ITEMS OF GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17258, 6 September 1919, Page 2 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF GENERAL NEWS.

CHAMPAGNE HADE lIS SPAIN. To hold their trade and keep up* their established brands, champagne manufacturers are now established in Spain and will continue to operate there until the damage they suffered in Franca can be repaired. ' . ' DIHUEE OP DEATH. A " dinner of death" recently took place at Sunken Creek, in the Yukon. The guests at this dinner numbered 36, ana a few hours ' later a third of them were dead from ptomaina poisoning. The origin of the poison in uncertain. BOMBS TO P3OTEGT FEUIT. Captain Starkey aeked the Minister of Munitions in the House of Commons recently if facilities would be granted, for the use of smoke bombs by fruitgrowers to see how far a smoke screen would ward off spring frosts. Mr. KeHaway eaid he would be glad to effer facilities if there was any demand. ANONYMOUS £1,000,000. A millionaire <fmo«e identity was not disclosed headed the list of investments in the Victory loan in Manchester. The amount of his investment was £1,0u0,000, and it was announced through his bankers, the Manchester and Liverpool District Bank, that there were two other anonymous investors, one of £400,000, also per the District Bank, and one of £75,000. BESTAUBANT YPRIAN. Poor shattered Ypres has had but little time to prepare for visitors in anticipation of the coming tourist season, wooden hotel, with the euphemistic name "Restaurant Yprian," has already been erected, and other eigns of activity are apparent. The shell holes have vanished from the streets, and a few of the inhabitants have drifted back and are dwelling in temporary shelters. HAIR DISTURBANCE. •The medical staff. of the Aberdeen Education Authority found it necessary, for reasons of health, to cut the hair of certain girls at an elementary school. The parents contended that this should not be done without their consent, and a crowd of men, women, and children mustered outside the buildings' and smashed the windows and did other damage amounting to £200. Forty policemen were on duty, and crowd was estimated at 15,000. BIG POUR'S PEACE SOUVENIRS. All those who took part in the discussion of the Treaty and its drawing up will receive a commemorative plaque, of small dimensions and oblong in form, executed in gold, silver-gilt, and silver. It is prooable that only four gold plaques will be cast, to be offered to M. Clemenceau, President Wilson, Mr. Lloyd George, and Signer Orlando. The obverse of the plaque depicts a graceful winged female figure, backed by the shining sun of Peace. The reverse shows a calm countryside with peasant folk busy harvesting. GEMS WORTH E7SCO FOR 30s. \ A remarkable story was told in the Bombay Police Court, when Abba Ahmed, a Mahommetan, was charged with receiving stolen diamonds. It was stated that a diamond merchant was entering a tram in 3 hurry when he had diamonds valued at "27500 stolen from his pocket. Most of the 'jewels were Euhsequently'recovered by Ihe police from the house of Abba Ahmed. Abba Ahmed, who is. eighty years of age, said he paid 30s for the jewels, believing them to be imitation diamonds, in which he dealt. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment. BOY RESCUES 25 WOMEN. The King has awarded the Edward Medal to George Hoyle, a boy of 14, for saving 25 women at the risk of his own life by his coolness and courage during a fire at Nahum's cotton factory, Halifax, in November last. Rushing from the basement to the upper floors Hoyle warned the women at work, but their retreat was cut off by the blazing staircase. He opened the crane door, and, after seeing that the chain was ran out to its full length, drew it in and assisted the women to descend by it. He remained until the last and then descended himself without injury. Fifteen minutes after the fire broke* cut the roof of the factory fell in. RECAPTURED AFTER SIX YEARS. The long arm of the law at Kansas City has laid hold of Chester Yates, the.Vank robber, bandit, and gaol-breaker who six years ago escaped from Sing Sing after serving four months of his twenty-one years' sentence. He had been at "large ever since, with - the exception of a few days in 1915, when he was arrested for planning a bank robbery at New Orleans. He was a fortnight in the local gaol waiting for an escort from New York, and escaped before the escort arrived, and was not seen again till his capture was made a few weeks ago. His identity was established by finger-prints and a photograph taken at Sing Sing six years ago. GAVE WIPE TO ANOTHER MAN. A woman complained at Tottenham Police Court that anonymous letters concerning her had been sent to her employers, who were the owners of a hotel at Wood Green. Mr. Lewin (chairman of the bench) asked what her husband was doing, and she replied? "He has eiven me to another Tin."—" But did you consent?" "Yes.'-." And did he really consent?" J!, Oh, I- "-"i* *» othe? man married?" " No; but he is an old sweetheart of mine." The chairman remarked that he had heard of some funny cases, but he had never heard ,of a man riving his wife to another man. He wondered what the country was coming to. He told the woman that in the ci£ cumstances he could do nothing for her. [ A THOUSAND YEARS OLD. A turtle measuring 6ft from bead to tail and sft across its shell, the head being 15m ra circumference, was caught recently by Japanese fishermen and released bv Ah Loner. Chinaman, who paid £10 for the privilege of giving the turtle its freedom. The turtle weighed 6001b, and its age was estimated at 1000 years. The probable reason for the purchase and freedom givjn to the turtle is that the reptile is a sort of sacred emblem, and the Chinaman who can set one free in the ocean consider* himself especially blessed. An interesting ceremony followed the financial trans? action Ah Long fed the turtle with several bowls cake, the favourite alcoholic drink of the Japanese, and, accom pamed by as many friends as could be f I? two fia ™PaTis, sailed out n J l he , tr " 9 released after many prayers had been said. '

IN OFFICIAL DISGRACE. Details which have reached England with regard to the recent crossing of the Andes by aeroplane show that Cortinez a Chilian militant aviator, flew from Chife to Argentina and back across the Andes at a height of 6500 metres. This feat created a record for flying over mountains and also broke the record for altitude for South America.- But while the hero of the moment Cortinez was in official disgrace the Bristol monoplane with which heal'. S 11 ", 48 feat had been removed fr .°, m . fc h e hangars a gain 3 orders. It midnight this aerial enthusiast hnJ tempted to obtain the keys of fh« w Without success, but bTsix s m Kb tamed possession of the machine On S 9 th?fe n ?\ th ° fli ß ht h ® telegraphed to the head of his squadron supp icatine pardon on the ground that he was move! solely by patriotic impulses. But his irate chief sent a full -and grave report of fho matter to the Minister for yK? ° f **

METHYLATED SPIRIT Plfen,. | Methylated spirit as a substitute £*» ' : '"3©§ ordinary liquors has become a real norif "#f in Cardiff. Two further deaths have W, ascribed to this cause, the victim a being women, who are said to have succumbed after, a drinking orgy. DUELLING WOT DEAD. Duelling is not yet dead. A meeting* occurred at Bayonne recently between the* Deputy M. Garat Maior and M. Gemmes " ' vice-president of the Chamber of Co m merce. _ Two shots were exchanged, neither of which, however, took effect. HINDENBUBG BODYGUARD. The Hamburg News says that 15m students of Goettingen University sent - deputation to General Hindenburg to V* form him that they were ready to ue'einj him to the last drop of their blood Th 3 field-marehal thanked them in a votes shaken with emotion. GHOSTS AS DETECTIVES. The possibility of the application 0 spiritualism to the detection of crime was referred to by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle La a recent lecture on " Death and the Hero after." " Why are spirit- peters not used t.> locate misfiing people a frequent question," he said. "Spiritualists ar* only beginning to define ttje'. aws, but thjj. these laws can be extended and used ' ■» the detection of crime I have no dcv" whatever. They should be used m, than they are, but we must not ask ii» the impossible." MODEST BEAUTY REWARDED, There are fewer - quaint customs con. nected with the summer sqlstice th-j; frith the winter solstice,'tat one of She p-> - occurs in the Defon" parish of Ho'sw^rtiy. There in the church porch at noon on Midsummer. Day the churchwardens " openly give to .the young single woman est. cued by the young', as the most handsome is. tbe parish, and most' noted for her quietness " the sum of £2 10s, under the will of a former vicar. During. recent years this prize for modest beauty, has been won by no fewer than five damsels belonging to the same family. • A MOTOR FOE 2s 83. Some queer and almost incredible stories are floating about of the wonderful bar- > gains that can be transacted in resped to _ the sales of _ motor-cars and motorcycles at Dar-es-Sa'aam. A returned warrant officer told a representative of the Natal Witness that motor-care were dieposed of at prices as low as two rupees (2e 8d). At any rate, he balances a transaction where the lucky purchaser of •/ a Maxwell car, which just want id upholstering, paid two rupees, and he was supplied with a tin of petrol to take it home! Motor-cycles were, also, it is alleged, gold by auction at* ridiculous prices. FIFTY charges AGAINST youth, A youth of 18, against whom it wag iv stated that tjiere were' 50 charges, with : others to come,-' appeared at a London < jpolice court recently. His name was Alfred Robert,. and ht> was -row charged with breaking arid Entering a house injSi. ; Stephen's Road. Bow,, with maliciously ',■ wounding Elisabeth Baigent. A detectiveinspactor stated that the prisoner went* to houses and represented that his father wanted to buy' th§m. ' He asked to be shown over and went upstairs. He next requested ' the tenant to 'go. downstairs and bang the front door in' order 'to- test whether the windows rattled, and then .seized the opport unity to ransack the rposn. n, . —— MORE WOMEN THAN HBK. In the matter 'of-'marriage, writes Mr. s? i Harold Spender in th«- London Daily Chronicle, thfere is going to be a new "C social crisis which sfeust be boldly faced. I; It is in this country .'women' are now im- '~Zi. mensely more numerous (ban men. Ths MMcase was already had enough before the c >'ff war. There were «ren then in this --#■ country over a million more women than S" men. There are now quite two millions ;f more women than men. Before ths war there were over a million widows in this country; there arfe now probably a mil- " | boa and a half. The" net effect is that • there are probably some thiee or four ;; million _ women of damageable age no* 'A unmarried la this country. r ■ , Wire SHOTS Aim FLUKES. *; . Writer in i the "Field ••feives an interest. - lngaccoruui of co'me flake shots which faavs come under Jus notice arid ware nablished , in "the Field- at different times. 1 A. certain colone/ fired at a rook flying over - with an,old %S&.d rifle. (m,l.} : , the bullet, ; m falW nassed through " woman's hand and cost the colonel £50. 2. An -officer ' fced at- a .g<xtes flyigg very high with a Martini-Henry- and. c§tl its head off. -3, I fired at a buMnch on a bush with a .25 Stevens, killed the said bullfinch and cut • tae head off another which flew into the bullet about 10 yards from the first one. All marvellous shots, hat I doubt, savs the writer, if there is' a man living wfio can bring any one of them off deliberately a second time. WAIF'S ROMANCE. When Edward Carpenter, 15, was charged at Blackpool with breaking into an exhibition on the Pleasure Beach and stealing articles worth £2 2s. to which fie pleaded guilty, a man stepped forward and said he was the lad's guardian. Up to 1 this moment I! he said, " the boy has believed himself to be my son. I now ten him that he is ncft. I am not his father, but took him as a waif 14A veara ago. _ On hearing this the lad coUansed, . groaning. The Chief Constable: The lad says he has grandparents in Manchester. 1 will take him over there and see if they will give him another chance. The guardian: Pardon me. - They are not bis grandparents, but my father and mother, J. fee. magistrate remanded the lad for i©* quisles. UNIVERSAL " SWELLED HITAD. . Are ®eE*s heads growing larger? This is ? question which English manufacturers 01 bats are asking just now, for the orders - wbich are coming through reveal a rather surprising increase in sizes. The standard sizes formerly were W,. 6§, and 6|, but now these are by no treans popular. Instead, the majority of bats are made in sues from 6| to 7|, with a larger number than ever of and 7|. Manufacturers are inclined to the belief that this change is .? n outcome of the war. One hatter taid he had consulted pathologists, and - they were of opinion that the incessant gun-fire on the Western Front had caused men s heads to swell a little. It has been proved that men suffering from shellshock, after leaving hospital, could E ot wear the cap they had before they were taken to hospital.

NELSON'S LOG SAVED. , The log book of the Victory remains I in the possession of the nation. The pre- > cious manuscript has been bought for ' £5000 by Mr. James Buchanan in the > auction rooms of Messrs. Sothebv, Wilkin- < I son, and Hodge. At the close .of the sals ' 1 Sir Montague Bardow, who acted as auci J tioneer, announced to a large crowd of i | spectators that Mr. Buchanan h.°.d bought i , the log in order that this rehc of the , . battle of Trafalgar should continue to • , belong to Great Britain. The announcei j ment was received with prolonged ap- ' pause. The Victory's log was written on Nelson flagship oy the sailing master i (or navigating lieutenant) of the vessel, Thomas Atkinson, in whose family it has : ' remained until the recent death of Mr. Atkinson's last descendant, Mr. Thomas Barratt, from whose collection it was sold. In addition to its historic interest, i it is the earliest official account of the " > battle of Trafalgar, being written on the J same day as the engagement took place.