News From All Quarters

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 49, 26 February 1916, Page 15

News From All Quarters

GAMBLING MACHETES IN ■-' CANADA. ■■ ■ ■ •■'if

Gambling machines ballt like cash registers, placed on city etreet .corners and throughout the province, on' which rich and poor alike may place their bets on any one of six 'current sporting- events, started ■business In Montreal on January 10 under Government charter. This.marks the beginning of unopposed , open gambling in Canada. ..

THE DWXrnKLING PEERS. For the first time for many years the Honea of Lords shoiws a reduced membership on the year. During 1915 eight peerages have become extinct through lack of heirs, while only five new creations have been made, omitting "steps" conferred upon existing The titles that have been removed from the roll are the viscounty of Alverstone and the baronies' of Ardilaun,' Estconrt, Gwydyr, Glantawe, Welby, Keeteven, and Armitstead.

FIRE RESCUE AT THE FRONT. Corporal iKcCulloogJi, of Bootle, Liverpool, hae been complimented for an act ol gallantry. A special order states that dnring a heavy bombardment a Giouse was set on fire. A woman was wounded and lying helpless In the burning .house, and was rescued by Corporal JUcCulldugh, Tvho daehed into the house .and brought her out. McCullongh writes home to say he is to receive the French Military Cross. He says that he heard someone moan, and, looking round, found a woman minus a leg. He had just got her on bis back when another shell came and blew him aad hie charge and the house he knows not where.

STRANGE APPLICATION. A curious application was made to Mr. de Grey at West London, 'by a soldier, who said he had just come home, wounded from the front. Five months ago he buried Ms boy Iα Fnlham'Cemetery, and dnrins the recent galee the: tombstone which he had had erected was blown down. This, he contended, conld "not have happened II the borongh council,: who were the cemetery authority, had not. dug' another grave just behind the tombstone,_.and so undermined it. Mr. de Grey said the point was a very nice one, and he rather thought the applicant had a cause of action. "But," added his Worship, "you 'will find'- it will- cost you more to fight a borough council than to'set up a new tombstone."

MARRIED LIFE ON 2/6 A WEEK The death -took place "-at Beaumont, near Carlisle, of Mrs Jane"'Armstrong; a widow, who was in her one hundred and -first year, she having attained- her- centenary, last June. She remembered being carried upon her father's back on hio return from the X-apoleonic wars, and the : fact that her -memory was so good- led to her bsing frequently consulted by ethbse- desiring Information in regard to the past. Her husband who was a farm hand, died some years ago f ,and Mrs Armstrong /was. .proud of:the fact that when tEey"were'first I nraxrled libey lived comfortably, on.his .earnings, which were then only half a crown a.week..

CHEATING THETR COUNTRY. Barrow Munitions Cqnrt'. was occupied several hours hearing. complaints against Tickers' workmen for ? losing'time, sleeping, or playing-cards during" "working houts. T.wo electricians-appeared; on a warrant charged with playing-cards when they were supposed to be :at iwotk.-.The Chairman said men werepaid vwork,.and not £lay cards. lt.was-a charge, at-a. time like this, when-there Was a great rnsli. to get everything' A email-percentage of men did not seem to realise .the seriousness of the situation.:,;ltiwas Important that the army of :labbur v should do. their work as wellas.tue iSrmy;.at : the front.",

MISER'S HOARD.IN i . A romantic story .of -a .miser's board is ;«eported from -Welwickr, a.little' East Yorkshire 1 village. ■ There-has: just died at an advanced age".' a' local -character, Win.. Adamson, who for many years had been considered to be in boor circumstances. -He. earned trifles'by. keeping -gravee-in'a tidy, state ■ and' by holding::• Sorses! '■ heads. A search of his.cottage has revealed a large number of secret hiding-places, -in. which, packages' of- sovereigns-, have;-been. fonnd. ; Some of the colns;,are nearly :a .century old. ■ One package of, seven /sovereigns .was discovered in a ball of putty,.;sjid others were wrapped in rags . apd- paper.' - Many valu-, able antiques, were "also; found. BRITISH BARBARISM. Is - not-a title under which the - average - Englishman; would Tecognlse nlmself; but one of.' hisv-most cherished institutions, the coal.[fire, .'.was: condemned as'"barbarous" by Professor ißbne, F.R.S., of I London University, 'tiet.btlrer day. , It certainly 'does seem'.tb: argne,a lack of civilised intelligence-to .persist mourning crnde coal,'of which. :50~per. cent Is -wasted. hr-aoot' and smoke,. ; ducts. Including; .particulariy the benzole' and toluol co.-indispensable 4ii-: the manufacture of.ahjh explosiTesiVare.recoTered wheu coal'is.distilled In the? gas? works without. impairing the calorinc./vajues, of • the gas produced." -It Is hoped that the public will i tate the advice "of ■• the-War" Savings CommiUee to heart,.and tfo--their bit towards national economy conservation of the .precious and r coal supplies by subsUtutlng.-coke'or gas for crude coal wberever !.posslhlei-and that Is practically everywhere.- - .... . .. >. , THEFTS BY A CENSOR. ' William CBiri«tlan.Jacob.'BoUaan, a welldressed- Dutchman, ,was," '.at Bow' Street, sentenced to three /months' 'imprisonment on a charge of stealing 'postal/orders from two letters in «ie ICenßor's'ofßce. Mr-Me-Intna prosecuted on- behalf of the iPostmaeter General. The' prisoner, it was stated,-bad. been employed'as an examiner in. ' the Censor's office;. dealing with ■ correspondence Intended for.Holland, his wages being £4 a week. Jn consequence of the loss of letters passing through that offlc*. special observation was kept,'arid'on'December 16 tbe .prisoner was followed t ronvthere to'-*he-:fitrand'Post Offlcje,"*wliere be was seen to cash a.postal order tor ten shillings in the name of Blon. On December 24 *c jwas again followed, and was seen to cash a. postal order for. 11. In, the name of ■Frank Powell, at the West Central District Post Office, Holborn. As he was leaving'he was stopped by Detective Cartsrright, who took him to the General Post '"Office. 'He then said: "This Is a very bad-business for.me."-The-Magistrate, Mr.- Hopkins, observed that one of the orders 'was.'addressed, to a prisoner In Holland.. This was the meanest sort of pilfering. He recommended the prisoner for deportaaoaV: """ ~

STRANGE FUNERAL MISHAP. During the eavere rainstorm at Chrl.itmas a middle aged "man in trying to reic.i home in one of the remote glens of Mull lost his way and died from exposure, his body being found on the following day. At nls funeral It was necessary to cross some heavily-ewollen rivers, over one of wH.n was only a wooden bridge. When the funeral reached the middle of tie bridge the structure gave way, and men and coffin were precipitated into, the rushing; flood of water. With difficulty the men were rescued, but the coffin was carried away by the current for a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile before, at great risk, it was secured and taken to the bank. About the burying ground, but the men', though. many of them were still dripping wet, accomplished this distance without further •mishap. . , . ■-■

SCENE IN THE TUBS. ' ' •A scene in the Tabe was described at Marlborough Street, where Thomas William Thompson, aged 52, a traveller, of Priory Road, West Hampstead, was fined £i and costs for assaulting Thomas Alfred imbridge. The prosecutor, a cabinetmaker, living at Willesden Junction, was travelling in a Tube train from the Elephant and Castle when prisoner, he alleged, called him a coward because he was not wearing khaki. Ambridge told him to mind his own business, and, It wae alleged, Thompson then struck him, breaking two teeth and knocking a third out of Us mouth. "A" witness . declared, that the assault, was "the most unjustifiable, unnecessary, and dastardly" he had ever witnessed. The defendant said he received great provocation, the prosecutor striking him on the shoulder. At the same time he desired to express regret for -what he had done._

£100 STIPEND FOB NOTHING. Faversham District Council has appointed the Rev. W. A. Purtqn, vicar of Teynhatn, who offered his services without remuneration to be honorary chaplain of the Conhcil'B isolation hospital. The hospital is in the parish of Buckland, which possesses no J church—the old one having for a great many years been in ruins—and the rector of which, the Rev. James Mayo, resides in Cambridge- The Council decided 'to call the attention of the Archdeacon of Canterbury—the Bishop of Dover—to the fact that the rector, whfle performing no services whatever, continues to receive the tithes, and to inquire whether in tne circumstances part of the tithes cannot be diverted to tn? clergyman who does the- work. . It ]& stated that the rector formerly conducted a eervice once a year at the church ruins, ,but\ that lie has long, since ceased todo even this. At the last census the parish had 24 inhabited houses and a population of 103. Crockford-gives the income "at gross, and £100 net. , . . ». . .'

WOMEN KILLED BY RUNAWAY ENGINE. ... i t«An<vin(iuest was foeld a .sfcet ■ Sarah Rodgers, single (25), and Maria Hyde, (22), married, sisters, of Seacombe, v-he-ehlre, who met: their death as of a railway accident, at Poulton,. Cheshire. Rodgers -was" killed instantaneously, .and Hyde died- later in hospital. They had just .left work arid were crossing a road along which railway sidings run when a'runaway engine dashed into a'wagon, which; knocked them dbwn. : It appeared, that- -the-tdriver of the engine had clipped and fallen froia his engine higher up the Une-.as'lt was crossing'points. > It was travelling -backwards, and he had to ■ lean - outside the -re-versing'-levers to see ahead.' TheT engine lurched as'it crossed the points,^and his' foot slipped. The; engine, -"eventually stopped by running into other wagons atul becoming "embedded -in'a van. The-driver was uninjured." rA.'verdict jot- accidental death .was returned, .no blame •■being-at-tached to the driver. •■•"• . -

AUSTRALIANS ATTACKED. 'Tie story of-a'market porter who/was said to have run amok'in'the t West lEnd, London, with a carving knife and wounded two soldiers, was ;related af Marßwrbngh. Street Court. The accused,' William ■Bryan, twenty-seven, of iMilman Place, T&ebnald Road, was. charged with stealing a carving knife "of the value of .2/6 and -with maliciously" wounding two soldiers named •Wiillahx' Hosle and Tom/Clark -with- intent to" do 'them grievous' (bodily harm.- QUsa Davies,: assistant In a 'ham and 'beef;shop In 'Shaftesbury' Avenue, "said'/ the 'prisoner entered'the sSop, "and withbuf.saying'anj- v tiling, picked up the carving knife (produced) from the counter and ran into the street- WlUiain-tHosie,* a in'- the Australian Contingent, whose"left ihand was bandaged; stated' that he was In the'-bar of /the. Duke of Wellington public house. Wardour Street, with other soldiers,;'when tie prisoner rushed'in arid plunged" at him'with a.carving knife. ' He attempted toward'off the'blow. and received a severe cut' oh 'the left .thumb, necessitating/his removal' to Charing' Cross" Hospital.' He did' riot 'know- the' wiho '<came/int». tb.e'bar < "like a flying machine.",{Langhter.) Tom' Clark, also an --Australian.- soldier and a- friend 'of tie previous •witness,."said.' he closed '.with the prisoner' and -'received' a severe cut on - the left band. * He, too, -bad to go to i Charing Cross Hospital,. where thirteen' stitches were :iput■ Into the wound. Witness' "brother got the .prisoner into a corner, struggled with him, and eventually .got the knife from' him. ,The prisoner was remanded.. ~' /. ' ' .It;.'/ ' ——r— — rr: -J | TRAGEDY IN FORD'S ARK. , Much bitter, feeling was developed owing to the. sudden'- death from pneumonia of Mr...-Lloyd (Bingham, a .popular American entertainer, ■■ who accompanied the party of-peace mlssioners in (Ford's "Ark.". His , joviality, though perfectly toarmJess, seems •to have offended some of- the- more strait-laced- delegates, who ostracised aim during the greater part of the voyage, and many of the newspaper correspondents in 'Ford's party openly declare that his illness was due to his public humiliation by these persons. They even go so far as openly to accuse them of the indirect responsibility for Mr. I/loyd Bingham's death, and liken their conduct towards him to the'fact that the squirrel which was sent on; board the "nut" ship when.sfoe\sailed/ f rem ; New lork was allowed to death in Its cage. Mr .ITord's party was entertained at a banquet by the 'Norwegian students, but it is generally understood that iFord himself paid the bill. The'managers of the peace party have -made.-strenuous endeavours to suppress the fact of Mr. iLloyd Bingham's death, and have erven refused to provido for a religious service lest the news should "sadden the delegates." Mr. Bingham was a successful theatrical manager in NewYork, and the husband of the popular actress Amelia Bingham, --"-.."