NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1951, 13 March 1919, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

A remarkable incident is related by a soldier who has just returned to the Dominion. One day'during a British offensive a large batch ■of German prisoners,... were passing through the colonial lines, and the NeAV-Zealanders were watching them curiously. To the surprise of all, one New Zealander .stopped a prisoner and indignantly demanded what he was doing there. The German so challenged replied in perfect English that it was not his fault, and that he had been visiting Germany when the war broke out, and had been conscripted without ceremony and sent to the front. He added that he did not wish to fight, and had been looking for an opportunity to surrender. The New Zealander explained later that the man whs a German who had lived in New Zealand for some time before the Avar and had worked on the questioner’s farm in 1913,

An extraordinary incident occurred to a returned soldier avlio arrived in Auckland a few days ago. The man had been badly Avounded.at the landing at Gallipoli, and was sent to the hospital. His injuries were attended to as far as possible, but it was found impossible to extract a bqllet that had lodged in his forehead at the top of the nose. He avus sent to London and examined by Sir Frederick Treves, who expressed the opinion that an operation could not be performed, and that the Avound Avould ultimately cause the patient’s death. The man came back to Auckland, and took employment in the city. Recently he had been troubled considerably Avith his head, and sought medical advice. After examination a probe was inserted in the nose and the bullet extracted Avithout difficulty. Apparently during the time-that had elapsed since (he Avound was receiAX'd the bullet had shifted, and made the extraction possible. The man is hoav slated to be rapidly improA'ing in health.

The announcement has already been made that the influenza epidemic caused approximately six thousand deaths in New Zealand. The returns now gazetted show that the total number of deaths during 1918 avus 1(5,3(51. The highest number previously recorded avus 10,59(5, in 191(5, so that the figure for the las! year was over 50 per cent, higher than the previous highest. The death rate in 191(5 avus 9.0-1 per 1,000 of mean population, Avhereas in 1918 the rate reached 1-1.81, an increase of 53.91 per cent. Last year’s rate Avas the highest in the history of New Zealand since .1875, Avhen the rate avus 15.9 per thousand of the population. Twice in the 'sixties the death rale exceeded 17 per thousand, .but those Averc the days before the organisation for the protection of the public health bad attained any high degree of efficiency. As a matter of fact, since 1891 the death rate has risen above 10 per thousand only on live occasions—in 1898, in .1902, and 1903, in 1907, and again last year. The year 1907, it may be remarked, brought severe epidemics of measles and whooping cough, and influenza was particularly active. Indeed, in all (lie years indicated as having a death rale .exceeding 10 per thousand, measles, whooping cough, inlluenza, and diarrhocal diseases Averc very prevalent, la 1903( also, there avus a marked epidemic of scarlet fever.