LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 52, 1 July 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The aiiiiunl meeting of the Toko Settlers' Association will be held en Monday evening next, at 8 ./clock.

A Boston cablegram states that Sam MeVey gained the decision over Langford in a ten-rounds bout.

A Sydney cablegram states Chat there was ;| gi'eat gathering of sportsmen and representative citizens .'it Victor Trumper's funeral.

The ".Merrie England" Company will hold a rehearsal in the Town Hall

this evening. Only those taking part will be admitted to the Hall.

A private message received in town this afternoon states that Mr Carlton Ilealy's greyhound "Flying Start'' won the first prize and championship at Haw era Show.

Mrs Bianchi's dance held in the Foresters' Hall last evening was a great success. There was a large attendance of dancers, who all spoke

in complimentary terms of the excellence of the music, of the floor, and of the supper arrangements.

A guide to pronunciation:—The Columbus Despatch says that Prz in the Russian language is pronounced as gxk. following this rule will make reading the war-news easy. Headers should bear this in mind.

The Customs revenue collected at Wellington during .June amounted to £102,465 a s against £70,048 in June, 1914. The beer duty collected totalled £937, compared with £953 last year. The Customs duties paid at Dunedin during the month ended yesterday were practically double those paid in June, 1914, the figures being £65,044 2s lid as against £32,553 Is 2d ui) to 15th inst. The Customs du-

ties were about £12,000, while from the 15th they reached the neighbourhood of £54,000. The beer duty tor the month was £1906 8s 7d, as against £2523 17s 2d in June of 1914. There was no gold repented.

Questioned as to What was a fair estimate of the proportion of Kitchener's army now in the field, Dr. Martin, of Palmerston North, who has just returned from France, emphatically declared that, with the exception of a i'f\v companies, the 3,200,000 men placed under training since the war began were still in England. The first million were completely equipped for war, but were still in the Old Lund. They were called "Kitchener's Hammer." The hammer was supposed to strike at the end of spring. It had not done so yet. One idea was that at the last moment Holland would come in, and the men would be landed there to strike at Germany. Another was that Denmark would declare war, and that the men would be thrust through that country to attack Kiel Canal.

Private Tom Sheaban, writing to his parents in Stratford from Victoria College Hospital, Alexandria, under' date 11th May, 1915, says: "I have been here a week. I am slightly wounded, but hope ere tbis letter reaches you to be about and quite well again. There are no bones broken; so you can rest assured 1 am not so badly wounded as no doubt you imagined." Private Sheahan casually refers to the fact that they were fighting on Gallipoli Peninsula, where he was wounded and then brought back to Alexandria. Five days later he wrote a hurried note to say that he was one of the fortunate ones being sent to the Old Country, and was leaving the same afternoon. He says that all those making the trip were delighted at having the chance of seeing England.

In view of the heavy casualties reported in our Expeditionary Force from day to day, it is interesting to recall what happened in the South African War. In that war, which lasted for three years, New Zealand sent in ten contingents, 6505 men. The strengths of the contingents were as follow:—First, 220; Second. 270; Third, 200; Fourth, 172; Fifth, 01(5; Sixth, 012; Seventh, 608; Eighth. 1112; Ninth, 1218; Tench, 1081. The total number of deaths was 282, made up as follows: Killed in action, 58; died of wounds, 10; accidentally killed 25; died of disease, 139. The heaviest losses were suffered by the Seventh, who lost 34 men in action, and the Eighth, who lost 17 men killed in a railway accident. In the Eighth and Tenth not one man was killed in action or died of wounds,

and ill the Ninth only one man whs killed in action. These three con-

tingents were the biggest, making up 344] of the total of 6505,

Weaibei Forecast—Westerly model'atee to strong winds prevailing with a southerly tendency. vV'e.ither probably cold and changeable. The night will probably be very cold, with frosts inland. The barometer has a rising tendency.—Bates.