GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13722, 11 April 1908, Page 4 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

—- JAPANESE AND ENGLISH FISHING. Two Japanese delegates have visited , Lowestoft to study how the trawling and herring voyages are conducted. To supplement their observations and report e Lowestoft photographer has completed to - the order rof " the Japanese Government a fine series of enlarged photographs showing the various operations in the fishing industry, > • Wr- : -' :^.: i:' : ~. ' ' ■"■"*"—"" , .•>, FIRST "SMOKING" THEATRES. JKKTi-',;:«' -:.'..'- ;..!.."> ■ ['•. ■',: .:."•; ; _•--.- -.-.- . .'.:. ■ •• ...■:.. - ->. • , The managers of two London the Shakespere, Clapham Junction, and the Lyric, Hammersmith—allowed smoking during the performance on a recent Monday might. The innovation is likely to prove a success. At "the Shakespere, where " A Royal Divorce" was played, the male occupants of the pit and gallery smoked to their heart's content, and inquiries made of those la the stalls and dress circle showed that they experienced no discomfort. .> 189 DUCKS KILLED WITH ONE SHOT. ,Mr. .H. t Malcolm, ex-deputy game warden, sends to an American . paper a photograph of a remarkable nine-barrel gun with e, single trigger, which has the effectiveness of a Gatling gun in slaughtering ducks. A single pull of the trigger is said to have killed 189 ducks. Mr. Malcolm arrested a party of hunters who were using pie gun, to the great detriment of the wild duck-hunting sport on the Potomac River. ,u.' - LA MILO PROHIBITED. Manchester has taken a bold step in the crusade,against, living .statuary; by placing a ban upon the appearance of La Milo in her draped poses, which have recently been Ij -'-':■>':' given in many provincial towns. La Milo looks upsn it as an insult, and says that she has, in deference to the .wishes of the authorities, been giving draped poses after ■' - classic ;'• originals. The chairman of the Watch. Committee says they have definitely decided that such exhibitions are not in the public interest. A NIGHT IN A STRONG-ROOM. On one occasion a locksmith was repairing an'interior safe in a strong-room of a New York bank when the cashier closed the vault door. As it was worked by a Itime-lock it meant that the door would remain closed until the following morning. Fortunately the man knew the secrets of his stronghold, and by opening a manhole .was able to obtain a sufficient supply of air. He then made a pillow of a bag of dollar bills and composed himself to sleep until the door was opened nest morning. . POSTED 27 YEARS AGO. A letter, which was posted 27 years ago land addressed to her. husband, has just been delivered' to * Mrs.- - Smale, of Ilfracombe. The letter was sent in 1881 ' by -his mother, at" Clovelly,, North Devon, to Mr. John Smale. a sailor, being endorsed "c.o. British . Consul, Seville, . Spain." ■} The envelope; which is in an excellent state of preA. servation, now bears several post-marks and the official notification, "Non-reclaimed, not called for." A few years ago Mr. . Smale' received a letter which had taken fight years to reach him. |H;;:^v. v; ~ , /^-; -,- -.',;-. ;;■: v .-. .*, '.':■■; ■ — ' SEARCH FOR MAROONED SAH.OR. -New York, February 27.«— The warship \ Yankton, attached to the American battleship fleet, has, according to a despatch to the Herald from Oillao, Peru, been ordered to leave there to-morrow for the Galapagos Islands,.' to search for Frederick Jeffs, an American seaman who was abandoned on indefatigable Island last October. Jeffs was one of the crew of a Norwegian vessel frreWed"off tfteGalapagos. Islands/ "A relief (Snip rescued the others, but Jeffs was in another part of. the island, and the relief Expedition would not wait for him. The Yankton, will rejoin the fleet in Magdalena ; «Jay. ■ y ' ' ' '■• HISTORIC NAMES IN COURT. : '.-.'■:..-.■ :■■; ■■ - .... . ... .: ......-..,.-"■ '.-• . An ' odd combination of famous names ; chanced to be in the list of cases before Mr. j . Paul Taylor at Marylebone Police Court. First came Oliver Cromwell, a comedian, S S hailing from Duke-street, Glasgow, who was charged with drunkenness and disorderly conduct;. A 'constable explained that he was trying to sing, but the words of the song 13 were quite unintelligible. ' " I'm very sorry, said Cromwell, "and 1 want you to look over it. I was simply giving an impersonation of Napoleon. "_So saying, he drew a tuft of hair'"over his forehead in the well- ■ known style, and gave a passable representation of that historic character. "I think," ho-.said; "I. have .suffered sufficiently," he said, " I have suffered sufficiently/' and : the magistrate discharged him with a caution. ?:£;; Then came Nelson, Livingstone, and Morris. ■ 10 INCREASE JAPANESE STATURE. Compared with Europeans or even Chin- : ese, the Japanese as a race are short and under- weight, and a national movement is now on foot towards increasing the stature of the people. Mothers and nurses are being advised hot to carry their babies on their'backs, as the custom is deemed sufficient to account for the prevalence of bandy . legs among the Japanese. The nation is besought, and the soldiers are required, to pit on something higher than the floor. The kind and quality of the exercise and diet for the army -and navy are carefully regulated to comply with foreign customs, in. addition to the special expedients for inv creasing stature. * These , experiments are regarded as on the whole satisfactory. The army surgeons aver that in the few years p: ■,■■■■■ that they have been able to give any pro- - pcx attention to the . subject, the physical condition of the Japanese soldier has shown . marked improvement, and that even an appreciable increase of stature can be noticed; BOY DEBUTANTS. New York's Surrey side, otherwise Prooklyn, has lately" developed an entirely new society function, ; namely, ; boy debutants. Mr. .and Mrs. Thomas Lewis, who belong to Brooklyn's very smartest set, have no daughter, but they have a son, who came K" of Cage recently, and so they "brought him out" with great formality. Young Herbert Dickinson Lewis was gorgeously arrayed for his debut, but carried no bouquet. His father " presented him, and on behalf ■■■,-. of the; blushing debutant two young men and two ladies "received" the guests. It Seems likely that boy debutants will become popular in Brooklyn . society. Since the Lewises, who are; leaders and arbiters; of local fashion, set the new pace, a dozen other families have followed suit. So far as can be ascertained, nobody is making the ■slightest objection, and : young ~ Herbert, • ■with his picture and biography in all the local news-sheets, is the hero of Brooklyn's Eocial world. This is not the first time Brooklyn has broken through the castiron traditions of society, , and the local magnates generally seem inclined to applaud the innovation. ENGLISHMAN'S TRIUMPH. ;.New Yoke, February 25.-— new North River, tunnels, which connect New York with Jersey (Jity and other outlying suburbs in the State of New Jersey, were formally opened this afternoon by an electric . signal transmitted by President Roosevelt from hisf desk in the White House at Washington. ; Two "tubes" connecting the K|: heart or the city with Hoboken, New Jersey, are now available for passenger traffic, and two other " tubes" located at a lower level will be completed by May 1. This new traffic route might be compared with a four "tube" passenger route under the Thames from the Mansion House to London Bridge,' the difference being that the North River is about twice as wide as the; Thames At "the point where the "tubes" have been laid. The entire scheme of river tunnels, Which will link Manhattan Island with the mainland and; Long Island, 4 will cost • £14,000,000, and will be completed next* i Autumn. The chief engineer lias been Mr. ■ .diaries M.. Jacobs, an.'English engineer febo was born and trained at Hull, 'and .who ! •!• • ijaa been .forking; on New York, , xjver tun-I^Jfj^bfemi!for^^Binsteea-sears* , \