New Zealand

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 198, 30 January 1915, Page 5

New Zealand

THE ALLEGED MURDER 01' TROOPERS. DENIED BY COMMANDANT. By I'clcgraph.—Per Press Association Wellington, Last Night. The Minister for Defence has been in communication with Major General Oodley, commandant of the New Zealand forces relative to (he report' circulated to the effect that two members of the expeditionary force has been assassinated in F-gvpt, in consequence of insults oil'crcd to Egyptian women by tearing from their faces veils thut are worn l>v Moslem women to conceal their features from public gaze. Mr Allen has received the following reply, dated .January 28: ''No shadow of foundation for newspaper reports. Our men are on the best of terms with the Egyptians."

REPORT CONFIRMED. FROM ANOTHER SOURCE. Gisborno, Last Night. Further Piriit is thrown upon the alleged murders in Egypt by a letter received from a lisbonie ley with the expeditionary forces. He writes: "I see you have to be careful how you go about here. There was one of the Auckland mocnteds done for the other night in the slums, and also another got stabbed in the back, so I am keeping out of it." The writer also says: "Things art going to be pretty hot' hero when the, Turks have mobilised 300 miles away from us. Our old colonel told us wc would see fight in another month, and I will be d ■ glad, as we are getting tired of hanging about here."

AUSTRALIAN COMMENT. Received 30, 1.35 a.m. Sydney, January 2fl. The Daily Telegraph says that the statement made by the Minister of Defence in disproof of the widely current report that a Now Zealand trooper was killed for lifting the veil of an Egyptian woman, will doubtless set at rest the rumour which had left an extremely disagreeable impression. Circumstantial evidence is wholly against the idea that so gross an offence was perpetrated", and some other charges regarding the conduct of the troops may prove exaggerr.ted, ?V it is to be hoped they will. There is sometimes too much readiness to accept statements derogatory to men sent to distant countries, and if they are soldiers they emphasise the statements with sensational additions. BRITISH AND BELCIUM FUND. TIMARU'S ACTION. MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS. Timaru, Last Night. The local committee of the Britfth and Belgian Fund adopted a proposal to ■make arrangements to collect monthly contributions throughout South Canterbury. The proposer, Mr S. G. Craig, pointed out that 8d per capita would produce £I2OO. A second proposal was adopted to circularise the farmers, urging them to give a percentage of receipts from all sales of stock and produce.

The committee allocated £250 to Stall Captain Sharp, representing Commander Hodder, for the. Salvation Army war emergency relief fund, which is being administered by General Booth.

NURSES WANTED. Wellington. Yesterday. The number of N-w Zealand nurses accepted by the Army Council is 50. Nurses, who should be fully trained for three years in a general hospital and should hav,. certificates of efficiency from the matron under whom they Were trained and under whom they last served, will be selected from the list already prepared for membership of the New Zealand army nursing service. Candidates whe n selected will be dispatched to England for service wherever required. Any communications or correspondence regarding the nurses' contingent must be addressed to the Matron - in-Chief (Miss McLean), New Zealand Army Nursing Corps. Wellington, and not to the Minister for Defence or any defence office.

NEW TRADE REGULATIONS. Wellington, Yesterday. A Gazette Extraordinary contains additional regulations under the War Regulations Act. No goods shall be exported for any place other than British territory, except the French territory of Tahiti, until a statutory declaration of the ultimate destination is made on a special form. Also goods imported from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland and Italy, except carbide of calcium, tar, pitch, straw-board, butter paper and mannrial salts, are not to be delivered from the Customs without a certificate of origin.

RETURN!',]) TROOPERS ARRESTED. Wellington, Yesterday, Three of the soldiers who were sent back from Egypt have been arrested by the military authorities for'misconduct and taken under guard to Trentham camp. Although, having been dismissed, these men are only civilians, they still wore the King's uniform, and therefore were still under military control. It is alleged that they became intoxicated and insulted certain officers. OFFICIAL NEWS. Wellington, Yesterday. The High Commissioner reports, under date, London, January K8 (8.25 p.m.): Paris reports that the enemy's great effort on the Kaiser's birthday turned out advantageously, operations on the whole front favouring the Allies. The German attacks were repulsed. The French are progressing in Belgium, and several of the enemy's trenches have been demolished. South of the Lys the

English artillery swept the routes and concentration points. At different points near Arras and Soissons the enemy's infantry attempted to leave tile trenches, but the attack was repulsed. In the Craomie region the German losses on the 25th and 2fith amounted to a brigade. The Allies' losses were about eight hundred. These were due to the intensity of the lighting and tin- partial collapse of a quarry sheltering two companies who wore trapped during the first part of the attack, but a counterattack restored the whole disputed ground. Elsewhere all the German attacks were, completely repulsed. In the Vosges, also in Alsace, the Allies made material progress. The enemy's losses in three days exceed 20,000.

LADY LIVERPOOL FUND. POSITION DEFINED. The Mayoress (Mrs J. E. Wilson) has received tin; following letter from Lady Liverpool:— Dear Mrs Wilson—As the Defence authorities have now entirely taken over the outfitting of the troops. I thinkthere will be no further need for the Lady Liverpool Fund to give the men •clothing, etc., before going into camp at Trentham. But it appears to me

that extras such as socks, shirts, mittens. Balaclavas, comforters, etc., wou'd be very acceptable to the men when they are leaving Ihese shores—morn especially socks. 1 shall be glad to hear from all who wish to keep their committees together with a view to working for this particular object, and !• communicate with them so as to pi-evcr' any overlapping. As the ships all go from Wellington, it might be best to form a depot there. All the ships lhat have already left had boxes of socks put on board by the Wellington committee, so that each man "ad a fresh pair of socks when he arrived. Many other things were, also given—pianos, gramophones, boxes of cakes, fruit, eliojolatc, writing paper, envelopes, pencils, etc. Some of these things were sent l;v district committees, some were the gifts of private individuals, and some were joniiased by the "Lady Liverpool 'iencral Fund.'' This fund, which Ims been subscribed to by people from all ever the Dominion, has still over £3OOO in hand, and this money should be used in future for purchasing such comforts as cannot be made at homo. lam very anxious that no one should do more or give more than they arc able. I fully realise how vcryjiard everyone has been working; but I also realise that people cannot go on at high pressure indefinitely, and 1 am anxious that, this work should not interfere with people's or-1 dinary duties. But if there "arc people, who have a little spare time, that they I would like to spend in making things for | the men who have come forward and' offered themselves in this time of; need, I think that all the things that, tliev can make will be very acceptable' and very useful. For the present, I think we cannot do better than supply comforts to the ships as they go; but later I hope wc may be able to send the gifts to the men who have gone, as they need them. As these gifts are entirely separate from the outfitting which the Defence. Department has undertaken, it will not be advisable to send any more things to the Defence Store.---Yours sincerely, ANNETTE LIVERPOOL.