Abergavenny Chronicle

I FISH THAT CAN LIVE ON LAND. I A fish that can live out of water foi mouths is included in the collection of scien- tific ctirilosities at the American Museum of Natural History. It comes from Africa. The specimen is knwn as a lung iish, be- eau-ve wben out of water it inhales air as if it were a land-living animal, though when in the water it breathes through gills. The ability to. breathe out. 6f water pre- serves th3 life of the lung fish when caught in the mud of a dried-up stream during the summer drought. The fish was received in a dormant condi tion, burrowed deep in a clod of earth which had be^n dttg from a dried-up river bottom. Whoa received at the museum the cake uf earth showed a little tunnel-like opening through which the fisfl got its supply of air. The l1tn', fish is exhibited in au aquarium in the hall of fo.=>sit fishes. It has been placed there since it belongs scientifically, among fishes which lived millions of years ago, and whose specica is almost extinct: It has further claim to scientific interest because it pictures the kind of fish which gav? rise- to the earliest Innd-living animals., The fish isi known by anatomists to have many similarities to 'the salamander. In a general way its limbs represent a stage, bo- tween fin;, .and hands,, and' it; uses them in a -fuJiiox which suggests- a salamander. So far. a:; -is knows,'th's is the 4;ccAnl s M-P n of a. living ii 'ji to be taken to 'the- United Stales. •! ♦ 1

f GOVERNMENT CLOCKS. Many Government departments are tlje possessors of "grandfather clocks" of con- liiderable value.. Pefhaps the most interesting of all i. one at the Admiralty which has a double dial, with two sets of numbers from I. to XII. It is believed to have been a gift from Queen Anne, who, like her husband, Prinoo Georg e of Denmerk, held the office of Lord High AdmiraJ. It only requires winding up once in the course of the year, and is the work of. the .incomparablo Tompion. It is stated that in 1700 he actuaUv started on the construction of a clock for St. Paul's Cathedral which was to go for a hundred years without winding.

FLOWER GIRL DETECTIVES. "Lovely roses—on'y a penny!" She of the black sailor-hat, the unfci-dy hair, and the shawl-draped sitoutders, who holds her ttay of fragrant merchandise so. invitingly u^ult-r one's noso, may combine another avecatiou with that of flower-salting. Her occupation tq,kcs her intp the streets .and public places where men most do eon- • Erogate; and, e'?peciaUy in the Wœt.Hnd. of Lo?doa, she ?o?n teams to ?iiow certain people by sight ad sh e comes across them on her beat." .Wcll-Jt'nown mem"bers .of the "clever brigad'e oon-m under her. natarally '"keen ob-jcrvatioii. '{fond often, .One- ot the boys 4s. buying, a butto^ibole,. the, oaxii ot* the demure-looking lfower-girl are wide ] open lor any scrap -of conversation "bet ween the purchaser and his pals which be of interest. And, with her stereotyped, "Thank yer, geneliuan Good luck!" on her lips, she drifts away to impart anything of use to some deeply-interested police-officer. A fresh lace is qui-kly recognised, and the newa that "Fla.sh Charlie's" mob-let us say— have got, hold of a new utilt, is conveyed to the proper quarter. m

I WHAT A SPECIALIST IS. What makes .a doctor a specialist? Can any physician or surgeon with money behind: him take a house in iiTirlcy-at-reet or neigh- b'jurhorid and practise as a 81lecialist: Ho cati do 30, but- it by no mo?ns fnUows that he wiH be- rec?gni?? as a specialist by the prof.sion., To win the professional'status of specialist a ma?? must hold or ,have held ? professor- ship at a m?dica.: xchoo!? Qr an appointmeaL at a. h<???a.L in connection wuh the disease, or group* of diseases, in which he professes to specialise. Further, he must conform to certain rules of professiorfal conduct-. He must not taku a less fee than one guinea-two guineas le the rule in I^ndou, and,SQlJIt) charge three, or even more—for a consultation, save in, extraordinary circiun4.tanq.es—he must not see a new pa tie ut except on the introduction *f* the patient's own nnodioal man. M called tQ a case, the patient's, medical' man must be present, ,or the specialist will decline to Bee the sufferer.

I UNAUTHORISED V/IHELESS. Giving false alarma" by wireless telegraphy is the newest form of the practical joke in the United States. Only recently Government aid was db.. patched to a supposed shipwreck asT the con- sequence of a "wireless joke." The Tesult iof these "jokes" is that, a Bilt has been ,brought before the Senate insisting upon the licensing of all wireless installations and their operators. By this means interference is controlled and secrecy ensured for the Government stations in timo of crisis. The installation and use Q a. private wire- less station in Britain is not H possible with- out ita. detection by the controlling authori- ties. The moment a new wireless station of any power comes into operation, either the Post Office or one of the Marconi stations receives the signals. Steps are immediately taken to ascertain its whereabouts. —

When it was explained that his lamps nad been stolen on Armistice night while he was on duty as a "special," a sumvions against & motor-car driver for having no lights was withdraw at Marylebone. Manchester Town Hall Committee decided to recommend the City Council to offer the freedom of the city to .General .Haig and I Adririral- Beatty. D j uring November ■ the King's Fund for Disabled Officers and Men made 1,521 money grants, and the total to date is roughly 6,500 grants, the averaga sum per person being about o£35

I OUR CHILDREN'S CORNER. I THREE OF THEM. It's bad to be sulky like Frederick James, He's always in tempers, he wo'.t play at games; But that Isn't much loss For he's generally cross, Ob, it's bad to bo sulky like Frederick James I It's worse to get angry like Algernon Will, He makes such a fuss that he makes himself m. He storms and lie criea When his tontrtirna arise, Oh, it,'q bad to got angry like Algernon Will! It's best to be gentle like dear little Sam, As mild as a dove, snd as meek as a lamb. He does what he's told, And is just "good aa gold," Oh, a wonderful person is dear little Sam! --0-- LONG AGO. Of conrse, what am going to tell you hap- pened a long tim& ago.. poys. would not do a»ieh things nowadays; oh, dear, no! But then—welfc I am afraid th^t they were, [sometimes rather mischievous then. The bfcadle (he wac a kind, of grand police- iman, you know) waa very- proud, and m o. tI disagreeable and cross. One morning the boys of the Tillage thought they would play a littlo trick upon him. It had hecn snowiig heavily, and the snow' was just right for making a anow-,n»n four or five of these boys got up early in the morning and sfet to work. They n ade a tat'g'Ø figure of a indn- sitting in the stocks (that was the place where they used to put bad people as a punishment in those C-aysi- and this figure -waa exactly like the cross beadle—cocked hat, pig-tail and all. When the poop»<s of the village came out in the morning ar 1. saw this they were very much amused, but when the disagreeable beadle heard about it he was very angry in- deed He took his stick and knocked the snow figure all to pieces, and said he would 'I do all sovtsi of dreadful things to the boys when he caught them. But he didn't know which hoys had done it? But,. of course, as I said before; all this happened a very 'long time ago—when boys were very different} they never do such things now. HE AND SHE AND THE BIG SISTER. They went for a walk. She had on a very dne hat. And she felt quite shy. Then they came to the road. And he was looking at the hat so hard that he- steppro right into the mud. And pulled her in after him. And they both got splashed. And they, were very sad. So they went ixoxno. And her mother said she mustn't go out again without her big s?ter. 819t a?xt tim? the sister went And it wasn't nearly so funny. For she Wouldn't, let them go anywhere by themselves. When they wanted to ride in the carriage she took hold of the string. And of course that was no fun at all. But at last the big sister got tired. And sat down on a chair in the pari. And presently she fell asleep. Then be came up very quietly. And drew the string out of her hand. And before the sister woke up, he had gone off. With her and the very fine hat. And they had such games! When the big sister woke up, they were nowhere to be seen. Of course they got" home* long before she did. And this time they didn't get splashed I with mud. THE INVENTOR. I He was a simply wonderful person, was young (Herbert Edward; he was always thinking of things. And the things he thought -of were wonderful, too; nobody ever thought of such things before. He thought of all sorts of clever little in* Ventiona. auch aa a machine for doing your. sumo (which was perfectly splendid, only it Wouldn't give you the Tight answers); or a machine for making marmalade. out of pota- to-peelings—he was. quite disappointed when hie mother would not give that a trial. He made a moat ingenious clock for wak- ing hims-,elt up in the morning, and it "worked beautifully except that it went off much too "rly-and made such a noise- that it woke up the wh<?e household in the middle of the nizht. Then he had another splendid plan for feeding Towser. He fastened piece of meat m to the handle of a. saucepan. "Now," said he to Towser, "you see, my dear little friend, that when you want to5 have that piece of meat you will also be able to get some water; for if you jump at the meat, you'll pull down the saucepan!" T*hen clever little Herbert Edward sat down to. watch the success of his plan—'he really meant to playa trick en poor old Towser, for he thought that the saucepan would fall on the little dqg's head. But Towser knew better than that. He looked at the meat and then he looked at little Herbert Edward; then he took a jump and caught the meat. Over we the saucepan full of water-but not on to Towser's head—oh, no! It fell on to the bead of, clever little Herbert Edward,, and oh, he got so wet! • He was a simply wonderful person, was young Herbert Edward, but after, that he gave fip inventing things for a little while. A PLOT. I 1t8' a shame," said Little Boy Blue. Mes, it is, said Little Miss jluffet. "I quite agree,'1 said Little Jack Horner. "I never went near a haycock?' said Little Boy Blue. "And as for falling asleep under it when I ought to have been blowing' Jiiy horn, I should never dream of doing such a thing!" "And they say tha-t I was frightened of a spider,"$aid Miss Jtuffet. "Why, -it's per- fectly absuixt! I collect spiders, and I should be glad to have one more, especially if it was a big one, in. my collection "But I think, they treat me worst of all," said Little Jack Horner. "Fancy saying I put my thumbs into a pie! Why, I know how to behave better thtin that, I should I hope all three havin g tea,together- They wRr all three having tea together— Little Boy Blue, Little Miss Muffet, and Little Jack Horner-and talking about the ,-jrursery rhymes.. "Well, what are we to do about it?" snid Little Bov Blue "Y", we ought to do something," said Little Miss Muffet. got te be done," said Little JacRi Horner. "Let's think." said Little Boy Blue. So they all thought?. Then Little Miss Muffet said all at once: "I know!" "What?" said the other two. She began to whisper: "First of all, we 111-11 "Yea," said Little Boy Blue, I"'and then .Splendid! said Little Jack Horner; "and that will make them l But I couldn't hear what -it was they were going to do..1 should very much like to know. Can anybody tell me!

I MOTHER AND HOME. I The business of being brave seems at I times a difficult one. But that is exactly when it is necessary to be brave. I tA Seasonable PUJDDING. Take 51b. of loving kindness, add lib. jTiverj of common sense, 21b. fruit of- experi- <iwioc, lib. spice of Sheerfiilnoas, 1 dozen good actions, 21b. sweeir amiability, lib. finely minced -individualitv, with essenoe of pru- ice and patieiice, according to require- Ulents. The- sauce to be moderation, well masoned with the spirit of merriment. | FOIP A CHILDREN'S PARTY. I A. "mystery table" is always popular at a childrenV party. Procure a large, shallo box, fill it with sawdust, cover it with crepe paper, and place it upon a table. Thickly ■ plaut the box with artificial 'or paper roses. Fasten to the end of each wire stem a prize done up nicely in white or fancy paper. Let each chiLd choose its own buttonhole, and pull it from its bed. The ,i,a m e idea might be used to give ebch littU guest a souvenir of the party. I BART.* PBEPABATIONS. I When preparing for a party, remove all clothes from hooks and store them away, so that there will be plinple room for the gar- ftyenta of the Christmas guests. Have pty of towels handy, in case of upsetting o. glasses, which so often happens during dancing and games taking place. Remove all dainty ornaments liable to be broken be- fore the fun begins. Go through all the music beforehand, arranging it, and mend- ing the torn parts with transparent stick mg-paper. Arrange chairs and put up cur- tains, so that there will be no chance of any guest being in misery all the evening by being in a draught. I BRAIN-WORKERS' DIET. I Brain-workers* need a greater variety of diet than other people. Aboriginal races and people of a low order of civilisation wi!T all be 'content with uncooked or such badly prepared, coarse, monotonous fare as woul4 be intolerable tit those of advanced mental, powers .Housewives should therefore feel proud when their charges are particular abottt their daily fare, tfven though their discriminations and fancies are. sometimea inconvenient. I j DAMAGED FURNITURE. I •The white marks which appear on hi-117, polished furniture whcl" hot dishes or jugs are placed on them' can be easily removed. 'Sprinkle a little methylated spirit on tLo surface of a linen pd and lightly rub the damaged part, using a circular motion. As soon as the stain has disappeared, pour over the patch that has been rubbed a table ■spoonful of linseed oil, or even olive oi!. and rub it well in with a second linen pad. SOAP ECONOMY. I The amount, of, wap required in a houso liold may almost be cut in half by careful use. Keep a box ahead, cut bats in tw>, remove from the box and pile in a dry place if possible. "Green" soap is used up twic-i as fast as the seasoned bars. Never allow it to soak in a floor pail, tub, or dishpan-f a great but very common waste. [ PusiujG GUESTS AT EASE. I The first im of a party hostess snould bo to make the guests at case, and as much at :hopTc with one another as possible. A -?np!e but effective p?an with this end if ,vi W. was adopted by ? certain hostess ?t a Christmas ?arty !as? year. Each gue?t was given a nickname, such as ?Puss in Boots, "Little Jack Horner," etc., and was told that everyone else present also pos- sessed a similar name.' A list was then given to every guest, and whoever discovered the owners of the greatest number of names was awarded a prize by the. hostess. By this means' everyón.e present was practically com- pelled to speak to the others, and a general friendly and sociable feeling was established. Such fuT? was causod, and the party was I voted a' huge success. 1 BLISTERS ON THE FEET. I Before undertaking a long walk in bootq that do not fit perfectly, it is a good pivi, to dust the feet with boric powder. If thjs is neglected and blisters are formed,1 they dould -be kept anointed with boric oint- Dîent, which eases the pain and also pre- ytenta. more aeripus trouble if the blisters burst. SODA FOR BURNS. -I I The pain of burils can be allayed by soak- ing the injured pnrt in a strong solution of washing soda. This is a very simple first- aid treatment which is always-available in the home, and it should be used as soon as possible. When the part is well soaked, the burn should be covered with a thick layer of boric gauze, which not only prevents the -air acting upon the burn and making it more painful. but fcsists the healing of the Wounded fleali. To PRESERVE BRASS HOOKS. I Curtain and other brass hooks will last I for years -without corroding if dipped into white or coloured enamelled paint, and then dried off before they are uspd. DIN.VER-TA^XE nC.RÂ T!01i I With a .little you ..ot r«*a rll)t)on "d n- supply ,-af. gc £ «n crepe-papsr the hostess: can make hof taMe looIcsumptaoMS. A neat bow of ribbon at the top of the sugar-tongs, and on each of the decanters is novel and pretty. She can also* make a square mat of the green paper for the centre of the table, j;i>V>on< which to place the fern-pots or vases, which should be covered witii the paper put on full, frilled at the top and- bottom, and kept in place by ribbon tied in a large bow on one side. Then in four small vases set ar<yund the centre-piece she can place beau- tiful red blossoms or berries, with a leaf or two of green. The centre-piece might bo flanked by two small, dIshes of goodies or' one sort or another, the dishes being entirely hidden by green leaves or paper, upon whi.rh the dainties lie. When finger-howls are used they can be decorated by allowing small Lunches of red /5 to float on the water. THE DAUGHTER'S ALLOWANCE.. If possible daughters should be provided with an allowance as soon as they are able to plan and buy their cjothes. The mother may do the actual spending, or she may only advise, but the idea of keeping within a stip-altted' Sitill for dress and personal ex- periscs is a good one to inculcate early in tifie. It. is also surprising how much longer hair ribbons, gloves, cbllars, etc., will last when a girl has to buy tkem wholly with her own money. her own money. FOB THR Sictf-Rooai. You can save laundry bills when you have sickness in the house, and lessen the danger of contagion, if you use on the sick-room tray only paper tray covers and napkins. Even paper plates and cups may be used if the illness demands when the entire con- tents of the tray. may be burned when it comes from the sick room. The different floral designs on the napkins are pleasing to the invalid, and may be different each day.

I SOLDIERS' WAR GRATUITY. I < Serving soldiers, on demobilisation, will receive their full gratuity at the end of the twenty-eight days' furlough then granted. Men who have served overseas, but not in an expeditionary fprco, will receive the I' gratuity due to them. on the, home service scale, but delay may arise in issuing the balance for overseas service. In the cas.e of men discharged before Decemlwr 9, lSlS, who did not receive the £ ull gratuity, it will be necessary to make application on the form, which will be pro- vided at all post offices. Discharged men unable by reason of mental or other disability to fill in the forms I themselves may have them completed by relatives. The application should be for- warded to the Secretary, War Office, Im- perial Institute, London, S.VW 7, with an explanation as to why the man himself ia unable to make lifce application. The gratuity will be issued in the form of a Post Office Savings Bank Book deposit iu the'name of the individual man. In the case of men killed or died of wounds or disease while serving as soldier3 the gratuity will ba paid to the persons entitled to ?''ar.? in the deceased soldier's estatfj. ? application for it. eeta.t, '1"  for it.

I FAMILY OF EIGHT IN THE DQCK. II — I A man and a woman, their two gont5 and four daughters, appeared in the dock at .Wallasey <m Wednesday. The mother was ch arjjed with stealing goods vaiiie* X137 fcrom a draper's shop where she was em- ployed, and a sixteer/rear-old daughter. who took home some 01 the parcels, was charged with stealing, but the case agai nst her was withdrawn, as the mother in a written con- fession said that she alone was guilty and the. others had absolutely nothing to do with it. w Mrs. Pugh, the mother, was sentenced ,ta six months in tbo second division; Evelyn Pugh, charw/1. \,M.h receiving, was ac- quitted; Nor ah, aged twenty, was fined Y,15 or one month; Mri. Ov.en (a ,married daugh- ter) was sentenced t,,) two months for re- ceiving and for theft from a shop at which she was employed; and the two sons, r William, aged twenty-four, and John, aged twenty-two, .ere sent to prison* for a ipontn for receiving; and ordered to be afterwards handed over to the military as deserters. The father, George Pugli, Vjecrod tolgo for trial at Chester Sessions for stealing, and also for concealing the deserters. The | mother and a married sister were also sen- tenced to a month for concealing the deserters. The case occupied eight hours.

MORE LIGHT ON VEHICLES. 1 By the new Lights (Vehicles) Order mtide I by the Home Secretary on December 16, the I restrictions on lights on vehicles have been considerably relaxed. Oil, electric, and acetylene lamps (whether side lamps or head lamps) may now be used unobscured, if the front glass dees not exceed 5in. in diameter, and the light is not more than 12-candle power for electric bulbs and 14 litres cubic foot) for acetylene burnrs. The provisions .rfficting th? carryi^ng of two front lights and a red rear light, and two front to lighting-up rcir iigl-t, and with re-ard to lighti up time remain as before. I,"

THE DRUG EVIL f Annie Kenslev, thirty-six, a well-dressed woman, was sentenced at Marlborough- street Pol-ice-coiirt to a month's imprison- ment ifi. the second divi-sio-n on a charge of having cocaine in her possesion. A police-constable said tlia t, ,cn Monday. evening he saw the defendant hand a oman' a white packet in the Hayinarket. In her possession he found five small packets con- taining cocaine. The woman denied that she passed any- thing to anybody.

ELECTION RESULTS EARLIER. ( The Local Government Board announces that by an Order in, Counci l the hour up to which votes from absent voters can be re- ceived oy returning officers on Saturday, December 28, has been altered from twelve noon to ten a.m. except in respect of Scot- land, Ireland, Wales, and the parliamentary counties of Devon and Cornwall, Where the time remains unaltered. This means that it will be possible in many places to announce the results two hours earlier.

FOUR GERMAN PRISONERS RILLED. 1 FOUT German prisoners of war have been killed near Farnnam. A motor-lorry, laden with timber from one of the forestry camps, was proceeding to Farnham, when it caught up another lorry. In order to pass the driver turned in and ran. on a bank, which gave way, with the result that the lorry overturned. Three of the prisoners managed to jump clear, but -four were caught under the lorry and timber, and killed.

SIR E. GEDDES'S NEW POST. ) The Prime Minister has appointed Sir Eric Geddes, as representing, and with the authority of, the War Cabinet, to co-ordin- ate the activities of the various Government Departments in regard to demobilisation. The Government Departments concerned re- tain their responsibility, and all communica- tions in regard to 'demobilisation should be addressed as before. 4 #

COLLECTING TIIE FARES. The motor-omnibus began its career so long ago as 1832. It is true that the first 'bus did not survive over long, but it worked with -success between Gloucester and Oheltenliam for about four weeks. Then the first London motor-omnibus—a steam vehicle also-Xan in 1834, but pujblic opinion and coaeh proprietors were opposed to it. *5 The horse- bus, however, began existence in 1662; then dipd a sudden death, and was Hot Revived until 150 years later. The earliest London horSe-'bus was. put 013 the road in 1829, and the greatest difficulty of all was the collection of the fares. When I the proprietor invented a patent register recording people as they stepped oil the 'bus, a gang of men nearly murdered him. The next plan was a clock, on which the conductor was supposed tq, record each pas- senger. This -was equally unsuccessful, be- c e passengers amused themselves by turning the hand round and round! f

Searched at Victoria Docks, Walter James Holloway, twenty-six, labourer, was found to have a slab of frozen salmon in each leg of his trousers. Prince Nicolas, the second son of King Ferdinand of Eoffcnania, after spending a few days in Paris, will proceed to London to > continue his studies. Poplar Food, Committee, on instructions from the Food Ministry, has nanied nino ahops which, are, when required, to be kept open between seven and 10 p.m. to enable late workers to buy food. In London last week there were ojily 3 £ 2 influenza deaths, compared with 660 during the previous week. In 9(:) great towns tibe total of deaths, was 1,885, this. being much fewer than before, and the epidemic is be- lieved to be over..

.t;J'o.If4' -¡¡;¡¡¡Jf' t NOTES ON NEWS. .I It has been a wonderful year. It wilt bo marked m history as tho Jear in which A YKAJR OF VICTORY. the greatest military -tyranny in the world was overthrown, the year of the downfall of auto- ,racy and the triumph of the democracies. I nwre were perhaps few, twelve months ago, who thought that, the Allies would have won the victory before the year was out. The power of the enemy seemed sa tremendous, ho had stood so long against the heaviest blows we could deliver, it seemed that he must bo able to stand much longer yet. Wo- did not doubt that tho Allies would win in the end, but we feared that there would be not only a fourth, but also a fifth and perhaps a sixth year of ,war. Even the optimists had given up predicting the end of the war. Germany was still enormously powerful, and it would take a long, long time' to destroy her power. We forgot that once the process of destruction did begin it would continue with increasing rapidity. IIOnco Germany had passed the point where her reserves were sufficient to repair the wastage of war and keep her armies up to Strength, then the whole structure must fall to ruin. That is what happened. The desperate German offensive, and the ter- rible hammer-blows of the Allies' counter-  offensivo when it began, caused an appal- ling wastage of German man-power which j could not possibly be repaired. Germahy Isaw her position getting more hopeless every day, and the armistice was signed only just in time to save the enemy forces in Fran and Belgium from annihilating I defeat. The greatest and most powerful military machine ever conceived by human minds has been smashed, and the evil designs of a crowned autocrat who dreamed of dominating the world have been shattered. Well may the year 1918 be called a Year of Victory r, There has undoubtedly been a good deal of anxiety with regard to the intentions. of THE ALLIES IN RUSSIA. the Allies with regard to Russia. Very little was known to the general public on this matter. Troops had been landed at Archangel and at Vladivostock, and there had been fight- itig at various places against the Bol- sheviks. Allied naval forces had also been engaged. Beyond this practically nothing was known, and it is 'not surprising that r fears should have been expressed lest as a consequence of intervention in what seemed to be purely Russian affairs and no concern of ours, we should find ourselves involved in another war. Lord Milner's explanation will do something to allay anxiety. Allied forces, says the War Secretary, wer j sent to Russia because the Bolsheviks, whatever their ultimate end, were in fact helping our enemies in every possible way. The intervention was suc- cessful. The Czechoslovaks were saved from destruction; the. rosourws of Siberia and South-Eastern Russia were denied to the eftemy; Russia's northern ports were prevented from becoming German sub- marine bases, and millions of people friendly to the Allies were spared the un- speakable horrors of Bolshevik rule. The .reason why we did nbf. came away at once was because that would be to betray olit friends and leave them at the mercx, of the Bolsheviks. The time oi Withdrawal was not necessarily distant, but if the Allies all scrambled. out of Russia at once the barbarism now reigning in .part of the country would spread over the whole. Lord Milner declares that the lbst thing the. Government desires is to leave a.ny British soldiers in Russia a day longer "than is necessary to discharge the moral obliga- tions we have incurred. ■ • 0 ■ ,<It • It is good news that the' Government is going to spend £ 10,000^000 on the recon- MILLIONS iroit ROADS. structioh of roads. -no- body who has had to travel by the highways during tne last year or two will say that the reconstruction is not necessary. Owing to lack of materials, difficulties of transport, and shortage of labour, the ordinary renewal programmes of highway authorities- have not been car- ried out 9,n a largo mileage of roads during recent years. This means that much addi- tional expenditure is now essential, but that all work will cost more than before the war. In these circumstances the Gov- ernment have agreed to the Road Board's recommendation that some special financial provision should be made. Of the £ 10,000,000 to be granted, RI,750,000 will be provided out of the Road Improvement Fjund and £ 8,250,000 will be drawn from the National Exchequer. The lengths of yoad to be dealt with first are those On which there-is-, or is likely to be, a large amount of heavy motor traffic, particularly those which have deteriorated during, the war. Certain district roads will be trans- formed into main roads, and it is hoped to facilitate tho reconstruction of about 200 bridges, The Government are being re- quested to release pivotal men as quickly as possible for the execution of the pro- gramme. Besides effecting a welcome im- provement in- the highways, the carrying out of this scheme 'without delay will pr6- vide employment for much displaced labour. 5 « It may be that the end of the war means 5 also the end of all wars. That is the hope MUNITIONS op WAB. of many writers and speakers, who believe that the horror of the last four years has taught such a lesson that nations will in future settle their disputes' by peaceful methods. It may be so, but Mr. Churchill, for one, is not ever sanguine. In a message of appreciation to the managers and staffs of the munition firms h. says: "It is to be hoped that wars on a large scale are now evils of the past, and that no recrudes- cence will occur; but, in spite of this con- fident hope,' for some time—a long time, probably—it will .not fee safe to neglect th9 study .of fighting weapons. No country- ,must be allowed to advance in this respect while we stand still, and though the pro- vision of such appliances of horror and de- struction will in all probability be limited. greatly in the future, we must always be abreast of the world in the application cf science to war material. It is evident that, in Mr. Churchill's opinion, though we may have a confident hope of peace, we should be w6h advised to be prepared for war. It is consoling, however, to re- flect, as the Minister of Munitions does, that the production of war material has taught engineers and manufacturers and workers valuable lessons which, applied tg tlie productions of peace, will give to the phrase "British manufacture a new. and even higher meaning.