BIRTHDAY HONOURS

Otago Witness, Issue 4031, 16 June 1931, Page 32

BIRTHDAY HONOURS

; CRITICISM OF THE GOVERNMENT EARTHQUAKE. SERVICES UNRECOGNISED. NAPIER, June S. “ This is the- first time: for many years that the Government has made no recom mendation for granting honours on the King’s Birthday, and I see: that some newspapers have commented on this omission,” remarked Mr W* E'. Barnard, M.P. for Napier, whea speaking at Hastings on Saturday night. “At the same time,” he continued, “one person who has been in New Zealand: has received an, honour. I refer to Commander Morgan, of H.M.S. Veronica, who has received' the order of C.M.G. I do not wish to criticise the Government, but, frankly, I feel that there were at least a few other people whose services might have been recognised. There were hundreds of thousands who did valiant service, but they will never be recognised. Those of yon who served in the Great War know that an M.C. was not really hard to win. In faet. I was a member of a. battery which had to decide who was to receive the solitary M.C. allotted to the battery.” “ There is one man-, however,” said Mr Barnard, “ who might very well have been selected to receive some honour this time. I refer to Mr R., Girling Butcher, I was closely associated with him, and I say that no man did more to restore Napier to a workable basis in its chaotic time than Mr Butcher. There were locai people whose services might be recognised, but on that I have no desire to say anything. Ido say, however, that Mr Girling Butcher’s services might well have been recognised.”

AVERTING A PANIC STATEMENT STRONGLY RESENTED. NAPIER, June S. ** I have noticed in the press a paragraph concerning a presentation to Commander Morgan, of H.M.S. Veronica, in recognition of the services of himself and his men in Napier during the earthquake,” remarked Mr W. E, Barnard, M.P. for Napier, when speaking at Hastings on Saturday night. “ This presentation was made by tin* Governor-General, Lord. Bledisldo, and, according to the paragraph, Lord Bhuf-sloe made the statement that but for thv presence and prompt action of the commhnder and- his men there would have been a serious panic in Napier. Now I want to say here that that remark is over-stated.” A voice: I think so, too.

Mr Barnard : I am quite satisfied that there: would have been no panic in Napier, jven if the Veronica had not been there. A voice? Or anywhere else. Mr Barnard: You must remember that Napier, was a town of 16,000 inhabitants at that time, and: the total number of men on the Veronica was not more than 100 i All of those 100 were not in the town, for obviously some men had to stay on the ship, so that it is quite untrue that but for the presence of 60 or 70 men there would have been a panic. I have no intention of belittling the extremely fine work done by the men of the Veronica, and also the Diomede and the Dunedin, but I want to say that the people of Napier stood up to that tragic disaster in a most remarkable way, andin. a manner which has reflected the greatest credit on them. I take this first opportunity of saying that there would have been no panic in Napier, even if the men. of the Veronica, had not been there, and the more one thinks of that disaster the more one feels reason to be proud to be a New Zealander and, tn particular, to be a resident of Hawke’s Bay.”

—London's own “'budget” now amounts to £40,000,000. The expenditure is greater than that of either the Irish Free State or the Union of South. Africa. There are many clubs with strange names* but “ The Rat and Sparrow Club ” is one- of the- queerest. It has recently been formed among the members of a small agricultural society in England, with the object of reducing the number of rats and sparrows in the neighbourhood. During the year each member undertakes to kill for every acre of land under his care, two sparrows or two starlings, or two- rats or two grey squirrels. Thirteen parishes are represented in this plan, and a chosen member from each has the pleasant task of counting the number of sparrows’ heads and rats’’ tails that are brought to him by other members in his parish. A member has to pay a fine of one penny for every bird and rat fewer than the "number he is required to destroy, and if there are on an average five" members of the club in each parish with 400 acres each, more than 50,000 nead of bird and rodent, should be accounted for in the year.