MAIL FOR TROOPS OVERSEAS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 28, 5 January 1940, Page 2

MAIL FOR TROOPS OVERSEAS

ATES of postage for letters and R parcels sent to soldiers on active service have been announced by the Postmaster-General, the Hon. F. Jones. They are as follow: Parcels not more than 3lbs. in weight 1/6 Parcels not more than 7lbs. in weight 3/Newspapers _ Yad each 3ozs. Letters Ordinary New Zealand Inland Rate The maximum weight for parcels is 7lbs. This has been decided on in order to conserve space on ships. It is hoped that newspapers will be used as packing for parcels, and thus reduce still further the number to be posted. When addressing mail and parcels to soldiers it is well to remember to put each soldier's regimental number first, then his name, then his regiment, then 2nd New Zealand Division Overseas. All mail should be addressed to the G.P.O., Wellington, which will forward it as opportunity offers. During the last war a large number of parcels reached their destinations in France and Egypt in a dilapidated -condition, the result of insufficient packing. Don’t spare the string. Cakes and puddings should be made as airtight as possible in tins. It is a good plan to put a few good keeping apples in such parcels, as they tend to keep the cakes and puddings moist.

President of the National Research Council of Canada; from 1929 to 1935 he was chief of the Canadian General Staff. During the war General McNaughton served with the Canadian Forces and was twice wounded, After the war he continued with the forces and took courses at the Royal Staff College of Camberley and the Imperial Defence College in London. The Suez Canal New York has reported that Italy may be given a block of shares in the Suez Canal. At the moment Britain and France have the controlling interest in this most important waterway in the world. By a convention signed in 1888 the Suez Canal was exempted from blockade. Vessels of all nations, whether armed or not, are allowed to pass through in peace or war. Over 5,000 vessels of a gross tonnage of over 28

million tons pass through the canal each year. During the last war New Zealand soldiers guarded the canal at Ismailia. It was an easy swim "from Africa to Asia," for the canal divides the two continents. At a cost of £4,000,000 the British Government acquired from the Khedive of Egypt 176,602 shares in 1875. To-day the value of those shares is over £65,000,000. General Smuts General the Right Hon. Jan Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa, who

claimed recently that war might have broken out in South Africa instead of Poland, is now 69 years of age and a man with a remarkable career. He served in the Boer war and was given supreme command of the Republican Forces in Cape Colony in 1901. He holds honorary degrees in 21 universities in Great Britain, the United States, Canada and South Africa, and he is a freeman of ten English and Scottish cities. General Smuts is a celebrated lawyer and a Bencher of the Middle Temple. He has played a great part in the political life of South Africa, where he has held all the high offices, including the Prime Ministership from 1919 to 1924. In 1916-17 he commanded the armed forces in British East Africa and after the war he represented South Africa at the Peace Conference. Men For 2nd Echelon Soldiers of the 2nd Echelon will probably go into camp about January 12. Officers and non-commissioned officers are already in camp and have

completed their refresher courses and preliminary training. They will be ready. to take over the volunteers on their arrival at the various camps and to begin immediately the full course of training. Recruiting is already in progress, but more men are still wanted to fill the requirements of the 2nd Echelon. Inside the Submarine Latest reports at the time of going to press suggest that the submarine menace may have been suceessfully

overcome, It is interesting to recall that the first submarine was constructed in 1775 by Bushell, an American, who propelled his boat by hand. France built the first mechanically constructed submarine in 1863. It was 146 ft. long. The present submarines, which have been greatly improved since the last war, are the outcome of designs by J. P. Holland, accepted by the United States in 1887. The machinery inside these vessels is extremely complex and consists of the following essential plant, as well as smaller mechanism: (1) a petrol or oil engine (2) an electric machine which can be used for propulsion or as a dynamo (3) an electric storage battery (4) a powerful air-compressing installation (5) storage bottles for storing compressed air (6) machinery for controlling hydroplanes (fin-like structures, projecting from the sides, which control the depth) (7) fighting equipment such as torpedoes, etc. (8) wireless plant (9) intricate listening apparatus,