General News Items

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21159, 16 April 1932, Page 5 (Supplement)

General News Items

MINES IN THE NORTH SEA. Although more than 33 years have passed since the war ended, fishermen of the North Sea are still menaced by occasional floating mines. Whenever a mine is sighted it is hauled from the water by a Government vessel and a detonating fuse is attached. The explosive mass is lowered carefully back into the sea and watched from a safe distance until it explodes. protection from gas attacks. Classes have been established in Berlin to train women in the steps they must take for the protection of their household in the event of a gas attack from the air. Lectures are given on such subjects « 5 how to make cellars gas-proof. Branches of the "Women's Air Defence League " are bei"g established in several centres throughout the country. actor enters monastery. / A promising young French actor, M. Pierre Fanbert, who suddenly disappeared from the Theatre Francais, is believed to j, a ve entered a monastery. In a letter to the manager of the Coniedio Francaiso Company, of which he was a pupil, he said that he had " gone in search of a simpler and more normal life." During the lasj, year two young French actresses took the veil just as they wcro becoming famous. MORE BLOOD GIFTS WANTED. One hundred more volunteers are wanted by the Leeds Blood Transfusion Service. * The service was started a year ago as the result of an appeal for a service of blood donors for the Leeds General Infirmary and other hospitals and nurs.ng homes in the city. ' More than 300 people were quickly enrolled in the service, but at the first annual meeting of the service, held in the Leeds General, Infirmary recently, it was announced that it bad been decided to appeal for a further hundred volunteers. SAFE DOOR WEIGHING 20 TONS. There is a steel fortress under a Lon- • don building which will defv the wit of the most; enterprising burglar to open. It. is a new Safe Deposit below Dorland House in Regent Street, with doors built to resist explosives, drills, or even the electric arc. The main door weighs 20 tons and is fitted with a time lock which / can be set to prevent the door being opened lor three hours in any circumstances. When Sir Josjah Stamp opened this Safe Deposit, he recalled tne fact that it \rns over 100 years since Jeremiah Chubb invented his first, lork and safe. To-day, ha said, over fifty million locks are made in a year and 6000 skilled men are employed all over the world in making them.

PRINCIPLES OF TRADE UNIONS. A plasterer damaged a brick in the course of Ins work on a new housing estate in South London. He began to • replace it, but was told by the foreman that it was not his job. So the plasterer waited \:.ntil a bricklayer working three miles away could be sent for to replace the damaged brick. The plasterer, in expostulating at the delay accidentally put his arm through r window. As a practical workman he / wanted to replace the broken glass. He was not permitted to do so. A glazier bad to he summoned from an adjoining tttate to do a simple job and neglect bis own work. This is, cited by the Sunday Express, the latest example of Britain's trade union regulations. ''LONDON'S PIGEON PROBLEM. " London pigeons are not what they •were." said an official pigeon killer. "They don't get the grit nowadays. At first, we sold them to Lascars, but now there is no demand, because city pigeons are all oil and petrol—inside and out. "We have killed 21,000 pigeons since we Started in 1927, and latterly they wave all been cremated in the city incinerator because there was no sale for them." The visible decrease in pigeons in the City of London is slight compared with the thousands slain. Pigeons are always breeding in other boroughs, where there are no pigeon killers, and the birds fly into the city to be fed about 11 a.m. every day. At 3 p.m. they fly back—heavily—- ' to their homes. Their only mistake is to fly into the city also on Sundays, where the Corporation pigeon killer is quietly waiting for them. FIRST GASLIGHT IN LONDON.

One hundred and twenty-five years ago —in 1807—for the first time in history, a city street was lit by gas. The city v.'as London, and the street Pall Mall. r lhe enterprise of a Gerrrufn called Winzer —after changed-' to Windsor —was responsible Such was his belief in the new illumination that he floated "The New Patriotic Imperial and National Light and Heat Company." Winzer's modest estimate of the profits was £229.000,000 a year, out of which he proposed to redeem the National Debt, in addition to paying his shareholders 1000 per cent. The company soon died, but Winter must be given credit for assisting in bringing gas lighting into popular favour. Few, however, will concede his right to the inscription on his tomb •n Kenss] Green Cemetery: "That was the true light which lighteth every man that conieth into the world." ' MOTORISTS AND CATS. A motorist, in-Britain must stop if he ru,ls °y c >' a dog, but not if lie runs over a *?t. "1 hi s little-known fact was menilo j af - ail inquest at Hammersmith, A° n n. lately. Under the Road Traffic " . a ca " is not included among animals, |lch ai c defined as any 14 horse, cattle, ® s s, nine, sheep, pig. goat, or dog." ' e '" an accident involving anv of these jpotorist must stop or report it. »|it. must not be killed with impunity. '• Jf a person left a cat lying on e roa d after running it down lie can be I-roseeuted under the Protection of Animals .Act, of 1911." an official says. " He could Ke prosecuted for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal." An official at the Automobile Associa'on said lie believed the reason cats were *>ot included in the Road Traffic Act was that they were regarded as " nomadic j animals " and not so domesticated as the others. A NICHE IN HISTORY. Satisfaction ) j;is come at long last to he inhabitants of the small Suffolk vi 1 - age of Hnek wold, and Londoners have •"ought it. t<> them. Nearly three centimes ago Queen Llizabeth and Lord -ssex started the first coursing meeting ®*ei held at 'he little .Norfolk market •■»?'*" 01 SwaffUam, a few miles from Uorkwofd. '.waffhani immediately found its niche J! history, ;tin 1 for three centuries Hock„°'(l has been saying it was all unfair. ~ . ' e 't hares of the llatlands around j 3 v iHage stronger than in all the ef >t of tlie world ? And could any place P o\icle better facilities for sport?" has e eu the te_\t of their complaint for generations. lr ' s changed now. Recently fori?' ' Vas ,na( ' e over again, when, . the 'irs| time ever, racing greyhounds <l> n' i'' va ' s i" the old way and leiignd their supremacy. The occasion thfl using meeting organised by S « ou ''"n tracks, in conjunction with ■HocWoid Coursing Club.

A BISHOP'S CONFESSION. " My handwriting, from being bad in youth, has become past praying for in age. A letter 1 once wrote to a friend was taken to a chnnist to be made up as a prescript ion ! " This confession was made by (he Bishop of Bradford. Dr. A? W. F. Blunt, real 1 l:r speech day of tho Carlton High School lor Boys. He said if handwriting had been ,i necessary qualification ho would never liave got a job. TRICKS PLAYED ON " THE DEVIL." " Tho strange mixture of humanity that is Shanghai can perhaps be typified best by an incident, which can be seen during almost any walk," says Mr. Douglas Massie in tho Nev Leader. A Chinaman vill run across the front of a quickly movii g motor-car, just escaping with his life," says Mr. Massie. " He will then stop, rib his hands together, and laugh hugely, but not at his escape, lie believed that a devil was following him—and he has lured the devil into being run over!" A BIT OF OLD ENGLAND. An American hi.s just shipped a bit of Old England off to Long Island. This timo it is not a house, but a gardener. 1 he American we.it one day to Hampton Court and fell in love with the gardens, as men have dono for 400 years. Tho visitor coild not ship Wolsoy's Palace across tho sea, so ho sought out the superintendent, of tho gardens, William James Marlow, and asked him to go to Long Island, tHere to lay out gardens as like the Tudo;: stylo as possible. So when the royal gardener's 33 years of service finished ho set off for the New World. DISCOVERIES NEAR JERUSALEM. The Depart inert, of Antiquities, excavating several n iles north-west, of the city of Jerusalem, has unearthed remains of foundations and pieces of Mosaic flooring, also a small sacrifice stone about two feet, high, us>d probably for tho immolation of animils. This site is supposed to be one of many small sacrifice temples of a purely local nature, which abounded during the time of tho Roman occupation of tho Holy Land. It is expectecj. vhat further research in the vicinity will yield many more remains, as there are signs of ancient habitation near the perennial gorge springs in the Jericho foothills, which aro being harnessed for Jerusalem's water supply. EASY PAYMENT MARRIAGES. In South Africa, if a native wants a wife, negroes go out and buy one. The price, of course, depends largely upon the girl's charms. A fat one may be j worth a good many cows, but one can have i .i thin one much cheaper, for slimming j is not admired in South Africa. Recently the natives have been hard hit by the providing world depression, and there has been a distinct slump in marriages becauso would-be suitors could not deliver the cows. Prospective fathers-in-law with supplies of eligible daughters are now offering especially attractive terms. One can obtain immediate delivery by paying one cow down and promising the rest at the rate of one a year.

CHEAP " OLD MASTER." A much-sought-after old master, which had disappeared from view for 200 years and which was considered by art experts to have been lost recently, came to light in London i:i strange circumstances. r lhe discovery was made accidentally by an art dealer. He was looking casually round the Caledonian Market, and purchased a French print to add to his collection for a few shillings. "I had no id?a that the print was of any great value," he said. But on turning the corner up very carefully I noticed pigment. Then 1 found that underneath was a very old painting of a scene outside Rome. I instantly recognised it as a fine specimen of the work of Giovanni Panini, a famous Italian artist, who died in !.754. Its value is about £500." MECHANICAL CHEQUE-SIGNER. Soon the London County Council will be having all its cheques signed by machine. A cheque signer, which has been installed, is a machine that prints from plates, and is worked by electricity. It weighs a hundred-weight, but is easy to handle, and has several safety features. Two keys, for example, as in a safety deposit box, are required to unlock the machine.

Combined with the autograph signature are a half-tone background and a photograph, which may be either that of an official or some insignia. The speed of the machine will be a thousand cheques an hour. Larger machines, which are widely used in the United States, where they are manufactured, will print and stack as many as seven or eight thousand an hour.

WAR MEMORIAL GOES TO AUCTION. It lately was decided (hat Walt hamstow town's war memorial, one of the first to be erected in Great Britain, should be sold by auction. Built in 1917, the memorial consists of a branch of the Y.M.C.A., and was erected by means of funds provided by local people. Mr. Hazzlegrove, a member of the board of trustees of the memorial, said recently that there had been a deficit in the accounts every year since the memorial was opened. The arrears are now £2OCO. It was decided to close the building owing to lack of public support, but it is hoped that after all debts have been paid there will be sufficient balance to endow a bed in the Connaught Hospital in place of the memorial.

HUGE GIFT IN JEOPARDY. Surprising though it may seem in these hard times, France has not yet taken advantage of (he of:'er of a gift of 6.000,000 dollars (£1.200,0C0 at par) made by tho Rockefeller Foundation two years ago. The object was to make possible, the construction of a model Faculty of Medicine in Paris. The condition was that a similar sum should be raised in I'ranee. There was every prospect until a few months ago that the necessary contribution would come from Iho Government in the form of a credit allocated under the National Fquipinent Plan recently voted bv Parliament. N'o such provision was made, however, for tho simple reason that agreement had not been reached on the question of where tho proposed laboratory and oilier new buildings should be constructed. Unless the site is found soon the offer of the Rockefeller Foundation rnav be withdrawn.

FROM TRAWLER TO TABLE, Cheaper fish for the housewife and work for a number of unemployed ex Servi e men are two good things which have been secured by a scheme recently launched under the auspices of the British Legion. 'l'lic fcheino started when two ex-Service employers asked the Legion for help in finding agents to distribute fish " direct from trawler to consumer."

As a result of this approach, 200 men were found employment in Yorkshire on this work, and three fish distribution companies were financed by the Legion Relief Fund. These three companies have agreed to devote all their profit's to extending the business, so that they will provide more and more work for e.\Serivce men as tine goes on. The Legion found employment for 17,291 men in 1931.

THE LUSITANIA'S TREASURE. Work has begun at Dartmouth, England, on the world's greatest steel tube — 27511. in length, sft. in width, and made in one piece of half-inch steel. The tube will be used in (he salvaging of treasures from the Lusitania. This work will bdgin on May 7, the 17th anniversary of the sinking of the liner by a German submarine off the coast, of t.ounty Clare. An effort will bo made to broadcast by the divers while tbev are exploring the wreck at a depth of "16 fathoms. DEFIANT ISLANDERS AND TAXES. Islanders living off Galway County refuse to jiav their taxes and tho County Council does not know what to do. In the. case of some islands off the coast no person can bo found, even with the offer <if very attractive remuneration, (o undertake the position of collector, and where collectors are available on (lie mainland owners of boats have refused to facilitate their passage to the islands. On a few occasions tho Civic Guards have persuaded th o owners to lend their service and their boats, qr then; boats alone, for the guards to cross. In such cases tho guards have met with anything but a cordial reception. FUNERALS ON THE GOLD COAST. 'I ho House of Commons laughed a good deal recently when the President of tho Board of Trade, Mr. Runciman, was arguing on the delicacy of operations for balancing imports and exports. The Mines Act, ho said, had not, extended tho export of coal; it, - had by statute limited export; and no wonder they wero faced with depression in tho coal trade. We have discovered," Mr. Runciman went on, " very amusing results frnm our Abnormal Imports Orders. Who would have thought that ono of tho articles in our Order would have interfered with funerals on the Gold Coast? By preventing Ihe importation of frock coats from the United States of America to Stepney, where they are refaccd and prepared for export to "the West Coast of Africa, we have added considerably to I tho expenses of tho negro obsequies." • NAVY PENSIONER FOR 77 YEARS. Mr. Peter Webb, agerl 98 years who was wounded in the Crimean War, has drawn £3,856 from tho Government since he. was pensioned out of the navy. He has been a naval pensioner for 77 years and an army pensioner for 33 years. " And when 1 have had £4OOO out of the Government, I shall die happy," said Mr. Webb. Mr. Webb was the youngest mfcmber of (he irew of 11.M.5. Firebrand, which, in | 1854, captured a Russian fort in (lie Blnrk i Sea. Almost as soon as ho landed in the i captain's boat lie was wounded in both legs by musket shot. " I took part in the bombardment, of Sebastopol," said Mr. Webb, " and then I went home. The doctors had a look at my legs and gave 1110 a pension of sixpence a day. A year later they had another look; and because they thought I could not last long they gave me a pension for life." BIRD RECITES NURSERY RHYMES. British and foreign birds valued at £30,000, were exhibited at tho national show of cage birds at tho Crystal Palace, [ London, recently. Gathered under one roof were 5000 of the finest birds in the kingdom. They included: —A lesser bird of paradise from New Guinea, valued at £150; an Amazon parrot, which swore at tho fog and talked to visitors; a Budgerigar from Fdghaston, which whistles dogs, calls blackbirds, speaks 12 sentences, and recites " Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Sing a Song of Sixpence." There were two blue, masked lovebirds, entered by the Zoological Society and bred at the London Zoo, valued at £2OO, and Parisian frilled canaries, whose coats are groomed and arranged daily like the coats of French poodles. All known varieties of canaries competed for cups and prizes valued at over £IOOO. The Roller canary singing birds were an exclusive set. They had "singing lessons." They gavo individual selections to tho judges.

SHORTER SPEECHES FOR M.P.s. Shorter speeches may become the rule in the House of Commons if a movement now being launched is Successful. A number of M.P.s supporting the National Government have agreed to lake part in <1 " time-limit " scheme. They pledge themselves not to speak for longer than ten minutes, however well their contribution may bo received, or however much they may have left to say. Schemes of this sort have been mooted before. When long speeches are made, the number of speakers who can contribute to a debate is severely limited, and many members with something really important to say may be shut out altogether. Of course. Front Benchers cannot al ways be brief, but it is felt that many private members talk for too long, it is suggested that, if the Speaker had a list of " ten-minute " names, ho might givo these members preference when they lose to speak.

SOME HUNGARIAN INVENTIONS. Hungarians are prolific in new ideas, and the latest list of inventions includes some amusing as well as useful items A speed regulator by which the pace of a vehicle can be verified from a distance may solve the problem of traffic regulation when it is made compulsory. The invention is covered with glass, and at a normal speed shines yellow; when the speed reaches double that of normal the glass appears red. The invention automatically puts the speed back to normal when the limit is outstepped, but on highroads, where speed i s unlimited, the invention can be switched off by the driver. Another interesting invention is a collapsible theatre which can be set up and taken down in a minimum of time, and should prove a boon to touring companies. A shoe which never loses its shape sounds original, and tin's footgear can be quickly re-soled and re-lined by its owner without the assistance of a shoemaker. Another eternal match is put forward, with an unimflammablc stick, which can be perpetually re-headed by piercing new phosphorus disks. WORLD'S DEEPEST MINES. The two deepest mines in the world are both gold mines One is the Village T)eep, near .Johannesburg, where gold oro is being cut at a depth of nearly a mile and a-half; the other is the San Juan do Hey Mines, in Brazil, which has reached a depth of nearly 7000 ft. The chief difficulty in working at such a tremendous depth is the heat, which, at the bottom of the Brazilian mines, reaches 117 degrees Fahrenheit, or nearly the. temperature of a Turkish bath. The air has to be cooled with ice, yet even so the men can work only in short spells of about, two hours.

Speaking of (ho l.ont in deep mines, I lift late Sir diaries Parsons, of steamturbine fame, always insisted that if money were forthcoming, it would bo possible to sink a shaft to a depth of twelve miles. A huge brine-circulating system would be used to cool the pit sufficiently for the workers to carry on, and Ihe whole machinery would bo driven by electric power. Sir Charles estimated (hat. I lie work would take 85 years to complete and would cost over £5,000,000. Yet, in spile of this gigantic cost, the schemo would pay, for such a hole would give endless and immense power.

A SLOW SCORER. Two small boys were discussing their respective families, and after having dealt with everyone else had arrived at their grandfathers. " Mino was 95 yesterday," said one proudly. " Isn't that wonderful ?" " Not very," was the grudging reply. " Look how long it lias taken him to do it." McPHERSON'S WEDDING. McPherson was to bo married. " Ye'll bo givin' us a send-off?" ho inquired of his best man. " We will." " With rico and white ribbons?" " Aye." " And old shoes thrown after us?" " Oh, aye, of course." " Well—l wear eiglils, an' Janet takes fours." HE WAS BETRAYED. George was pouring out. his unhappy experience to his friend at the club. " And what caused you to leave before the meeting was over ?" asked the latter. George looked uncomfortable. " W-well," ho stammered, " the lecturer stated th;ii| one's shady character is denoted on tho lower part of the face." " Well, what of that?" asked the other. The, dejected one lowered his voice. " Why," bo murmured, " I-I'vo got a double chin." AN EASY JOB. Pat was obviously very pleased wilh life. Later he met Mike. " Well," said 11 is friend, " how do you like your new job?" "Sure, Mike, it's the foincst I've ever known," lie returned. " Begorrah, and what do you have to do?" asked Alike. "I've nothing at all to do." said (he other. " I just carries a load of bricks up the ladder to tho bricklayer, and he does all the work." LOSS OF THREEPENCE. Bobby, the son of the house, was looking very thoughtful. "What is the matter, my son?" asked his mother. "Well, mum," he said, "I think I've lost threepence to-day." " You silly boy," she laughed. " Why do you think you've lost it ?" " Well, mum," ho replied, " T wanted sixpence, but I only asked dad for threepence, and lie paid up without saying a word." A WOMAN IN THE CASE. The court was.hushed. Counsel for tho defence arose and turned to the man in the witness-box. " You have asserted that Ihe accused stole your watch," commenced the barrister. " I'm almost certain ho did," said tho man. " Had tho watch any special mark of identification?" asked the barrister The man in the witness-box had a ready reply. " os," he said, "my sweetheart's portrait was in the back of it." " All," put in tho judge, with a merry twinkle in his eye, •• a woman In tho cane."

DEATH IN DISCOMFORT. The new vicar's wife was conscientiously visiting the parishioners. Looking round Widow Giles' nicely furnished cottage she observed, " I imagine your husband was in fairly comfortable circumstances when lie died." "Oh, 110, ma'am, indeed no," said old Mrs. Giles earnestly, " he was half-way under a "'bus." THE RECORD BREAKER. Tho flying field was crowded at. the finish of the air race, and preat was the astonishment when the winning plane descended and out of it stepped an unknown amateur. The representatives of the press surged forward. "Wonderful achievement!" the spokesman shouted. " You've broken all records foi a non-stop (light. How did you do it ?"

" Well, to tell you the truth," the rank outsider answered, modestly, " I think luck had something to do with it. I didn't find out until about, five minutes ago how to stop the darned thing."

BEDS WERE ALL ALIKE. In the grey light of early morning (he traveller faced the night clerk of (ho country hotel. ou gave me the worst bed in the place," he began. "If you don't changa my bed before to-night, 'l shall go to another hotel." • There's no difference in tho beds, sir," replied the clerk, respectfully. 'I he traveller smiled ironicallv. "If that' s so," ho said, " perhaps you wouldn't mind giving me the room on tho left, of mine ?" " It's occupied, sir." " I know it is—by a man who has been snoring all night, and who was at it ten minutes ago. His bed must be belter (bail mine, or he couldn't sleep for six ■solid hours at a stretch." " The I jeds arc all alike," repeated (he clerk, firmly. " That, man has been here before, sir, and he always sleeps on tho floor!" 1

ONLY HER PARTNER. " It's funny, Mabel," ho said, as they one-stepped in the dance hall, " but that chap over there has been following us about all the time. Who is lie, and what is he after ? " " That miserable-looking, half-starved fellow in the spotted tie?" remarked Mabel casually. " Don't worry about him; he's only the fellow who paid for me to come in." EFFECT OF FISH DIET. A visitor was strolling round the small fishing village with his host. " What do all these people eat ?" he asked. " Fish, mostly," the host responded. " But," said the visitor, " I thought fish was a brain food ? These are really the most unintelligent-looking people l I ever saw!" " Well," replied the host, " just, think of what they would look like if they didn't eat fish!" NEVER AGAIN.

Tn a loud voice a man in a restaurant called his friend back just as the latter was leaving, and then whispered to him: " How far would you have gone if I hadn't called you ?" The other, straightening himself up, replied, in a tone loud enough for all to hear: "No, sir, 1 won't lend you £5; I haven't got it, on me, and if I had I wouldn't lot you have it until you have paid me what you borrowed two months ago." His friend will never play a joke in public again. QUITE IMPOSSIBLE. Tho schoolmistress was trying to give her young pupils an illustration of tho word " perseverance." " What is it," sho said poetically, that carries a man along rough roads and smooth roads, up tho hills and down the hills, across tho valley and through the pass, through the mighty jungle, swamps, deserts and raging torrents, across the i sun-drenched veldt and the wind-swept plain? " There was a long silence, and presently liltlo Freddie, whose father was the owner of the villago garage, roso to his feet. " Please, teacher," he said rather knowingly, " there isn't such a car! " TRICK WITH A CARROT. An angler went fishing in forbidden water. Ho knew the keeper would bo coining along, so he baited his line with a carrot. The keeper came. " You can't fish here," lie said. " Sorry; I didn't know I was trespassing," tho angler replied. " Pin only just amusing myself." Ife, began to draw in his line. The keeper saw tho carrot. "What's that you're using as bait?" he asked. " A carrot." said the angler. ''Oil!" The keeper laughed. "You won't do much harm with that!" And ho walked off. Later in the afternoon he returned and saw the angler with a tidy catch trout. " not going to tell me you caught nil those with a carrot?" he asked. " No," said the angler, " I only caught you with that!"