GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20058, 22 September 1928, Page 3 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

A LONG-LIVED FAMILY. The ages of two brothers and two sisters off the same family who met at Harpenden for the first time in thirty years aggregated 353 years. The eldest, Mr. George Balm, m, 92, was stationmaster at liarpenden foi twenty-seven years. The brother, Jhomas, is 79. They were visited by their sisters, Miss Jennie, 85, and Miss Emma Salmon, 77. A TOWN IN MINIATURE. A remarkable model of a Devon town and surrounding country is being made by &lr. L. Mirtindalo. He is using only simple hand tools, and when completed, the model will bo 30ft. in length. Ovec 50.000 parts nave already gono to trial: enp the completed sections. Railway coaches consist of 3000 separate parts, and aro complete even to the views arid mirrors ove.' tho. scats. Iho wheels of a bicycle, although only tho size of a. penny, have 26 spokes. BABY WHO CARRIES HIS MOTHER. A boy aged three and a-half is already nearly four feet high; can pick up his mother arid carry her round the house; shaves every morning; and smokes cigars! '.Six months ago Clarence Kehr, of Toledo, Ohio, was an ordinary baby, scarcely able to walk or speak. Then something happened to his glands, which suddenly became abnormally active and made Ins brain and body develop at an amazing raie. At three and a-half hp has become a man, with a man s stiengtb and powers of speech. His biceps measure nine inches, while tic refers scornfully to bis old playmates at " these kids. THE ORIGIN OP MUSIO, There are many curious legends concerning the origin of music, which tho Hindus attribute to divine agency. A miraculous bird is said to Have provided the Chinese with the musical scale, while the Japanese say tiiat music was devised by the gods to lure tho sun-goddess from a cave where she had retired. From Arabia comes an amusing legend that Modhar, the camel-dnver, fell from Lis seat and hurt his arm. Jn his pain he called out " Ja," " Jodah." His lino voice stnied up the camels so tliai they moved quickly—and from that time all camel-drivers sang INDIA'S HOLY MILKMEN. A certain tribe of Southern India, the lodas, regard their purveyors of milk as holy men. The chief of tlie.se is the IJoly Milkman, who has an official residence, the Sacred Dairy, which he is not allowed to leave during his term of office. The Holy Milkman, moreover, is usually a bachelor; if he married before being appointed to his high office, he must leave his wife and devote himself entirely to observing the stringent rites of the Sac-red Dairy. No ordinary person may touch a Holy Milkman, for to do so would defile his exalted office and he would be compelled to resign. Another restriction is that Holy Milkmen must not be spoken to except on Mondays and Thursdays. On other days, any message must be shouted from a considerable distance. The dairy-temples are usually built in conical form, and the milkman-priest must always sleep in the cow-house, a draughty structure with a small fireplace. There is no door to the dairy, and a Holy Milkman is allowed to wear only one coarse robe. When he is eating, his hand must not touc!) bi» JJps, and to prevent this the riilkrna-i throws hi* food into his lr >i , When drinking, ho must hold the v m'! aloft and pour the liquid down his thrust es irons a tap.

LESSONS IN POLITENESS. Berlin offers the world lessons in streetcar politeness and may do much to lessen the jar of that mode of travel. Here is u sample rule for conductors: — •' Bo courteous always, be sauve and diplomatic at times; don't forget that passengers are human beings and not mere parcels of freight. There are times when it is expedient not to hear, seo, or to answer back." WORLD'S OLDEST REGIMENT. The Honourable Artillery Company of London, tc which the Prince of Wales was admitted a member a few weeks ago, is not only tho oldest British regiment but is the oldest regiment in the world. It had its first charter to enrol members from Henry VIII. in 1537, and some historians have traced its existence back to the tin>» of the Normands. Bluff King Hal established a "Fratertiitie or Guyldo of Artillary of Longbowes, Crossbowes, and Handgonnes," with the right to admit its own members and elect its own officers. AMUNSDEN'S VACANT CHAIR. A birthday commemoration poignantly reflecting the Italia disaster at tho North Pole was faithfully carried out as the result of a promise made to Captain Amunsden when tho lost explorer last visited Los Angeles. A table was set for three, at which sat a lawyer named John Murphy and the explorer, Haakon Hammer. The latter was formerly the companion of Captain Amunsden on his Arctic journeys. The third chair, which had the place of honour, was vacant, and was draped with the Norwegian flag. Captain Amunsden, who was born in Norway on July 16 1872, had asked his two Los Angeles friends to celebrate his 56th birthday at a dinner, " regardless of where I am." RAILWAY TRAVELLING RISKS. History is repeating itself. "Should the Princo of Wales'" take the risks of aerial travel ?" London is asking. In June, 1842, a paragraph appeared in a London newspaper, expressing intense anxiety at the grave risks taken by Queen Victoria in making railway journeys. "Wo are aware,'' said tho journal, "that every precaution is taken by the directors and managers of the Great Western Railway when Her Majesty makes use of a special train, and wo aro not less acquainted with the courage and absence from all fear from the mind of the Queen. Hut a long regency in the country would be so fearful and tiemendous an evil that these Royal railway excursions should be, if possible, either wholly abandoned or only occasi onally resorted to." REDUCING CRUELTY BY INCHES Once again tho Spanish Dictator has decided to reduce tho cruelty of bull ti(iliting bv a tiny fraction more. Not long ago "it was'decided that in large towns horses required to face tho bulls must bo protected by padded cuirasses round their bodies. Now this is to bo done in small towns as well as largo towns. The use of explosive darts to goad the bulls is also henceforth forbidden. These ehastly weapons were used for bulls not considered wild enough to give good sport without this help! Four pairs of ordinary darts, however, may still bo used on each bull. Perhaps a few weeks hence they will be reduced to three pairs. One further regulation has been made Bull-fighting is prohibited in makeshift rings where the audience is not sufficiently protected. A London paper asks "why should the audience be protected at an entertainment at which men, horses, and bulls face death for their amusement?"

A LEGAL HARVEST. When the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council began the hearing of a ease concerning 15,000 acres of Burmese land, it expected to be engaged for live weeks. Each side was represented by nine lawyers. One of those engaged had his brief endorsed for 3000 guineas, with a daily refresher of 100 guineas. LIABLE TO £3,000,000 FINE. When the Financial Recorder was prosecuted in London recently for printing a newspaper without the printer s name and address, upon it, and also a folder, the law provided for a penalty of £5 for each copy issued. Tins would have amounted to £3,000,000, but this amount was not exacted. The editor was fined £SO on each of two charges, and tho printers £3 10s on each of three charges, with five guineas costs in all cases. MUSSOLINI AS A CORPORAL. Signor Mussolini, tho virtual ruler of Italy, holds tho rank of honorary corporal in the Italian army. Tho only other person who holds this office, the highest honorary rank in Italy, is King Alfonso of Spain, who was recently ere ated a field marshal of tho British army An inquisitive writer says: " What hap peris when ' Corporal Mussolini' meets a second-lieutenant ? Does he give tho Fascist salute, and do as the subaltern bids him?" CHARGED BY WOUNDED ELEPHANT Mr. Benjamin Burbridge, American gorilla hunter, who lately returned after Ten months in tho Belgian Congo, declared that tropical pests were more dangerous than the beasts of tho junglo. During .Mr. Burbridgc's stay, a wounded bull elephant charged, tearing up the trees in its pathway. He felled the animal with one bullet, but it rose and continued its furious career. A second shot dropped him three yards from the banter AN EXTRAORDINARY SPORT. When a resident of Southend, England, was awakened by a noise in the garden ho crawled sleepily out of bed to find his terrier engaged in a fight with a large monkey. When tho man came on tho scene, tho ape ran up the water-pipe and on to the roof Twelve monkeys from tho neighbouring zoo lorced their cago doors. Iho ring leader was lured by a bait of chocolate into a hotel bedroom, but before being chained up ho bit tho end off an attendant's finger EXHUMATION AFTER 360 YEARS. Tho Spanish Academy of History has approved of a proposal to disinter the remains of Prince Charles, the eldest son of Philip 11. of Spain. 1 Tho death of the Prince in 1568 aroused suspicions, and several dramas have been written about his unsolved fate. A theory thai has found support for three centuries is that the Princes father put an end to him by poisoning. If' permission is obtained for the exhumation, tho remains will bo examined for traces of poison. ENGLAND'S ART TREASURES. When tho London art sale season closed in July it proved to have been the most remarkable in tho history of art col lecting. Moro than £3,000.000 has been spent in the principal West Lnd sale rooms. Queen Anne, walnut and Georgian mahogany-furniture, old silver, books and manuscripts, engravings, pictures and old china, have all made prices undreamt of five years ago. Nearly all the four-figure items go to America. English collectors aro now ready to spend hundreds, but it is thp Americans who spend the thousands.

SHORTENING OF NAMES. The society for tho Saving of Time, a newly-founded efficiency organisation in France, lias decided in favour of shortening of names. It is proposed to limit family names to five letters and other names to two. In this way, it is declared, tho business world would save millions of pounds in correspondence yearly. GIFT TO LIVERPOOL CATHEDRAL. A gift of £IO,OOO to help in expediting the completion of Liverpool cathedral has Leon made by Mr. Francis Neilson, formerly M.P., and his wife, Mrs. Helen Swift Neilson, the Chicago millionairess. After studying cathedrals all over Europe, Mr. and Mrs. Neilson say they consider tho site of the Liverpool cathedral tho finest in the world, not second even to Durham. A RECORD LONDON SEASON. London has enjoyed a record spring and early summer season. Hotels, restaurants, theatres, jewellers, court dressmakers and florists have reaped a rich harvest. Last year American visitors, it is computed, spent in Europe £136,000,000, of which Britain took the largest share. This summer there has been a great increase in iho number of visitors to Britain from tho United States and tho Dominions. The amount of money spent bv Americans in London would probably approach £20,000,000. GREYHOUNDS OF THE DESERT. The greyhound is to have a new rival — tho saiuki. Tins canine aristocrat, whoso ancestry has been traced back to the time oj the "Pharaohs, has already been tried out, on a. uog track, and regular saiuki racing is now m prospect. So far as speed is concerned, the saiuki is not quite up to greyhound standard, but it is a better •'hurdler" than the other racing dog. In appearance, the saiuki is not unliko a, greyhound; indeed, the saiuki has been called tho "greyhound of the desert." Even before its possibilities as a racer were recognised, it had become a fashionable pet among Society women. MAYOR AS CADDY-MASTER. Mr. Butler, Henley's one-legged caddymaster mayor, who received Prince George at the world-famous regatta, this year, is one of tho most original figures in English municipal life. Young, jovialfaced, ho works 14 hours a. day. " My job at Hie golf club is to look after tho caddies, ' Mr. Butler says, "and my position as mayor might be embarrassing if our members were not exceed mgly nice men. But they stroll up and say, ' Two caddies, your worship,' and IVm perfectly at home." Although lie lost a leg at Ypres ho still plays quite a good game of golf, and can drive larLher than the majority of players. SCOUT REUNION. Of twenty-five people who attended the first experimental boy scouts' camp at Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, 21 years ago, twelve assembled recently at tho residence of the Chief Scout, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Pax Hill, Bentley, Hampshire, to celebrate tho coming of ago of the movement. The guests were welcomed by Sir Robert and Lady Baden-Powell and entertained at lunch. Lord Hampton, Chief Scout Commissioner also was present. Tho guests presented the Chief Scout with a heat-proof coat, and among the messages received was one from the Duke of Connaught. Sinco tho original camp tho movement has acquired a membership of about two i millions in 42 countries.