ITEMS OF GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17234, 9 August 1919, Page 2 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF GENERAL NEWS.

AEROPLANE AT AUCTION. , For the first time in England an aeroplane was recently offered for sale at auction at Hendon. Bidding rose fco £475, but, as the reserve was £500, the machine was withdrawn.

ETON'S HEW DRESS QRDEE.

New drees restrictions have been made, on the recommendation of the Economy Committee, by the headmaster of Eton College. Silk scarves and coxing-caps are abolished, and the wearing of fur gloves prohibited.. Fancy waistcoats were forDidden on June 4.

FRANCE'S DAY OF MOURNING. Deputies M. Bergeon and M. Rameil will support in the French Chamber a proposal to decree a day of national mourning on November 10 of each future year for the purpose of honouring those killed in the war. All entertainments will be closed, and patriotic societies will decorate the cemeteries.

SLOW driving.

Charged with travelling at a rate of 30 miles per hour along a country road in England a young woman motor-driver ol the Royal Air Force said to the policeman who stopped her: "iam so glad I can do so much ; I am supposed to be the slowest driver in the force." Her facetionsness cost her thirty shillings. DEATH DUE TO FLANNELETTE. The Peterborough coroner, in returning a verdict of " Accidental death" on a married woman who was burned to death through wearing a flannelette nightdress, said that, despite many protests and- recommendations on the subject, the Government refused to prohibit the 6a!e of flannelette, and consequently people would still continue to be burned to death.

WHO OWNS SPITZBEEGEK?

There was no evidence, said Mr. Harmsworth in the House of Commons recently, that when Henry Hudson visited Spitsbergen in 1607 he raised the British flag there. The British claim had never bean recognised by the Dutch Government, and occupation had l ceased for two centuries. It was recognised as a no man's land by the Spitsbergen Conference in 1914.

APATHY OF PEACE.

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, presiding at the annual meeting of the Hospital for Nervous Diseases, said that lass! tude and apathy appeared to have entered most departments of life owing to relaxation from the tension of war. " Attendance at the city council meetings is not so regular as it used to be," he said, " and those who come seem unable to support the burden of remaining until business is completed."

"ALICE IS WOHDEBLAHB" DEAD.

" AKce in Wonderland" is dead. The original of Lewis Carroll's famous book has just passed away in Cheltenham. She was Mrs. Edith Mainland, the daughter of Canon Litton of Gloucester. As a child she was a great favourite of Eev. C L. Dodgson, the real name of Lewis Carroll, and she wrote a book, " Childish Memories of Lewis Carroll," which has been incorporated in a life of the writer of "Alice m Wonderland."

POISOS PASTUBES 0£ ALSAOE.

surrounding tie deaths of numerous horses and other animals in the Lutterbach region of Alsace recently has been solved. Specialists who made a careful investigation have determined that the animals were poisoned by grasses grown in a region where poison gas had been ex-tensively-used duftng the war. Although the gas settling en the plants rendered them poisonous, the facilities of the plants themselves were not affected.

SCASDAIi OVER HEAVY BKIBE.

Chinese and Japanese newspapers are in a furore over allegations that eleven South China delegates -to the Shanghai conference last April received £160,000 in bribes from the pro-Japanese clique in Pefein. The leader, it is said, received £100,000 and ten others got £6000 each to desist from taking, op China's territorial claims as against Japan and to refrain from questioning the Sino-Japanese agreement* of 1915 and 1918 with regard to Tsingtao and the Shantung railway.

VICTIMS OF THE GREAT PLAGUE.

A nam her of human skeletons, including skulls and other bones, have been unearthed during excavations in a meadow at Chertsey. . Most of the bones were within a couple of feet of the surface, and were found in all postures, indicating a hasty buriaL The most feasible theories are that they belonged to persons who died la the Great —having been brought from London in barges—or to victims of the cholera scourge which affected Chertsey between 1830 and 1840.

A FAMOUS FOOTBALL.

On the mantelpiece in the managing director's rooms of a London firm stands the chief article of office furniture: a darkcoloured football with " Montauban Cap" chalked faintly upon it. It was one of the famous footballs kicked over the top when the great advance of July 1, 1916, began. The inscription on the pedestal reads:— " This football was kicked over the top on July 1, 1916, by Private A. A. Fursey, No. 6 Platoon, B. Company, Bth East ley Regiment, during the attack from Carnoy Valley to Mbntauban." Private Fursey was killed that day.

A WIFE'S SURPRISE.

A story of a woman who married a burglar in total ignorance of his mode of life was told in the Court of Criminal Appeal, when a sentence of seven years' penal servitude passed on Georg® Bell at the Middlesex sessions for house-breaking was reduced to five years' penal servitude. Mr. justice Darling said Bell committed a bigamous marriage and had been divorced, but he had since married a respectable young woman, who did not know , that he was a burglar. When he failed to return home she went to the police station to inquire, and found that he had been arrested. It was found by the police that the man had been three times 'sentenced to penal servitude. THE ROYAL CREAM POSIES. The famous Hanoverian cream ponies used by the British Sovereigns o*| State occasions are threatened with extinction ■owing to the war, and the Royal mester ] Jof the house is making a special trip to Holland and Belgium to endeavour to obtain new blood. There are only tern of the ponies left in the Royal stud, and some of them are getting too old for show work. The " creams" are pure Flemishbred, originally imported into England from Hanover by George the First. From time to time fresh specimens have been imported to keep up the breed, but the demands of war have .used up all supplies. BOLSHEVIKS SITS FOR £80,060,000. \ Representatives of Soviet Russia, having"" headquarters in Mew York, Save notified the State Department that a suit is to be brought 'in United States courts to establish rights of possession in approximately £30,000,000 of property belonging to Russians in the United States, ana having relation also to an additional £30,000,000 of expenditure or banking accounts, of Russians in the United States. The defendants in the suit will be the Bahkmetfeff group, who came to America in August 1917, as agents of the Kerensky Severn' ment of Russia. The entire £60,008,000 invoived_ consisted of credits extended by the United States Government to the Jiereneky Government to help Russia keep up the -war of democracy aga&sfr ->£

MEMORIALS FOB DECOY EBXB&, '?>:-' It is officially announced that & memorial tablet- is to be placed on boassfe each merchant vessel. that acted as a decoy" ship during the war. The tablet will fe inscribed with details of the vessel's sap-. vice, together with the names of her com. mander and members of the crew who r*. ceived decorations. PALACES FOB WAS SUFFEBEES;^

King Victor Emmanuel has taken thai initiative in demanding from the Italian State that six of the largest Royal palaces be alienated from the Crown domains lor the permanent benefit of disabled soldiers and sailors and the orphan children of those fallen in the war.

ARMY HUTS AS DWELLINGS.

In furtherance of the scheme for ih« conversion of army and c&her Government huts into cottages, the deputy-Chairman of the Ministry of Munitions has written to the City of London Corporation asking permission to erect a hut converted for rise as a dwelling in a central position fa the city for inspection by the public.

GIRL ATTACKED BY CAT.

As a twelve-year-old girl named Florence Newsham was passing through Elizabeth Street, Preston, a dog ran afta a cat and began worrying it. The cat managed to escape, and, springing at the girl, badly mauled her about the efaeek and forehead, narrowly missing this eyti. A discharged soldier sucked the wounds an 3 took th« child to the hospital.

KEN WATCH WOMEN FIGHT.

In the assault case of Mrs. Mary Aaa Hall versus her sister, Mrs. Minnie May? bury, heard in the Newport Magistrate's Court- recently, the Mayor said the magistrates were astonished that two men (the husband of the defendant May bury and the husband of Mrs. Kempson,*of Oaklet Street, where the fraeaa started), shored have looked on whilst two sisters fought each other.

LONBO2TS BUSIEST SPOT.

The busiest part of London is Hyde Park corner. A police expert told the • Traffic Committee that in 12 hours at the last census 55,342 vehicles passed there. Trafalgar Square, with its 12 streams of traffic, came second with 34,661, and Piccadilly CSrcns with 32,911 was third, though the traffic usually seems denser there because the streets are narrows.

U.s. mjrSHOOM EXLLIONAIHES.

An orgy oS' speculation of the New York Stock Exchange in " peace brides'' (peace st-oeks) is causing sew crops of mushroom millionaires »to spring up throughout' America, who a few months ago were" counting bank accounts of only three a? four figures. The frenzied gambling which is cow proceeding has never been excelled,even during the most optiriistie deahW in " war brides'" {war stocks).

1' BBBAIQ GOOE,

Welshmen consider that their euuatj? ought to. be represented on the ■ Boyd Standard and that England should up one quarter for this poropse. A repressa--' tativa Welsh deputation is to be appointed | to wait upon the Prime Minister and H»- 3 Lord President of the Council to ergo ik - claim. It is stated that the leek and S daffodil are outside consideration. If Wales 1' is to be represented on the Royal Standard : the red dragon will be the emblesa. ..■'?...'

AS EL2FHAST SSASSASBg. M | The elephants in the Add© Basil Esas * Port Elisabeth (Cape Colony) are about t» . he destroyed under Government dlrecties. The shooting of the animals wiD take «m?. ~ six months. For generations this pressFßft M has been an obstacle to farming, sad a r P number of people have been killed by tie. ;.?; beasts. The young elephants will be cap- ; feared to train for tog-haulmg in tfe© Caps • forests. The meat, cl the adults iriQ be "•' consumed by the natives. The s-ottnding-np '■yinvolves fee erociiaa of lofty ebservalko It towers, 'H

A PERFECT ISTHLIgg DAY. Perfect day, withoni as end, wss viewed at Dawson, Alaska, cm. the longest day of the year, June 21, when Oarr» Jacobs Bond, author! of "The End of a Perfect Day," arrived there with 150 ©tbeff excursionists who travelled from &i! payfia of the American continent to vipr?'. the wonders of & nlghtless day. They"*wxt« nessed thai mightaight sun complete its marathon of the Arctic Oral© a* Foe! Yukon. . ;.[

RAESGA33. GASSSB.

Firemen wen soaring water ca biasing chemicals at a Ramsgate fire when they . % found that dangerous gases were gives 1 off. The lower portions of Harbour "aires* were soon filled with fumes, and the police had to fores crowds of onlookers to the safety bobs, while the firemen attacked Hie flames'" in gas masks. Captain Johnson, who was recently awarded the King's medal for bravery at fires, wore a heavy smoke helmet, into which air was pumped, as he was lowered into the cellar where the fire originated. Sim A YEAS, SHOPLIFTER, At Scarborough recently Mrs. Josephine Fox, whose income was stated to be £1000 a year, was fined £20 for shoplifting, ft was alleged that after making a purchase she concealed in her handbag a cat sad needle-case of the value of 14s 9d. For the defence it was pleaded that Mrs. Fox had devoted 12 months to ceaseless attention to her husband," who was dying from a painful disease, and that the incessant strain, had unnerved her and resulted ia temporary aberration.

THE GRAVES. OF A3JSAO.

Captain W. E. Bean, who recently visited Anzac, on the Gallipoli Peninsula on behalf of the Australian Government, told an audience of soldiers that, owing to the shortage of wood, the Turkish garrison had burned every cross they could lay their hands on. The whole of the" old battlefield was now covered with loag grass. Out of the 5500 known graves at Gallipoli 4708 had been located and marked, and arrangements would probably be made for relatives to vkjt this consecrated ground. f

&XLE FIHES USELESS.

f*be Public Sealth Commfttee 0 * the Hackney Borough Council have come to the conclusion that the fines inflicted in cases of milk adulteration do not act as a deterrent to offenders. The committee recommended fchat the borough council should press upon the Food Control Committee the esqiediency of obtaining tha consent of the Food Controller to the revocation of the license of any milk retailor against 'whom convidtions have been obtained for selling milk which is not of the nature, substance, and quality demanded by the purchaser. £68 FOB AH AEKOS^AKE. Sixteen Government aeroplanes—sis Avros and ten . Armstrong Whitwor* is, m good flying condition boSL by auction at Hendon recently for prices ranging from £60 to £350. The, first machine, an Avro, was knocked down to she Cambridge School of Aviation, for £360, and the last machine a SHBglfet seater Be Havtlaad/ went id :li*utsnan* Plumeridge,Bupetmteaden& of toe aircraft salvage depot atHeadon, for the surpssi mgly smalt sura of £60.; jfcrf QnaluHXBK two Be - Havilaius.% g£i# with Cartas engiofe, for £95 *£&-£&&*&■ SgeetoYelv,