NOTES FROM THE CAPITAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 January 1916, Page 6

NOTES FROM THE CAPITAL.

AX erroneous cable. (From Our Own Correspondent). Wellington, January 12. 'A cablegram attributes to Mr. ißonar Law a statement, that Canada intends to mobilise 500,000 men, that Australia will have 300,000 men under arms by June next, and that New Zealand, in that month, will have sent "3G,000 troops, with regular reinforcements." The figures are entirely inaccurate as far as New Zealand is concerned. This country has sent away nearly 35,000 men already, including the Samoan force, and will have despatched about 50,000 men by June, while there will then be not fewer than 10,000 recruits in the training camps. The figures for Australia appear to be unreliable in another direction. The present rate of recruiting in the Commonwealth will not provide anything like a total of 300,000 men by June next.

MR. MASSEY GOES SOUTH. The Prime Minister is going to pay a visit to the South Island during the next week or two in connection with the recruiting scheme. Probably lie will make a few recruiting speeches, though he is inclined to believe that speeches are not a particularly effective method of getting men into the rants. Canterbury and Otago continue to make a poor showing in the recruiting returns, and the Ministers are unable to explain the fact. Some weeks ago the Defence Minister produced some figures showing that although Canterbury had fallen short, Otago had actually "provided' a fraction per cent, more than its share of the recruits, or the basis of the number of men of military age in the district. But it is hard to reconcile this statement with tlie percentage returns published weekly. These official returns indicate that Otago has done quito extraordinarily badly, and that Wellington district continues to find iomething like half the recruits for the whole of the Dominion.

EARLY SESSION RUMORED. Rumors of an early session of Parliament are curiously persistent. There have been substantial indications, indeed, that the Prime Minister and the Minister for Finance will wisli to meet Parliament before they go to London, and that they will not want to delay their trip until after a session called at the ordinary time, late in June. It is not true, as stated in a southern newspaper, that the tw 0 Ministers have decided to leave for London next month. Xo date has been fixed or is likely to be fixed until t'he work of the Recruiting Board is well established. If there should be an early session of Parliament a bTief amendment to the War Pensions Act would be introduced.