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Oamaru Mail, Volume XL, Issue 12536, 6 May 1915, Page 4

A well-attended meeting of the North •O.tago Pipe Band was held last evening. The Columba Church Presbytery forwarded an invitation for the band jtb be present at morning service on the 23rd May. ' The invitation was accepted. A cheque for £1 Is. was. received, with thanks, from Mr AT. Wad,dell. .an hon. member of the band. It was resolved _ that the trustees and secretary go into the question of having the band's property insured, and .report at next meeting. Matters respecting the annual competitions were '.discussed, and a committee was set tip to arrange details in connection therewith. Two new members (Messrs W. .Gordon and M-. Prosser) were I elected. The annual meeting of householders at Katiroo Hill was held on the 20th April, when the following were appointed as a committee for the ensuing vear : —Messrs D. Rodger (chairman), 'J. Miildrew, W. Ellis, W. Dobbie,, and • Jas. B. Taylor. The Wainiate School Committee met on Tuesday evening, Mr White in tile .chair. A motion was passed expressing ■appreciation of the work done by the ex-members Messrs Black, Geddes, Lee, Stewart, and Meredith. Matters of a detail nature were attended to and amountingto £2l 14s 2d passed for payment. Mr Ivan Patterson is leaving on Saturday for Trentham, having been accepted for service with the Bth Beinforcentents with the rank of sergeant. His fellow officers of the. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., met to-day, and, after expressing their regret at losing Mr Patterson temporarily and- their goodwill towards him; presented him with a wristlet watch as a token of the esteem in which he is held. The National Mortgage and Agency ' Co., Ltd., effected the following "sale's at Burnside saleyards yesterday on account of the. following clients* in the Oamaru district: —Account J. Leon : 27 ewes JSs 3d, 23 ewes 14s 9d, 4 veryprime wethers 30s 6d; account Jno\ Mahoney (Whitstone). heifers, 1 at £8 10s. 2 at £B, 1 at £6, 2 at £4 10s. hull £5 10s; account AW D Sinclair (Totara). 4 pigs £3 17s. 1 do £1 19s; account S. Taylor (Totara), 6 pigs £3 9s 6d; account J. S. Sinclair (Totara) 5 pigs £3 os 6d.

Mr W. Direfin, of our linotype department, who has joined the reinforcements as storeman in the Army Service Corps,_ was yesterday afternoon presented with a handy travelling case, the gift of the Mail staff.- The accom-

panying good wishes were suitably responded to by the recipient. Mr Di'reen left for the North by to-day's Express. "Straight Left" in ihe Otago Daily Times writes as follows of the ; sixround con Lest between G. Easton (Oamaru) and R. Campbell:—The first night paw Easton and Campbell clash, ■and their meeting .served to show that while- Campbell lias all the grit- and determination necessary for a good lighter, he is by no means clever. I','astoii, on the other hand, demonstrated lino skill, and while his condition lasted he made Campbell look cheap. -After the third round the hitter's condition enabled him to carry iho.sxiJitie.s into the enemy's camp, and putting on the. pressure, he had Easton well beaten, .at the finish.

Aji extremely Amusing interlude occurred during the Cargill Road Method- I ist- Sunday School concert lust evening i (says the* Otago Daily Times). Two I boys were giving an "item on flutes. Suddenly the. tune was varied by the flautists' breaking into the popular strain, "lt>s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary." A little boy seated on his mother's knee at the rear • of. the church, quickly observed the variation. Looking up, he exclaimed, "Germans, Germans!" ' The incident provoked the heartiest laughter. There came to hand by to-day's mail a fojr-paged jotlrnel entitled ''The Tahiti 1 ruth." ■ the official organ of 23 Platoon D Company, 3rd Reinforcements, on active service. The paper, which follows a style* "all its own." is edited by Private F. M. Jenkins, late of the North Otago Times staff, and com-posited-by "Bricky" Luxon, wlio_ was also at one time employed by the North Otago Times. In its pages appear a variety of articles, many humorous, others' descriptive, but all interesting. In a renort of an entertainment appears the following:—"Excellent- instrumental, vocal, and elocutions ry items were tastefully contributed by Privates Stedward. Clayton. Phelan. Golding. and Jenkins, and LanceCorporals Moss and Denhohn. Particularly gcod receptions were accorded to the'part-singing of Private Stedward I and Lanee-Coniorals Moss and Den- ■ holm, and the solo singing of Lance.'Corporal Denholm, for which the audience demonstrated a marked partiality." I Denholm, who is another Oamaru boy, | will be remembered as a promising . vocalist. • • '. The names of the North. Otago hoys who appeared in the list of __ wounded published yesterday are as follows: — 8-742 —Private B. Cayford (Mrs Louise Cavford; Torridge "street, Oamaru, mother)'; 8-25—Private A. L. M. Coatman (Mr Joseph Coatman. Chelmer street, Oamaru. father); 8-31 —Private J. A; Dalgleisb (Mrs M. Dalgleish, Elizabeth street, Timaru, mother); 8-34—Private. J. C Donaldson (.Air R. Donaldson; Waianakarua, father); 8922—Private F. Hunter (Mrs R. Crombie, Test street, Oamaru, sister) ; 8-939 —Corporal A. M'Pherson (Mrs J. C. M'Pherson, Ardgowan, Oamaru); S-103 —Lance-Corporal P. D. Sinclair (Mr David Sinclair, sen., Aln. street, Oamaru, father); 8-108—Private C. S. Smith (Mrs Isobel Smith. Alma, mother): S-123—Private L. M. Watson (Mr Harry Watson. Ngapara, father). It was not without reason that the Grand Duke, addressing his commissariat staff at the beginning of the war, is reported to have concluded his instructions in these terms: —"Gentlemen, no stealing." And probably if anybody could induce an army contractor to be honest it would be the Grand Duke Nicholas, for he is not only the most influential man about the Court, but he is the most popular figure in Russia.- His mere height and the dignity of his carriage would alone comJ maiid respect, and his manner is at once ; modest and authoritative. His temI perament is that of the mystic, and he )is reported to be the source of the. strange influence which the Phillippes, Meshkertskys and P.asputins have exercised over the mind or the Czar and the politics of Russia. But if he is ob•scuranist in temperament he is a very practical man in. affairs. Lord Kitchener last mouth inspected some defence works in a district in the south of England. The great man motored from point to point, walked over the ground, but said not a word all the .afternoon until the moment lie ; was leaving agaiu for London. Then !he opened his grim mouth. "ThoseI trenches of yours," he said, "wouldn't keep out the Salvation Army."

Some time ago a groat and most respectable. French rot-lew published the facsimile of a letter signed by General Joffre. Immediately the. handwriting experts, got to serious work, and from the four quarters of France, and from inrther still, came the most flattering graphological fortunes. All the experts tiere agreed that, even had they not known the author of the letter," they could and should have discovered in his bold "r's" and slashing "s's." in the way he dotted his "i's," the symbols of authentic military greatness. General Joffre saw some of these letters, and laughed very heartily. ".Ask Commandant, do G to speak to mo. for a moment," he said. When the commandant, who is one of the General's orderlies, appeared, \J~ofrVe shook hands with him warmly. "Mv boy.'' he said. ■•'l congratulate you. j learn that you are a second Napoleon, and that C;esai' had several points to loam from yon." ■Everybody laughed, and the Commandant do G laughed too. when lie had got over his blushing and learned, the joke. For the letter on which the graphological experts had loosed their prophetic eloquence was in the hand-. writing of Commandant tie (II , only the. signature—of which the experts had said little —was'genuine Joffre.