NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 136, 11 June 1927, Page 23

NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

1563 CARS AN HOUR. The Easter Road traffic in Surrey may be gauged by a census taken at Guildford. In one hour 1563 motor can passed through the town on the main Portsmouth Road in one direction only—going towards London. PORTENT OF A WHITE STAG. Residents of Ex moor arc alarmed at the rumour that a pure white stag, with immense _ white antlers, is roaming the moor. Xever, except in folk lore, has a white deer been seen there, and albinos among red deer are unknown. The district teems with superstition, and Exmoor people regard the presence of the white stag as the forerunner of some terrible tragedy. TWINS FOR LIONESS. A lioness at Mr. G. Tyrwhitt-Drake's menagerie at the Crystal Palace gave birth to twins. The father is Poilu, the celebrated mascot of the 19th Division, who as a cub actually went into the front-line trenches and was presented to his present owner by General Bridges. The birth of these cubs is interesting because the mother and grandmother were both born in Air. Tyrwhitt-Drake s zoological collection. The cuba are. therefore, the third generation born in Kent. BACK TO WORK AFTER «n FALL. Picked up unconscious after a 40ft fall from a scaffold, a Kensington workman amazed his comrades by returning to work, soon after recovering his senses, apparently unhurt. Working on a house in Radcliffe Square. Kensington, Walter Newman overbalanced and fell into the area. A doctor was summoned, but before he arrived Xcwman had recovered consciousness and, refusing to go to hospital, mounted the scaffold and went on with his work. 35 MILES UNWILLINGLY. Tired after picking primroses, a bright and intelligent ten-years-old boy. Jack Wingate, of 66, Malthonse Road, Landport, Portsmouth, climbed on to the back of a loaded lorry, travelling very slowly up Portsdown Hill. When Jack was about to jump off at the top of the hill, the driver suddenly put on speed and did not stop until Aldershot was reached, 35 miles away. Here, Jack, holding a bunch of primroses, was discovered by the astonished driver, who handed him over to the police. After the boy had been given something to eat he was sent >»"-k br train. "PRETTY GIRL" RUSE.

"Two year* imprisonment? Not for me!" declared a Spaniard who had just been sentenced at the Paris law courts for stealing a motor car. The gendarme who was guarding him took no notice, whereupon the Spaniard suddenly turned round and exclaimed, "Look at that pretty girl'" This time the gendarme looked round, and the »-paniard, profiting by the momentary distraction, dashed away to an open door and into the corridors, where he was lnt to sight. HEROINE OF SIXTEEN. ww'iLi te? w (l6> ' LiiiM cd. let* (18), both of Bournemouth, were row* rog on the River Stour, at Christchurch. Hants, they attempted to change seats. The boat overturned and both were thrown into the river. Fully dressed as she was, Doris Hurt made heroic efforts to save her companion. Twice she dived and got hold of the drowning girl, but was unable to bring her ashore. Doris clung to the branch of an overhanging tree and Bournemouth. * MclWld - <* GIRL PUNCHES PRIEST. Incensed because a priest admonished her for wearing acanty clothing at a euchre (card game) party at St. Roch. Quebec, Miss Aurore Gotsehn. 19, struck him on *> hcr d <?<J»cd fi**- She was arrested and convicted of assault, and wpntence will be passed later. When i^\ Cr i, ". ch,L tf firrt *l**e to the girl 'r^!^,!T r d .T o!,c V ? _f hc 'eft the hall and returned with a light coat thrown over her anns and shoulders. The priest her a second time, telling her she would be forced to leave. The girl then struck him on the mouth. IN THE £. All classes of Merthyr Tydfil (Wales) ratepayers—private residents, traders, and ropresentativa of the big staple works— are alarmed by the possibility of a rate ' 3**. in . the £ for next year. Already the district and poor rate has soared to 27/2, and although some of the estimated expenditure has been cut down, the Corporation have come to the conclusion that unless a loan of £27900 is sanctioned by the Ministry of Health the increase of 3/4*4 will be inevitable. At a joint conference of local Chambers of Trade, a deputation was appointed to go to the next Corporation meeting with a request that the new rate should be fixed at a figure within the ratepayers' ability to pay. HELPER HELPED HIMSELF. The strong, silent author of a work entitled "Self-Mastery," appeared in a Berlin Court to answer a charge of fraud. He had read "Self-Mastery" by the hour to the daughter of his landlady, and assured hcr that when published it would become as famous as Smiles' "Self-Help."' The landlady's daughter, who is 30, was not mirpnsed to hear that a publisher was going to pay £2000 for it Six days after she had made hii acquaintance the author invited her to marry him. and presently asked her to I him wear her diamond ring. She insisted that he should wear her watch and chain too, and once or twice when he had forgotten to provide himself with sufficient money she lent h««n so or 100 marks. The publication of "Self-Mastery" and their formal bethroval were to take place on the same day, and their friends were invited to the ceremony, for which suitable refreshments were prepared. I The friends came, but the author dkl not. and nothing was heard of him antil six months later, when he was found :n prison, under sentence for defrauding End deceiving another girl. She was the tenth of the series. There was not much "self-mastery" about the author when the judge sentenced him to 18 months' imprisonment; he called the landlady and her daughter nasty names.

ALTAR ROBBED. Thieves entered St. Boniface Catholic Church, \ritfl«m Road, Tocting, and carried away from the altar a valuable gold communion bowL The loss was announced publicly from the pulpit. L.C.C. TRAMWAYS PLIGHT. Observing that the financial position of the London County Council tramways is not as satisfactory as could be wished, the District Auditor states in his annual report that the immediate future must be regarded with some apprehension. Unless, he says, early recovery takes places in the financial results of the undertaking, the result of provision for repayment of loans is likely to cause the burden on the rates to become more serious. GREAT PRIVATE LIBRARY SOLD. With the last knock of the hammer ia the Britwell sale at Messrs. Sotheby's, the greatest private library in England at Ja*t ceased to exist. The sale of the various portions of the library has extended over a period of 1 d years, and a total of £613.234 has been realised—a worlds record. The total obtained for the Hoe Library, sold in Xew York—the next highest—was about £400,000. BOY DIGS UP DIAMONDS, PEARLS AND GOLD. Playing in the Forest of Vincennes, on the outskirts of Paris, a 14-year-old lad named Maurice Peuch, dug up a quantity °f jewellery. It included a woman's watch set with diamonds, a pear and platinum necklace, also set with diamonds, a platinum and sapphire ring, diamond ear rings, a gold brooch, and a silver bracelet. The jewellery was found at the foot of a tree, and it is believed that it had beeu hiddea there by a burglar or a thief. £IOM-A-YEAR STREET TRADERS. Gifted with a ready wit. glib cgwecli, and a keen sense of what will attract the buyer, some expert street salesmen ia London are earning as much as £1000 a ye * r - a rule the man who make* a comparatively large income does not sell the same thing every week. He is ever on the look out for attractive "lines." which he can buy in large quantities cheap, and sell ch«ply but quickly. Another type of E™* 1 5?t CT wb ° * good income MS a Pitch in a busy shopping thoroughly .r" >al hl * * tasi perhaps 12 hours in the day, and the whole of his taniiiy will assist. HIS TWENTY WIVES. " eaten « d •* York to a tena (Li™ KvfV" * pen,tenti "7 for bigamy, Shulty, a septuagenarian maker, vowed that he had "done with [® r , «*«"." Although it was stated Shulty had married twenty women, the judge intimated that the number of women deceived might be even greater, as Shulty had maae marriage a business all his hie. Me bad maintained a youthful appearance Soth« kail* and wearing smart HISTORIC LONDON.

The Regent s Canal took eight vears to buUd—lßl2 to 1830—and entailed structoon of 57 bridges, 12 lock*, and two tunnels. Unh te_ many English waterwavs, it u stall regularly used. It debouches trom the Thame* at Limehouse, meanders round North London for a distance of nine mUea until it joins the Paddington which traverse* the ICdlandi and eventually unite* the Thame* with the Merser at Liverpool. In October, 1574, the canal ***. tanponnly closed owing to the explosion, near Regent's Park, of five tons of blasting powder, which was being conveyed on a barge. The shock was felt all over London, the three men on the barge were blown to pieces, and immense damage was caused to the surrounding property. LEPROSY PERIL IN FUR. A young society woman has recently fallen a prey to the ravages of leprosy, and has been confined in the lepere asylum at Rontille, near Madrid. The disease first showed itself on her neck, and this led to the source of the infection being traced to a luxurious fur coat with which she had been presented ou the occasion of her wedding not long ago. It is, therefore, conjectured that the disease had been carried by the far, and that the person who made up the fur in the country from which it was sent, had also been suffering from leprosy. £Jt TELEVISION SETS.

Television sets for £90 on sale by Christmas! That is the hope of a young British inventor who is up a prominent part in the race among scientists ro be the first to market a practical television apparatus which will enable a man in his easy chair to see actual events at the other side of the world. Already Mr. John L. Baird has achieved sensational success. Living human faces, with all the proper gradations of shade, light, and half tojies, have been transmitted over long distances, and reproduced faithfully on a ground glass screen at the receiving end. Kv~ry play of expression, and every movement of the head, mouth, and eyes have been clearly seen. EXPRESS' ESCAPE.

The London night express from Soot- 1 ] land had a remarkable escape from disaster at Stafford. When rounding a bend at Trent Valley Junction the four front wheel* of the tender left the running rail md tore up check rails for a distance of three hundred yards, when the wheels jumped back again to the running rail. The train was travelling 30 miles an hour at the time, and the check rails probably prevented the engine and coaches, from being derailed. The accident is regarded as a complete mystery by railway officials, i The middle axle-box of the tender was broken as a result of the derailment, and hundreds of chairs on the permanent way were damaged. Passengers in the sleepingcars were awakened by a bumping noise, but none complained of any injur}-. TRANCE GIRL'S RELAPSE. Doris Hinton, the 30-year-old Nottingham girl, who recently shotrcd signs of recovery from the trance into which she fell in 125, is now slipping back, and her enfeebled state is causing her family great anxiety. It will be recalled that Doris, a strong healthy girl, was listening-in on tlli* wireless in October. 1925. when she fell into a trance. Hospital treatment, the laying on of hands by a past-or. visits from a specialist, and an osteopath, were all tried, and after a year Dons gradually emerged from her trance and was able to recognise her relatives and send messages • to her friends, although °fL ; i recover the use of her voice, one t began to knit, yet her mind remcwca * blank. To try and assist her T^ covt ' ■ j newspapers and other »<*icafaons . f date have been kept from bert bemg thonght that if how months had sl«Pl**l ky . sbewas unconscious it might precipitate a crisis. motor collides with elephants. Two sisters motoring along the Great |j V/*r»li Rrudi to L/ondoii in tbc early hours of one morning had an adventure t, cited to the jungle than to a , prosaic English highway. Their car was I a, sports model. It was pitch dark and raining bard," said one of the sisters to J. a "Daily Chronicle" representative, "when {' ten yards in front of the bonnet loomed two elephants, a camcl. a spotted horse, a * j ; icbra-donkey hybrid, and a keeper. The ' t next moment there was a broadside crash j I into the elephants. When we recovered ; 1 ourselves our heads were sticking through j t the roof of the car, the axle was broken, ; i and the elephants were frisking about j amongst the wreckage and venting their i displeasure with their trunks." Hen in charge of a lorry some distance away ; gave the sisters shelter, and later in the j morning their brother, who was in search of them, was alarmed to find the ruins o! thcit car by ttw roadside, _