NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 77, 31 March 1928, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

CHILDREN'S £60 A WEEK. Captain C. W. Mawby, of Hendon, London, states that a minimum salary of £60 a •week is to be paid to his three little daughters—-Angela, Claudine and ClaudI0J " acting in films at Hollvwood. Last -November the children called for Hollywood with their parents. HORSES CHARGE TRAIN. Ten horses belonging to gipsies broke away from an encampment at Litile Canhelu, Essex, and ran 011 to the railway line towards Dunmow. The horses charged into an approaching milk train and live of the animals were killed and others injured. One horse, badly cut on the side, ran five miles bet ore it collapsed. The driver of the train was able to pull lip in time to avoid damage and possible derailment. SALARY TO BE GIVEN AWAY. Mr. R. If. \ ernon \\ raggc, the Recorder ol J'ontenact, YorWaire. elated at a luncheon at Poutenact that he had decided not to gain financially by his appointment whieh_he had held for 23 years. He was now "3. and he h id directed in his will that the whole of his salary as Recorder, which was £40 a year, down to the time he relinquished the office should go to the I ontefract Infirmary to endow a cot in his name. JUROR AND HIS DUTY. An unusual incident occurred at the close of a special jury action before Mr. Justice Shearman in the King's Bench Division. London. A member of the jury complained ot tiie inadequacy of the fee of one guinea. sa\ing he was a professional man and had been in attendance at the court for two daxs. Mr. .Justice Shearman told liiin that he was not being paid as a professional witness, and that in attending he was doing his duty to iiis country. The juror declined to accept the cuiuca. saying he preferred to do his duty without it. Mr. •Justice Shearman then ordered the guinea to be paid into court. CHARGING DRAGON. Sumbawa. the great Komodo Dragon in the Reptile House of the London Zoo. has been indulging in mighty rages. Taking a dislike t<« the sight of visitors, he hurled himself time after time at his stout bars until he bent them and covered his own snout with blood. So he found himself in the hands of the doctor. Four other pairs of hands clutched him at the same time— one pair at the back of the neck and another round the body, and two pairs controlling his tail. Ointment was rubbed all over Sumbawa's nose, while leather padding was lashed to the bars to prevent further damage. Sumbawa was then given a young kid to eat and forgot his grievances. MAN UNDER THE BED. orkmen engaged on a building near by were startled by the smashing of glass at a house in Portsmouth. Suspecting that somebody was breaking into the house, they surrounded it and sent for the police. When P.C. Hill searched the house he found a man—who gave the name of Robert McDougal and said he was an out-of-work hotel porter—hiding naked under a bed. McDougal had taken off his own clothes and a suit belonging to Mr. Bow was laid out on the bed. The constable made the man dress in his own clothes and then took him to the police station, where he was charged with housebreaking.

DOG'S FALSE TEETH. Jumbo, an Irish terrier, living Ht Catford Bridge, London, sprung a cruel surprise on the rats which haunt the backwaters of the River Ravensbourne. This lively little fellow, who is 12 years old, has spread havoc among the ranks of the Ravensbourne rats in his time. Recently, however, the rats have been sitting up and laughing at him. for Jumbo had only three teeth left. One day he lost yet another tooth. This indignity was too much for his fiery spirit. He looked with au appealing eye at his master, who. touched at the fallen grandeur of the little warrior, took him t-o a dentist and ordered for him a set of false teeth. With some difficulty an impression of Jumbo's mouth j w - as taken, and the rats of the Ravensbourne will now have the shock of their lives, for when Jumbo darts at them with his old fury his jaws will reveal a set of new and gleaming teeth. MOTHER'S FATE. *"I have not the slightest doubt that with her feeling of lack of experience for the bringing up of her child, coupled v. ith her husband's talk of obtaining a separation, she felt she had better end it all." The deputy coroner for East London made this comment in recording a verdict of suicide while of unsound mind in connection with the death of Hilda Ada Hammerton (28), the wife of a clerk. She disappeared with her nine-months-old son trom Regent's Park Road. N.W.. and 1 er body was found in the East India Dock, while tlult of the infant was discovered in the river a few hours after they had disappeared. The husband stated that there had_ been dissatisfaction on the part of both of them at his wife's inexperience, and he had arranged for the child to be taken care of by relatives for a time, nnd for his wife to go to her parents' home, but the talk of a separation between them had only been an idle threat on his part.

ARREST OF A SWAN. A policeman's fight with a swan belonging to Mine. Pavlova, the dancer, was watched by a crowd at Holders Green. XA\ .. cross roads. Police Constable Hunt w - as on traffic duty when the swan, wliiil, had a wing span of more than sft and had been wandering about in the tube station yard all the afternoon, flew into the air and struck the overhead tramway wires. Amid a cloud of feathers the biru fell to the ground. The constable attempted to pick it up. and there proceeded a stern struggle for mastery. The bird, which was slightly injured, flapped about, striking the constable with its wings. All traffic was held up. and the constable eventually got the swan under his arm and cariied it to the police station. Two or t'lie."" time> oil the half-mile jomney the bird almost got. away, but '.m.constable airiv.d with his capture an.! i; was put m a cell. The police made inquiries and the biid was to Mme. Pavlova's residence in North End Roa !. (.■older.- til evil. Mine, l'avlova keeps s< v.n swans in hei gardens, and this one ilew awa> about tluee weeks previously.

WOMEN ON RANCHES. Canada has been called a working man'i country. A fact that is not so lrnjueutl? realised is that only women who know how to work are of use there. J ins i» pointed out by Ladv Rodney, who tells of tht strenuous life of a ranchei s wife m Alberta.

ELECTROCUTED IN BATH. Accidental death was the \erdict at a Coventry inquest on Margaret Hall, 11. who was tound by her mother dead in her bath, into which a small do trie ator had fallen. A doctor said the whole current must have parsed through Lei body, giving her no chance of escape. FASTING BRIDE. The wedding of the ,X»-\e.u-old i.eirapparent of the State <.f I daij.ur with a girl of 17. daughter of a petty chief of Jodhpur. took place with great ceremonial, (though it had been reported that the girl was greatly averse to the marriage. The bridegroom is a cripple, and already possesses two wives. It was said that the girl went on hunger-strike as a sign of sorrow. The fact lernains that custom proved too strong lor her, and the nuptials were celebrated with a gorgeous procession ol elephants and all the pageantry usually associated with weddings in Indian Royal families. BACHELORS' HAVEN. 1 he sale of the Tavistock Hotel. Covent Garden. London, means the passing of yet another famous landmark of old London. The hotel, formerly known as the "Bachelors' Paradise,"' because no woman was allowed inside, will be entirely demolished and the space taken over by the Beecham Estates for marketing purposes. The arcade and Inigo Jones piazza were once the haunt of Restoration gallants and their ladies, and the hotel evoked memories of great Victorians. Dickens. Thackeray, and other great writers made it famous, and in the welter of modern Loudon it stood almost unchanged. The rule which forbade wonieu to enter the doors as guests was modified duimg the war, but until then it had been regarded by many men as a club rather than an hotel. I £1000 CAT. Big and little cats, cats with long fluffy coats and others that looked as if they had been shingled were to be seen at the Southern Counties Cat Club championship show at Kentish Town. But the oldfashioned tabby cat, the fireside friend of many a home, was hard to find. He is fast going out of favour, and in his place has come a foreign invader from Siam. This tiny creature, with coat of black and gold, is the most popular at the shows. One of this long-haired, blue-coated family, Dion of Allington, belonging to Miss Lang* ston, of Maidenhead, carried off eight prizes and was declared champion pf all the champions in the show. Miss Langston said to a reporter that she would not take £ 1000 for the cat, which makes him worth about £40 an ounce. PLEA • FOR MOTHER S KISS"Pick me up. mummy, and kiss me," 6aid Dorothy Joan Bisney. the four-and-a* half-years-old daughter of a Dagenham labourer, just before she died from burns through her night clothes catchiug lire. The mother, at the inquest at Romford, said she had left the house only a few minutes after lighting the copper fire, and the child was then asleep in bed. She had apparently come downstairs to play with her toys, and, sitting with her bacic to the copper fire, her clothes had caught alight. The child had evidently made desperate efforts to pull off the burning clothing, and had then rushed upstairs covered herself with the eiderdown. SLs made no murmur except the rcmarlc quoted above. A vcrdict of accidental death was returned. "KING" OF TAVOLARA. The Italian Press announces the death, at the age of 84. of the "King" of Tavolara, known as Charles L Tavolara is an island a few miles square on the east coast of Sardinia and is inhabited by 100 fishermen and shepherds. When King Charles Albert of Sardinia landed on the island in 1843 he was received by Giuseppe Bartoleoni, whose family were then the only occupants of the island. Bartoleoni was granted by the King exclusive possession of the place, and was jokingly dubbed "King of Tavolara." This was afterwards considered by the people as some sort of investiture, and after the death of Bartoleoni his son was known as Paul L, King of Tavolara, and his grandson, who has just died, as Charles 1. "King" Charles I. was well known to tourists visiting the island for his hospitality. Hi« son will continue the tradition of this microscopio kingdom under the name of Paul 11. COURTED FOR 38 YEARS. In a breach of promise action opened at Leicester Assizes Mr. Loseby, for the plaintiff, said Miss Mills, aged 50, was suing Mr. Frank Jesson, aged 53, a wheelwright and dealer, for £ 10(A) damages. They became engaged 29 years ago, he said, and from that time Miss Mills ha 4 been saving things for her bottom drawet the majority of the articles now being, eg course, out of date. At first, said Loseby, Jesson said he could not get mar« ried because his father would cut him out of his will. When his father died in 1910, he said he had to look after his sister, who was consumptive. She died in 1917. and he then said he would not marry till the war was over. Last year he suddenly broke of! the engagement and w-as now walking out with a young woman. Adjourning the ca>e to the next assizes on the application of tlie defending counsel, the judge said that after such a length of time another two months would not make much difference. GIRL'S HEROISM. T'le crew of H.M.S. Vimsera are f'.ill of pra.se for the heroic conduct of M.ir«" Monk Mason, the 14-ycar-o.J daughter of the British Consul at Const ansa. who was a passenger in the Italian oil tankf-r An tares when the latter came into col»;on with H.M. cruiser ( ale lon in the I'oii Channel (Aegean Seal recently. When the Antares was strjr-k by the < a.ciK-n. witnesses state. there was a pa*iic <>n board the tanker, which was abandoned by her crew. Ihe steward lost his .;:e trying to jump on board the Ymiiera w,iv,e the ships wore too far apart. He Vas probably crushed between the two ships. Meanwhile the chief officer, who •'a> latally injured, lay groaning in his cabin, wni.-h had received the full force oi the collision. Miss Mason, who was tne only person besides the chief officer ~o n heard the man's heartrending cries and regardless of her safetv and tf i' A K l t- tUC Cabin t0 hi * assistance and stood by him until he died. CLERGYMAN'S CAR. A London clergyman whose motor t ,r wa> Molen had an unpleasant ex->eiie-i-e in Brighton on the followin- Sir,J-,v noon his tar : t( , len \- e vy; 1 » j the who <. S Criptio " " f I,IP veh:<> .In iae Sunday aiteruoon a ,o-is- ,'.Y , , 3 car answering the de>, ..Shier a Brighton rty,„ ; „ iu a Public-parking |. .. k ,.,„ liaU -K and when the ownc v t 'iev que*" tione.l him. ~\ j j:,.-. o re«<l — he rer»li<»<!. "1•<» mr - " was stolen on Ki :'ii .in : nf>n- }^c Mine da\ v Leman S i; ., : r S: return.-! j . The a'ler into 'i «.i!i Seollaaa r |<.j-gymau half an hour's fjfr j, v mfj n« wa> able to estaM*? 5 <" a - s "it his clerical clotb.g ~0 ~r case attached to the^ snj was aJJo» <v . .j„ w>" ? " hie-, h- Y? *ci vice at