GENERAL NEWS.

Patea Mail, Volume XLIV, 24 November 1920, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

FOOLHARDY AIRMAN. The Paris press is demanding thnt severe pc f Hies should be exacted from the aviator, who, it is contended, in contravention of the police regulations rcccnly indulged in a series of fantastic evolutions which terminated in his crashing in a school playground at Montrouge School (Seine), and killed four children and seriously injuring a fifth. MAN FOR .SALE FOR £BOO. LIFE FOR SALE Ex-sailor, young, physically fit, willing to obey every command for the rest of my life of the person who will pay the stipulated price. No offer less that £BOO accepted. This is the advertisement of <T. Hardy, a seaman now living in New York, according to the Tribune of that city. Hardy is sft. (;in., weighs 10st., and is 23. In an interview, Hardy said that he required the money to repay a debt to (lie woman who brought him up after his mother's death, which occurred when he was a child. MOTHER CHARGES BOY OF 0. A boy of nine, Ernest Horcs, was charged at Willesden with stealing an undergarment belonging to his mother. Asked by Mr. Godson, the magistrate, why he stole, the child replied, "For money!" "And why did you want money.'" asked the magistrate. "To buy an apple," answered the boy. Although his mother had taken him to the police station, she was not present in court, and the magistrate, addressing the youngster, said: "This is most distressing—parents who bring such a charge as this should be punshed themselves." He remanded the boy for her attendance. THE CZAR'S JEWELS... Russian jewels (including some of the famous .gems of the Imperial regalia) are being sold in Britain and abroad at the rate of £IOO,OOO, and at prices far below their real value (says the Sunday Chronicle). Those already smuggled into Britain are worth many millions sterling. Some have been disguised. The two large diamonds from the Russian Imperial Crown have been'split, thus greatly reducing their value, but rendering their sale easier. Other portions of the regalia have been stripped of their precious gems, and necklaces have been split up anil re-made. Dealers, both in England and on the Continent have been warned to be on the look-out for certain of these articles.

CHINAMAN'S 'CUIUOt'S WILL. Bequests for funerals and marriages were left by Chang Cheng Sien, a planter, ofMalacca .Straits Settlements, who died last November. Among these are:— £IOOO for wife's funeral. £2OO for funeral expenses of each of three of his concubines. £(500 for marriage celebrations of an adopted daughter. £4OO similarly for his nephew. £2OO similarly for each of three nieces and another adopted daughter. £2OO for the funeral expenses of his brother, Chang Hong Quec. His house for the use of his wife and his chcif concubine, provided that it shall serve as the repository of his ancestral tablets so long as any child of his shall live. A PRESIDENT'S SALAKY. As he is not a rich man, M. Millcrand, the new French President, may find the financial aspect of the presidency somewhat of tin anxiety (says the Daily Chronicle). The salary and allowances of the office total about £48,000 per annum, but most Presidents have been unable to meet all expenses without some recourse to their private purse. Af. Felix Faure ran through his considerable fortune while in office, and died in debt, and Mine. Carnot described the Llysee as "a place where one is both bored and ruined." M. Fallieres, however, was alleged to have spent only a sixth of his allowance, and M. Grewey, too, was notoriously cheese-paring, But both suffered in popularity for their economy. EIGHT PIKATES CAUGHT. One of the rarest of present-day criminal trials, though one of a type which used to be frequent enough 200 years ago, is listed for the assize court at Aix-le-Provence. It is a trial for piracy on the high seas. Eight men are accused. They arc Georgians and alleged to form part of a band of ruffians who some months ago boarded the French steamer Souirah in the Black Sea as steerage passengers, and, when the vessel was out at sea, overpowered the officers and crew, capturing the ship. They were 30 all told, and were heavily armed. They did not kill anyone, but having locked up the crew and Hie passengers, ransacked the cabins, stealing a quarter of a million pounds in mor.ey and jewels. Then they anchored the vessel oil' the shore, and taking to the boats,-'de-camped. These eight men were found af Trebizond, and were arrested through the decisive a>-lioii of the French Admiral de Bon.