NEWS FROM NEAR AND FAR.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 101, 9 April 1907, Page 6

NEWS FROM NEAR AND FAR.

A correspondent of the London 'Daily Telegraph ' tells an amusing story of the art of deception. A lady, accompanied by a little pet dog which she carried m her arms, visited her dressmaker. While there another customer arrived with a fox terrier. The latter became extremely excited, and the pet dog showed unmistakable signs of alarm. At last the little one jumped from the lady's lap to the ground, and was promptly seized by the terrier, who shook it vigorously till the skin came off, revealing a rat. It 6 owner recovered without demur the price given for it on application to the vendors, who were doubtless pleased to get off so lightly. Ia the bridge mania on the wane? Oejtainly not as regards London (says a gossip of the 'World'), for scarcely a dinner party ia given without bridge to follow, while afternoon parties and tournaments have been more numerous than ever this winter. But very often a fashion starts m the country, and is only tardily accepted byLondoners. Will this be the case with dominoes? I hear that during the great New Year's party at Chatsworth members of the house party became devotees of the game, which has also been played at many other country houses this winter. Of course for those who wish to have a "flutter," m the parlance of the day, there are infinite possibilities of winning -(and losing) at dominoes as at bridge. For a stretch of twenty-two miles the Colorado River, m Texas, has bridged itself with logs of wood, which have jammed so tightly from one bank to the other that even dynamite is powerless, to clear away. It was at first only a slight jam of logs, which three or foiir mem could have dealt with effectively ; but- it has grown at an enormous rate, and, m some places, has become solid ground, with vegetation, and trees growing upon it. Roads have been cut through, over which teams cross from bank to bank as unconcernedly as though a great river was not rolling swiftly underneath. The monster raft has become an object of interest to tourists ; but the authorities- are taking steps to break up the bfidge as soon as possible. The following original letter wa6 read at the last meeting of the Auckland City Council from Mr Patrick Harkins, a resident of Ponsonby: — "Honored sirs,— Here we sit, myself and wife and three young New Zealanders, all covered m horse manure, bits of broken glass, banana skins, peanut shells, and God knows what else. We have got this lot m our eyes, mouths, ears, and our best Sunday clothes spoiled, by simply taking a walk along the Ponsonby road on this, the Sabbath day. We only got a short distance when the three children and wife were stone blind with sand and waste .metal, 60 I led them home, and here we sit. Sirs, is it a sin to put a water cart on the roads on Sunday, when everybody goes out m his best clothes? Cr. Smeeton knows a deal about the Scriptures, and I am sure he would kindly let your honorable petitioner know if that is the reason that we never have a water cart on thef street on Sunday." The rapid transpositions of colonial life have rarely been more strikingly exemplified (says the 'Wairarapa Daily Times') than they, were m the case of a roadman for the Eketahuna County Council. No sooner was he dispensed with by the overseer than he. became nominated for the Council, and, making an active canvass, swiftly became the overseer's employer. This complete turning of the tables only occupied a few days, and it is now the talk of the county. Advice has been received that the Council of the Institute of Civil Engineers have agreed to recognise the engineering degrees of the University of New Zealand, thus placing the hall-mark on the College School of Engineering m connection with Canterbury College. On. the arrival of the P. and 0. steamer Victoria at Plymouth recently the suicide was reported of a passenger named George Hutchinson. Hutchinson, who was a second class passenger, cut his throat with a razor m his cabin m the presence of a steward. The latter made a desperate attempt to prevent the act, but Hutchinson, who _tood over six feet, felled him to the deck, and then, going to a mirror, almost severed his head from his body. Hutchinson, who was twenty-eight years of age, was returning from Colombo, where he had been an overseer of native tea planters. He served throygh the South African War as a seTgeant m the Imperial Yeomanry, and had been m Ceylon ever since the close of the war.

The Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland have adopted the following resolution: — "That m viefa of tho .present social difficulties and serious civil disabilities arising from the illegality of marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and especially m consideration of the facts that no authority of Scripture can be urged against such marriages, that Bills m favor ot legalising them have passed each House of Parliament, that the laws of our colonies and English-speaking peoples generally -permit them, and that a very large section

of public opinion approves them, this Council ask the Government to promote a measure to legalise them m England." While Mrs Victory, the wife of a laborer, of Glasgow, was nursing her eigh teen-months-old girl, the child suddenly expired. At the same time a girl who had been nursing Mrs Victory's six-weeks-old baby boy handed him to his mother, stating that he had been coughing. The second child also expired immediately the mother had taken him m her arms. Quoting the opinion of a naval expert, the Tokio ' Hochi ' says that, according to the systems at present known, ships cannot be constructed to exceed 20,000 tons, while guns cannot be made of larger calibre than 12in.