Abergavenny Chronicle

TO DINE WITH MR. ASQUITH. A well-dr?sed woman named Gertru d e D^v-llk Cole, twenty-three, waa ccGert.rude 7 ?al at the Marlborough-etreet tnpllt.ted rT.t for obtaining dre, etc., to olwc- value of .£236 by false pretencee. the accused ?aa y rc^nted that she was the daughter of a nch South American shi e daughter 01 a owner, and on ? one occ?ion said she wanted SIX'Clal gown as ? she was being taken by owsnpeerc, ia l gown a cri ? Ambo?ador to •ie wife of the ATnericau Ambawador to ?ne with Mr. and Ms- AsQUith.

ENGLISH GIRL WEDS MAORI. .? A romantic wedding was celebrated at A romantic wedding "? English girl tV,altor.-on-Tliame,s, Nvhen an married a Maori who had fought. at. G?l- hpoh, and who did not reach the dIstnct until ci?ht wœks ago as a. Patlt the Mount Felix Hospital. ) Tho bridegroom was Private peter Poi- I o, a stalwart figure in the kbalci and red uniform of the 16th New Zealand Regiment, and the bride was Miss Winifred AW .» of Walton. lf38 Inl rt:U

CLUB WINDOW. .— ——. When General Joffre is travelling from point to point on the hundreds of miles of battle line under his direction he does most of his sleeping in his motor-car. While he travels at night—seldom making less than forty miles an hour—he sleeps, and sleeps well, it being tfated that he finds the motor. even at high speed, more comfortable than a camp bed. King Alfonso « little t i rre a,7 f) King Alfonso of Spain some little time ago visited a small town near Madrid and walked about the streets. But the rumour of his presence somehow got abroad, and he sud- denly found himself among an excited throng, all of whom were "looking for Alfonso." One excitcd old lady began tfØ ex- claim shrilly when he was near by: "Get cut of the way! she cried. "How can I see what the King is like if you will crowd me so!" Turning, with a smile, to the excited old lady, King Alfonso whispered "Have a look at me—I am the King." "King!" she exclaimed scornfully. "You the King! Don't you tell me that. Why, you're more like someone who has come to blow the poor boy up » « Sir Claude Champion do Orespignv. J.P.. D.L., has had a remarkable career. He had five years in the Navy, then five in the 60th Rifles, then went as war correspondent to Egypt, then to South Africa and East Africa. He is a crack balloonist, a leader of the National Reserve, a member of the Legion of Frontiersmen, he holis the Humana Society's medal for saving life, aDd he is the author of a volume cf breezy sport- ing reminiscences. Lord Sligo once had a most exciting expe- rience, although he was probably not aware of it at the time, as he was a baby in arms. His parents, Lord and Lady Uliek Browne, were in India at the time of the Mutiny, ar.d got separated from their seven-montks-old baby. The old ayah who looked after the child, in order to save his life, stained his skin n dark colour, passed him off as her own, and thus got eafely through the Sepoy lines. • M. Paul Cambon, the French Ambassador to St. James's, first came to London in 1898. M. Cambon owes nothing to birth, and in a striking example of how a man may, through sheer force of character and ability, Tise to a high position in the State. Me was eight veare of age when his father died, leaving a widow and two Mns, not very well provided for. M. Cambon worked hard, studied for the law, and ultimately entered diplomatic circles, becoming one of the most successful diplomatists of the French Republic. As one writer said HTher, is no more striking and sympathetic figure ithan the Ambassador of the French Republic in the whole of London." He played an important part in the establishment of the "entente cordiale." A sfolf story told about Mr. A. J. Balfour concerns a caddy he once went round with on certain links in Scotland. Mr. Balfour had driven his ball into long grass, and he "Try an d turned to the caddy f mr advice. "Try and drive it to the farthest skyline you can see, sir," he was told. He tried, with wonderful success. "Oh, sir," exclaimed the youth ad- miringly, "if I'd got your strength and you had my brainy what a good pair for a four- some we'd make! soiiie ive'(1 ir.4,k(?! A good story is told about ex-President Taft. who, as is well known, is noted for his stoutness. Mr. Taft had been on a visit to a distant town. and found that he could not get bask home that night unless he managed to stop a through express train. Being a man cf great resource, he telegraphed to headquarters: "Will you stop the through express at Somerville to take on large party? The railway people thought they were in for a "good thing," and wired back: "Yes." At Somerville the express was duly brought to a standstill, and Mr. Taft pre- pared to get on board. "Where's the large party I was to take on? asked the guard of l'h. Taft. "I'm he." replied the ex-Presi- dent with a smile. "That/sail." Of course, the gunrd was furious, but Mr. Taft caught the train he wanted, and, after all, he had only spoken the truth! < < Mr. Harold Bcgbie telip the following story in his interesting book "The Happy Irish": One night a doctor in a small Irish town was knocked up by a peasant from a village fifteen miles away. The peasant asked the doctor if he would come and see his mother, who was ill. "Patrick," said the doctor, your mother is a very old woman." "I know that, doctor," admitted the man. "She's over eighty, Patrick." "She's all tbt, doctor." "And nothing that I could do," continued the medico, "would be of the smallest use to her." "Sure, doctor," said the peasant. "I know very well it's the truth you are telling me; but me poor mother, do you see, would have me to come and fetch you because she does not want to die a natural death!" » • • Sir Edward Elgar from an early age dis- played exceptional musical talent, although he never had a lesson in orchestration, and, indeed, is almost entirely self-taught. It is safe to affirm, however, that Sir Edward, whatever his earliest ambitions might have been, little dreamt when he started life in a solicitor's office, gave lessons on the violin and played in the local orchestra at Worces- ter, his native city, where his father was an organist, that he would one day attain his present fame. He had not much money in those days, but he was determined to learn. Nearly every week he used to journey to London from his native city, in order to attend the Saturday night concerts at the Crystal Palace. Now and then a small com- position of his was given in hjs native dis- trict, and this local fame led to him being made band conductor in 1879 to the County Lunatic Asylum, where he spent his time coaching players recruited from the at- tendants. tP In illustration of the "dreary Glasgow Sunday," Mr. Pitt Hardacre, the popular actor-manager, tells this story. He was leaving his hotel in Glasgow one fine Sunday morning when the sun was shining brightly: As he was strolling along George-square a ?nd at last policeman eyed him suspiciously, and at last approached and said, "Ye had better tak' care, sir, what ye're doing." "What am I doino-?" inquired Hardacre, and added, with a merry wink, "Why, I'm not even whistling." "No, replied the Glaswegian in solemn and reproving tones; "but ye're lookin' almost as happy as if it were 1(,okin' almost ar, happy as if it were Mr. Arthur Roberts tells an amusing story of an unsuccessful comedy. When the cur- tain rose at a matinee performance there were fifteen people in the audience. In the front of the houe- there was only a young girl in the second row. In the first row ot the balcony sat one young man. As the leading man spoke his first line, "The sea is purple; have you, too, noticed it?" the voice of the young man in the balcony responded: "I don't know about the young lady down- stairs, but I can see it very nicely up Here." • • • Prince Viggo of Denmark, the youngest of the sons of Queen Alexandra's favourite brother, Prince Waldemar of Denmark, is of a studious temperament, and his chief in- terest has been natural science. The eldest, Prince Agage, had a romantic marriage a year or so ago with the daughter of Count Calvi de Bergolo, a former Italian Minister to Denmark, this being the outcome of an attachment which arose through the couple playing cricket and tennis tpgether. The second son, Prince Axel, goes in enthusiastic- ally for aviation, much to his family's anxiety; the third eon is Prince Erik, and there is one daughter, the youthful Princess Margaret.

By the falling of a large elm tree branch at a Boy Scouts' camp near Caterham, Surrey, Norman Charles Cowling, aged eleven, was killed. Last ^ar t^e expenditure of the North- Umberland and Durham miners' permanent rehef fund exceeded the income by nearly .£39,000. Mr. Arthur Eriksen, master of the Nor- wegian steamship Estrella, of Bergen, has ell awarded a piece of plate by the Board of Trade for rescuing the shipwrecked crew of the steamship Fairpoint, of Newcastle-on- Tyiie, m the North Atlantic on April 15.

I KING'S MESSAGE TO NATION I ARMY OF 5.041,000 RAISED BY VOLUNTARISM. The, following message from the King to the nation has been issued by the Press Bureau: Buckingham Palace, May 25, 1916. To enable our country to organise more effectively its military resources in the pre- sent great struggle for the cause of civilisa- tion 1 have, acting on the advice of my Ministers, deemed it necessary to enrol every able-bodied man between the ages of eighteen and forty-one.. I desire to take this opportunity of ex- pressing to my people my recognition and a ppreciation of the splendid patriotism and | self-sacrifice which they have displayed in raising by voluntary enlistment, since the commencement of the war, no less than 5,0-11,000 men, an effort far surpassing that of any other nation in similar circumstanced recorded in history, and one which will be a lasting source of pride to future genera- tions. I am confident that the magnificent spirit which has hitherto sustained my people through the trials of this terrible war will inspire them to endure the additional sacri- fice now imposed upon them, and that it will with God's help lead us and our Allies to a victory which shall achieve the libera- M/vn of "Rii rrmf* A -l' (Signed) GEORGE R.I. 1

SIR ROGER CASEMENT. I GRAND JURY CHARGED BY LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. Sir Roger Casement and the soldier Daniel Julian Bailey are to be tried in the King's Bench for high treason on Monday, June 26th, the grand jurv having returned a true bill. In his charge to the grand jury the Lord Chief Justice said it was but rarely that in modern times a grand jury had been #um- moncd to this Court, or elsewhere in Eng- land, to try so grave a crime a6 that of high treason. The statute under which the bills of in- dictment were presented was a statute of King Edward III., passed in the year 1351. Each of the* prisoners was charged with the offence of high treason known as adhering to the King's enemies. This was the first case of high treason for which a bill of indictment had been pre- sented to a grand jury under the new statute, the Indictment Act, and after deal- ing with the evidence against Casement and Bailey, the Lord Chief Justice said it was for tne jury to determine whether accused were parties to the fittino, out of the ex- pedition to Ireland, and whether their ap- pearance on the Irish const was because it was all part and parcel of the same plot. His lordship urged them to come to their conclusion on the evidence alone, and to pay no heed to what they might have read or heard. When true bills had been returned against the accused, his lordship nominated Ser- jeant Sullivan and Mr. Artemus Jones ,as counsel to represent Sir Roger Casement at. the trial. Mr. Holman Gregory, K.C., and Mr. W. T. Snell were nominated to defend Bailey. 11r Artemus Jones applied that the case should not be heard before the first week in July. Certain difficulties had arisen in preparing the defence, he said, and these were set forth in an affidavit sworn by Sir Roger Casement's solicitor. It was not until May 9th that his solicitor was able to see him for the first time, and he (the solicitor) .hardly recognised the man as he was suffering from acute mental strain. The interrogatories to which he had been sub- jected had caused considerable distress of mind and body. Counsel added that there was evidence which it was desired to obtain from the United States, and difficultIes might arise in connection with the censor- ship of letters. Mr. Gregory, on behalf of Bailey, also applied for a. postponement, and after further discussion the Lord Chief Justice fixed the date for June 26th.

GERMAN PRISONERS TO WORK. I Nearly 15,000 German combatant prisoners now in Great Britain are to be given suit- able employment as soon as practicable. About 1,000 German soldiers will assist in building a great dam in the valley of the Conway, in North Wales. Other detach- ments will shortly be Gctailoo-as soon as the necessary accommodation for them can be completed—in iron mining on the island of Rathsay, off Skye, and in timber-cutting in Inverness, Yorkshire, and other areas. Civilian prisoners are already at work on the roads and in the quarries of the Isle of Man, and on the farms in Cheshire. The military and naval prisoners are paid the wages prescribed by the Hague Con- vention—the same rates as those paid to our own soldiers for extra duties. The general question of releasing German labour to the farmers at large is much more difficult of solution Few farmers can iind work for very large gangs of prisoners, and small gangs require a guard out of all proportion to their labour value. But it may lie generally accepted that the War Office are willing to provide gangs of Ger- man labour if the actual labour results are such as to warrant the presence of a mili- tary guard.

SEAMEN'S OATH TO ENEMY. I When a fisherman, named T. E. Price, of Garth, Carnarvonshire, claimed absolute exemption before the Bangor Tribunal, he said that he had been out on the Gold Coast. He booked a passage home on the Appam. During the voyage they were captured by the German auxiliary cruiser Mowe, and to secure his release he had to sign an under- taking that he would not take up arms against Germany or her allies "I trust," he said. "that I shall not be blamed for taking the only course open to me other than being taken on board the German auxiliary cruiser as prisoner." He produced documentary evidence s how- ing that he was on board the Appam. and added that he had sunk all his t-avings in a new fishing boat. Dr. Arnold (a member of the Tribunal) pointed out that the oath did not prevent him from serving in the mercantile marine. The Tribunal granted absolute exemption on condition that the applicant remains in his occupation as a fisherman. The military representative (Professor Archer) said he regarded the man's oath as binding.

SHOOTING TRAGEDY.' I A shooting tragedy has occurred at West Hartlepool at a motor garage in Thornton- street belonging to Hugh Rae (Limited). Shortly before one o'clock shots were heard in the office of the garage, and on an en- trance being obtained Mr. Hugh Rae, the head of the firm, was found lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood, whilst at some little distance lay a young woman named Winifred Young bleeding from a wound in the head. She was removed to hospital in a critical condition. Her injury was appar- entlv caused by a rifle bullet, and a minia- ture rifle was found in thj office. Hies Younf. who is nineteen years of age, was formerly in Mr. Rae's employ as bookkeeper. Afr. Rae. who was about thirty-eight, was married, and leaves a widow and three young children.

So many girl learners and apprentices have left the dressmaking and millinery trades to engage in munition making that the firms concerned, at a conference con- vcned to discuss the problem, agreed to raise wages by two shillings a week. A Hornsey hairdresser, the son of German parents, forty years resident in England, who was granted exemption by the Middle- sex County Appeal Tribunal, said that he had submitted to the British, Admiralty plans for a new type of submarine.

I IN LIGHTER VEIN. BT I THOMAS JAY. I ILLUSTRATED Br J. H. LUNN. Tho Daylight Saving Bill has created a precedent in many ways. Not satisfied with saving daylight, a well-known society writer now suggests that a bill might be introduced to enable people to put back their ages by ten years. It has been said i thaf a man is as old as he looks, and a woman as old as she feels. Of course, there are some who, like Sarah Bernhardt, are both. The suggestion of putting back the ages will have the support of the women- folk. Professor Edouard, the famous Parisian scientist, once invented an appara- tus which, fastened to the wrist, would by means of the pulse tell the age of the patient; and such a commotio.i did this pause among the Parisian womon that, pro- bably appreciating the great wrong he would be doing to the womenfolk, the pro- fessor did not persevere with the idea. But the present suggestion of putting back the ages by ten years will lay itself open to abuse, and after all, if we are to believe everything said on the matter, it will not need an Act of Parliament to enable women- folk to put back their ages. So the warm weather has arrived, and people go about their businesses like grilled steaks. I have no doubt that ere this appears a cold snap will have set in, for I have been served that trick before. Once upon a time a long-whiskered old gentle- mnn. driven half fran tie, 1w fhp nrpailipr. THE HEAT WAVE. .] wrote a proverb and sent it round to the papers, "Ne'er cast a clout till May is out," and having written this he went back to bed. We appear to have plunged headlong into a heat wave. Heat waves are all very well if you know how to deal with them, but when the big, fat thing at the bot- tom of the ther- mometer is doing its best to knock the lid off, what is better I than to plunge right mto the thick 01 a heat wave and get washed high and dry right up against the American bar in the Strand, where you can have iced drinks and watch your temperature tumbling down rapidly. Once upon a time English damsels were sentimental and stayed at home. In those happy days, before the war, the aver- age young lady was incomplete unless she was thinking sentimental things in a garden, with a moon, a balmy breeze, the sweet scent of flowers, and the usual trimmings. They would swing their hats in their hands in the manner of the summer number frontispiece, and wax do)«fv*l—which is all very well, but, can- didly, 1 cannot see anything in waxing dole- ful. As a matter of fact, I should not know a doleful if I were to meet one, to say nothing of waxing it. Then, when the war came along, she turned her attention to knitting nick-nacks for soldiers, and certain articles of underwear, which the British Armv insisted were on the short side. Then she commenced shaping shells for sailors, who signa-Iled- But why proceed? The English lady has entered almost everything in her attempt, creditable in the extreme, of keeping the home fires burning with coal at three pounds per ton. Having read a good deal of the lxcelIent work being done by the young ladyJrailway porters (or portresses), I decided to go and watch them at work. Accordingly I called at an office where they keep a large stock of railway stations. The "early doors" were just going in, so I stepped up smartly to the little window and tapped upon it. I tapped some more, but nothing happened. I played "Rule Britannia" three times on the glass, and the young man came in on the chorus. "I want a railway ticket," I said. He indi- cated that he was glad I had not called for the rent or to buy a motor-cycle. "What ticket do you want? he asked. "Oh, what stations have you got going? I asked. "Tou might let me see a few. I might order quite a lot if I like them." He opined that I was a-sking for a couple of dark patches under the eye, and it wouldn't be his fault if I didn't come to a very sticky end. Having secured my ticket for Smuggleton, which is about ten miles as the crow bunnv- hugs, judge of my surprise when, upon alb/hting, I saw a real porter. An absolute swindle, I thought. Here had I come to see a lady portress at work, and here was the old, old porter, erected when the station was built. There he was-green trousers, red tie, red whiskers, blue coat, red number- plate, nose to match, a regular colour scheme, in fact, but a male porter, when I had come to see a portress, or a lady porter. I felt inclined to ask for my money back. But I espied in the dis- tance that for which I sought —a lady porter. She was leaning up against one of Mr. Smith's book- stalls reading a novel. It was a end novel. Several tears dropped on the book with a A LAm PORTEB. I -1 dull thud. Sebastian had deserted the girl of his heart. More tears. He had been driven from home, and told not to cross the threshold of the ancestral mansion again. Mere tease. Then there came a stepmother tt) The Gables. More tears—and there wasn't a plumber to be seen anywhere. "Sprig has cub." That is how I am com- pelkd to say it just now. Always the east wind is blowing, and laden with germs. There are germs of the right sort. Decent little fellows who eat up the dangerous germs. But they have been hopelessly out- numbered in my own case. The trouble with me is that my body is not expert enough to pick out the best germs, and it has got into that rather foolish habit of taking them a.,3 they come, with the result that just at the moment I have quite a lot of very healthy influenza germs roaming about and paying no board bills. I must have picked up these germs from whichever of the four winds happened to be pjissing at the time, and the result of all this is that people have been telling me a cure for it. A sure cure. Never fails. While there are about six different kinds of influ- enza, there are about six million sure cures for it. I have seen many men who have had influenza, but have yet to find one who can cure it. The man who steps up to vou smartly, thumps you on the back, and says "Cheero!" when you have influenza, and then commences to tell you a cure is a dan- ger TO humanity. The wretch ought to be taxed. Cool, calculating bounders! I am not vindictive, but it would give me great pleasure to see them all lined up near the Tower, ready to be—let me put it lig-htly- abolished. What a sorry lot they would look!

Under a Bow County-court award, Thomas Gallagher, who was badly hurt in an explosion in 1907, will have received X950 compensation in all. The men employed in the shipyards of the Tyne, Wear, Tees, and the Hartlepools have jointlv made application for a 5s. wages advance weekly. An enormous rise in the cost of living and the diminished purchas- irg power of the sovereign are the grounds (of the application.

PRAISE FOR TROOPS ENGAGED IN OPERATIONS. General N. W. Barnardision'e despatches on the part taken by the British in the cap- ture of Kiao-Chau in November, 1914, are ssued in the "London Gazette." The troops mgaged were the 2nd Battalion Scuth Wales Borderers and the 36th Sikhs. The chief feature, described as a difficult march, in- volving a line of communications nearly forty miles long over a single, bad, narrow and congested road, or rather track. "I consider," says General Barnardiston, "that the officers and others concerned deserve the greatest credit for accomplishing what seemed an almost insuperable task, and I desire specially to bring to notice the excel- lent services rendered by Captain Don, Indian Supply and Transport Corps. To the men, the marches, although not long, were very trying, owing to the constant halts and checks owing to the road being blocked by Japanese artillery and transport, but, wi*,h the exception of a few cases of fever, no men fell out." The plaoe of the British force was in the front line of the investing force. The Japa- nese artillery practice is highly praised. The British embarked at Tientsin on Sep- tember 19, and the Germans surrendered on November 7, after a continuous bombard- ment. "The troops under my command," says General Barnardiston, "have behaved extremely well under trying conditions of weather and those inseparable from siege warfare, and all ranks have worked loyally and hard."

I FORTUNE-TELLERS FINED. I Five women fortune-tellers were fined at 50uthend on Tuesday for pretending to tell fortunes. Their professional names were Mme. Churchill, Mme. Marguerite, Mme. Roberts, Mme. Keiro, Mme. Leena. The Chief Constable said that in certain cases the defendants spoke about Zeppelin raids and the war, which he submitted was a very reprehensible practice whilst so many women i ad their husbands and other --tatives at the Iront or doing war service. The wives of a sergeant and A constable rave evidence, the former stating that Mme. Churchill told her sie would not be killed by a Zeppelin. "You will be close to a house which is burnt," she said, "but you will not be hurt." She also stated that women were more plucky than men, who were very nervous of. Zeppelins, policemen particularly. Mme. Marguerite told the witness her husband would be called up for service, but he would see no fighting, as the war would be over by the autumn. The end would come on the W eea, and not on land. 7,fme. Roberts told the other client that if she had been born a man she would have made a good magistrate, and that she was as clever as Mr. Asquith. The witness re- plied, "Wait and see." Each defeli(bnt was fined £ 4. ————— 1)" —————-

I THE MEAT SUPPLY. In the House of Commons on mesa ay, Mr. Faber asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the meat supply at present in this country—home-grown or imported- w I.S less than, the amount at was equal to, or less than, the amount at this time last year? Mr. Pretyman, who replied, said that ljroadly speaking, the high price was not duo to a deficiency in the sources of supply, but to the very large requirements of the forces in the field. If the hon. member asked whether there was as much meat avail- able for the civil population the answer was "No." Mr. Faber: Is the deficiency for the civil population a serious one? Mr. Pretyman: That is a. question of decree. It is serious enough to have a con- siderable effect in raising prices.

HELP FOR THE EAST COAST. rst Coast towns are assured of some relief from the Government to compensate them for the heavy loss sustained by bom- bardment and Zeppelin raids. The ease for Government aid was put by local M.P.'s in the House of Commons. Mr. Hayes Fisher said the Local Govern- ment Board were keeping in close touch with the local authorities. They were now awaiting detailed information from a. com- mittee of town clerks, borough accountants. and chief officials. He thought that a general scheme of relief would not be ad- visable. but each case would be dealt with according to its needs.

MUDROS BAY RESCUE SEQUEL I A silver medal was presented on Tuesday by the Society for the Protection of Life from Fire to Lieut. E. P. Campbell, R.E., who, at great risk to himself when the clothes of the Chinese driver of the steam bunch took lire in Mudros Bay, threw the man into the sea, and then dived in and kept him afloat till the flames were put out. lie then helped the man on board the launch.

SOLDIER KILLED BY LIGHTNING. I A fevere thunderstorm visited South Lon- d-on cu Tuesday. In the Isle of Wight Cor- poral Coombes, of the 3rd Duke of Corn- wall's Light Infantry, was killed by light- ning. During an exceptionally heavy thunder- storm in the west of Ireland there was a fall cf hailstones as large as marbles. Traffic was suspended. Many sheep and cattle were killed by lightning.

COST THE RATEPAYERS ESOO. I At Old-street Police-court on Tuesday John Stockweli, forty, carman, was charged with deserting his wife and family. The Re- lieving Officer said the prisoner and his wife and four children had been in and out cf the workhouse since 1907. The collective period of chargeability for the family was twenty-one years, and they had cost the ratepayers £ 590. Asked what he had to say, the prisoner said he was willing to pay. The Magistrate: What willing to pay £ f>0G You will go to prison for two months with hard labour. -—————

RESCUED BY WOUNDED SOLDIER. Mr. Locke King, owner cf Brooklands, was rescued from drowning at Wevbridge. During a niirses' race a canoe overturned, and Mr. King and a nurse were thrown into the river. Quartermaster-Sergeant Howe, of the Newfoundland contingent, who has heen wounded, attempted a rescue, but being unable to swim was himself in diffi- culties. The men were pulled ashore by Ser- geant Murrcll, cf the London Imperial Yeo- manry. The nurse saved herself by clinging to the overturned canoe. —————— —————

APPEAL DISMISSED UNHEARD. Before the House of Commons section of the Appeal Tribunal on Tuesday an assis- tant clerk at the War Office appealed as a conscientious objector. The Chairman (Mr. D. Maclean, M.P.): A man in the War Office professing a conscien- tious objection to military service! I do not propose to go into the case, and the appeal will be dismissed.

The captain of the Wandle has received a further cheque for £ 100 iron the Sunder- land Steamship Association for division he- tween himself and the crew. Major Lionel Nathan de Rotltschild was fined £ "25 at Hytbe. Hampshire, for driving ) a motor-car with headlights in the ew Forest. <> Jimmy Wilde, the champion fly-weight boxer, ims again been rejected by the Mcciical Board for Army service—this time on account of deficiency in weight.

OUR CHILDREN'S CORNER. I BY I UNCtdt RALPH. I SUMMER-TIME. Summer-time's the time I like the best of all the year, When raspberries ^nd gooseberries, £ md cherries too, are here; Then we can fish in streams and ponds, and play amongst the hay; Or go and ljck th", strawberries when the gardener's away. I PAMEY'S AIRSHIP. Pambv the Rabbit tock up his money box and shook it. It hardly made any ncfise at all That meant that it was kill. So Pambv walked very kappiiy into the town and bought an airship. So he went home, and 11(;1 practiced very carefully all the afternoon in the field ut the back of his house, and on the fallowing morning he thought that he would go ror a very nice and beautiful sail in thr. air. So he climbed into the airship and started eff into the air. It went up and up and up. and Pamoy took his telescope and watched all the trees and things getting smaller and smaller, and the earth began to look as though it was about a hundred million miles away. Wken Pambv saw the earth looking as tkough it was a hundred million miles away he began to get very agitated. Suddenly the airship stopped because it had run into something. And the thing it had run into was the moon. Then wa-s Pamby the Rabbit Tcrv fright- ened and presently a very long and white- looking Moon Person came, and Pamby gc-t more frightened than ever. "Oh. dear me, Moon Person!" he said, "I do hope I haven't chipped a piece off your nice moon" The Moon Person Wa? very interested and excited. And he said that he happened to know all about air- ships, because he had a lot of his own at home, and he did things to the airship with his hands an d he sent it off very j quickly back to eprth again. When he got back to his house, Psmby the Rabbit was very glad and thankful, and he promised himself very faithfully that he would never go up in his airship again, because it was too exciting. So he took his money box to town, and the airship people counted the pennies back into it—all except the new shiny one that Pamby never saw again. And they sent a bov round in the morning to take the air- e?up away. On "mo]if!ht nights Pamby the Rabbit looks verv carefully through his telescope and thinks about the sadness of being up in the moon. But he has never seen the Mocn Beraoa again. THE FALL OF SUSAN JANE. I never used to play with boys, And so when Johnny Payne Invited me to hunt for Enails- I just walked on again. 1"2 got my baby, Susam Jane, Who doesn't care for boyp; So I walked on—just dignified— When suddenly a noise, Quite close beside me, made me jump; And poor. i-ear Susan Jane Had such an awful start, she fell Face downwards in the lauel 'Twas only Neddy, braying loud, But Susan fell and broke; And I just cried, and cried, and cried- Then Johnny Payne—he spike. lie said: "Don't cry—you come with me- My grandpapa's a swell At mending toys and gluing things; Hc.'ll make your doll quite well." And so he did with heaps of. glue; And now I play with boys, Because it's useful if you've friends Whose grandpapas mend toys. PEGGY'S PARTY. Peggy was going to a party, and Nurse was dressing nor in a new muslin frock, and white shoes and stockings, and her besA petticoat with lace roimd the bottom. But although she loved parties, Peggy was not quite happy, for Elizabeth, her little sister, had a bad cold and was not able to go. Poor Elizabeth cried dreadfully when she heard s he could not go, and Peggy leit quite miser- able at the thought oi leaving her all alone. However, Nur^e said Elizabeth would soon cheer up after Peggy had gone. So Peggy started off with Jane, the housemaid, hoping that Elizabeth would soon leave off crying. It was a beautiful party. There was a conjurer, and a magic lantern, ond crackers, and iced cakes, and biscuits with pink sugar on them for tea, besides all sorts of other nice things. And after tea they had dancing, and played at hide-and-seek, and blindman's- buff, and hunt-the-slipper, and kiss-in-the- riii- and then, just before the party finished, everybody had a present, and Peggy had a lovely dell with real hair, that opened and shut its eyes. If it had not been for poor Elizabeth, Peggy thought she would never have en- joyed a party so much before Elizabeth was asleep when Peggy got home; but the next morning Peggy hurried to get dressed, for she had thought of a plan to make up to Elizabeth for missing the party. When she was ready she took the doll and ran off to the nui.sery. Then she hid behind a screen, and waited for Eliza- beth. Soon Elizabeth came in. "Peggy, Peggy, where are you? she rried. Peggy did not say anything, but she held the doll round the screen so that Eliza- beth could see it. "oh Oh! what a lovely doll!" cried Elizabeth. "It's for you, Elizabeth, dear," said Peggy, coming round from behind the screen. Elizabeth g;¥, a scream of delight, and her face shone with happiness. And all that day she was perfectly happy. "I like having dolls better than going to parti(>6." she said as she cuddled down with the doll in hc arms. So then Peggy felt quite pleased and com- fortable again. I THE TABLES TURNED. young Barnyard Chick had often heard His mother sav the early bird Would catch the worm, so one fine day He got up fiitt and stole away. Then quickly he the meadow sought, And "Breakfr.si was his only thought. Ah, what was A worm of worth- The biggest sm ly in the earth. But when Chick tried to seize that worm, IT "turned," and with a crafty ;,quirm About. his neck its tail it wound, And dragged hici backward to the ground. Then from a ond hole its head Popped up. and with a grin it said, "Although, of course, it seems absurd. The Early Worm has caught the

Since the beginning of the year Canada has been recruiting soldiers for overseas ser- vices at a rate of 1,000 per day. From Januarv 1 to April 15 the total of enlist- ments was ,in average of about 1,015 for every recruiting day. The Birmingham Watch Committee have decided to graLr to each pclicc oiffcer below the rank 01 sv.jxrintendent an allowance at the rate of ordinary pay for each day's leave of which he has been deprived throuc-li the rigour of war du-tv. The cost is estimated at.eii.ooo. The rector of Skoyton, Norfolk, c pealed to the Jocal tribunal fcr the retention of a man whom he described as the genera 1 fac- totum of the parish. He was grawciigger. bell-ringer, sexton. clerk, and scavenger, and alno repaired the yard, fences, and hedges <_f the --as re- fused.