LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 January 1916, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The takings at the Red Cross Mart at New Plymouth on Saturday amounted to £!). About a thousand bags to be sent to (he front to be- used as sand bags have been received by Mr. O. N. Firth, of New Plymouth, from fanners and others. C. C. Eustace (Okato), C. S. Ross (New Plymouth), and 1!, A. Webber (Oakura), leave by the mail train this morning for Trenthain to join the 12th i Reinforcements for the front. Some little time ago Mr. 11. Okey M.P., applied to the Defence Department for a Territorial Medal for Mr. J. Hoskin. The request has been granted and Mr, Okey is iu receipt of the medal, which wil be publicly presented to Mr. Hoskin. At a meeting of the council of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce resolutions were passed urging the Government to take immediate steps to clear the obstructions to navigation of the Mokau River and to place the Main North Road between Uruti and Mokau in repair so that wheel traflic may not have to be suspended during the winter. At a meeting of the South Canterbury War Relief Society, it was reported that of the £35,000 Relief Fund to be subscribed within three years, £25,000 has been received and £22,800 invested. It was decided to raise the toUl to £50,000, especially by appeal to "financial shirkers,", wlio have not yet given. It was resolved to telegraph the Prime Minister offering the services of the committee in his recruiting scheme. One of the best yarns, and one of the tallest, of the war, was told the other day at a lecture. This is how it was told. A British came down undamaged, owing to engine stoppage, behind the German lines. The pilot and machine were captured unhurt, and he was thereupon compelled to take up two Germans to reconnoitre over the British lines. He was strapped in his seat, and the Germans sat with loaded revolvers to make him go the right way. When lie got high enough he proceeded to loop the loop, which tipped the Germans out! And so he returned to become the hero of the Army; or at any rate the hero of the lecturer.

As a moans of releasing more men for active service at the front, the executive of the Auckland Provincial Farmers' Union, :it its meeting last week, passed a resolution asking the Government not to hold local territorial camps during the war. rt was explained that if a number of young men were .taken from the farms and placed under training for a week or ten days in territorial camps, it would inconvenience the farmers and materially affect production for the time being. It was further pointed out that if there were two men of military age in a family one of them would be able to leave for Hie front, and there would be. no question of the other having also to leave the farm to attend a local camp.

At the present time the number of men from the Post and Telegraph Department actually on service at the front is 7GC, said the PostmasterGeneral (the Right Hon. Sir J. G. Ward) last. week. The number who are waiting to he called up is 123—a total of 889 who have been released, or will be released during the next week or so. Up to the present the number of men of the Department killed in action is 27, missing 7, wounded 43. Kighty-eight specialists of the Department have been sent forward for special work, and arc receiving half of their civil pay. One lady of the Department has joined the nursing service, and six others have enlisted and arc waiting called up. The Department will be sending this week some thirty-three skilled wireless operators, who will be required for special work. The shortage of cocksfoot seed is agitating members of the seed business in the Stratford district, and on Friday morning (says the Post), with a view to ventilating the subject a local seedsman interviewed, the President of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce (Mr. J. B. Richards). He explained that the shortage promised to be acutely felt in the near future, and was of opinion that timely advice might materially help the position. He pointed out that on the roadsides and on the railways (particularly on the East branch) cocksfoot was to be found growing profusely, and there were splendid opportunities for gathering the seed, Which at the wholesale price of even a shilling a lb would handsomely repay for the labor. Speaking to a Post reporter on the matter, Mr. Richards suggested that schoolboys who are not too busy on the farms might., by collecting the seed in their spare time, earn very good wages. A hint was also thrown out to settlers to similarly improve the shining hours prior to the annual "burns."

A New Plymouth soldier, who was wounded at Loos' on September 2Sth last, in the great advance, in a letter to his people here gives an incident that occurred which is very pathetic. Ho says: "[ have been to Northampton, visiting some people, whose only son, an ollicer, died in a little room in France in which he and I were lying. ] was with him when ho died, and wrote and told his people about it. His mother sent me a nice letter, in which sinsays: "'We first knew that he died in hospital, but had not another word, so I think you can imagine how 1 have been longing lo know if the poor dear suffered much, or if he ever spoke. Your letter has been more than a comfort to me. Ho was always such an absolutely perfect boy to us all at home, and I can only think perhaps 1 loved him too mujh. Once more thanking you for your splendid thoughtfulness in letting me know about my Lionel. We had letters from his fellow officers, but none have been able to tell us what no one else hut you could have done. You say he called what sounded like "Ma," three times, and as he always eali.\» me Mam I cannot help feeling that is what ho meant."

THE GERMS OF CF.REBRO-SI'INAI MENINGITIS are stated by the Director of the Bacteriological Laboratory of the University to Melbourne to be quickly destroyed by eucalyptus. SANDER'S EUCALYPTI EXTRACT was proved at the Supreme Court of Victoria to possess far greater antiseptic power than the common eucalyptus oils and so-called extracts. Therefore, if you are not particular about your health you use any sort of eucalyptus; if you arc—you use only SANDER'S EXTRACT, 3 drops on sugar. It protects you not only from meningitis, but from all other infectious diseases; scarlet fever, measles, influenza, typhoid, diphtheria, small-pox, etc. SANDER'S EXTRACT is tlic strongest and safest antiseptic, and its curative qualities have been demonstrated to be genuine and lasting—it not only disinfects, but stimulates and gives new vigor to diseased parts. Ulcers, poisoned wounds, chilblains, inflamed skin are quickly cur id by SANDER'S EXTRACT,

An inquest concerning tlie death of I-anritz Jl. Jensen, second mate of t.lie schooner C. S. Holmes, who was drowned at Moturoa early on Thursday morning, was opened 011 Saturday, before Mr. A. Crookc, Coroner. Evidence concerning the circumstances leading up to the accident, on the lines already made public, was given by tlie chief mate the schooner. This'was the only ev{dence taken, and the inquest was adjourned to a date to be fixed later. A child of three years of age fell off a hotel balcony into Devon Street on Saturday morning and had a remarkable escape from serious injuries. While the attention of its nurse was diverted the child feil out of the bedroom window 011 to the balcony, and turning completely over, she rolled through the rails along the balcony and Jell into the street, a drop of about twelve feet. The child was picked up by a passer-by nnd taken into the hotel, and when a doctor examined her, he found the child had not even a murk upon her. ■Race-fining people at Randwick 011 Boxing Day responded well to the appeal of the New South Wales Commandant. .Colonel Ramaciotti, for donations of field-glasses for the use of officers'oll active service. In various parts of the ground olliceis were stationed with tables, and some of these were well loaded with binomial's by the time the racing had linished. Many of them were fine glasses of a sort difficult to purchase at the present time. One elderly sportsman, placing an expensive pair of glasses on tlie table, remarked to tho officer, "If you see as many dead Hermans through this as I've seen 'dead 'mis' on racecourses, we'll win this war.''

A most distressing case of poisoning occurred recently at Abbotsford, Victoria, when two little children of Mrs. Acfield, in their innocent play, got hold of a tin of rat poison, and ate some of it, with the result that both died later on in the Children's Hospital. Their names were Sylvia Actield, aged a year and eleven months, and Albert Acfield, three years and eight months. The sad misadventure occurred while Mrs. Acfield was cleaning a shelf, among tho artkles removed being the poison, which was placed in a cupboard temporarily during cleaning operations. It was then that the children must have got hold of the tin unknown to their mother. Mrs. Acfield found the little girl playing with the tin. She examinee? ;t, and from appearances It did not seem that the child had taken any. Later on; however, both children became violently sick, and on the advice of a doctir they were taken to the Children's Hospital." The little girl died soon after admission, but the boy lingered for some time.

There are about 150 Europeans on the Chatham Islands, but large areas of ■land are owned tiy Maoris and lialftastes. These, true to the traditions of their race, believe in the good old "taihoa" policy. They are adverse to change, and whenever a proposal is made to have a road board constituted on the. islands they unite in a vigorous protest, which is sufficiently effective to bring l the movement to an end. The only body with the semblance of a local authority on the islands is the Wharf Committee, which is a registered society, and makes a charge on all imports ami exports that pass over its wharf, but it is a poor apology for a proper rating body with a legal status. The islanders generally are prosperous. There is no great wealth amongst them, but on the other hand there is no destitution. The fishing industry has been iirmly established, and is turning tho rich fishing grounds on the voast to account, but the islands rely mainly on sheep, which thrive on the pastures and produce good Tvoot and mutton.

Speaking with reference to the wounds received by soldiers at Anzac, Lieut.Colonel T. R. Inglig stated in Auckland that he was of opinion that, on the whole, wounds received in the present war were rather more severe than those inflicted in the South African war. The missiles which hit our men in Anzac were in most cases much larger. The first operation performed on the Maheuo I was the removal of iv largo piece of shell | fro.m a man's thigh. He found that the small Turkish bullets did a great deal of damage. Although they made only a small puncture they turned over and over, with the result that the wounds were very serious. The nature, of the wounds, had the fact of the turning of the bullets not been known, would have led one to 'believe that tRe Turks used explosive bullets, a suggestion which was certainly not justifiable. The rifle bullets used by the Turks were generally surgically clean, whereas the shrapnel bullets were not. Colonel Inglis stated that some men had been killed at Anzac without there being any visible signs of injury. For instance.'Colonel Thomas, who was well known in New Zealand, was killed by the voncussion of a highexplosive shell. The'only apparent injury was a broken finger The British Dominions General Insurance Company Ltd., notifies the appointment of Air. V. P. t'orkill as chief agent for Die Taranaki district. Mr. Corkill has been carrying on insurance business here for over thiny years and the representation of this' progressive and successful concern could not well be in more capable hands.