GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20508, 8 March 1930, Page 9 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

CHORUS AT A FUNERAL.

The Doxology and the Hallelujah rhorus were sung at the memorial serh C e at the /Kingsway Hall, London, for the Rev. Mark Guy Pearce—the famous ■Wesleyan preacher. Mr Pearce had expressed a wish that liis funeral'should he " joyous," and that pnv flowers should be sent to the poor. AN OPEN-AIR ENTHUSIAST. Sport wins a notable distinction in the imchthood conferred on Sir Lawrence Chubb who lias been secretary of the •Footpaths Preservation Society in EngL/for thirty-five years, and has served the National Playing Fields' Association in ji similar capacity since 1928. It was largely owing to Sir Lawrence's efforts that Selsdon Wood, near Croydon, became a bird sanctuary and a retreat for those interested in botany. "/ . jGREATEST DISTANCE FROM LAND. The farthest distance a ship can sail from land is 1200 miles. This may seem Ktrance. for ,tlio Atlantic Ocean is more than 40°0 miles wide, and the Pacific i ve r> wider than that. But there are islands in these oceans, and never can a ship be more than 1200 miles from some point of land. The sp6t of greatest distance from land is in the. Pacific Ocean, half-way jbetween New Zealand and South (America. CHEAPSIDE'S FAMOUS CLOCK. Cheapside is likely to lose a familiar Object which is of great interest to visitors to the city of London. Mr. Henry Pord tlio United States motor-car mauufacturer, when last there took a fancy to the famous clock at the premises' of Sir John Bennett, Limited, watchmakers and jewellers. The clock is surmounted by the decorative figures of Gog and Magog, who have struck the hops on a bell with hammers for moro than a century. // SPEED OF 600 MILES AN HOUR. 'A patent has just been applied for to protect the invention of a flying machine in which speeds of 600 miles per hour jwill be possible. The invention is based on the latest theories of gravitation. This new machine opens up amazing possibilities. It will rise vertically, and can be garaged with the same case as a car. The machine, it is claimed, can go to New York from England and back within 24 hours, and " hop over" to Prance in four minutes. Yet the inventor declares that it will bo just as safe as an express train. A WITH A PURPOSE. Perhaps the most expensive " toy " in the world, and one which has certainly filled the hearts of boys of all ages with envy, was put on show at a London underground station, recently, This was » complete model section of the Underground svstem, consisting of a miniature .track, wfth'three beautifully-made model trains. I ... "The idea of the model is to show those ,who travel by Underground how the safetv system works. As the trains run, they switch on the red signal lights behind them. Then, as they pass from one section to the next, the lights turn, to green. So the model shows quite clearly that there can never be two trains -on any one section at the same time. JOURNALISM AND POLITICS. Journalism in France is a career to which ambitious men look as a ladder by which to climb into the Chamber of Deputies. Aristide Briand began as a 'journalist; and Andre Tardieu, who recently became Prime Minister, is another literary man who has reached the highest Ministerial post. His articles in Le .Temps'' before the war earned him a reputation as a writer on public affairs. 31. Tardieu, although above the military age, served his country as a soldier, and .was wounded and gassed ou the Somroe. He subsequently went on a sepecial diplomatic mission to the United States, where he perfected his English, which is proving an advantage to him us he ..represents France at the Five Powers' Naval Conference. A DIPLOMATIC ALMANAC. C The doven of diplomatic almanacs, I" The Gotha," has made its appearance for the 167 th year. 'lt has few- changes ,to record in tile realms of Royal Courts. Of heirs to thrones still unmarried there will be • now only two—the Prince of [Wales and Prince Frederick of Denmark. There is. still one bachelor king. King Boris of Bulgaria, and in the list of Royal bachelors aro two sons of the British Royal house, the second son of the King of the Belgians, and the second 6on of tjhe'King of Denmark. Of the unmarried princesses there are six—Princess Giovanna of Italy. Princess Beatrice _of Spain, Princess :Ileana of Rumania®, Princess Juliana, the _ only child of the Queen of Holland; Princess Ingrid, the niece of the King of Denmark; and .the Infanta Mario Christine of Spain, who has not yet reached her 18th year,, PARLIAMENT'S QUAINT CUSTOMS. Hie rule that no member of the House fif Commons may lock a door in the House, under pain of 'being brought before the committee on standing order, was cue of tlie curious traditions of Parliament mentioned by Major Richard Bigg, in an address, to the 1912 Clui>, at Bucklersbury, London. This, lie said, was a survival which recalled'the Guy Fawkes conspiracy in 1605. . It was a long-standing convention of the House, said Major Bigg, that a male member might only wear a hat when eeated. If, through illness or infirmity, he could'not rise, ho'was permitted to address the House seated. The custom of bowing to the Speaker the House of Commons had a religious origin. In pre-Reformation. days there ,yas a chapel called St. Stephen's Chapel, in which t lie Blessed Sacrament was kept, find members who passed before the altar yould, as was customary, bow toward it. LIFE SAVED BY HYMN How a man's life was saved by the way he sang a hymn was lately described to the Chapel-en-le-Frith Board of Guardians when (hey had before them the extraordinary case of a British ex-soldier, who Was posted as killed when he was a prisoner in Germany. 'lhe relieving officer said that he had been called upon to relieve a man, Joseph G. Davidson, who was employed in the construction of a local waterworks. The Wan had l.een " gassed," and was badly affected by ihe damp weather. He told the relieving oflioer that lie was wounded arnl taken prisoner by the Germans in He was in Germany two and a halt years, during which time he learned German with some fluency. Then lie escaped into the French lines. The French made inquiries about him from the British authorities, arid were informed that he had been killed. They "Were about to treat him as a spy, but a .wounded British lad asked Davidson if he conhl sing. Davidson sang for the lad " Abide with 'Me," and Davidson told the relieving officer that he believed it was the way he Bang tlie hymn that, secured for him his lea lease oniy a fuw hours before he was to have met tlie fate of a spy. Mrs. Davidson produced for the inspection of the relieving officer an Army certificate of her husband's death. It was stated that Davidson's wife and children had ridden from Gretna Green ®n a motor-lorry to join him. r

> MOVEMENTS OP GLACIERS.

The general belief that a glacier moves slowly and smoothly down a mountainsido has been shattered. Investigations covering 17, years have shown that icefields movo forward with spasmodic jerks as stress accumulates. This was shown by a " diary" in the form of line scratched by two needles ou a clock-driven disc. PRISONER OUTWITS CONJURER. When a variety concert and entertainmen were given on Christmas night at the Irish Free State convict prison, at Maryborough, one of the convicts was too quick for a conjurer, and robbed him of a hat full of silver. The conjurer was in the act of taking half-crowns from the mouth of his assistant and placing them in a hat, which he had on the table. When he concluded it was discovered that the contents were missing. They had been taken, by a convict who was a professional burglar. COMFORTS ON AFRICAN TRAINS. Travellers in the Union of South Africa may now enjoy luxurious railroad accommodation on a do luxe train, recently placed into service. One of the most conspicuous features is that the coaches 'are flexiblo —that is, they have a joint in the bodywork over the centre set of wheels. Franieless windows that slide in feltlined grooves and cannot rattle, telephones between the cars on the train, shower baths, and other comforts provided on tlio best trains of- tho word arc included in the equipment. CANADA'S PENNY ]»OST. A year ago Canada adopted a penny post for letters to the United Kingdom and all parts of the British Empire. Britain never reciprocated; as, indeed, how could she with the letter-post inside Great Britain still standing at the warswollen figure of tho ■p°m fc of taking another big step. She is to have a penny post for letters to all countries in South America. For the cheap post to Britain and the Empire, sentiment might be pleaded; but the case for extending it to South America rests on business alone. Up to date Canada has found that a cheap post pays commercially. " DEAD " MAN STILL ALIVE. A man who was believed to be dead and whose name is inscribed on a tombstone in Southsea, England, has now been shown to be alive. He is a brother of Mr Aifred West, of Southsea. Mr. West went to Australia 64 years ago to dig for gold. He visited his home once, but nothing had been heard of him for many years since he returned to London. When Mr. A. West's father died the name of the brother was also placed on the tombstone. Mr. West has learned through an advertisement in a local newspaper that his brother is alive. The " dead " man is aged 82 years. RETURN OF THE RUBY. Rubies are coming into their own again in England. They make a bold sho.vv in the fashionable large-hinged, bracelets, alternating with diamonds, and on a bed of scintillating stones set in pave fashion. The diamond and ruby shoulder-strap to match the bracelet is the very latest'idea of chic but costly simplicity. It is a lovely completion to a gown of heavy white velvet.

Coloured stones have been gradually returning to 'favour. Last year diamonds or pearls seemed to be standing alone in a somewhat exclusive manner. Now many coloured gems are used to relieve the dead white gown, to give vivid " splash " to the all-black one, or to accentuate the beauty of a glorious harmony in several shades. BERLIN COUNCIL IN DISGRACE. Berlin is in disgrace. -Extravagance and mismanagement, under Socialist and Communist rule, have reached such a pass that the Prussian Government has been forced to intervene and to supervise the finances of the city. Matters came to a head when the city council voted the sum of £300,000 for Christmas gratuities for the unemployed, who' had already received the dole, regardless of the fact that the money could only be got by borrowing. The reply of the Government was prompt. J The mayor was informed that expenditure beyond a certain limit would not be permitted, and an'order was made that the council must, pay at least £250.000 a month into .. the Prussian State Bank to form a fund for the extinction of the debt. WORLD AND ITS GOLD. A total of 1,003,500,000 ounces of gold, worth about £4,000,000,000, have been produced throughout the world since the discovery of America. If cast in a cube this mass would make a block of 38.5 ft. on each edge. Only 467,000.000 ounces of the metal exist, in monetary stocks, valued at £187,000,000, the rest having been lost or absorbed in other than monetary uses. These are some of the facts dealt with in an economic review of. world gold production between 1493 and 1927, just completed by Mr. R. A. Bidgeway and his staff of tho common metals division of the British Columbia Bureau of Mines. Mr. Scott Turner, the director, said that scattered production of gold not included in the report would not add more than 1 per cent, to tlie total estimated ion.JUDGE'S UNUSUAL SENTENCE. Judge Hugh Morris in the United States District Court at Wilmington, Delaware, recently, sentenced a prisoner -who pleaded guilty to having stolen a motor-car to write 260 letters, at the rate of one each Sunday for five years. " This is the first time that I have paroled anyone to myself, the Judge said. " I do not know whether you are worth it or not. I want you to write to me every Sunday, so that I will receive the letters ou Monday ; not only telling me about your work,' but telling mo what you are doing and what your thoughts are and your plans for the future, so that I may really know you. " Fail to send one letter and you will go to the Federal penitentiary for three years. Do not change your residence or your .occupation without consulting me. The parole is for five years." WHAT A. SHIP DRINKS. In a 12,000-ton liner each of six boilers carries 60 tons of water. Each boiler loses about two tons on a day's steaming, and this has to made good. So an extra 300 tons of fresh water has to be carried to feed the boilers. Thus, for the boilers alone, the ship needs 660 tons of water. . In addition to tins there is the ballast as the liner rids herself of fresh water, stores, and coal, her ballast has to be increased. Finally, there are 550 tons of water for the crow and passengers' needs. Almost 60 tons of fresh water are consumed every day. Yes, this 12,000-ton liner carires nearly 1800 tons of water. All this water is kept in tanks in the double bottom of tho ship. These tanks arc cleaned out every run, so are always spotlessly clean. Even the water stored •in tlie lifeboats is changed before every passage out.