LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 81, 8 July 1916, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

An interesting result of the afforestation work going on in the Rotorua district is the way in which both native and English birds are ? resmes.,. Formerly}W 'ales! 4#X5 {£ «'?% tfS sign or s&Tind of life, whereas they are nowihUed \JjWI jfsanti&ioi# ticulai'y has attracted to the district the 'ribh'ey iri 'the' blossoms. Thrushes, blackbirds, chaffinches, as well as fantails and other small birds, all make the groves of pine and larch their home, and, at sunset the songs df these birds echo across the; valley.

According to the latest return issued,, by the Soldiers' Informen on the register on Wednesday. The 2978 men whose cases have been disposed of are. accounted for as fol* ' loyvsj—los hav,e v left New, i Ze,ah^nd, l )(y| the au i^/}citieg e cannoJ i Jiaje •i?%3gn^§taili { fltft v&, ;to : e% f j',7B^ed "assistance, jjot required" ;i:6s.§ih&Tß\ -been, placed. in ; employment ;'■ W}# fulfil® have not-responded to repeated iwanj municatibns, or have accepted', work the department found for them, but failed to start work; and 87 have drawn sections of land. There are 390' men on the employment wanted register, including 12 in Wellington: " J "

In reply to a question in the House of Representatives by Mr R. A. Wright (Wellington Suburbs) the Minister for Education (the Hon. J.A. Hanan) stated:—"l have a strong; personal conviction of the importance of stressing the study of the mothertongue- in both the primary and the secondary schools of the Dominion and it : is my strongest wish to improve it. In the existing regulations applicable to free-place holders in secondary schools English is at present a coriipul-' spry* subject, tq which a period of from three to siix hours weekly is required to be! given throughout -the course. A 'foreign language is riot compulsory, .but is generally taken, arid for those; preparing for a . professional career' must be regarded a s essential. Apart from other reasons the mother-tongue will thus be better understood. I regret to have to say, however, that many spend on profitless study of a dead language precious time that would be better spent otherwise. For this state of things the wishes of parents themselves are very largely responsible ; it is not due to any wish of the Education Department that this subject should be so widely taken."

An impressive parade was held ar Featherstoh Camp on Monday afternoon, when a soldier of the Reinforcements in training was drummed out of the Army. The breach of discipline for which this was the punishment was that he had been insubordinate, and had pulled a cook-sergeant out of his bunk and assaulted him. The sentence of 12 months' imprisonment passed by a court-martial; and confirmed by the G.D.C., was to be read by the Camp Adjutant in the presence of all the troops in camp, which had been formed up in a square. When all was ready the prisoner was brought in by the camp guard with fixed bayonets, and the sentence of the camp was read, the adjutant's words being listened to in. dead sil;ence. Afterwards the prisoner was marched off, and sent to Wellington to be handed over to the civil authorities. Some lighter sentences for crimes were read by the adjutant outside Headquarters on Monday, and i the offenders were sent to Welling- ) ton to serve their