Empire and Foreign News in Brief

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17510, 7 March 1931, Page 13

Empire and Foreign News in Brief

QJHIIMIIIIiInIIIIIIKIMIMIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIII 2tym*stop Bridge at Sea "> " , JPHIUADELBHIA, Jan. 11. Two hundred and fifty bridge fans boarded tfie liner Republic to-day with the intention, of playing bridge continuously throughout her 16-day trip to the West Indies. , Mr. Wilbur Whitehead, an American authority on bridge, has organised the expedition. Woman's Deattt Grip •iOjjPO'N. Jan. 12. Mrs. MjtfMreJ Annie. Eclair. 40, a miner's wife- and mother, of eight children, "was electrocuted In a cinema at Sherbjjm Hill, near Durham. She ana | her 'husband , were caretakers of'the building, arid she had gone there to do'certain work. She was washing the floor of the paybox when a scream waV heard, and. Mp. Adair was fottnd lying face downwards, clutching an electric 'heater with .her hand, in which she,,hacl a wet plotli; The worniin was u*eau before her grip could be released, which was done by an ambulance man after insulating himself. Baby Born is & Prison , . LONDON, Jan. 9. A still-born baby was born in Durham Prison yesterday to Mrs. Jane Hannah Benfold, j 39, who was on Wednesday tbe p Durfia)n;Cp\inty magis;trate*s for a weetf, charged with the ,?%miirden pf her husband at Southmoor on •Mrs. Benfold was arrested on Now Year's Day-, ,'a few hours after the death of her mother. French Lawyers Eno! Strike LYONS (France), Jan. 24. The first strike oi lawyers ever to occur in France has terminated; here, aft*: intefyentton by Minister 6f Justice ! Henry Chei'on. The dispute arose OTer an_ incident between lawyers ana* magistrates, but now all is forgotten and. prisoners are being defended as usual. Seaplanes for Coffee KR)' DE jiNElfiO, Jan. 14. ' The newspaper 0 i JornaJ states that the Government of Brazil is to take 11 ojf the Italian seaplanes .which took part in' General Balbo's formation flight across the Atlantic, in exchange for 50,000 sacks of coffee, which have been in store for some time at Genoa.

New York Harbor Scheme WASHINGTON, Jan. 14. The long fight to secure the 1000 ft. piers in the Hudson River was won yesterday, when Mv. Hurley, the Secretary for War. approved the modification of the harbor lines both on the New York and New Jersey sides. The cost will be £IS.COOXOJ. According to an announcement issued, the port will be able to accommodate steamships of the ICOOft, class. Bridegroom Drops Dead LONDON, Jan. 9. After eight hours of married life—their second venture in each case—two ■Septuagenarians were parted by death at Bristol yesterday. The bridegroom, was Captain W. Bfibb, 72, a retired sea captain, and the bride, Mrs. Marian Foster, 71, a former nur.se. They were married yesterday morning at Bristol Register Office,, a sister of the bride, also over 70, acting as bridesmaid. They were discussing future plans over a cup of tea during the afternoon when Captain Babb collapsed and died. Triplets "Epidemic" MALAGA (Spain), Jan. 19. An "epidemic" of triplets is causing rising concern among th'e people of Malaga. Patricia Gomez and her three infants were, doingi fine yesterday. Her trio was the fifth set of triplets born in the last two weeks. Transvaal Drought Broken PRETORIA, Jan. 8. In view of the exceptional drought the Prime Minister Inst week-end re- ! quested the Churches to pray for rain. There lias been general rain since that time, and exceptionally heavy rain in Pretoria caused damage estimated at £IO,OOO to the roads and sidewalks. Reform of the Calendar ROME, Jan. 18. The Italian .Committee, appointed by the Committee for Foreign Affairs for considering the reform of the calendar, has , decided unanimously against any change. The problem was j studied from the astronomical, social, .commercial, banking, scholastic, and [religious standpoints.

Montreal Snowfall Record MONTREAL, Jan. 21. Setting a record for recent years, (the snowfall which ended overnight !totalled 10.7 in., giving employment, to some 1(1,000 men throughout the city, which to-day was rapidly digging itself from under the snow. Traffic was not as badly tied up as usual, though municipalities surrounding Montreal had souk,' difficulty in keeping roads open. Traffic throughout the Province of Quebec was serious] v affected. Many cars were stalled. Newspaper Merger LONDON, Jan. 2.°.. An amalgamation of great importance to the English-reading intelligentsia throughout the world will be effected shortly between the w.eok-end journals, The Nation and The New , Statesman. The former will be 'merged in the latter. I The Nation, particularly under the editorship of IT. W. Mossingham, gained an authoritative place in leftwing Liberalism. The New Statesman is inclined more to Labor. The two papers in essentials have differed perhaps only slightly. The field for first-class week-end journals of an intellectua] character is limited, but one newcomer born of the differences arising out of the Empire free trade crusade seems to be prospering. Robber Returns £5600 NEW YORK, Jan. 21. The ]>angs of a conscience aroused by a church sermon caused Gordon McCloary to dig up £5600 he had buried in the backyard of his home and return all but'£2o of it to the National City Bank, from which he had stolen the monev last Wednesday. He said he lost the £2O. Cold Serum LONDON, Jan. lfi. Dr. S. G. Billington and other famous medical scientists of England have bceu experimenting with sera for inoculation against common colds. One serum consists of a substance taken from the blood of persons immune to colds. This serum is injected into the blood of those susceptible to colds and is supposed to protect against contagion.

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New Greek Vessels ATHENS, Jan. 10. The commission on improvement of the merchant marine, presided over by M. Michael Aeopoulos, recommended a comprehensive shipping programme yesterday, including (lie construction of two trans-Atlantic motor liners of 15,000 tons each, the Government guaranteeing a loan of £1,500,000. 82 Killed in Typhoon NEW YORK, Jan. 5. At least 82 persons were killed, and some ,;")() are reported to be missing, in a typhoon which has swept over the Philippines, according to the Manila correspondent of the Associated Press. The damage to Leytc Island is estimated at over £IOO,OOO. Many fishing boats have been lost. Marriage Bureau I LONDON, Jan. 10. A national matrimonial Bureau, at which lonely men and women could meet and marry is being urged for England by Mr. \V. W. Wilkinson, ex-Mayor of Durham. His proposal has been made because, he says, present places of meeting, such as movies, dance halls and other resorts bring about unhappy marriages and divorce. By meeting in congenial and intelligent surroundings, this evil would bo eliminated, lie thinks. Power from the Sea HAVANA, Jan. 2.1. The Cuban State Department says the Professor Georges Claude, French scientist, would expend more than £400,000 in an attempt to establish a commercial plant at Santiago cfe Cuba, which would utilise the varying temperatures of tropical water to produce electric power. Professor Claude established an experimental project at Matanzas last summer and made forty fiOO-watt electric light bulbs burn for an hour. Cheaper Printed Fabrics PRAGtTE, Czechoslovakia. Jan. 21. The Reichenberser Zpitung to-day said that Hans GrHtz, Czecho-Slova-kian academic painter, lias Sjucceeded in perfecting a .method for, reproduction of colored designs by purely the-iv. rnic means to fabrics at an extremely low cost.