NOTES FROM THE CAPITAL

Taranaki Daily News, 13 January 1916, Page 7

NOTES FROM THE CAPITAL

CHAPLAINS FOR THE FORCES* (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Jan. 11. A correspondent complains to one of tho local newspapers that no Boman Catholic chaplain accompanied the Oth Reinforcements, although tho force contained an unusually large percentage of men of tho Roman Catholic denomination. The Defence Minister told your correspondent, in this connection, that the appointments of chaplains to tho New Zealand forces have been made to correspond as nearly as possible to the relative strength of the denominations. Absolute accuracy has been out of the question, owing to the limitation of the number of chaplains, but tho Minister has kept in toucli with ithe heads of the various denominations and has reason to believe that they are fairly well satisfied. Each reinforcement is not accompanied by a complete set of chaplains. That would bo absurd. The men are going to fill gaps in battalions that are already provided with chaplains, and it is impossible to give the men of every denomination their own chaplain on each transport. But when the troops get to the front they will find every considerable denomination represented among the able and devoted ministers who are wearing khaki at the present time.

RISE IN PRICE OF WHEAT. Referring to an Auckland telegram stating that the rise in the price of wheat was due in part to farmers holding' stacks for a rise, the Prime Minister said to-day that he was sure the farmers were being blamed unjustly. "As a matter of fact I believe there is no farmer in the North Island at present who has five sacks of wheat," said Mr. Massey. "I don't say that there is no wheat held in store, but that is another maitter. The farmers are not holding it in tho North Island." LOSS OF NEW ZEALAND MAILS. "I have just heard of the torpedoing of a ship with a big New Zealand mail on it," says General Godley in a letter to the Defence Minister, written late in November. The Hon. J. Allen, mentioning ithis incident to-day, said it was clear that several New Zealand mails had been lost in this way on their way to the troops before the evacuation of Gallipoli. German torpedoes accounted for some of the complaints that had been made against the postal authorities in Egypt.