OBSERVATORY.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 233, 19 April 1928, Page 8

OBSERVATORY.

Soldier and Gentleman. “ Always play the game. Stand up for England when people speak disrespectfully of her. Try to realise what citizenship and public spirit really mean.” The above were the last words uttered in public by Field-Marshall Earl Haig, and were addressed to the Richmond , (Surrey) Boy Scouts Trenchant with meaning they epitomise the soldiers life, a patriot to whom the following tributes have been paid:— Sir William Robertson (Chief of Imperial General Staff). —Lord Haig will occupy a very prominent place in our history—more prominent than some present-day critics are inclined to assign to him. General Pershing (U.S.A.). The outstanding figure in the world war. General : uts Africa). — The great strokes which finally mastered the German Army were his. Haig was a great soldier and a greater gentleman. A Bishop’s “ Speling.” “ I have come to the conclusion that it does not matter twopence how you spell a word provided everybody knows what it is,” stated the Bishop of Manchester, Dr. Temple, at the annual dinner of the London Headteachers' Association. He added : “ Shakespeare spelt his name four different ways. Of course if he had had a banking account it would have worried the cashier, but it did not affect his use of the English language. If you do not know how to spell a word the only fatal thing is to think. Your only chance is to rush at it.. (Laughter). Of course, if it is only a question of “ ei ” or “ ie ” there is a simple way out. You write them both rather thick and put the dot between them and quite right, too. To stop and ponder over such a matter is to be guilty of the sin of levity—that is, giving serious consideration to a thing which does not deserve it.”

Deans and Elms. in the rebuilding of London since the war there apparently has been an epidemic of tree-felling, and many noble and ancient trees have fallen before the axe despite public protests. Even elsewhere the craze has spread, for the Dean and Chapter of an English cathedral having discovered that their houses were threatened by the imminent collapse of some ancient elms, expressed a wish to cut them down. Loud were Hie protests, and one lover of trees wrote to the local paper, beginning: “ Sir, —Deans, Chapters, and their families can be replaced; ancient elms cannot.” Dealing with the matter editorially, the newspaper referred to handled the question diplomatically, saying: “If our correspondent errs it is by underestimating the worth of church dignitaries, not by overestimating that of trees.” London’s Pigeons. Pigeons which for years have regarded the ledges of St. Paul’s Cathedral as a haven of safety, are now being lured to destruction by a mirror. This mirror is fitted at the back of an ingenious trap devised by Mr. Dalton, the rat-catcher, who has contracted to capture 2000 of the city’s superfluous pigeons within a month. After a week’s work Mr. Dalton secured 742. When a pigeon looks into the trap he sees inside it—as he imagines—another pigeon and fearlessly walks in. Other pigeons follow him, and when there are 14 in the trap the lid automatically closes. Mart of the Empire. Canadian farmers have recently visited London dock, and walked through the Crescent wine vault the most famous in the world—-where 600,000 gallons of port and sherry are stored. Amongst other things shown the party were 25,000 kegs of mineral iodine worth £IOO a keg, and £3,000,000 worth of wool from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Kenya. In the ivory store were tusks of mammoths dug out of Siberian ice which experts estimate to be 100,000 years old. The store was not full, but the yield of 10,000 elephants was there, one pair of tusks having been sold that day for £240. The farmers learned that a quarter of the whole production of the Empire came to London because it got the best price there. This was largely due to the fact that there was a population of 16,000,000 within 100 miles, and that the port had the most frequent and efficient steamship services to all countries. Cookski Defunctski. The great change which is slowly taking place in the outlook of workers in England towards their own country, where for many years “ The Red Flag ” and Russian anthems have been sung at meetings, is evidenced by the report of a conference of the Yorkshire Mineworkers’ Industrial Trades Union held at Doncaster. At the conclusion of the meeting, (Continued in Next Column)

which had been marked by conciliatory speeches, a delegate arose and asked: Cannot we go hack to the good old days when we used to sing the National Anthem ? Whereupon the whole company arose spontaneously and sang with great gusto “ God Save the King.” It is interesting to note in this connection that at the British Industries’ Fair held at the Y hite City, London, in February, every nation in the world with the exception of Russia was represented. Record numbers of businessmen were present from such small countries as Chili, Morocco, Syria, Latvia and Guatemala, as well as from the larger nations.