BRIEF ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 87, 11 January 1928, Page 10

BRIEF ITEMS

FROM FAR AND NEAR

Mails Arrive at London.—The postal authorities have received cable advice that mails which left Wellington on December 6, via San Francisco, arrived nt London on January 6.

Earthauake Recorded.—Many observatories as far apart as Washington and Cairo recorded an earthquake on Friday night, and sham tremors were felt throughout Kenya on that date.—British Official Wireless.

Child’s Dangerous Fall.—Through falling down a 140 ft. cliff to a roadway below at Scarborough, Sumner, to-day, Magnus Hay, aged 8. received bad injuries to his head.—Press Assn.

Fall From Staging—A. Mudge, a labourer, residing at 150 Washington Avenue, fell off some staging _ at Miramar yesterday and received injuries to his left shoulder. He was attended to by the Free Ambulance and medical aid wai administered.

Devastating Fire at North Fremantle.— A devastating fire at North Fremantle destroyed three acres of buildings, occupied by Kitchen and Sons, Neptune Oil Company, and the Massey, Harris agricultural implement assembling works. The damage amounted to X 70.000. —Press Assn.

Deserting Seamen.—Four of the seven German sailors who deserted from the steamer Kegston Miles were arrested at Howick. The Magistrate sentenced them to seven days’ imprisonment on the understanding that they will be returned to their ship at Wellington—Press Assn.

New Zealand Children’s Christmas Dinner Fund.—Manchester, one of the cities where New Zealand dinners io poor children were given this year, has cabled as under: —‘‘Manchester January 7 —To Whibley, Ormondville •. 1000 Manchester children thank you and New Zealand friends for dinners, and nappy times they are enjoying.—(Signed) Church Army.'

Eleven Girls Killed by Wolves. —Eleven young girls were eaten by wolves in Slovakia, states a Press Association message from Prague. A party started for a neighbouring village 'on Christmas Eve, when a pack of wolves, driven bv hunger from the hills, killed and ate the girls.

Paris Telephone Service. —Deficiencies in the telephone service of Paris are likely to be worsened by the general adoption of a new system whereby a subscriber can be switched on to any opera, theatre, or music hall to listen to the performance from his armchair. The scheme has hitherto been confined to a few theatres, but all are now installing microphones, as is Notre Dame Cathedral.—Press Assn.

Seaman Lost Overboard)—Advice has been received at Christchurch from the Karetu, en route to Newcastle, that Joseph J. Murray, an able seaman, was lost overboard on Sunday. Murray was well known in Lyttelton, where his widow resides. He was 29 years of age and came to the Dominion when a lad. After leaving school he joined the Union Company’s training ship Aparima as an apprentice and be was in the Aparima when she was torpedoed in the English Channel. For the past ton years he had been serving in tho Uninn Company’s ships on the New Zealand and Australian run. —Press Assn.

> Bogus Share Certificates.—The chairman of the Sydney Stock Exchange has issued a warning that several cases of fraudulent alterations to share certificates in tin and rubber companies have been, reported from the East. The alterations had been made by persons who obtained possession of certificates for a small number of shares, using chemicals to erase the number of shares mentioned and to substitute a larger number. It is believed that over £50.000 has been lost in the Federated Malay States by persons purchasing bogus certificates.—Press Assn.

Australian Motorist’s Tour In Asia.— Francis Birtles, the Australian motorist, has arrived at Calcutta after an exciting •rans-Asian tani. Among his experiences was one that, while sheltering in a blinding snowstorm, brigands robbed him of *us blankets. Leaving Teheran he found a marooned car, in which' seven Persians were frozen to death. As the result of his hardships, he spent Christmas Day in hospital at Quetta. He reached Delhi with the same set of wheels as he started with.—Press Assn.