News from All Quarters

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 185, 4 August 1923, Page 19

News from All Quarters

Judges always nave a trying time. "Yon can lead a rabbit to the furriers, tint you cannot make it mink." bangh and grow fat. That Is the only method now in reach of the average purse. The state of matrimony, like other States, , is better when it Isn't half slave and half , free. A man Is a poor creature when confronted wltb women a.t a bargain sale or a theatre queue. He submits to be elbowed out nf the way and poshed behind until he j thinks tie Is the man heaven bee forgotten. • I The intervention of the Government to ' effect a settlement of tbe Ruhr queetlon In the Interests of Fram-e and Germany re- I mhids one of tho man who wanteJ somebody to help him let go of a mad dog. An English taxpayer, faced with the I ordeal of filling In a mass of documents that make Magna Charta and the Scrap of Paper seem unimportant, sent the following reply:—"l return tbe paper you sent mc, as I have no wish to join the Income Tax. I am already a member of the Hearts of Oak." In New Zealand the <jnulnt. idea formerly obtained of fining persons for not having an income. What was necessary was to fill in a roam of paper to show that one hndn't nny tnxable income. If the cashless one refrained from doing so the State fined him. HE FOUND THE WINNER. Police Sergeant in evlJnu-.e at *'I so. w tL man writing on a slip o£ pup or ana I asked him what be fancied for the Derby. He showed mc tbe slip, on whlcn wae written, 'Papyrus, 1/ each way." Then The bookmaker was fined £10. "TOWN GUARD" RAG. Three lorry-loads of London iPolytccbme •tndents. dressed In all kinds of garments, halted by the statue of King George 111In Cockspnr Street recently. Two of them placed a Jockey cap on the top of the King's head, tied a carrot In front of the horse's nose, ftxei paper streamers to hls> tail-and labelled it "Town Guard." SEWING STAMPS. Stamps have been perforated in a good many ways since Mr. Archer suggested tbe Idea to a clumsy country postmistress by running the rowel of bis spur along the ■pace between the stamps. The Afghan authorities have adopted a nerw but very efficient method. The demands upon their postal organisation are not large, for when we print a million they find ten sufficient, m> Instead of installing a perforating machine they have given the stamps good margins, and then they run the sheets under tbe needle of a sewing machine. The method has proved as satisfactory as It is simple. MILES AND MILES. Mr. W. J. W. Roome, who is now in England, has had the extraordinary experience of traversing seven tlmee Central Africa. It has meant covering at least 11.000 miles on foot, when no other metfcod of transit was possible. Some part of his Journeys was accomplished on a cycle, anil some Is a canoe or river steamer. CVlr. Booms Is the Bible Society's secretary for East and Central Africa, and has sad more thrilling Incident* than bad George Sorrow, the most celebrated agent that the society rrer bad. A TROPHY. Nothing Is aacifed nowadays, for here Is a doctor holding forth in contempt of the toothbrush, that time-honoured trophy of our race. Whatever else he may omit when going a Journey, the Englishman's toothtrull is certain of a place In bis kit. No eloping wife, flee she however speedily, ever forgot her toothbrush. It comes to all «f as to bare to Mar: somewhere, some time, "at a moment's i»oti-e" ; part of tL&t moment is sacred to the securing of the toothbrush. .When the [Empress Eugenic fled to England she 'wrote to a friend, "I have nothing, cot even a handkerchief." An Englishwoman would, tiavo (written "not even a toothbrush." "A NATION or SHOPKEEPERS. General Sir Philip Chetwode, commandIng at Aldershot, mc British as an unmlUtary race who, after the war, re membered the Navy and the Air Force, lv f allowed their Interest In tbe Army to lapse, convinced, apparently, tbat we could turn out soldleiH ready to tight a highiy-tramc enemy as coffee was turned out of a coffee mill. In the last war Providence was on 0111 side, and by giving us trench warfare enabled ns to form new armies, but we should not get that next time. Improvisation iw. money, and if we as a nation refused to prepare we should always have to pay through tbe nose for It. HEIXO, UP THERE! Four Manchester and Liverpool men who had been at tbe Birmingham racee stopped the London-Manchester Daimler Air Express by wireless at Birmingham ou Juce 14. One had an Important appointment in Liverpool that evening and could not have arrived In time by any other method. They prevailed upon the operator at Castle Bromwlch to ring up the pilot of the Daimler Express by wireless telephone and ask him to alight nt Birmingham. The pilot. Mr. H. S. Robertson, received the message while over Wntford, and lmmedlately headed for Birmingham, where he took on the four passengers. Then, running his engine at full speed, he managed to make up the lost time nnd arrived lv Manchester early enough for his passengers to catch a certain traiu tot Liverpool ana keep their appointments. In the near future if a man wants peace and quiet Iμ will have to get away from air, sea and land. WUere? GAME OLD ACTOR. Unknown to holiday makers who laughed at the Jokes of a veteran actor in tbe farce, "A Week-end." at the Palace Pier Theatre, Brighton, the player was dying. He was William Dcwdeswell, known professionally M William Hokehy, and was playing the role of a comic station porter. His jokes were cheered to the echo, but they came from lips twisted with pain. The curtain fell, and the veteran actor went to his dressing Toom. Half an hour later his body was found near the stage door. He was lying face downwards on the pier, and had apparently collapsed on leaving the theatre. Mr. J. W. Cordlner, manager of the pier said that Kokeby, who was 63, was suffering intense pain, but refused to give up the performance. " ! His pluck recalls the fact tbat Sir Henry Irving. Tvhlle playing at Bradford Theatre Boyal in October, 1905, sank on the altar steps as Becket, In the play of that name, saying, "Into Thy hands, O Lord, into Thy sands." Irving was dying, and passed •way ahortly after he reached hi* ioteL

Tie Italian Fssdstl nas started » campaign against swearing. That would be one way to start it amongst Thames bargees. There Iβ a discussion In a contemporary as to how long women should wear tb-eir dreeaes. Most married men agree lhat three years would be the proper answer. ' A woman at Merylebone Court said that a !man will funk many things, but a woman j.would elbow her way through life successfully. But the average man understands -women so well that he has sense enoug-h not to nndestand her. ! Mrs. Rowe. wife of a London porter, was i walking out in Smithwark lately and. seeI Ing a crowd, her curiosity led her to I what was np." She found to her unspeakI able horror that her small son George, six I years of age. had been killed by a 'bus, the accident drawing the crowd. It was harder for the poor woman to bear, as another child, a small girl, was then In the hospl--1 tal with a broken limb caused by a motor cycle colliding with her. THE TANKARDS. Dark blue jacket, with black facings; dark blue trousers and black patent leather Corps—as announced by the War Office. The only bright spot Is the waistcoat, which will be white. The cap badge Is to be a tank encircled by a wreath of laurel and surmounted by the Imperial crown, with the motto "Fear Naught" in a scroll under the tank. THREAT TO MURDER. "Numbers of people have threatened to murder mc. I have been under police protection, but it does not add to the enjoyment of life." said Mr. Justice Shearman during the hearing of a case at Northampton Assizes. Robert Holland was then charged with threatening to murder Alfred Harris, labour master at Northampton Workhouse. labour, CLOCK DOWNS TOOLS. Big Ben, the great clock wbicb Is the pride of London, lately struck by leaving off striking. He made no fuss, but Just atopped and sulked. People hurrying to their work over Westminster Bridge were badly misled In consequence. Those who were late thought they were early, and those who were early caned themselves for having got up so soon. He has only stopped twice before In ten years. BITERS BIT. How an Intended victim turned the tables on three confidence tricksters wae reported to Scotland Yard. Three men, one of whom said he was Jn the cloth trade, made a deal with a Berwick Street, W.C.. cloth merchant who was to purchase goods to the value of £800 from them. One of the men left £25 with the merchant as a guarantee. When the goods were not forthcoming the merchant refused to pay over either r .he £800 or the £25. Threats of violence followed and the police were called in. Two of the men were arrested. HARD OF HEART. A storm of protest has been aroused In Nottingham by the callous conduct of motorists In refusing to give a lift to hospital to a dying woman Injured in a motorcycle accident. The woman, Minnie iWykes, was In the sidecar of her husband's machine when It overturned at a sharp and bus; corner at Arnold. She died In hospital. The husband stated at the Inquest yesterday that eight motorists passed and the only reply to his frantic appeals were: 'Wβ are full up and can't stop." He took the number of one tear and steps are being taken to establish the Identity of those guilty of snch «allone conduct. "GIVE ITS THIS DAT." Great Britain, which bag obtained 10 enormous proportion of her wheat from that great granary Russia, is no longer bound to depend on that source, which very likely is bad for Russia. Britain's main source of wheat or flour supplies are the United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia and India, a noteworthy development being the expansion in the Importation of flour from Canada. In 1922 Canada contributed 49 per cent of the total Import* of flour Into the United Kingdom, as against 34 per cent from the U.S.A. and 13 per cent from Australia. Home-grown wheat provided 20 per cent of the flour consumed. New Zealand's aid is negligible, and according to experts the grain is not so good. Australian wheat Is extremely dry and of fine quality. GREBF-STRICHEir DOGS. A London vet., .Mr. L. Strond. says that doge often grieve themselves almost to death, bat rarely die of sorrow. The London police had killed a dog hecause they thought It was going mad with sorrow at tbe death of its master. Mr. Stroud said: "I have known dogs pine for days at the loss of a good friend, but never have I met a case where one had to he shot. Dogs and horses have refused food for days when grief-stricken, but their memory Is short-lived and they get over It in time." Mr. Kirk, another vet, said: "The only thing that can make a dog mad is infection from rabies. Dogs that have lost their masters may, owing to mental strain and anxiety, have epileptic flts. Many people then think they have gone mad, but a dog In tbat state is not dangerous and only wants a little sympathy and help to pull lilm round again. "Some dogs have short memories and soon get over grief, but others, partlculiirly a fox terrier, have long memories and will remember a person for months afterwards "' HO WEATHERBOARDS THEN! A roof of wattle and dab (twigs bound with straw and clay) was discovered during Shere, Surrey. Mr. John H. Howard, of Haslemere. the architect carrying out the work, said he thought the roof was built In the lute 14th century, at the latest, and possibly In the 13th or 12th centuries. "There are about 200 square feet of It," he snld, "supported by oak beams. Tiles are laid on top of it, and it was probably made to keep tlie house warm. The clay i.s of local earth, containing a good deal of chalk. Only on-'j before have I found wood so well preserved as the hazel twigs In the wattle and dab." Although probably 600 years old. or even older, the hazel twigs, kept from the air by the excellent manufacture and application of the "dab," look as if they had only been recently cut. i This seeme to be an nnrlent relative of tbe Australian bush residence, sometimes made of straw and "pug." The "chock and log" huts (made of courses of large saplings) are filled with mud thrown violently Into the Interstices by the intending lnhnbltants. Fireplace, as well as walle, are made of wood, and mod plastered.