GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18173, 19 August 1922, Page 6 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

FIREWORKS ■ STORE ABLAZE. " As a fireworks dispaly was being given on the Tagus a few weeks ago memoration of the Portuguese Transatlan- : tic flight, a pontoon where the rockets, etc. were stored caught fire, with the ; result that eeyeral persons wore injured and some dropped. BLIND MJtfPS WORLD TOVR;. Although totally blind, Capt. Gilbert j Nobbs loft Liverpool a few. weeks aga in the Canard: liner Samaria for Boston on ' a world business tour. He was afflicted by. blindness through a head wound received while serving in the London Rifle Brigade in France in 1916. This is hia third world tour since the Armistice. Me was in New Zealand last November. SEAPLANE HITS STEAMER. As the tenders were leaving the maritime station at Cherbourg a lew weeks ago to take 900 passengers off the liner Aquitama, from New York, a seaplane belonging to the naval base collided with a small Royal Mail Steam Packet steamer, knocking oyer the mast and the funnel. The machine then crashed on to the bridge, burying under the wreckage the pilot. Naval Lieut. Mardriere, and his two companions, who were severely injured. WALKED TO DEATH. Seen to walk down the slope of a platform at Ftrrest, Hill station, London, and along the sido of the line as if going to a signal-box, Frederick James Randau, ■ 67,' solicitor's clerk, of Brosley Grove, Sydenham, was knocked down and killed by a train. At the inquest it was stated that he paid no heed to shouts of warning. He was subject to epileptic fits. A doctor said that in the case of a chronic epileptic there was a condition known as post-epileptic automatism (movement independent of conscious control), in which a man in a fit has been known to walk and do all sorts of things. The verdict was accidental death. SEA-GOING VAGRANT. Picked up at sea in distress in a rowing boat, three miles; from F.tgland, a, tramp named Henry Beale, explained that he was trying to get to France. A heavy sea was running RTid it was evident that ' Beale .was no expert witli oars; He -had laid in a stock'.of chocolates ih, v fi6.xes > and other item's" in theiicargo included rubber balls and mouthy organs. Ho said Be had stolen them -from the pavilion on Falmouth beach, and also took the boat and oars, thinking to escape with his booty. He was taken before a magistrate and r-emanded. • PANAMA CANAL RECORD. Known in Hamburg, where she was built, as " Herr BalluVs pet," the steamer Tirpitz. riow renamed Empress of Australia, has left the Clyde undier the flag of the Canadian Pacific Company for Vancouver to augment the Orient service from British Columbia-to Japan and China. She is a reparation vessel of 21,500 tons, ... "v and will be the largest liner that has ever passed through the Panama Canal. Her , machinery, t£o pride of the late .German ehipping'magnate, is unique and has, enabled her chief engineer to create a record for ocean-gbihg liners. During a trial on ', the Clyde he found it' possible to reverse from full speed ahead to full speed astern in two minutes 40 seconds.

DUEL OE MAN AND WIFE. *•; is belieVea' to' have been a pitched revolver duel between husband aad wife at Sartrouville, in the French devastated regions, has resulted in both being taken to hospital in an extraordinary n,fTtaitio . iXJfo hospital in an extremely grave condi"tion. Emile Schwart was frequently I absent from home, and last October his wife took preliminary proceedings for divorce, but in April the couple came to- "•. \ gether again. Quarrels I broke ouit, howover, and early one morning neighbours heard shots.* These weisa followed by the, •v appearance>wf the woman witjfcT frightful I wcrands in JSex 4iead,-twhile the husband, with bounds* in "ifie s "body and head, was ; found unconscious in. the kitchen. Near each : discharged. PLUCKY WELSH BOATMAN. . Walfcmir on the top of the Great Orme, at Llandudno, Wales, holiday-makers heard cries for help. They looked over the edge and saw a man clinging to the : cliffs, which have a drop of some 700 feet almost sheer into the sea. He was a long :\ way down, so they shouted to a boatman who was past;.' wijth. passengers. The boatman shore, but found it imposaibiejto effect a rescue without a rope. he would go and fetch badVthe man Have : i good courage. Returning quickly, the ' noatman clambered up the cliff and reached ■■■■:> the man. The rope was tied round his :; waist, and While the boatman held one end the man scrambled down. The boatman then had to climb np the cliff, there ;, being no one to hold a ropA'fbr fyim to climb down. \ V LAKE UNDER LONDON. Is London's natural underground reservoir drying up? There are indications of an enormous decrease in the height of ' the.- water, in this vast subterranean lake, which, 'now lies below a bed of chalk several, hundred feet in thickness. Dr. \ F. J. Allan, the medical officer for the City of Westminster, 'directs attention in his annual report to the fact that an examination of 15 Wells "in Westminster showed thafi; the* ,?water \WL two had di-, minished ; rßo .'touch 4 that they could be no used, while in the others the head .;.<of water had sunk about 25ft. This to- '■ "'cent fall in th© head of water is attributed to the drought of the past year, but a much greater fall is due to the increased number of wells sunk during the past few decades. A SPEECH IN PRISON. At the close of a concert given by local ■ •artists to -the inmates of Dorchester Prison i i-ngiand, a touching incident occurred. ' une of tne prisoners asked permission of i the governor to speak, and in cult»r € d i olThf™ artists * acce P fc th * thanks : oi the men incarcerated there. He said I in V aTr te< l to f ° r * efc tho they were ' words," he said *i • * fng or , a few l and prevent i?l„ hnn % "membrauces not E feeW eraesß w e can•things thaWdrf-tL™ V think of thc awful mess 3\ *l? Wn Md °t the kindness you &£%£ uTXhSn"* over manv a »i, U he] P ua *ide agam " tS L . W9 £ et outjwarmly 8 applaudSV £f i 7° r * \ ere of prisoners present. Wge mmher BORN IN AN AEROPLANE. ; Frr.rc North Carolina comes an ««+. ■ cvdn.iry story of the birth o? aU?' an n,roplano. The mother, " wife of a coastguard at Chimiwi ,•«*"' f obifdbirthr ss B a t a, fj? t s local doctor, but to th n a;*,* i , household / ISA tls'rS^fron? the physician stating that the roads wSJ TJw^^ 116 °° uld Sssibly attend her.. What was to be done ik ..such an emergency Urgent caff were ..sent out from a _ wireless station to the ■ . ,ooaf.tguard division headquarters, and .Captain Deotte Coastguard Division -Commander at Norfolk, ordered an aX ■plane and doctor from the naval base The mother was rushed awnv in **'» ','pHne from Clnmico to Norfolk, i n Vir--ginia, and dunug the flight the babv '.• > r'-WAS/born Ihe mother and chiiO were ■>■■•■ :.<Mi)k#n to hoqHlal at Norfolk, and both aire -leported to be doing well.

PHEASANTS WHILE YOtJ WAIT. Finding a nest of eggs by the roadside a roadman at Linslade, England, placed them in his barrow. When he returned he was astonished to find that the sun had" hatched out ten pheasants, which were all thriving. WRONG WAY TO THE SEA. When a 15-year-old boy, Robert Weibourn, was ordered to be sent to a'training ship, at Spalding, England, for stealing pocket-knives and stamps, he joyously exclaimed, "I wanted to be a sailor ever since I left school." PIGEON'S 1000 MILES. A homing pigeon liberated at Guernsey has returned to Otley. near Bradford, after an absence of 82 houra. A message attached to its leg shows that it fell exhausted into a snip in the Bay of Biscay and was handed over to a lightship, where it rested before flying back. It is estimated that the bird, which 13 only a year old, flew more 1000 miles. MAUBETANIA'S SPEED RECORD. Two fresh speed records have been made by the Cunard liner Mauretania, in her service between Southampton and New York. Steaming at an average speed of 25.29 knots throughout a recent passage she made the fastest crossing of any ship since the war. On her second day out from New York she steamed 603 knots at an average speed of over 26 knots, thereby establishing a second post-war record for a day's run. BEES KILL HORSE. A Bar 1© Due message reports an extremely rare incident which took pi nee at Troussey (Department of the Meuse). While a farm hand was removing a load of hay a swarm of bees attacked the horse, which, in a few moments succumbed to their stings. The man tried to protect the horse, and the swarm turned upon him, stinging him to such an extent that his life was endangered. GREEN DIAMOND. The green diamond, one of the rarest stones in the world, which Mr. Novick, of Bloemhof, 100 miles north of Kimber!ey, claims to have found in his neighbourhood, may be offered for sale shortly in London. Mr. Novick in a letter dated May 21, states that the diamond will be submitted for sale. When the stone was found it was black, weighed about 5 carats, and was apparently of little value. Testing, however, revealed it to be a flawless emerald green diamond. After being cut the diamond was reduced in weight to 1£ carat. MAD SHIP'S FIREMAN. The crew of the steamer Algerian Prince, which arrived at Leith a few weeks ago, had had a most exciting time since the vessel left Cyprus. A Maltese fireman suddenly went mad. and armed with a razor and hatchet pursued members of the crew over the ship. He set the storeroom alight, and the crew had to break in tho door in order to pub out the flames. The man's attitude became so menacing that an officer was compelled to shoot him in both wrists. He was then overpowered and handcuffed. When the vessel arrived at Leith the man was exjamined by doctors and removed to an asylum. - ••. - • -

DRAMA IN FOREST. Hallesa and sobbing, & girl aged about 11 ran out of Epping Forest near the Robin Hood, Loughton, and told a policeman a sensational story. "Bax mother, she alleged, had blindfolded her and tried to strangle her. Not succeeding, she endeavoured to get the child to drink from a bottle, which, she declared, contained water. The girl, however, noticed fumes rising from it, refused to drink, and made her escape. Proceeding to investigate, the constable found a woman lying in the forest, apparently- suffering from the effects of poisoning. Beside her was a bottle containing spirits of salts. A doctor was summoned and after examining her, drove her to a neighbouring hospital. THE SAILORS' BISHOP. The Rev. Father Hopkins, better known as the " Seaman's Bishop," who died last March, left £8754. Father Hopkins, was the founder of the Seaman's Friendly Society and a trustee and member of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union. He was a well-known figure at most of the principal seaports, and took an active part in the affairs of the union, At one "time Father Hopkins was organist of Rangoon Cathedral, and later chaplain at Rangoon and Arakan, and afterwards was chaplain at Calcutta. He was also founder and Superior-General of the Anglican Order of St. Paul. He had given his marine library to the Sailors' and Firsmen's Union, but he revoked this gift by codicil, and directed that the books should be offered to the union at a valuation, the proceeds to go to his residuary estatea OLDEST FREEMASON. It is believed that at last the quest for the oldest Freemason in the world has been rewarded with success. Dr. Joseph S.- Halstead, who completed his 104 th year on March 4, and who lives with his wife, aged 93, at the village of Breckenbridge, Missouri, U.S.A., has £ roved his initiation in the Lexington odge No. 1 in 1842, of which he is still a subscribing member. Dr. Halstead graduated in 1840 and practised medicine until 1860, when he retired. For several years he was the family physician of Henry Clay. The farm which he occupies has had but four owners—the King of Spain, Napoleon Buonaparte, the U.S.A. Government, and himself. Dr. Halstead has 80 living descendants, and his birthday is observed annually as a genoral holiday in Breckenbridge. HUGE GOLD RUSH. The biggest rush in history of the diamond diggings in South Africa occurred at Mosesberg (40 miles from Kimberley) recently. A huge canvas camp has arisen, in the building of which diggers from all parts of the Union and Rhodesia havo participated. It i 3 computed that nearly 20,000 persons were present when the proclamation regarding the diggings was read. There were no casualties despite the fact that the line of start for peggera extended over four miles. Immediately after the reading of the proclamation, diggers, each carrying four pegs, rushed to the points which they favoured. There were- many disputes on the termination of the rush, which will be settied by officials on the spot. This will probably bo the last rush of the kind in the Union, as the law regarding alluvial fields is about to be altered. HONEYMOON TRAGEDY. Tragedy followed quickly the wedding i ll '^^ lo4 ' ° f Zi °« City! Illinois. Within a few minutes of starting on their honeymoon trip by air, the aeroplane crashed to the ground, the bridegroom was killed, the bride seriously injured and the pilot bruised and[rendered unconscious. Wheelock had been promised his bnde that he would give her the thrill of an air flight on tSeir wedding day when they started on the r fh° P ne n7r% on^ e fly A field Chicago the pilot refused to take the aeroplane un S2SW th ? hi .gh wind. cu led his objections, told the pilot of hli experiences m the air, and offered such inducements that he overcame the man's scruples. Amid the cheers of the bridal party and a crowd of spectators the So pane started, but it had not risen veiy ' ugh when a gust of wind hit the tail of the machine, and it fell to earth