GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 47, 31 January 1916, Page 7

GENERAL.

j The Dunedin Star's Chmtehwch [correspondent says: With the exception of refitting an ocean goinp; liner at the outbreak of hostilities Lyttelton has had little share of the transport work, but the decision of the Government to acquire a vessel at pre- j sent in port has given local shipwrights a further opportunity to earn Government money. It is -understood the work will be carried out by Messrs Miller Bros., of Port Chalmers and Lyttelton, and Mr J. D. Miller. A business man in Christchuicb lias received a letter which gives an indication of the sacrifices being made by those who are responding to the call for men for the front: "Is there any way you can suggest of realising my property? As there is such a shortage of men lor the reinforcements, my son is very anxious to enlist. He is my only child, and 1 ->f entirely dependent upon him. Therefore I should have to get away to relatives. We are making a great sacrifice. My son will be giving up £6 per week, but he feels that every man is needed." A writer in the Hawke's Bay Herald says that the departure of the Ninth made it abundantly apparent that a large proportion of the convalescent returned troopers are taking the earli- , est opportunity of again reporting themselves as fit for duty, as 2(X) were included in the ranks of the Ninth, to whom the presence of these men with their experience and training at the front would undoubtedly prove a valuable asset. In addition toHhe returned troopers, there were also amongst the Ninth a number of half-caste Samoans, a stalwart, likely-looking body of men, equally as keen as their New Zealand brethren to do their part in upholding the honor and prestige of the Empire. An educated woman in Christehureh has surely earned the palm for entire silliness (says the Evening News). She is the mother of one son, a petted, pampered youth, and in talking with a neighbour about one family in her vicinity having sent three sons, she exclaimed that "Mrs Mother of the Three" must be very deficient in affection to let her three sons go. For her part she cuiild never think of Algy going. He bad been too carefully brought up, and, besides, was getting on so well in the office where several above him had gone to the front, that she could not spare him. Besides, she said, when her listener expostulated with her, "What harm will the Germans do if they did come?" Her listener left in disgust, and she and "Algy" are now the cynosure of all the neighbours. An inquest was held at Dunedin on Friday regarding the death of Trooper Patrick J. Joyce, who returned from the front by the Willochva in November, and died on Wednesday in a. boardinghouse in Maclaggan street. The evidence showed that the deceased was a fairly heavy drinker, and complained frequently of being unwell, also of pain from a wound inside. The medical evidence showed that the deceased had no wound, but a sca> probably caused by -in operation for rppendicitis. Both lungs were extremely congested; and the hi rut was considerably enlarged, .weighing :iS ounces. The cause ot death was heart failure in consequence of enlargement, coupled with congest'. »n of the lungs. A verdict was returned accordingly. The sea-lioness at the Newtown Zoo was founj dead on Thursday, lying on one side of its pond in a pool ot its blood. It is hoped (says the New Zealand Times) that its cub, born some four weeks ago, may be reared on the bottle. An expert has been instructed to make an examination of the body, to ascertain, if possible, the cause of death.

A soldier from the Canterbury Plainwas sitting on the steps of his new quarters at Featherston Military Camp, and looking at the hills which rise, tier upon tier, range upon range, behind Featherston. In the evening light they looked immense and solid, with peaks and crests dark against the sunset, "Well," said the soldier, "1 heard there was lots of land in the Nortn Island, and there must be when they've got to pile it up in heaps like | that." i \t the Burns anniversary concert in Dunedin there was an interruption of an embarrassing character. Professor j Bedford had just got well into the delivery of his eloquent address on "Burns as a Patriot," when a bearded Scot rose in the body of the hall and announced i» emphatic tones: Jve come 40 miles to hear Burns s sangs, and I'm no' wantin' ony o' yon talkin " After the second repetition ot this protest a "man 'in blue" spok* kindlv but firmly to the malcontent, who subsided grumbling in his seat. Much as Now Zealanders know about horses, they know little of war, and what war entails. Certainly tew lovers of horses realise what hard work the war horse is called upon to do when , he goes on active service. For instance, the average New Zealand soldier probably weighs about 11 stone, and to this has to be added another S stone for saddlery, feed, and fighting .rear Therefore, the horse's burden represents nearly 20 stone. If a horse in New Zealand carried even much less than 20 stone for a day he would probably get a spell the following day, but the war horse can rely on no such holiday. He may have to carry his 19 or 20 stone, 8 stone of which is dead weight, for days at a stretch. These > are "reasons why the New Zealand authorised are insisting on the selection of big, strong, well-matured animals when horses are being purchased tor active service. Says an exchange: Mr Lauder made an interesting find lately on the western slopes of Mount Egmont. At; a height of about 3500 feet he discovered a number of bones, some of which he recognised as moa bones, but others he could not identify at all. He, brought what he could carry away with him. One of the bones is the under part of the skull of a large animal in a complete state of preservation except that one tooth was lost in transit. It is a little like the under jaw of a horse, but other bones do not bear out a theory that it is a horse's skeleton that Mr Lander found though among them is the shell of a hood, like a horse's. His idea is that it is the skeleton of an extinct animal, and that this particular animal and the moa whose bones were found in the same place met on the mountain side and both succumbed in an encounter, and rolled down into the gully where he found the remains. Mr Lander will be glad to show the bones to anvone who is likely to be able to throw any light on the subject.