The Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 5, 1917. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1734, 5 July 1917, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 5, 1917. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mesdames E. and J. 11. Robinson left for Wellington yesterday to represent the Ladies’ Guild at the Red Cross Conference.

The Eoxton Harbour Board Act, 1908, Amendment Bill (Mr W, H. Eield), was road a Tirst time in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night.

The Patriotic Shop will be open as usual on Saturday, and will be in charge of Mesdames John Robinson and Harvey., Motueka apples will be on sale.

A very enjoyable time was spent by members of the Presbyterian Ladies’ Social Guild at (ho residence of Mrs Bari', Thymic Street, vesterda v.

In the recent casualty lists appear the names of two well-known New Zealand representative footballers, G. Sellars, of Auckland, and R. Taylor, of Taranaki, both killed in action.

A nulling of fanners at New Plymouth recently affirmed the principle of farmers owning their own shipping, but it was felt that it would he policy to hold over any definite action until after the war.

During I lie present war there has been an almost total disappearance of enteric, and Hie number of eases of typhoid in France lias been only 4,571, compared with (10,000 in the South African Whir. ~

At the Methodist Church yesterday, Miss Lilia, daughter of Mr and Mrs T. Rimmer, of Foxton, was married to Air R. A. Dixon, of the Bank of New Zealand staff, Waipukurau.

Among the soldiers who received kits last Tuesday evening, says the Hawke's Bay Herald, were two halfcaste Chinamen —brothers. They were both loudly applauded as they were presented with their kits, and marched off the stage with erect and soldierly bearing.

“If you want to .see a muddle you ought to see a eaniel convoy under .shell-fire,” writes an Australian officer from Palestine. “The natives who lead the camels run away first shot, and then the white men try to induce by all the profanity they can muster those accursed camels to hurry out of range, or under the cover of a hill. All the time good lives are being lost trying to save the convoy, which perhaps has the water supply of thousands of men in the firing line away from the water, and they are dependent on it reaching them.”

Sir Joseph Ward, who is considerably thinner than when he left New Zealand, remarked in friendly conversation that one doesn’t gel fat on war rations. “Half a slice of bread at a meal and no sugar, that is what you get in England now —and here in New Zealand there is plenty to eat.” Bird and Jensen, billiard-table manufacturers and cabinetmakers, have issued a writ claiming £I,OOO damages from the John Bull Newspaper Proprietary for alleged libel contained in an article appearing in the last issue of John Bull's Register. This is the second writ on the one issue of the paper.

At the swearing-in ceremony at Parliament House in Wellington the other day, a lady who was in the crowd fainted. She was taken homo in a motor-ear belonging to a citizen. On the way an incident happened which, although not unexpected, had not been provided for, and had the effect of increasing the lady’s family by a unit.

A recent casualty list brought an almost unbearable sorrow to Mrs B. Holz, of Karori, Wellington. She received notification in one message on Tuesday that two of her sons, Allan (the youngest) and Ernest (the second eldest) had been killed and another wounded on June 13th. All three left with the 21st Reinforcements. Sir James Allen, Minister of Defence, visited Mrs Holy, persona lb' to break' the sad news.

The United Press correspondent iit Tokio reports (hat .Mr Mochi Selki, a member of (he Opposition, suggested in the Diet that Japan should negotiate with the United States for the exchange of the Phillippines for the South Sea Islands seized by Japan from Germany, it is believed that (his would remove the friction between Japan and America. Baron Motono, Minister of foreign Affairs, said (here was no (muse for fear as to the relations between America and Japan, which had undergone a marked improvement.

A little incident, that occurred in connection with the recent Hood in Hawke’s Bay is worth relating. Mi' X. Wellwood had a boat fastened to a willow tree at Awhengo. The whole of the protection works were carried away, including Mr Wellwood's boat, forty-eight hours afterwards the boat was secured at (.’live Grange, about live miles away. When pulled ashore the boat contained a passenger a live hare, which made off on reaching land, evidently none the worse for its rough sea voyage.

The London Daily Chronicle’s correspondent at Amsterdam states that estimates of the German casualties appearing in British newspapers are necessarily founded on German lists, but these wore so inaccurate (hat recent e(forts were made in the Reichstag to elicit the truth. Thereupon fresh figures were given under the seal of secrecy, showing over two million Germans killed and died of wounds and sickness. Those permanently disabled number upwards of three million. The above statistics do not include the recentheavy lighting along the Hindenburg line.

/V correspondent writes-to the Post as follows; —“According to the Military Service Act, a single man who has reached the age of 20 years becomes eligible for service in the First Division. Supposing a man of 19 years of age marries after the passing of the Act, which division does he come under when he becomes 20 years old: (he Eirst or (he Second?" Enquiries made in

ollicial quarters elicited the statement that such a case has already been decided on appeal. The man in question belongs to the Eirst Division of the ‘Expeditionary -force Reserve l , inasmuch as (ho terms of the Act are in the present tense. The governing words are in sub-section 2 of section 4, which states: “The Eirst Division consists of all Reservists who on the passing of (his Act are.” The Act was passed on Ist August, 191(5.

Of the many little sketches introduced by Mr Wilfoi'd into his war lecture at Wellington, one of the most interesting was llml describing the work of the airmen. He told of 190,000 Hying men on (lie Western front, of 1,000 aeroplanes manufactured each month in Great Britain, and of the ascendancy of the British in this department of (In 1 war. The British airmen were better than those of any other nation, save Russia, and Russian aviation had been founded by a young Scotchman, M’Kenzie Kennedy, now recalled to the Western .--front. When Pegoud, who looped the loop, went to Pet’rognul, he was beaten by a Russian girl. -M’Kenzie Kennedy refused to buy the Dutchman Eokker’s machine, but advised Eokker to take it to Germany, arid sent a Russian girl to demonstrate the capabilities of the machine. The effect of the .successful British airwork, said Mr Wilford, was to place a bandage over the eyes of the German gunners. Advocates of the State purchase of the Union Company’s licet will be interested in the following paragraph from an Australian paper: —The Treasurer of the Commonwealth is out with the glad tidings that the purchase of cargo-carrying ships by Australia is a good investment. Figures cannot- lie —neither can Federal Treasurers —and Sir John Forrest states that receipts from the working of the boats to June 30th exceeded expenditure by half a million. One vessel, it is officially stated, made a profit of £106,000. So that deal was all right.

There was a good attendance at the Presbyterian social last night. Items were contributed by Misses Kyle, Signal, Mrs Teviotdale, and Messrs Thomson, Barr, Signal and Mr and Mrs Signal. The accompaniments were played by Miss Signal and Messrs Collins and Signal. The ladies provided refreshments.

Yesterday afternoon, at the local seaside, a party consisting of Messrs W. and A. Dawiek, Cf. Langley, Lawton and Pratt, met Mr B. 11. Just with a load of trees for planting. It was a busy afternoon, and by 5 o’clock (hey had planted GO pines, 20 robenias, 20 ngaio, and 20 white broom trees. There will be two more, planting afternoons at the seaside, before the season is out, and 500 trees are expected to be planted. A start is to be made shortly with the erection of the bathing, machines, and by the beginning of the summer season it is

expected that the Beach Improvement Committee'will have accomplished what the members set out to do.

Speaking to a pressman of the work of the New Zealand War Contingent Association, Mr John Crigg, of Longhead), Canterbury, who has just returned from the Old Country, said that very special attention was paid to (he comfort of the men who might find themselves temporarily accommodated at one or another of the New Zealand hospitals or convalescent homes at Codford, Hornchurch, Brockenhurst, Walton-on-Thames, or Oaklands Park. The Association's work at the hostels in London was also commented upon, and Mr Crigg was wholehearted, in his appreciation of (he work of (he New Zealand ladies belonging to the Association. lie defended the action of the Association in entering upon building schemes, and said that many people in the Dominion con-.-idered that money should not he spent in buildings, hut ill some of the hospitals and homes no room was provided for men, other than Ilm wards or dormitories and the dining hall. The Association had supplied the want, and had erected recreation rooms in addition, and canteens were also provided at Codford, Hornchurch, and Brockenliuisl, where refreshments and meals could be procured at almost below cost price.