GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14691, 27 May 1911, Page 5 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

A PARISH WITHOUT POOR. Barkway, a parish of 600 population ia the south of Hertfordshire, lias not a single pauper. The explanation is said to bo that most of the men are members of a friendly club or similar organisation. A HOMERIC CONTEST. While two residents of Eye were walking on Gran ley Green their greyhound turned a badger out of some furze. A battle between the animals lasted half an hour. The dog was severely mauled, but the badger was killed. EUROPE'S OLDEST HOUSE. Count Matuschka-Grieffenklau convoked a conference of archaeologists in his house in \\'inkel-on-tlie-i{hine. The conference unanimously expressed the opinion that the count's is tho oldest house still occupied in Europe. It was formerly the dwelling of the Bishop of Mavence, Rabnus Maurus, who died , there in 850. GIFT OF A BRIDE. At the last moment the marriage which was announced to take place between Enver Bey, the Turkish military attache at Berlin, and the daughter of Prince Suleiman, a niece of the present Sultan, has been postponed. The Imperial Princess was bestowed as a gift upon Enver Bay, in recognition of his services at the time of the revolution. It is now stated that Enver Bey has been ordered to accompany the War Minister to Macedonia on a tour of inspection.

CHOLERA SCOURGE RECALLED. Tho startling discovery was made of a burial pit for cholera victims at Blyth, Northumberland, in the course of excavations for a new thoroughfare. Many coffins were unearthed, and inquiry of the authorities led to the discovery that here were interred the victims of the cholera in the visitations of 1832 and 1848. There were altogether close upon a hundred deaths through cholera at Blyth in these years.

WHAT A COLD HAS COST CARUSO. It is announced in New York that Signor Caruso will shortly leave for Italy, where he hopes to benefit by a complete rest and change of air, the physicians having forbidden him to 1 sing this season. The loss suffered by the great tenor through what was in the first place an ordinary slight cold is estimated (says the Central News) at about 60,000d01. (£12,000), as he has been compelled to refrain from singing for a period of 12 weeks. COW AS SAVINGS BANK. A cow belonging to a. Manulla (County Mayo) farmer died, and a post-mortem examination was made' to determine the cause- of death. When the body was opened there was found inside a leather clasp purse containing four sovereigns, one hallsovereign, a half-crown, threepence in coppers, and a railway ticket to Mullingar. There were also found a brass door knob, three breechloading cartridges, and a quan- . tity of black glass, something similar to porter bottles. STRANGE OCCUPATIONS. Some strange occupation figure on Indian census schedules. At the last census, in many villages of Hyderabad and the Central Provinces, enthusiastic and devout enumerators, returned the village shrines - and temples as "occupied houses." The occupant was the idol, whose occupation .was stated as " granting boons and blessings" or " subsistance on contributions from the tenants." Other callings returned on the schedules include collectors of edible birds' nests, receivers of stolen goods, witches, wizards! and cow-pois-oners. . GIRL IN A BOYS' SCHOOL. _ Mme. Curie, whose fight, against tradition in regard to thfe admission of women to the Institute of France will be remembered, is now fighting another battle on behalf of her sex. Mme. Curie lives 'a few miles out of Paris at Sceau, nearly next door to .the local , Lycee, a secondary school 'reserved for boys. Mme. , Curie wishes her daughter to attend this school, and, though her first application has been met with a refusal, she does not regard . the decision as final. The principal of the Lycee is said to be weakening before the force of Mme. Curie's arguments, _ but the professors view the proposed invasion with disfavour.

WORLD'S FASTEST SHIP. , The British navy now possesses the fastest ship in the world. This is the new Dreadnought cruiser Indefatigable, which has just returned to Plymouth after carrying out steam and gunnery trials. The new vessel can travel through the water at the rate of 29 knots (33£ miles) per hour. She is, therefore, considerably faster than the record-holding Atlantic liner Mauretania, which has never reached a speed of 27 knots. It was during her acceptance trial of 24 hours' duration that the Indefatigable attained her remarkable speed. She did not reach within two or . three knots of it during the contractors' tests, but has since been fitted with a new main steam pipe, for which the acceptance trial was delayed. HEAD OF OLIVER CROMWELL. The reputed head of Oliver Cromwell was exhibited at a meeting of the Royal Archaeological Society at Burlington House. The Rev. H. R. Wilkinson sqjdthat the head %had been in his famly for three generations, and had never previously beep exhibited in public. The- tradition was that the skull was blown off Westminster Hall and picked up by a sentry, who hid it, and only confessed on his deathbed to his wife that he had it in his keeping. It passed into the possession of the Cambridegshire family of Russell, and came to Sam Russell, a needy actor. Then it was sold to a Mr. Cox, proprietor of a museum in Spring Gardens, and transferred by him to three persons who exhi- . bited it in Bond-street. Next it came into the hands of Sir. Wilkinson's grandfather. 3,000,000 MILES OF SEA. ' ' Mr. J. W. Alexander, chief engineef of the Oceanic, and senior chief engineer in the White Star Company's service, who has just retired, has what must be nearly a unique record. The whole of his seafaring career of 38 £ years has been spent in the White Star service. During that time he has crossed the Atlantic 912 times, travelling about 3)000,000 miles, and has never missed a voyage. By a curious coincidence Mr. Alexander began and finished his career in vessels named Oceanic. He was chief engineer of the Britannic when that vessel took out the Imperial contingent of troops to Australia when the present King opened the Commonwealth Parliament. Mi-. Alexander, who is a native of Dundee, has just completed his 59tb year. BOY TELEPHONE "GIRL." From Grenoble, France, comes an amut* ing story of the discovery made by a doctor as he was subjecting various girls, who were candidates for employment -in the telephone service, to the usual medical examination. It struck him that one of them answered, when her name was called out, in rather a deep tone of voice, so he took due note of the fact and decided to devote extra attention to her. The other girls having been passed or rejejeted as the case might be, the physician took this particular candidate in nand, with, the result that he soon arrived at the conviction that the young person belonged to the sterner sex. It took the heroine, or, now more properly, the hero of this - adventure some time to decide on abandoning a voluminous hat and a bobble skirt for the more sober and less fantastio attire of an ordinary citizen, but it had to bo done; and, what -is equally interesting in its way, the French army will next year be the stronger by one. recruit than it would have been if this incident had not . occurred. The young . person had been, entered on the register at the.tim^g^irtbi: