NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 52, 2 March 1929, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS.

GUINEA PIGS' £300 HOME. A £300 scheme for bousing guinea pigs which are used in the county analyst's department was passed by Worcestershire County Council. Mr. T. W. Partes said they should not have guinea pigs ill parlour type houses. The Medical Officer oi Health said the department bred the guinea pigs and sometimes had a stock of 100. The animals' quarters will be in the new £20,000 offices of the county's clerical staffs. THE GUILLOTINE MYTH. It is useless now to say about the guillotine, '"It was invented by a man of that name during the French Revolution, and used in course of time to behead him." He didn't die in that way, but lived until 1814. And he didn't invent the guillotine, either. He merely proposed that beheading should be the usual (because the most humane) form of capital punishment. The first machine was made by a German named Schmidt, who was given his instructions by a Dr. Louis. It was called for a time after him, "Louison" and "Louisette." The name guillotine came into use later. RUSTPROOF CARS. Important developments in the production of all-weather cars in rustless steelwork are being carried out by leading British motor manufacturers. The Austin Motor Co. Ltd., are undertaking research in the production of rustproof cans at their Longbridge works. British developments of an important new steel process which, it is claimed, will revolutionise the motor industry, were announced recently. These are now proceeding rapidly. Progress is being made in the manufacture of nitrallov steel, which is rustless, reduces wear-and-tear on engines, and increases efficiency while reducing petrol consumption.

SANG AT HIS WORK. Because he 6ang at his work while selling newspapers at a street corner at Merthyr, Glamorgan, Johnnie Harris has won for himself a stage career. The sole support of his widowed mother, he wu overheard by a searcher for talent, who brought him to the notice of Mr. Arthur Sleet, the well-known revue producer of Newcastle. Stage tests followed, and it «aa found that the lad also had the makings of a brilliant actor, besides being the possessor of a remarkable voice. "He is a genius," 6ays Mr. Sleet, "and is easily the greatest find I have come across during my 20 years' connection with the stage. Within a short time he will be one of the most-talked-of boys in the country." SAVED BY A STUD. To owe his life to a collar stud after receiving a shock of 2200 volts has been the remarkable experience of Mr. W. Peacock, of Crosskeys, South Wales, an electrician employed at Risca Colliery. Under the impression that the current was off, he put his hand on the terminals, and received the full charge through his body. The electricity concentrated on a front metal collar stud with celluloid base, which jumped, and was forced into his windpipe to a depth of two and a half inches. The stud was removed and Peacock survived, though he was badly burned. A doctor who attended him said he had been saved by the stud, in which the current had expended itself.

SKELETONS FOUND. An ancient Jatisfa cemetery has been discovered"ln an old disused chalk pit in the parish of Fingleshatn, near Deal. Some twenty skeletons; and many interesting articles have been unearthed, among them swords, knives, shields, pottery, brooches, beads, charms, tokens and other ornaments. All the skeletons—some had armour lying beside them —were found at a depth of three feet. Mr. W. P. D. Stebbings one of the officials in charge of the Richborough excavations says that the remains at Finglesham are skeletons of both men and women. This district at one time was a permanent settlement of the Jutes, who came from the mouth of the Elbe between 450 and 550 A.D. Their colony Btretched from this part of the Kent coast to the Isle of Wight. He has no doubt that as the excavations proceed many interesting discoveries will be made. 21 DAYS' SENTENCE ON A MOTHER. Sentence of 21 days* hard labour was recently passed on a fisherman's wife by the Cleethorps magistrates, for cruelty to her eeven-year-olrl eon. The ■woman, Mrs. Ellen Wikon. collapsed on hearing the decision. Mr. E. Chapman, who prosecuted for the Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, said that Mrs. Wilson's son Ben was found suffering from burns to two fingers. He said that 'his mother had caused them by holding his hand over a gas flame. Mrs. Wilson said she had whipped the boy for pilfering from the pantry, end warned him that if he offended again she would born his fingers. He stole some milk, and, with the idea of frightening him, she held his hand over the gas bracket. He struggled, and that caused her to use more force than she intended, with the result that he was burned. It was not her intention to punish or be cruel, she 6aid, but only to frighten, and it was an accident that the boy was burned. Mrs. Wilson's solicitor said there would be an appeal. ,

LANGUAGE TEST FOR LEGACY. Legacies of £250 for two girls "which will be forfeited if they are "unable to speak or write the English language fluently," were recently revealed in a will. Mr. John Josiah Ball, of Burbage Road, Dulwieh, S.E, left all his property, valued at £10,635, to his wife for life. On her death each of his granddaughter*, Francis Ball and Katheleen Ball, receive £250 "contingent upon their being able to speak and write the English language fluently on or before each of them attains the age of 15 years." The will added: "I direct that my daughter-in-law shall demonstrate, or cause to be demonstrated, that both of them be able to speak and write the English language fluently. Should eit'ber or both of my grandchildren fail to give the necessary proof, in the manner above described, either one or both of them so failing shal. as from time of such test, absolutely forfeit all right to the legacy or legacies." Mrs. Ball, the widow, e-aid to a representative of the "Evening Standard" to-day: "The children are aiied nine and four years. There is no reason whatever why they should not receive the bequest when they reach the as? mentioned. In any case, it does not apply until after my death."

A LUCKY BLUNDER. - The prosperity of a business house isi Boston had a quaint origin. The foundation of its snocess was laid by an early member of the firm, several generations ago, who shipped a cargo of warming-pans to the West Indies! It would be difficult to imagine a more absurd investment, hut it co happened that these warming-pans w«ne found to be just the thing that was wanted at a certain stage in the process of sugar manufacture. The result was an immediate demand for more. COW CHARGES BUS. In the sequestered uplands of Norfct umberland a 'bus load of passengers had an extraordinary experience when, a coir charged violently put of the darkness of the night into the blaze of the lamps. It struct the vehicle ■whish jolted violently. Ti.e bus, one of a service mrv. ning from Alnwick t-o Wooler. was going up Garmitage-, a steep bank near Whit* tinghara, when the collision occurred. The animal's head struck the front of the bus which _ was travelling at a fair speed, smashing the lamps and doing other damage. Its body swung round and bumped the side of the vehicle. Xobody was hurt. When the beast was looked for at the roadside it was standing evidently undamaged, but looking a trifle dazed. THE HUMAN BODY AS BATTERY. Herr Zacher, a Berlin electrical engineer, has devised an apparatus for electrotherapy, by which a person's body will generate electric current as needed. The inventor is an expert in "the use of small electric currents for curing bodily ills, and claims that as the body con. tains a large amount of salt solution it can be made into a generator of electricity if the electrodes are inserted at the right places. An experiment with a human cir* cuit with a galvanometer inserted in tho electric circuit showed that a current wa really circulating, and further tests in conjunction with Dr. A. Sperling demonstrated that such electric have a decided therapeutic value. HATLESS AT WEDDINGS. Weddings should not be looked upogj S 5 entertainments," said the Ben K. M. Rutter, the Seacombe Primitive Methodist minister, when interviewed on the public rebuke he administered at the cloee of a marriage service to a ladv guest without a hat. Mr. Rutter said in futuro lady guests coming to a wedding servi©# in a house of God should come with their heads covered. "In view of the growing iasnty regarding the marriage service," h* added, U feel strongly that the sacredness of the service should be emphasised. 1 text I could not let the irreverence passL otherwise it would be weakening the Christian position and the custom that women should have their heads covered in church." CAT KILLS BABt. How a baby was killed by a cat was told at a Brixton inquest on Richard Donald Large, aged six months. The baby's foster mother, Aire. W. Whittle, of Pulross Road. Brixton, said she left it in the cot. She returned forty minutes later to find the cat sleeping on the baby's chest. The baby was blue, and she could not revive it. Her son tried artificial respiration in vain. Dr. Anderson said the baby died from suffoca. tion A heavy cat lying on a baby's chest was sufficient to cause death even when the mouth was free. Mr. Douglas Coww burn, the coroner, recording a verdict of "accidental death." said it was not the first case in his experience of a cat causing a child's death. Care should be taken to prevent animals like cats having access to children's cots. SOBER SMITHFIELD. (Mr. B. Goodwin, known as the "Smithfield Padre," reports in the current isem of the London City Mission Magazino that a great change in th*ir attitude to re. ligious work has come over the 15,000 men employed in the biggest meat cafe in the world. Bad language is stated to have disappeared from Billingsgate, the famous fish market, but while it is still heard in Smithfield, the meat porters are complimented on their temperate habits. He says that he has never seen a drunken Smithfield market porter. Mr. Goodwin says that when 'he was being questioned on Biblical matters by a crowd of porters one of them shouted, "I've just left prison after serving fourteen days for poaching my brother-in-law. To kill time I read the Bible every day, and what I don't know about these matters, now isn't worth knowing."

JEALOUSY AT THE CIRCUS. Jealousy shown by the lions over the applause given to the horses caused much amusement at the circus at Olympia, Paris, one of the biggest of the lions, was particularly obsessed in this way and concentrated most of his bitterness 09 Jimmy, a large black stallion. The turn of the horses came first, and they defi the ring to the applause of the audience Outside the ring was the lion's cage. the honses passed, Paris invariably walked to the front of the cage and growled at the triumphant Jimmy, who replied with, a whinny. Then the exchanges became noisy, and it was obvious that some sort of argument was proceeding. The louder the applause for the houses the louder Paris seeming to find oomfiort in the noise he tnacfc;. When Jimmy saw the lions peinforming the tricks of an ordinary domestic animal, he turned quietly to his oat-eatingL After all, Paris is only a great boasteH STOICAL ACTRESS. How an actress has bravely carried on with her part in a Manchester musical show in spite of a tragedy which ovei*» shadowed her, has just been disclosed. Miss Jennie Gregson, who is'appearing ia "Oh, Letty," at the Prince's Theatre, made a hurried journey to Liverpool, following & telephone message intimating that her son, Mr. George Go&dfe!!ow, jun., was critically ill at the Southern Hospital. fc.ne discovered that lie was dying of pneumonia, and she stayed at his bedside until his death in the e-uiv hours of Boxing Day. Grief-striken, she returned to Manchester to take part, in the ma-tinee of '*Oh, Letty/' performances, of which had been suspended on Christ* mas Day, and has continued to appear, so that, in spite of her bereavement, she did not once miss her call. of th« audience has suspected t-hat tie "Grace" who plays one of the v.-aciius principal parts in the farce has been cocccaling \ private grief.

THE FLAPPERS' PARADISE. Delightful stories of a country where women wear trousers and men skirts, and' where thev chain up cat? and let 'dogs go free, were told to the Royal Geosrar'hical Society. The country is French"indoThere, said Admiral Sir William Goodenough. wh~j presided, women wore trousers and the men skirts. Mmc. Gabrielle M. \ assal .the lecturer, de» scribed bow she round her native cook ;-o!ling rissoie* up and down his bare bodv, w "ith his hands, to give them the nic-s shape she had admired at table. She found him cleaning the silver on the ground and gave him a kitchen table. He slepi on it and washed up underneath it. Th.- ch Mren were not jiren Christian names. They were numbered by their parents, one. two, three. The aveiaee family cons V.-d about eight children. " " In-w-t. '• ; nf<4 mothers, instead of giving their ch !■]:• a endearing pet names, called thv.n •'•ic- " pig, or dust-heap. ' In tins wav The mothers were convinced thev sa-.—j the children from the evil spirits. Faring that the children might be f>ii : r:teti ana-.-, if the 1 }- were thouzii; to be p.e"v, ir wia policy when visiting the mc.thei ir. yay that her children weie hu/riYe littLa creatures. and pun\. the would not detire them.