NEWS AND NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 78, 28 September 1907, Page 16

NEWS AND NOTES.

An English motorist ran over and killed a pig in & French village. Ho was called upon to stop, but went on. At the next village he found a barricade of barrels across the road defended by gendarmes with deadly weapons. Ho stopped then. And ho had to pay £10. ' ( The total cost of the Imperial Conference was £8200, or £2200 in excess of the estimate. "After the estimate was framed," it is explained, "the number of guests was increased, and tho period during which the colonial Premiers wero entertained also proved to be longer than was at first expected." A skeleton lately disinterred at Gravesend, is supposed to be that of Pocahontas, the famous (ndian chieftainess, who, tradition says, saved tho life of Captain John Smith, afterwards President of Virginia, when he was taken prisoner by her father, Powhattan, in '1607. She became a Christian, married an Englishman named Rolfe, and died on a vessel off Gravcsend in 1617, leaving one sqn, from whom several Virginian families claim descent. A general measure of much interest lately signed by tho Governor of New York State was Senator Knapp's, pro viding that when a person had been convicted three times of a felony or attempt to commit a felony conviction a fourth time should bring a life sentence, subject to the jurisdiction of the board of parole. This was recommended by the Superintendent of Prisons. It was meant to permit the authorities to release a man who showed a desire to reform, but to retake, him if he relapsed into crime, without subjecting the State to the expense of another trial. j The Philadelphia County Medical Society recently passed a resolution expressing its approval of a Bill before t the Pennsylvania Legislature requiring certificates to the effect that both parties to a proposed marriage are, in tho opinion of a qualified physician, free from disease transmissible to progeny. "Similar measures," says the New York correspondent of the- Lancet, are now before several Stata Legislatures, and in' two or three " instances they have been enacted into la-w and are now operative." - If registered medical practitioners were infallible, there might be warrant for placing such tremendous powers in their hands. It will be noted that it is the "Medical Trade Union" from which the idea emanates. In practice it would probably do far more harm than good. Casablanca, which is a place of some interest just now, is the "White House" of those .parts. Dhar-el-Baida, its original and proper name, was trans' lated into its present name by a Spanish authority, though Portugal rather than Spain lias been concerned with its back history. It is a picturesque and malodorous port on the Atlantic, and was one of the localities selected by France ior commencing her "peaceful* penetration" process. Hence the works which have been in progress for the virtual remarking of the harbour and for a dock railway. These things suggested to tha native mind that the foreigner was earning to stay, hence the present sLuaiiun. "The worm will turn," says the proverb, and at last the newspaper worm has turned hard. In a recent novel a well-known criminal lawyer represented the city editor of an American daily newspaper as remaining at the office until two o'clock in the morning, at which time he was "finishing off" aii editorial. A few days after the public had been allowed to gain this valuable inside information of the workings of a newspaper office, the aforesaid daily newspaper worm turned. It said it understood the lawyer's next book »vas to be a realistic novel of sea life, and that an episode would be the story of how the captain stood on the bridge and oiled the engines. The lawyer's demurrer is now awaited with interest. ( Frederick A. Oldfield, of Memphis, Tennessee, has indented a pair of water.walking shoes, with which he- hopes to cross the English Channel some time during the present summer. Each shoe consists of a beechwood box 4ft in length, 18in in depth, and lft in width. In order that the shoes may skim easily over the surface, five planes are secured to the bottom of each shoe. The shoes are fastened to the foot by means of clamps, such as those used on roller skates, the foot being inserted through a hole in the top of the shoe, &nd the ordinary ' leather boot being clamped in place. A covering of rubber around the opening protects the wearer of* the shoe from splashing of water. The shoes weigh 51b each. Mr. Oldfield has just completed a trip from Cincinnatti to New Orleans, which consumed fortyone days, twenty-four more than the time in which he expected to fulfil the cask. At a recent London Diocesan Conference Dr. A. »C. Headlam moved : — "That, while a healthy and reverent criticism is necessary for the well-being lof the Christian Church, it must aj- | ways be controlled ' by a sound judgment in distinguishing the true and the false, and by a wise grasp of' the proportion of the Christian /tradition." I Nothing, he said, was more disastrous to the life of the church than the tenI dency'to anathematise any one who put I before them something new. The Archj deacon of London saconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously, as ! was also the following rider: — "That it is extremely de&irable at the present juncture that (a) the parochial clergy should not mak* what is popularly called th-o Higher Criticism the main subject of any of their sermons ; and (b) that clergy and laity alike should maintain great reserve as to their acceptance of its so-called "results as if they were permanently assured." The Bible Society, more than any other roligious body, stands conspicuously above sect — which is probably why those who place eect in the first place regard it. with jealousy. The Church Times, a "High Church" party organ, has just made an &mazing attack pn the Bible Society. It has found a variety of reasons why the Bible should not be circulated, and it protests against Bible distribution. The reasons alleged are, that tho distribution of the Bible "ignoies the Catholic- conception of the Church" ; that the Bible is "discredited" by premature translation into languages which are wholly incapable of expressing lofty and exalted ideas, in which the Namo of God cannot be expressed, or, being expressed, suggests only tho most inadequate idea, of His powor- and majesty," and "into dialects which are vulgar and degraded" ; that "tho theory that the primary work of a new mission is to Kcatter tho Scripture? broadcast is one which is contrary to Christian tradition, and ineffective when reduced to praoI lice"; that "the. spread of tho Goapel I has, in certain countries, been actually hindered by tho premature circulation ot ! the Scriptures. It is a method which has discredited Chriswnity by cheapening »t" ; and finally .alleges that "the Bible Societies arc- actively engaged in work hostile to the Church in" other countries." The Record recalls tho fact that, in Gpite of the Church Times, there aro nover wanting High Church Bishopi and missionaries ready to record their gratitvi© for the itork of the. Bifel© Bo_ciety. t

No open-worK blouses are permitted to be sold in Chicago shops until they have been inspected and approved by an official appointed for the purpose by the mayor. The city attorney and all local ministers are said to endorse the mayor's action. The Lokal Anzeiger (Berlin) has received a report from German South-west Africa of the discovery, near the coast of Luederitz Bay, of rich deposits of copper ore. An expeclition will soon leavo Luederitz to continue prospecting. The newly found ore lies in a waterless region. The coast is without harbours, and there are few places where tho ore could bs transhipped out to steamers in barges. Canon Horsley, in his parish magazine, records that of the 1 babies presented for baptism at St. Peter's, Walworth, during the month oE July, nine were boys and 27 were "little girls." "If this proportion became constant," the Canon goes on to remark, "what chance would the mere male- of the future have? As it is, I have heard it is difficult for a man, to get, into some local publichouses because they are so full of women." "China for Chinese" (says the China Mail). A foreign company desiring to furnish electric light to other parts of Pekin, outside the Foreign Legation area, has found its scheme opposed by the Yao Hua Eleotric Ligst Company, a Chinese concern, the directors of which have asked tho Waiwupa and Nungkungsha^ngpu's assistance in the matter. To a despatch on the subject from the Waiwupu the doyen of the Diplomatic Corps has replied that the Home Governments must first bo communicated •with before ho can give any definite answer. Manitoba claims the champion contemporary cosmopolitan adventurer. His name is Captain David Powell. He ran I away to sea at 14, while a Cheltenham schoolboy. He went through the mad I excitement of the early fifties on the Australian goldfields, fought his way , through the Indian Mutiny, ran the blockade in the American Civil War, I was present at Majuba, served as surveyor and head constable under Kruger, worked in the Kimberloy diamond mines, hacl^more than one tussle with the Zulus, and is now finishing up his variegated career as a minor official of the Manitoban Fisheries Department, The business men of tho mining city : of Bulte, Montana, will henceforth have no doubt of the superiority of newspapers to billposting station's as advertising mediums. Owing to a strike of printers, the local newspapers recently suspended publication for several weeks Meanwhile, the business done fell off considerably, in some cases no less than 50 per cent., the theatres being the greatest sufferers. The loss is attributed by the advertisers themselves to their having to depend upon tlio "billboards" for announcing what they had to offer to the public. v Two Spaniards (says the Rome correspondent of the Daily Telegraph) have been giving the polics a great deal to think about. When they recently entered a sleeping-car in the <iorth a porter asked why their luggage was so heavy. One of them answered laughingly, "Because it contains bombs and i dynamite." The porter informed tho \ police, who, thinking it might be tli9 truth, told the man to throw it off the train. The police also kept an eye on them. When they reached Rome they aroused more <■ suspicion, as one always stayed in the hotel 'to watch the mysterious luggage. The hotel was surrounded by guards, as the police latterly became convinced that ihe Spaniards were anarchists, although that theory was dispelled when the men paid a visit to the Quirinal Palace. From, enquiries there the police found that the Spaniards were trying to sell a collection of coins; also the map used by Amerigo Vespucci when he sailed to America. The collection is described as being very valuable, and consisting of 12,000 pieces, many unknown and very rare. The authenticity of tho map of Vespucci has been proved. The Counts of Montenegro inherited these treasures, besides a rich library of 17,000 volumes from "Cardinal Vespucci. The actual proprietor, the last of the family, is 82 years old, and lives the life of a hermit. Whatever may be thought (says St. James' Budget) of the possible- effects of Esperanto as a trespasser in the grounds of JiteratUTe and conversation, and whatever diffidence there ma.y be in forming an opinion as to the chances of complete success, it is undeniable that the movement shoVs wonderful vitality and progress. In the inception of Esperanto as a. new code-languago which should link the polyglot peoples of the earth and lebuke the Babel of confusion and misapprehension, ridicule was poured upon it in killing quantities. 'Che whole notion sounded farcical and absurd. It lent itself to the jesters' uses, and there is still something very unreal and diverting in the sight ot sound of this substitute for any language known to man in his infancy. But ihe commercial advantages of Esperanto are obvious enough supposing that its study became anything like universal, and 'the Cambridge Congress must be treated wiFh all prdper respect. Apart from this, we aro not yet peTsuadedi to enthusiasm, for this new-fangled affair. But prudenco may now prefer not to scoff. It is reported from Pekin that H.I.M. the Empress Dowager is seriously thinking of retiring from active life '(says the Nanfangpao), and will probably hand back the reins of Government to the Emperor on the Ist day of the let moon of the thirty-fourth year of his Majesty's reign The question of the Imperial succession, wo believe, will then bo also brought forward. There aro said to be throe candidates for tho honour of Heir Apparent, viz. — Their Highnesses Princo P'u Lun, Prino& Hung, and t-ho infant son of Trince Chun and his 'wife, the daughter of the late Grand Secretary, etc, Ynnk Lu. Princo Chun's son, boing tho nephew of bis Majesty, probably has the best chance of bsing Heir-Apparont ; his extreme youth being also an important point in hia favouT, Two young New Zealanders from Oamaru, on a world-tour, are contributing their impression! in letters to tho local Mail. The following is an extract : — "Moscow is distinctly the best town we have yet visited — a really beautiful place wit 11 magnificent buildings und spacious public reserves. St. Petersburg is also good, and whatever may be the politics of the Government, that of tho local bodies is distinctly progressive, while everything is scrupulously clean, something after the rnannei 1 of Paris. Stockholm is entirely different, but thera is not that distinctiveness oi dress and • manner that 0110 would expect. Certainly wo saw a few girls in the picturesque national dress, but they wero 1 only one or two. The people striko you i as being in marked contrast to those of ! Russia, whero every one appears to 'be I Keeking nt a rapid pace llio pleasure o? I life — eating, drinking, and threatre* going. Copenhagen is a jolly little place, and I am pleased that wo placed it on our itinerary. There we went through Kiel to Bremen, interest in which town is mainly commercial. Brussels is tho gayest of the gay, and beats Russia in this respect out of sight. In Belgium no restraint seems ti> be. placed upon the people, and every 6econd day is a national holiday, which must bf duly aicnailed bx gacfifisinjS ©Mil teei'i •