GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18641, 23 February 1924, Page 3 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

SSK;':bY3tf IN LOCKED HOUSE. % k-w&i'i'i-i■?r-.. • r ■. At An inquest at Monmouth ?on ' Eliza 7] IvjchcJla, a widow, " who lived alone,it 'A was stated that ' neighbours j found - her partly dressed in a cupboard under the :r stars, and, thinking her dead, locked PP the house and informed the police. v A police-sergeant who arrived - three 5 hours later found her stiL alive. A verIfedict that death was due to heart failure P? accelerated by exposure and senile decay ffl was returned. gs«'- . ______________ ||, CLIMBING LAMPLIGHTER. K' Whether it would be cheaper to buy P. their lighter a pair of trousers or a proper instrument for lighting the lamps $. was discussed by the Portland, Dorset, W". Urban District Council. . , B; It was stated that the man had to £ ; climb the lamp-posts to light the lamps, $•••' and that this wore out his trousers . _ • & A light ladder was provided for the pur- ? pose, but one councillor pointed out that $ the lamp-lighter has »o carry it about for j three hours. FRIENDLY "WATCH DOG". ?? Great friendliness was shown by a reputed "watch-dog" to a burglar who K&" broke into the Christchurchotoof-da .. broke into the Chishhurst house of Mr. 4 J. .Thompson. Edward Dixon, when rhttree'd at Bromley with the theft of a „,iontilv of silver from the house, des-qsfc-d few little the dog interfered with L work. "I got into the house and found a large dog inside," he related. , ~-ai was quite all right. He camo up, had o good look at mo » and then lay Pck>«n."' Ik/ STREET MURDER IN CARDIFF. Elsie Payne, aged 15, of Cardiff, h.ti her throat cut by a man m the street. She ran into a shop kept by her aunt M |j died soon after her removal to the t infirmary. Kis stated that she was directing a mail, who inquired his way, to t \ neighbouring road, when lie suddenly r. , turned and inflicted the wound. The man fc- made off and escaped before the spectaI tors could realise the tragedy and make effective pursuit. After the girl was conjf\, ' veyed to hospital dozens of people volunteered blood transfusion in the hope of ff?' : saving her Me. ■ .. — II ; GALLANT RESCUE RETORT. jjgp'' . y . V, 'A heroic attempt to save a youth fall* Mc in S from a ladder was described at an ?,!i'. inquest at New Tredegar, Walem. Henry i#-Powell, an electrical apprentice, had i climbea a ladder to- reach a cable. The jfe ladder was a trifle short, and the lad f made a spring. He slipped, and was left dangling from the cable with one hand. A passer-by. Harold Williams, ■ seeing the lad's peril, dashed to. the foot of tuo ladder, but before he could get far up the lad fell. Williams caught and ' / held him, but both crashed to the earth, | ? f: the lad Powell being killed. liffi:.'.' ■: . " • • • •'; V.:- |||-;: . : NOVEL PAPER CHASE. . m A novel sort of paper-chase was sudfei 8«nly started in the streets of Stonehaven, ; Kincardineshire, whin the door ,of a motor car passing a school burs* open and a bag ■'- containing £700 in notes fell out. A high wind whirled the notes hither lyi and thither in the street, over • houseW tops, and into gardens. Children leaving ffl the school at once engaged excitedly in •'t'-iis .chase and with the exception of £35 I - all was recovered. : . | ;v' Tne,, : woman to whom the money ber»,j. lonzed liberally rewarded the searchers, 111 fend Rafter her departure children and Ugh sdn'ts renewed the search.. ;,s.. >V :;r "*•*• > • . « • . ' f CWIffSABLE'S 200,000 MILES WALK. ,W&ile a Carnarvonshire alderman has <s Saciared that police constables are allowed to retire on pension at too early an ;.ee, some people think that the 30 years service necessary before a con- . c stable : qualifies for a full pension is too ■ long 2nd against the public interest. ||§| A London policeman with nearly 30 years' service aaid that beat duty means * *20 miles stroll every day. "If you work that out for 30 years yon will find V th? 1 , lam walking nearly 200,000 miles for my pension. I became flat-footed -gj jears ago. .\ We are in constant danger of violence : and , if we escape that we fannot escape bad' weather." .

l; . COTTON CAUSES FATAL CUT. breaking off the cotton when she had Hj; finished sewing, Clara Jane Horton, 44, B • w:» married woman, cut her little finger, Ma : and subsequently. died in the Newcastle » .V; Infirmary. S - ' "At the inquest Adam Horton, a colliery * * ihiStir, the husband of the deceased, laid that his wife complained of a stingjjMing pain in the little finger of the right ■ hand. She said that a few days previously she had been sewing and in S breaking the thread cut her finger. The finger got worse and a doctor was called in. He advised her removal to the Newc«fitle Infirmary and this waa done in the afternoon. His wife died the same night. Medical evidence was given that death Was due to general septicaemia, the deL,: . . ceased not being in the best of health r when she cut her finger. Mp. V . ■" - _ HUNTING FIELD MISHAP. M>*'' Lady Herbert, of Abergavenny, met Ik *ith a serious accident while out hunting flflL- with the Monmouthshire Hounds. While jaiL v "he was negotiating a hedge with a long jMvIS drop on the other side the horse stumbled ®>'.s£• »cd fell over, throwing its rider, and in SI - ® struggling to rise the animal kicked Lady ■ Herbert, who was prostrate on the |B;' v pound, three severe blows on the face. 18 In spite of her pain she . made her v.ay |b' to a farmhouse, where she stayed a IS wiple of hours to wait for a motor-car.. IB There was evidently some misunderstandU ing. and as the car did not arriys, Lady II Hubert set out on horseback to meet it. §M *0 _ car put in an appearance, however, |b and she rodo all the way back home, « some .sir or seven miles, alone, A lnedin j-ai man was summoned, and he found |fl £ er suffering from severe contusions on |1 w® face and slight concussion. m SUBTERRANEAN NOISES. |m T ie residents in a row of houses at L> n oCroft, Stirlingshire, were thrown into a state of fear arid alarm by rumbling I« W'-ewanean noises and the shaking of the Ifi: Iwuses, while a pronounced smell of gas w. at times felt. 111- •a- t 9 tremors were so pronounced that H» dishes rattled on the shelves. So alarmed ||1 some of the women that they rushed HI i Q the houses in the darkness of night Jj 8 "o could hardly be induced to return, H . oa - has long been worked in the neighi bourhood, and while there were no cracks 9: W the buildings to indicate a subsidence, El •; v* Was thought that some movement has J: . been taking place among the minerals «! m the earth to causc the noises. I in the earth to cause the noises. 1' ! BURGLARY DURING DINNER. : ' if' •' Jewellery valued at about £4000 was ill!- ■k'«n from the house of Sir Percy Daniels, ||^ m Park Lane, London. " The robbery," •JrjV.V Said Sir Percy " look place while we were I U®'^ at dinner between 8.30 and 0 o'clock. I JJL * Riving a. dinner party. Th c thief im ttUs have been well informed and had his llSffltf J 8 made to perfection. He entered B@HPjMoy Daniel's bedroom through the |»'indow, using a ladder which was in the Um This did not reach the window, .fm ,f Tw must have climbed up a drainpipe. ffflK'M v thief took . all the jewellery which Daniel's had left on the dressingIB Is rJ 9 '. =bnt did not touch several valuable K Jortoiscsshell article. About. 9 o'clock a servant went to the bedroom she .the, door locked. \W, missing jewellery includes rings, and a gold vanity bag.

.AH ANCIENT CUSTOM. , ; • Some curious litems:- figured in - the annual accounts of. tlie Corporation of London, one being the payment of £40 to alo connera, who were elected yearly by liverymen, or members 'of City Trade y*" ! .J4 8 > on each Midsummer Day. 0 ; Ihe duties of these ale conners in the past were " To survey beer and ale in the I City of London four times each year," hut the functions of this office have lapsed in,modern times. 70 TEARS A BELLRINGER. One of Derbyshire's most remarkable men, Charles Hanson, 87, of St. Mary'sgate, Wirksworth, was the subject of an inquest recently. Deceased had been a bellringer in Wirksworth parish church for over; 70 years, and during the whole of this time never once missed ringing out the Old Year and ringing in the New. His death was due to a fractured skull caused by falling down some steps near his house. His wife, who survives him, was born on Che same day in the same year. BURGLARS ROB POLIOS CHIEF. Burglars raided the • house of Superintendent. Bacchus, head of the " B " Division. of the Metropolitan Police,, in Elm Park Road, Chelsea. They stole a gold watch and chain, gold and diamond rings, studs and pins, -and other articles of. value. They entered the house by forcing the front door. \ A short time previously the house of Superintendent Carlin was burgled in South London, and about the same time the motor-cycle and side-car of a wellknown divisional detective-inspecflor in North London was stolen from a garage close to the police station. PRINCE AND DISEASE CURES. The Prince of Wales, who takes a .great interest .in the cause of the hospitals, joined informally in a sort of scientific conversazione at the Middlesex Hospital, in which the comprehensive scope of the big hospitals' activities, with especial regard to the scientific side Of their work, was displayed. . The gathering was shown the laCest laboratory methods for investigating and identifying diseases and their germs, such as typhoid, tetanus, and diphtheria. The Prince was particularly interested in the preparation and standardisation of insulin,' used in diabetes Treatment, now being prepared at the Middlesex Hospital. ' ROWDYISM IN A MUSEUM. Owing to the disorderly conduct of voung people frequenting the museum on Sunday afternoons, the Plymouth Corporation authorised the attendance of police to maintain order. Plymouth's experience recalls the case of Birmingham Art Gallery, for dancing in which a young man was fined. Scenes "like a fair" were said to have become common in the Art Gallery on Sunday afternoons. "The rooms are crowded with young people of both sexes, who take no interest in the exhibits and prevent others from seeing them," said a Birmingham inspector in Court. "Sometimes twelve policemen have to be sent to keep order." DOG REPAYS A DEBT. The story comes from Tonbridge, Kent, of Gyp, a mongrel dog who -saved his master's life and. was thus in a position to cry "Quits!" RecenTiy, Mr. A. Ledger, a Tonbridge tradesman, saved Gyp from drowning and bought him for a few shillings. Gyp became devoted to Mr. Ledger, j One morning \vl\ilo mending a • leaky j gas-pipe Mr. Ledger was overcome by fumes. Gyp got out of the house and | ran tip and down the street, where lie attracted tFTe attention of the police. A constable followed him to the house and found Mr. Ledger unconscious in a gasfilled room. He wa3 taken to hospital and prompt treatment restored him.

BRIDE DIES AFTER WEDDING. The death of a bride the day after her marriage was the subject of an inquest at Shoreditch, London, on Mrs. Margaret Hand, aged twenCy-one. Mrs. Hand "was married one Sunday, and the same evening she and her husband visited relatives at Bethnal Green. Mrs. Hand complained .ijhs.t she felfl tired, and she decided to remain for the night. Mr. Hand and others stayed up all night owing to £he lack of sleeping accommodation. The next morning when Mr. Hand went upstairs he found his bride seriously ill. A doctor was brought in, but she died within a few hours from pneumonia of fwelve hours' durat ion. • WOMEN HOUSE BUILDERS. Twelve women bricklayers, graduates of a school established in Long Island City, New York, recently' completed their first row of dwelling-houses. At school they were taught not only to lay bricks but also to do work with lath and plaster. According to their instructor, Mr. William • Thompson, they accomplished their : tasks more . quick.y and in,! many respects more . efficiently than men masons. ? The first houses built by women earning the regulation bricklayer's wage of £6 a day were pronounced in every respect, satisfactory by the building inspector. ' . " The women plasterers and masons were described as rosy-cheeked and glowing with health. They anticipated that their profession would be embraced by thousands of other women. They declared that they had all discarded the rouge pot and lip salve. . When working - they •wore caps and overalls. .

GIRL WHO STAYED OUT. A " missing schoolgirl's failure to let her parents know where she was staying for the night led to a search of the town of Leigh ton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, between midnight and 3 a.m. During this time practically the whole police force was turned out, two of the school staff were knocked up for names and addresses. Forty nine houses were visited by the police. The girl, Elizabeth May Showier, was reported . missing by her father, who, at the age of 64, walked seven miles from %h.e village where they live to inform the police. The 'country roads were covered with snow and ice. After getting addresses of other schoolgirls the police visited these in turn without success. At the 50th house the girl was found. She had staved there with a friend because of the bad weather, and had not let her parents know. SHOT WHILE SINGING. The remarkable story of a village vendetta was unfolded at the Vosges Assizes. Xavier Mauffrey. a municipal councillor of Rapt-sur-Moselle, shot dead one of his neighbours, Arsene Vuillemard, because the latter was singing a song he did not like. For some time previously there had been ill-feeling between the two men. since Mauffrey alleged that whenever he was within hearing distance of Vuillemard the latter used to sing or whistle an old election song, which Mauffrey believed was directed particularly against himself. Irritation gave place to frank enmity, and the little song, no doubt sung at first simply in a spirit of mischief, became the cause of hatred. One day Vuillemard was walking homeward singing the song which had caused all the trouble, when Mauffrey sprang out of his biding and confronted him. Vuiiiemard's mother, listening at the window for her son's homecoming, heard him singing, when suddenly three shots rang out, and the song abruptly ceased. i, Mauffrey acknowledged fcia guilty