GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8538, 11 April 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

THE LANGUAGE OP PARADISE. The language of Paradise—aß the Wels!> so proudly style their native tongue— s remarks the Bristol Times and Mirror' obviously not yet thoroughly understood i a ' Yorkshire. Our contemporary, the York. shire Post/ however, rejoices to have a member of his staff who both understands and speaks Welsh, and here is a story 0 J the effect of his accomplishments produced in the office on New Year's Day. Imtnedi. ately the noise of hammering the stone" ab midnight on the last day of the old year had subsided, he whistled up the tubo to the sub-editorial department, and spoke the message, " Blwyddyn newydd ichwi!" The young man at the other end said they were very sorry, but they had no whisky ou the premises. Whistling up into the caseroom, he pronounced the same horrid words. Down rushed a lad in great alarm, saying he thought there was something the matter with the tube. Then the gentleman from Wales wrote out the formula with blue pencil, and ordered it to be handed to the overseer. It was passed round and unanimously voted to be a line of copy gone to pie. But further inquiry showed that tho message was all right. It was merely, M 4 happy Wow Year to you 1" SOLDIERS REFUSE TO FIGHT. An interesting story is going the round of the Berlin Press. A soldier of the Reserve? lately submitted to the Emperor a petition asking to be exempted from military service, -but was refused. He has now openly refused obedience because. " according to God's law and his own inward conviction, he may and will nob kill, anybody either in war or in peace." He has been repeatedly examined by physicians, who find him thoroughly healthy, and accountable for his actions. Another soldier has now followed suit.

THE COMING POWER. It is singular, as we learn from the current Review of Reviews, that Lord Wolseley not only shares General Gordon's belief in the latent possibilities of the Chinese, but holds that they are the Coming Power, and that when their able and capable men are no longer beheaded, and a great General has arisen, they will, with their capabilities of endurance, sweep over Russia and India, and engage in war the English-speaking, races. The Spectator says:—"TheEnglish, the Americans,and the Australians will have to rally for a desperate conflict, probably in Wesbern Asia, which will be a veritable battle of Armageddon. Such prophecies are, of course, of small practical use; but we agree that a very little might sot the Chinese moving, and that her millions, once lot loose, could no more be stopped than a stream of lava." THE JEWISH COLONISATION OF PALESTINE. At the Jews' College Literary Society, on the occasion of the reading of Dr. Adler's " Notes on the Holy Land," Lieut. - Col. Gold?mid made an eloquent appeal to his co-religionists to hasten the work of Jewish colonisation in Palestine. The Jewish question, he told his hearers, will never be settled until there is a Jewish State in the Holy Land. "In some countries," he continued, "we are persecuted. In others we are barely tolerated. I am not at all surprised at this. What other race, with so glorious a history as ours, would tamely sib down and see the land of their ancestors in the hands of a foreigner ? Italy has regained Rome, why should we not regain Palestine, instead of being contented to remain tolerated by tho peoples among whom we live ?"

EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM. Dalziel's correspondent at Key West, Florida, telegraphs :—News has just reached here from Hayti of a remarkable story of heroism on the part of a girl of eighteen years, the daughter of a sea captain, who navigated her father's ship when he and all the crew were down with yellow fever, The barque James H. Hamlin, a coasting vessel, bound from South American ports to Savannah, was last spoken at sea on December 15, off Navassa, when all hands were reported ill with yellow fever, and no attempt was made by the vessel which reported her to give any assistance. It appears that Captain Annie, the master of the Hamlin, fell ill with the fever early in December, when the mate took command. He, too, fell ill, and one after another the crew came down until not a person was left to navigate the ship. The captain had with him on board his only daughter Miss Maud Annis, aged eighteen yenrs, who appeared to have been the last! to catch the fever. With the aid of one or two sailors who managed to crawl to the deck, she navigated the vessel for several hundreds of miles, and succeeded in reaching port with a crew dead and dying and Captain Annis in a critical condition. From December 15, when the Hamlin was spoken off Navassa, nothing was heard of her until the steamship Alvo arrived abAux Cayea, Hayti, with Captain Annis, his daughter, and all the crew, except two men who had died. The captain died the clay after reaching Aux Cayes, and Miss Annis is dangerously ill and delirious. She is being nursed at the house of the British Consul. The remainder of the crew are recovering. A " model" husband.

From thousands of letters sent to a New York daily in competition for a prize of £20 to the wife who made out the best case for the assertion that her lord was all that she could wish him to be, the judges decided in favour of the following :-— Free from all manly (? masculine) vices, personally clean and orderly, into our utmost privacy he brings the tender courtesies of a gentleman. Our home-making is a delightful partnership, one supplementing the other with every assistance, he always considerate of the woman's responsibilities, but leaving at his office the annoyances of a business man. In sickness or health there is always the responsive throb of a single interest. Perfect love casteth out fear, and our freedom of speech and action leaves no occasion for any pretty tricks of deception, alas! so common. Above this is his high ideal of woman, that helps* me to produce something better than before recognised in myself. Receptive to my aspirations, no new thought or culture is attempted but meets his approval and encouragement; while a noble spiritual atmosphere lifts my daily life from a common routine into a loving pleasure. Taking my face in his hands he has lovingly said, Would I had wealth that I could place you a queen among women.' With such a king for a husband, am I not walking in a queen's garden 2" WHERE THE MISTLETOE COMES FROM. They make good profits out of the British demands for mistletoe at Christmas in Normandy and Brittany. Ships laden with the plant of the Druids leave the ports of St. Malo, Granville, and other places every day for England, and the peasants are well employed bringing piles of mistletoe branches from the interior. In the meantime many of the orchard owners in the provinces mentioned find their apple trees still encumbered by the parasitical plant, despite the enormous masses of it which are forwarded every year to the English market. THE EARNINGS OP A PROFESSIONAL BILLIARD PLAYER. In the Westminster County Court recently, Mr. Willam Cook, the professional billiard player, appeared before Judge Bay ley on a judgment summons in respect of a debt of £380. The defendant, in reply to questions, said he had no means, but it was perfectly true that he had earned £1000 in a night, but that was in days gone by, and he had lost it all. He had been unable to pay the last instalment of this debt, and in consequence went to Holloway. He had been ill and unable to play billiards. He had no engagements at all. There was nothing doing in the summer, and when employed in the winter he got £5 a week. An order was made for the payment of the balance of the debt by instalments of £5 per month. OOP. CRIMINALS. The diminution in the number of oar criminals has been the subject of much congratulation of late. It may be that the actual decrease of crime is not sufficient to account for this, and that in part at least i* is due to • the shorter sentences now £< generally imposed. But that crime fs to some extent actually diminishing while the population is increasing, seems to admit of no doubt; and it is especially satisfactory to find, that the criminal with a knowledge of a trade is fast becoming quite a rare bird. It is indeed a great and a growing difficulty in the building and repairing of our prisons that whereas up till the past few years skilled ; labour was ! always, to be found among the prisoners themselves, the supply is dwindling every year, and the employment of free outside labour becomes wow and more necessary.—Daily News*