GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 28, 8 January 1916, Page 3

GENERAL.

It will be generally agreed that the Knighthood bestowed on the High Commissioner of New Zealand is a recognition of his services to which he is fairly entitled, says the Christchurch Press.. Sir Thomas Mackenzie has filled the office of High Commissioner for three and a half years, and during that time has has worked zealously and conscientiously to promote the interests of the Dominion. The last seventeen months during which the Empire has been at war, have, of course, been exceptionally strenuous, and Sir Thomas Mackenzie has been specially active in looking after the welfare of our soldiers and the patriotic work connected with the war. We offer him our sincere congratulations, and hope he may be spared many years to enjoy the honor conferred upon him by his Majesty the King.

No attempt should he made to teach naturally left-handed children to use their right hands, according to Mr P. B. Ballard, London County Council Inspector of Schools, as it is likely ti make them stammerers. Mr Ballarc supplies the following statistics : —Out of one group of 545 left-handed chil dren 1. per cent, of pure leit-handers stammered, against 4.5 per cent; ol 399 being taught to use the right hand. In another group of '207 the figures were 4.2, per cent, and 21.8 per cent, respectively. Six out of 10 left-handed children .who had been taught to use the right hand were practically cured' of stammering after being allowed to use the left hand exclusively for 18 months. There were twice as many left-handed hoys as left-handed girls, and stammering was twice as prevalent among boys.

The following interesting story of ingenuity at the front is told in an account of the work of the London

Irish Rifles which' hast been sent to the Express by'jCaptain C, W. Thrussell, the officer commanding administrative centre: —“On one occasion our telephone linesman happened to find two live cables on the'ground in. the rear of our trenches. No one hapuened to know to whom they belonged or whence they came; rumor had it that the generating station was somewhere in the German lines. Without asking leave from the German authorities. our linesman promptly fitted wires and carried them to the battalion headquarters, the dressing station, officers’ dug-outs, etc. Lamps were found in the deserted houses of a village just behind, and for many weeks a first-class - electric installation was in full working order with ( power ‘piuciied x from Germany.”

Commonplace events sometimes lead to important results. Writing to a gentleman who is at present visiting Wellington, a lady correspondent in London relates the following - incident: -t-“ The other day a lady went to Victoria Station to meet a train of wounded. and as the train came in the cr6 w di'nade a r u sir a nd’’she'was thro wll against a British Staff officer- in full rig,’ Scarlet tabs, and all. She trod on his foe and he said ‘Gott in Himmcl.’ She immediately got out of the crowd and pointed him out to a policeman, and the officer was arrested. A few day slater she recem-d a cheque for £IOO from the War Office and a note to say that at the close of the war she would hear what good service she had done her country.” “Since hearing this,” • naively adds the correspondent, “I’ve had much ado to refrain from kicking any sufficiently import-ant-looking officer I’ve come rcicss!”

Information has been received by the Horowhenua Chronicle from a gentleman who is in a position to know that the big railway engines imported, (from the United States ,by the. New Zealand Government last year, have done more than come up to expectations. At the time of the order being placed with the Baldwin Locomotive Company, some protests were made in Parliament against the giving of orders for railway engines to countries not part of the British

Empire, but the fact was shown that the engines were urgently' required and that Great Britain could not supply them as -quickly as the United States could. The locomotives now are at work on the lines of this Dominion, and their hauling capacity is exciting the admiration of experts. A remarkably line, effort over hilly counj try was recorded a few weeks ago, when one of these engines hauled 275 |tons from Wellington to Palmerston iNorth (eighty-nine miles) without haviing to replenish either water or coal I supplies.

An exhortation .against impatience

at the slow progress of the war and ‘despondency over reverses was given by |)r. Averill, Anglican Bishop of Auckland, in an address at an inter--1 cession service held at St. Matthew’s Church. People were naturally inclined to look upon the dark side ol things, said the Bishop, They were* too apt to forget the many blessings the Allies Had received in the war, land to be thankful that things were going so well as. they were. Every Englishman had cause to be thankful for the wonderful loyalty of the Allied .'nations, and the new revelation of their character'that the war had made. I Our ideas about the French nation had been greatly altered, and there ' was every reason to believe that the present crisis would be a turning point in the religious life of France, llussia had proved herself to be the most religious nation in the world, and the war had revealed possibilities undreamed of in the British character. The Funpire was realising its unity in the.great struggle. All the Allies must go forward in a spirit of thankfulness, prayer, service, and sacrifice if they were to come ou( of the war victorious, and yet humble—as they ought to he.

Several members of the new Greek Cabinet are also mem I erg of tin* German Greek Society :.naf Was fjunded early in the year full, finey are ,vlDiagoumis, M. N. S. I motoKis. at one time Greek Minister in Icrnii; and Prof. Di. W. K-ailis, ‘no nephew ol the Minister of .hislice. 1 fie Society, which is under the protection of the Queen of the Hellenes, has for its the cultivation of good relations between Germany and Greece, and it considers its first task to be the publication of a magazine which shall disseminate a fuller knowledge of Greece in Germany.'

An English officer of the new Australian army at the Dardanelles wished to test his men. so one evening lie set out to investigate matters. Approaching the sentry ho wn s challenged. The officer answered, and was told to advance and give the password. “I—l—l’ve lorgotten it, answered the officer, acting his part to the letter. “You know me. I’m Captain Henry. Let me pass.” “Can t help it, sir. I must have the password!” “This is too bad. Can’t you re Pm Captain Henry, your superior ifficer, man!” “Can’t help it, sir. Password, and yon go through, but lo other way.” All of a sudden the vrangle was interrupted by a raucous ■nice from the guard tent. ‘‘Don’t Tand there arguing all night. Bill, shoot the bounder; I want to go to •deep.”

The caskets and addresses which ire being presented by the people of New Zealand to Generals Botha and Smuts, in recognition of their achievements in conquering Gorman SouthWest Africa, and of their loyalty to the British Empire, have now been packed ready for shipment, and were to be despatched from Auckland for Cape Town, through one of the carry" ng companies, on Tuesday. Each of the caskets is of artistic design, and s mounted on greenstone and New Zealand woods. A suitable letter lias been despatched by the committee to Bach of the recipients, stating that the presentations have been subscribed by people in all parts of New Zealand. The cost of the presentations mounted’ to £3OO, and the balance of the amount subscribed —about £7O will be forwarded to South Africa, to be placed to the credit of the South Africans’ Wounded Soldiers’ Fund.

A public meeting was held in Berlin in October to wrestle with the truly vital problem of “race perpetuation” consequent upon Germany’s increasingly heavy losses in the war. All speakers agreed that radical remedial measures are called for. hr. Christian, a well known military surgeon, was inclined to take an optimisms view, he did not think that German population within twenty years following the war would reveal a decrease of more than 2,800,000. Ho saw danger only in the growth of the “one-child and two-child family system.” hr. Christian opposed all suggestions of solving the baby problem by encouragement of illegitimacy, polygamy, and the like, and recommended instead a vigorous Government “matrimonial policy.” This should encourage men to marry young and enable working women and girls to marry without giving up their occupation, perhaps by inaugurating “half days” for working wives. hr. Christian also .recommended some form of State aid for parents with many children.

Sydney housekeepers are accustomed to high prices, but were fairly staggered by the prices demanded for poultry for the Christmas just over (writes the*Wellington Posts Sydney correspondent.) As much as half a. guinea and more had to be paid for a pair of scraggy elderly hens, which promised nothing more than jaw-ache and indigestion. At the poultry auctions in the Sydney markets, turkey gobblers brought up to £2 a head. Forty-one shillings was given for a prime gobbler. Ibis was twelve shillings above the record price realised in Sydney five years ago. Even at famine prices the supply of Christmas poultry proved much short of the demand. The caterer for the big A.J. C. Races at Kandwick had regretfully to announce that he was unable to put poultry on the tables, and he was consequently obliged to cut down his regulation tariff. The explanation foi the dearth and the high prices lies in the late drought, which made poultry food so dear, if not Altogether unobtainable, that poultry farmers sacrificed thousands of their birds at whatever they could get for them, and it was mighty little indeed.

H,sw Captain W. K. Hall, of the £2,000,000 battle-cruiser Queen Mary, saved his ship from a torpedo attack in the battle of the Bight of Heligoland, wa s described by Mr A. H. Pollen in a lecture at Essex Ha! 1 , Strand, London. Captain Hall is now Director of Naval Intelligence at the Admiralty. “Captain Hall was on the bridge oi bis ship,” said Mi 1 ollen, “when he saw the torpedo comI iug. and apparently travelling at I about 40 knots. The speed' of the (Queen Mary was nearer 30 knots. Captain Hall turned sharply lull helm, and, instead 'of the torpedo striking amidships, the Queen Maiv and the torpedo went along side by sidp. This, in m y opinion, was a fine bit of seamanship,” Speaking of the work of tile British submarines, Mr Pollen said:—“They nave had a remarkable influence on the war. In the last three weeks in the Baltic a quite incredible performance lias.been done bv our men. Twenty ships, six transports, and one cruiser have been destroyed. So far as I know, there are not more than four or five B’-itish submarines there. If ever the diary of Ell. Comiv'mler Xaismith. V.C., c,, romos t-> be v- mi sea st.o:*v that has over been told.”