The original body sent to Samoa was 1955, and the men sent to the front numbered 74,000, but that did not include the British section, numbering 240. The New Zealanders who had joined the Royal Flying Corps numbered 18, the Royal Naval Auxiliary Patrol 190, Imperial Reservists 211, naval ranks and ratings 190, H.M.S. Philomel 159, guards for German prisoners 2, and nurses 435. In addition there were 9024 men in training, making a grand total of 86,402. It would in all probability take another three or four months before we would have sent away those reinforcements, and the number supplied rose to 86,000. We originally sent away a Maori draft of 500 men, and since then we had sent 1757. What white man now would say he would not do his duty to his country? The outlying portions of New Zealand demanded the right to go. He wanted to remind members who thought New Zealand was bleeding to death of the men who had come back sick and wounded. Already 10,547 men had returned. Of these, 8573 had been discharged, and no less than 1238 had been restored to health and strength and had gone back to the front to fight again. He regretted that a good many of the men who had returned had sustained permanent injuries. Up to July 23 some 26,000 men had suffered casualties, and of that total 7500 would never see New Zealand again - a big list which had not been published before. One hundred men were missing, 71 were prisoners of war and 18,879 were wounded. Up to May 9 the men who recovered and rejoined the ranks were 61 per cent.
House-breakers active
It seems that the business and residential quarters of Dunedin are proving an attractive, though fortunately not very profitable, field for the depredations of a house-breaker at present. Towards the end of last week unsuccessful attempts were made to enter the establishments of Messrs Wilson, Balk and Co., and the Westport Coal Company. Apparently nothing was taken, but some windows were damaged.
The result of an entrance being effected to the office of McCallum and Co.'s sawmills, Crawford street, between Saturday night and Sunday morning shows that the visitor was not devoid of humour. Across the rifled drawer, from which the thief took 9, were the original words, ``So grateful,'' printed in blue pencil. The caretaker's Bible was left open at the 20th chapter of Exodus, and the words of the 15th verse, ``Thou shalt not steal,'' were carefully underlined by the thief.
Detectives Hammerly and Hall discovered the theft on Sunday morning while they were proceeding along Vogel street to investigate a different essay at burglary. They noticed that one of the windows in the joinery factory had been broken, and two panes of glass removed by chiselling away the putty. Mr McCallum was at once communicated with, and the party, proceeding to the office at the Crawford street entrance, confirmed their suspicions. A drawer in a desk containing 9 in pound notes, 10s notes, and silver was open. The drawer had been locked, but an auger applied to the wooden socket of the shot-bolt had made short work of the obstacle. Incidentally, the nightwatchman is always on the premises from dark till 4.30 or 5 a.m., and on this occasion he left at 4.30 without receiving any alarm. - ODT, 11.7.1917.
