GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13501, 27 July 1907, Page 4 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

''".■''"";"''" '' ♦ ;'/'"' ' ''•'■':'.. CHINESE CANNIBALS.' The Tonking newspapers report that the ' Chinese robber bands vin Upper Tonking 'nave<been driven to kill several of their •* captives ■ when'- their food supply has run •'short. Many women and children have been set 1 freo' from these robbers and pirates of :late, and they narrate the most horrible ■ tales of the scenes; of butchery that take . place among the cannibals. t £40,000 AEROPLANE. , It is reported that the Wright Brothers' ' aeroplane has .been purchased by -France,' arid' that, a company will pay £40,000 for the) right of making aeroplanes on their system immediately the . inventors have . ';"■ given 'successful trials before witnesses. The " Army and Navy Ministers are stated to have promised to purchase immediately a dozen of the engines from the. company. It was .during the last visit of Mr. Wilbur Wright to Paris that the arrangements for the •purchase were concluded. " ' SUPERSTITION IN ENGLAND. • A lamentable example of the superstition which still prevails m some parts of the Black Country was revealed by the sui- ' cide of a Halesowen man named John Hip- -., kiss. The man, it is said, hanged himself '.-; in consequence of having accidentally poisoned his hand. He was promptly discov- .. ered, .but everyone, it is alleged, refused to cut him down, believing that those who , .did- so would immediately experience great ■.',- trouble. .' The body was allowed to hang , until a policeman cut it down, and he had ". to travel a mile to reach the scene. ;•'; 'WEARS'HER HUSBAND'S TEETH. ',' 'The latest idea in economy stands to the credit of'' Mrs. August Kramer, a thrifty American woman living near Janesville, w|o is now wearing her dead husband's '*"fase' teeth. ; When he died recently she haft his fine set of false teeth removed be- ■ fore the body was placed in the coffin. Then she called upon the old dentist, informing him that she desired' to have them re-made to fit her, and the request was granted. When she left the dentist's she said that she.hoped that the teeth would make' her feel 30 years younger, as she intended to • marry again shortly. ."\ LOVER'S WIRELESS MESSAGE. >:,\ A lover's stratagem led to the report that -. train-wreckers were at work on the Pennsylvania Railway. _ Detectives were informed that at a certain spot the wreckers were ~at work. They made a rush, and found a youth . kneeling over one of the rails and tapping it with a' coupling pin. A mile up ;• the track they found a. girl with her ear to the rail, waiting for the tappings which . had suddenly ceased. This explained the '. mystery. The lovesick pair had devised a K code of taps, by means of which they were accustomed tto communicate with each . ' other. ' . '"'. . •-'' ■." •- - •-■ : .\ j' ':■; :V SEVEN WEEKS' TASK; A remarkable escape from prison is reported from Gera in Germany. A burglar named Sahaarsehmidt, who: was confined there, in the absence of suitable tools de- ;':■ liberately set to j work to gnaw through a «-thick oaken beam in front of his cell win- '. dow. It was a work of seven weeks. The • fragments ? of wood • torn away by his teeth he replaced with chewed bread until the beam was almost gnawed through. Finally, a noise of breaking woodwork was heard - by the warders, but before they could reach .him.Schaarschmidt had made good his : escape, .-*:. ; -'--.•'•■,,•'.. ;..■'_ '""""■ '■■■'■ ' BABY BRINGS LUCK. K (y A'baby with over £150 concealed in its !: clothing fell into the lap of a French pea-•,-.sant woman near London. She was sitting ;: '-'in front of her cottage on the highway, when a motor-car stopped before the gate. ■'::,";The chauffeur got out" and handed her a package, asking her to accept it, and saying ; that she would not regret it. The good woman took it into her hands wonderingly, ;■ and wanted to ask some questions, but be- : '.fore. a. word was out of her mouth the chauffeur . had jumped back into his seat, : and the motor-car went off at full speed. The woman opened the package, and found ,r that it contained a beautiful baby, wrapped ' up in rich linen, to which four banknotes, of IOOOf. were pinned. She adopted the ] , child on the spot. , i .... SMITHFIELD MARKET. ~ i It is claimed by the City of London that '[} Smithfield is the largest meat market in • the world, and some figures lately given ' by the chairman of the Markets Committee : ;*" go: far to substantiate -this claim.: It *' stands on 10 acres of ground, is built above I . the railways on thousands of steel girders.j :'-- and joists, and cost the Corporation y £2,000,000 to erect, Theer are 400 ten- ";; ants, and 10,000 persons,.including 2000 por- • ters, find employment there every day. Meat . comes into the market from all parts of the • world, including Siberia, New Zealand, Aus- .: ,tralia, South America,-and North America, '" -and" last year enough"flesh meat passed ; through the market—l,ooo,ooo,ooo pounds j .':'; ,--to supply each' of the 5i millions of Lon- i •; don's | population with £lb for every one ■ of 'the 565 days of the year. '''• PROPOSAL TO EXCLUDE SIGNOR , - CARUSO FROM AMEBIC A. Signor Caruso may not be able to land ",; ■■) in the United States ,to sing, for the huge ;•, salary:promised him next season.• ; By his .recent action in paying the £2 fine inflicted upon him in December in connection with . . the monkey house incident, thus renounc- . -,ing his. right of appeal, the famous' tenor, ; it is contended, has,brought himself within the range of the law, providing.for the ex;Vi clusion of persons who have been convicted ~' either of 'a felony ,or of .any other crime or . misdemeanour involving moral turpitude. ''-, Mr.'lWatchorn, the Commissioner of Immi- ,. gration, says .he; is referring the matter to ' Washington. If Signor Caruso should arbefore Washington has given a clear decision the tenor will he held a prisoner on Ellis Island, the " quarantine" station. ;",:„. MR. ROOSEVELT'S REVOLVER. ~- > ,; A humorous incident occurred at Washington, United States, which has set society ; ' laughing. .' President Roosevelt had been invited to lay the corner stone of the new Masonic Temple, and during the ceremony • the Grand Master tied a, Masonic apron, around the President, and in doing so exposed the butt of a revolver which protrud- ; • ed from the President's back pocket. Great -• amusement was caused, as it is not generally known that Mr. Roosevelt takes any means for self-protection.- It appears that :■. though detectives have been told off for some years to accompany him and keep cranks and possible assassins from him, he was recently induced to : carry a revolver, especially when he went out by himself, and on _ his morning horseback rides. He '-.- '=' took his usual' ride in the morning and ?:'*' evidently forgot to remove his revolver on •-C his return. * • . •A':CURIOUS CASE FOR THE COREAN ','"',' COURTS. . • . One.of the Corcan judges has before him "a most peculiar case to decide. A man in •:".;' Pyung-san died, leaving all his wealth to his two, sons, between whom he divided it . equally. The elder son soon squandered all lus money, but the younger took good care . of,.his share and increased it by careful in-. ■~'■, vestment. A ' short time ago the younger i;»vbr^ther received an anonymous letter tell-. ,'ing him that his father's grave had been opened i arid the head of the body had been ■ fpfiied l Way, but that it could be recover''"ed.'if'a certain'large i sum of money was brought to a certain place at a certain hour. -:* -The,younger brother complied with the de- ; mand, and went to the appointed rendezvous, where He found a man with a paper ■:| mask over- his face. In a fit of anger he struck the masked robber and killed him. $i |] The -mask came off, i and behold it was the ~,,elder brother,,. Now; the, law has to determine what punishment is due the younger .. brother for the killing of, the elder, under these trying circumstances,, ■' ~;.-' ' v;'> .-'': V- :< / -- ;; "-':- . '.:'- - •■ ~ ' <, I' I! . ,- \ -■■