CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 317, 17 June 1915, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

CHAPLAINS OX THE HOSPITAL SHI P. The little controversy .between the Minister of Defence and the Wellington Presbytery with, regard to the appointment of chaplains for the hospital ship has reached an unexpected conclusion. The Minister explained to a deputation from the Presbytery that he had been acting under instructions from the Imperial authorities in appointing two chaplains only, one an .Anglican and the other a Roman Catholic. He indicated that it was his duty to accept the. directions of the Army Council on a point of the kind, expressed personal regret that any church body should have raised a sectarian issue in .connection with the troops, showed that the wounded would be on the. ship for a short period onlv—and then stated that he would appoint a Presbyterian chaplain after ■a He added that he would make tho

choice himself, and told the deputation that he would offer tho offico to a wellknown Presbyterian minister who has done very good work already at the Trcntham camp. Now that the War Office rule is to be broken, other denominations may advance claims, l)ut one would imagine that three chaplains would he an entirely adequate supply for one hospital ship. Anyway, the Minister is wise tfo keep the right oi selection in his own hands. A good clergyman does not necessarily make, a successful chaplain, and the military authorities have not always been fortunate in this respect. Soldiers generally are quick to respond to the right touch, but they are equally quick to resent spiritual guidance if it is given in the wrong way. It is not every clergyman who can descend from his pulpit, ■get into intimate association with the life of a regiment, and win the confidence and goodwill of officers and men alike.

A CURIOUS STATEMENT. A curious statement has found its V-ny into print lately to the effect thai the New Zealand and Australian tvoopii at the Dardanelles arc dependent upon supplies of ammunition drawn from the Australasian factories. It is true that every body of men leaving this country takes a considerable quantity of ammunition from the factory in Auckland, but this Dominion could not hope to keep its expeditionary force supplied with riflo cartridges, and the same probably is true of the Commonwealth. Our men are armed with the .'303 rifle, supplied by contractors who arc working under Wat Office direction, and they can use th« cartridges that are being supplied to the British troops in the other theatres of war. It appears safe to assume that actually they are drawing large supplies of ammunition from Britain, since the consumption of cartridges in the Dardanelles must have been enormous, but that is a question that lies within tho domain of official secrecy. If one might hazard a guess it would be that the author of the statement in question has confused the troops at the front with the men who are in training in Trentham camp. Shooting practice is the most important feature of the camp routine, and the reader can reckon for himself that if each man fired only twenty shot 3 ft week (a very moderate estimate) soma 560,000 cartridges would be required monthly.

THE FAR NORTH. I The Attorney-General, who took part in the electioneering campaign in the North Auckland district, is quite convinced that the Far North is destined to be an increasingly prosperous part of New Zealand. "It is true," said Mr. Herdman, when asked by a reporter to give some impressions of his trip, "that there is much waste land in the Far North, which appears to be useless; but I passed through thousands of acres of Crown and native land fit for settlement, and even the so-called useless land will, in the opinion of many competent judges, Rome day be utilised for fruit-growing. The great part of the native land is not used by the natives, and Mr. Uerries is doing his best to speed up the settlement of the large areas that are lying unproductive." With regard to the Crown lands of the district, the Minister is of opinion that something should be done to bring about their settlement. "Unless the timber-cutting rights granted make speedy settlement impracticable," he said, "I cannot see why steps should not be taken to get every acre of good land settled. Railway construction, reading and bridging only add to the value of native land in the district. Tt seems to me, therefore, that unless the surplus native lands are purchased soon, as time goes on the Crown will be forced to pay more, for the lands in the district in which it is spending money upon public improvements. The Crown will be, forced to pay the added value which it is steadily creating by expending public monev." Mr. Herdman had a lively experience travelling over the bad roads of the North in very ba<l weather, and 13 sympathetic with the settlors who have to go through these quagmires to gat their produce to the markets. "Some of the roads in the North," he said, "are in a deplorable state, and I have now some conception of the difficulties which at present beset the settlers who have "•one far back into the bush in the North to make their homes. A T«i*« .t' ime * in store for them. The railway has been pushed ahead during the last,six years, and if the Government's plan—approved by .Parliament last session—of borrowing specially for the construction and improvement of backblocks roads is preceded with after the war is over communication between different centres will be -more rapid and travelling less arduous.''