GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19892, 10 March 1928, Page 3 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

USB FOR NUMBER PLATES. What becomes of all tlio pins may still remain a problem, but what becomes of some of the discarded motor-car number plates has been solved. Mr. A- H. Libby, of Forcstville, United States, recently purchased nine tons of number plates from two New York county licence bureaus and used them to "shingle" his garago and farm buildings. FLOODS AND THEIR CAUSES. According to the Royal Commission on Land Drainage in England the recent inundations are due to the fact that throughout the country tlio beds of rivers have been raised. During the war it was impossible to dredge and clear the rivers as formerly, 80 deposits of silt and of various kinds gradually accumulated. Now it would cost so much to dredge the rivers thoroughly that drainage authorities are scared to begin. The only way out, according to the commission, is for the Government to finance this work. SABLE RABBITS, Two of a new variety of rabbits, called eable rabbits, stated to have great commercial possibilities have been on view at Minehead, Somerset,. Mr. G. A. Drake secretary of the British Sablo Rabbit Clab, who was one of the judges, said it was impossible to distinguish their fur from real sabie, and the white hairs in their coats defied the dyer's art. " It takes about thirty rabbits to mako one sable coat, and I am getting six guineas each for two-month-old sable rabbits. The Prince of Wales is very much interested in these rabbits, and many iwell-known people are breeding them." EINSTEIN FORGETS RELATIVITY. Professor Einstein laid aside relativity find other mathematical theories recently and appeared before the public in Berlin as a violin virtuoso of more than average ability. The Jewish Aid for the Society gave a benefit concert at the Kaiserhof Hotel. Several professionals, among them Sigrid Onegin, contralto, who has sung in America, and Francesco von Mendelssohn, cellist, and grandson of the great composer, lent their assistance. Professor Einstein played Schubert and Beethoven selections with a mastery that, according to the critics, placed him on A par with his professiojal co-entertainers, THE SAVIOUR'S SHROUD. The " sacred shroud," which, according to legend, enveloped the body of Christ upon his descent from the cross, will bo exposed to the veneration of the faithful in Turin during the coming European Bummer, according to present plans. Prised highest among tbe relics of the Turin Cathedral, the shroud was taken there in 1678 by Emmanuel Fhilibeit, of Savoy. Owing to the damage it suffered by fire in 1532, when it was kept at Chambery, in what i 3 now Franco, it is charred as well as blackened by age. Its fragility precludes its being removed from its casket at too frequent intervals. In the Gospel of St. Matthew it is related that Joseph of Arimathea wrapped Christ's body iu a "-clean linen cloth." The shroud was first an object of veneration in the parish church of Lirey. near Troves, in the Champagne region of France back in 1360.

MONEY FOR DERELICTS. Many pounds were given away just before midnight at New Year by an elderly man in evening dress, who went along the Embankment, London, looking for " down and outs." lie rode in a dark blue enclosed Rolls-Royce car. Halting at intervals he . got out and unobstmsively went up to men and women sheltering in corners, and. shaking hands with them, wished them " A happier new year," leaving ten shilling notes or half- , crowns in their hands. He refused to give his name, and his car disappeared before the recipients of his generosity met at the coffee-stalls aud tho news of his coming had spread. - A CRANE BURGLARY. How a burglar hauled his confederate into a shop by a hand crane was described at Aberdeen when Daniel Day, aged 26, and Alexander Smart, aged 20, -were sent to prison for six and four months respectively for breaking into a shop, known as Morrison's Economic Stores, and stealing £3B 10s 6d. The Procurator Fiscal said Day climbed to tho roof of the stores by piling up boxes. He went to the second story of the building, lowered the chain of a hand crane, and hauled Smart up beside him. " I said,'' added the Procurator Fiscal, " that Smart was led into this affair, but he was led into it by a chain and a crane." CATHEDRAL AS A GIFT. The Duke of Atholl has presented Dunkeltl Cathedral to the nation. The cathedral is one of the most historic buildings in Scotland. It stands a few hundred yards away from Eastwood, tho picturesquo old houso where the Duke and Duchess spend much of their time when in Scotland. The Office of Works have been. busy preserving portions of tho fabric that were in imminent danger of falling. Much of the masonry had been dislodged by trees, the roots of which in some cases had penetrated to a ctapth of 4ft. to sft. '* The work of preservation has now been completed. A fracture in the West tower has been treated by grouting and pointing and the foundations made secure. It is hoped in the course of the next few months to renew the leadwork on the roof of tho tower and place gunmetal frames on the windows of the north aisle. ISLAND OF SARK TITHES. Reverting to a law and custom of the davs of Queen Elizabeth, which long lias been in abeyance, Mrs. Dudley Beaumont, the Dame of Sark, one of the Channel Islands, has issued an edict that the inhabitants mu#t pay their tithes in wheat or other grain instead of in cash. Sark rank 3 as "an entirely independent feudal state within the empire," baing one of the numerous anomalous legacies of the Duchy of Normandy to the English Crown, and what its Dame says is likely to go, in spite of the protests of the islanders. Her exercise of her feudal rights, however, is not purely arbitrary. Agriculture, in Sark has reached a low ebb due to* English residents occupying cultivatable land and letting it run to waste. With the object of reawakening interest in agriculture the Dame has decided to instal a milling plant ou tlie island, which formerly fed itself.

A VENOMOUS BIRD. But one specimen of venomous bird is known to tho student of ornithological oddities —tho Rpir N'Doob, or " Bird of Death," a feathered crcaturo indigenous to New Guinea. Persons bitten by the creature are seized by maddening pains, which rapidly extend to every part of the body. Loss of sight, convulsions, and locnjaw are symptoms wtiich follow in rapid succession. A REMARKABLE QUILT. A Missouri woman has completed a quilt containing 21,840 pieces. She says she believes this establishes a new "world's record. Having noticed a press despatch a year ago, which told about a woman making a quilt containing 16,400 pieces, the Missouri lady determined to establish a new record. Tho small pieces aro only liveeighths of an inch square. Fifty-one reels o£ thread were used. OLD ROYAL RULE RELAXED. Thcro was formerly something like a rule that ladies of the Royal Family should not make speeches in public. When a princess opened a bazaar or laid a fou.adation-stone, tho fewest possible words, softly murmured, were ail that could be expected. Since the war, when some of tho Royal ladies have now and again made speeches, caro has been taken that they should not bo reported, but now even tins rule nas been relaxed. Princess Mary's after-din-ner speech, made in French to the lnstistute Francais recently, short and formal as it was, shows a pleasant advance ou the old idea that princesses might bo seen but not heard. FRANCE'S PROUD POSSESSIONS. The French are proud of tho fact that • they have the Eiffel Tower, tho highest structure iu tho world; tho Carabit viaduct, the longest metal viaduct; the L'lle de France, '*2,000 tons, the largest steamer built since the war, and tho Saint Pierre du Vauvray bridge, the longest reinforced concrete bridge. Franco also has tho fastest electric train, running from Paris to VierzonVille. Le Bourget, the most extensive landing-place for aeroplanes, the largest aviation hangars, at Orly; the Canal de Rove, the longest underground canal; the billion candle-power searchlight at Mont Valerein, and tbo 50,000 kilowatt alternating current generators at Geunovilliers. A CONSTABLE'S BRAVERY. Great heroism and a complete disregard for his own safety was shown by PoliceConstable Joseph Brooko, of Southampton, in rescuing three people when fire broke out in a gramophone saloon. Above the shop were three flats, two of them occupied. Constable Brooke, who gave the alarm, forced a way into the building, and dashing through the smoke, rescued an elderly woman from the top floor. Re-entering the building, he carried 6ut a young woman, and returned, though the building was burning furiously, to rescue a third woman. After staggering downstairs with her/in his arms he was overcome by the smoke and collapsed in the passage, where he was found by the firemen. Three other women were saved by firemen before tbe stairs collapsed in flames.

AN EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM. Obligatory employment of elderly men is 6no of tho social reforms before the French Parliament. All employers, under a plan proposed by M. Paul Canjole, member of tho Seine Departmental General Council, would be required to employ a small percentage of men between fifty and sixty years old. Grey hair, M. Canjole says, is the worker's greatest burden. " Only young men are wanted in this hurrying age of mass production. The older men often aro quite as competent, and certainly their experience and dependability areworth soinothing, but, regardless of that," he concluded, society in some way must take caro of tho older men still ablo to give a good return for their wages." MYTHICAL MILLIONS. A few years ago tho Foreign Office issued a warning to the public against paying fees to lawyers or others in the hope of establishing claims to certain alleged estates in tho United States. It has now issued a similar warning in the case of the alleged Crawford millions estates. Any claim would almost inevitably be unsuccessful. Tho estate was supposed to be worth about £5,000,000. Various persons who claimed to bo tho descendants of an Andrew Crawford who died many years ago have communicated with British consular offices in the hope of establishing a claim,, but official' inquiries have failed to elicit any satisfactory information that such an estate exists. HOSPITAL'S £40,000 LEGACY. Big boqucsts to charities, including a gift of £40,000 to Manchester Royal Infirmary—the largest bequest iit has ever received —were made in the will of Mr. John Whewell Simpson, of Keswick, a director of the Bleachers' Association, Ltd. Mr. Simpson left £208,657, with net personally £203*,383. The bequests in his wi!l included £IOOO to Dr. Barnado's Homes, £IOOO to St. Dunstan's Hostel. The windfall to Manchester Infirmary is about £20,000 larger than the previous largest legacy, and, in fact, it exceeds the normal sum received in this way annually. Mr. Simpson was a bachelor, whose greatest hobby was the collection of antiques, especially rare specimens of pottery. INDIA'S HOARDED WEALTH. There is a thousand million pounds' worth of hoarded Wealth in British India. This colossal wealth is in the form of gold and silver temple ornaments, anklets, necklaces, jewels, and other adornments, as well as in bars of bullion hoarded up. Immense quantities are used to array brides for their wedding ceremonies. Hereditary custom, social organisation, and the variation of seasonal harvests all combine to encourage the Indian people to hoard any wealth they may possess in a portable form which can bo easily hidden away. The fact that in Hindu families all property is the common possession of tho members of tho family i:t responsible for a great amount of hoarding of gold and silver coins and ornaments. The individual wishing to save for his own use places wealth aside secretly. If this wealth were placed to a productive use, or loaned out in the world's money markets, India would speedily take a leading place as one of the unost wealthy nations in the world. But it is held out of use, and for the greater part yields nothing to its possessors in tha way of improved standards o| living;.