for some time engaged the attention of Mr T. K. Sidey, M.P. for Dunedin, who since going to Wellington, has made careful inquiries as to whether the late Private IV. V. Knight, of Waipori, was the first casualty from the Dardanelles to he reported in New Zealand. After numerous inquiries, including a communication with the Australian Defence authorities, Mr Sidey has established the fact beyond dispute. The announcement that Private Knight, of the First Austra-

ban Infantry Battalion, had been killed in action was undoubtedly the first casually notified to the New Zealand authorities.

Referring to the death of Major Stansell, Mr R. H. Dalhousie, of the 4th Battalion N.Z. Rifle Brigade, in a letter to a Foxton friend, from “somewhere in France, under dale June sth., says:—“lt’s a, doleful kind of way to start an epistle with an obituary notice, but its got to he done, worse buds. We had one of Mr John R. Stanscll’s boys with us as major, and he was unlucky enough to get into holts with a rillo grenade. He died yesterday. I don’t know what he was in private life, but whatever he was as a civilian, he was here a good sportsman, a good soldier, and a very courteous gentleman. When you give him a write-up say that all the hoys were sorrv.”

Tin* drill sergeant, whose sever-

ity had made him unpopular with his troops, was putting a party of recruits through (he funeral service. Opening the ranks so as to admit (he passage of the supposed cortege between, the instructor, by way of practical explanation, walked slowly down the lane formed by the two ranks, saying, as he did so, “Now, I’m the corps**. Pay attention.” Having reached the end of the path,, ho (urned round, regarded them steadily with a scrutinising eye for a moment, or two, then exclaimed: “Your ’ands is rigid, and your ’end is right, but you ’aven’t got that look of regret you ought to ’ave.”

“The fox-glove is going to be one of the greatest curses in New Zealand,” said Mr J. Bell (Westland) at the Farmers’ Conference at Wellington yesterday. Complaint was made regarding the manner in which weeds, and particularly fox-glove, were allowed to spread over Crown lands, thus endangering clean lands. Mr F. S. Pope (Secretary for Agriculture) stated that the Commissioner of Crown Lands did not have nearly sufficient money to cope with the evil. An enormous sum would be required, necessitating special taxation. The woj’s t cases on Crown lands were receiving attention. Mr J. Begg (Otago) stated that noxious weeds had spread over New Zealand to such an extent (hat there were not sufficient people in New Zealand to clear the lands. Mr John M’Queen asserted that no weed had ever damaged any country.