HERE AND THERE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17038, 11 May 1923, Page 8

HERE AND THERE

AN EYE EVERYTHING. THE NEW TURKEY. Ihe “Journal des Debats,” one of the most highly esteemed daily papers of France, is our authority for stating that the Turkish National Assembly is so anxious in regard to the populatiuu of the new Turkey, now in course of formation, that it is preparing a IaAV to render matrimony a duty which, like military serA’ice, must be enforced on all. No conscientious objectors will be tolerated. \Y hen a man reaches the age of twtenty-five, the police will take note of him and medical authorities will examine him; if he is physically fit, he must marry ; if he refuses, ho will be treated as a deserter and deprived of all his civil rights and employment. If he has private mean's a quarter of the amount will be taken and given to tiie poor. Should a recalcitrant husband seek to avoid his obligations by travelling, he must obtain special permission ; and, if he remains away too long, lie must marry a second time and bring his second wife home wtien he returns. Here we have a law enilurnot only oifti-nuyumy bat bigamy, the re-population or j. uikey being the one anu only social duty recognised. IRELAND’S GOLD MINES. How many people know that there are gold mines in irelautt? 'they are situated in \\ icklow, and aitnougn tney are not worked to-day, at -one period in tlieir history they produced neariy 3.16,Uuu lvort-n of gold. j. tie so mines were discovered accidentally nr r/io by a poor schoolmaster. lie picked up a piece of metal which lie proved to be gold. His wife refused to believe him, and told her friends tnat he was mad. But the story soon became public property and thousands or people rushea to the spot, bo keen was tne struggle that an armed guard was supplied by tne Government to keep the vast crowds away. in tne tw'o months which elapsed between tne publication of the story and the Government seizure of tne mines more than 2obo ounces of gold were collected by peasants. But when the authorities started to work the mines m a regular manner the same success was not achieved. Between i;2(JUU and L *4.000 Avorth of gold AV'as produced, and as the mines cost very much more than this to run, they were closed clown. The gold was of extraordinary purity, and was found in pieces of all sizes, the largest being a nugget weighing twenty-two ounces. THE “ INTERVIEW.” The word “ interview,” in the sense in which it has been introduced by modern journalism into the English language, is now to be incorporated, with a similar meaning, in the Dictionary of the French Academy, which is iit course ol : preparation. When th® proposal came before a meeting of the academy it was accepted only with muiolf misgiving and after a lively debate. The opponents of the inclusion of the word in the French vocabulary maintained that “interview” has really the same meaning as the French word ’’ entrevue.” in their opinion it is a simple corruption of the French, arising from .English mispronunciation, it. is, in fact, they contend, a barbarism. The majority of the academy, however, while declining the responsibility of <ir Winding the a void Jroni the charge of barbarism, felt unable to resist the exigencies of modern journalism. So ‘ interview ” will appear in the neAV French Dictionary as a substantive (feminine), in the sense of “a conversation or individual inquiry intended for publication.” LARGE HAUL OF OPIUM. A British police officer and a party of Chinese detectives recently unearthed a huge quantity oi smuggled opium on a loiietv little island near Hongkong. No less than eight tons, valued at over £50.000. was discovered. The police part. approached the Chinese boatmen, themselves biding n the bottom of the craft. On getting near the shore they encountered another native boat, in charge of two armed guards, who were keeping watch on behalf of the smugglers. These latter did not suspect that th© incoming boat contained policemen, t thinking that members of the smuggling gang, who bad ben out on a secret expedition, were returning on it. The police. hoAA-ever, soon got alongside, and sprang on to the other Acssel. taking prisoners the two guards, who had revolvers dangling from lanyards passed round their shoulders. A search of the island was made, and a cleverly-concealed tunnel was eventually found leading to a chamber about thirty feet square, where the opium (Persian variety) was discovered in flour bags. A Chinese Avoman in the chamber was arrested. It is believed that thero i> a big syndicate concerned with the importation of this huge quantify of opium into the colony. THE CAROL. The meaning of the world “ carol ” i- to “sing joyfully.” for it comes from interjection of jov. But in this connection Christinas has not always been •». joyful one. for. in 1523, for instance, we read that there was a musicless Yule, on account of the illness of King Henry J!I. Christmas chimes, a special feature of the festive season, it is interesting to note. were invented in 100 A.D. by Bishop Paulinus of Campagna. Carol singing, which many children take up for the purpose of begging coppers, became very popular indeed in the time of the Stuarts, because no doubt at that period most connection with “ waits,” which, cam® from the Anglo-Saxons, at one time these were nothing to do Avith th© Christmas celebrations. Waits were formerly minstrels, who waited on the Court and nobility, and sounded the night watch. The few who were left of these/ old-time musicians were accustomed to play at Christmas Eve t® herald the festive period, and thus tha custom of playing the “waits” has remained. CAMPHOR AS MOTIVE POWER. It has * been demonstrated that camphor will drive objects through water. A piece of zinc foil cut Out in the shape of a boat, at the stern of A', liich was placed a small lump of camphor. The A-essel was then placed i..‘a. dish of water, where it proceeded tv> sail round in circles. Had the tush been big enough, this unique ship AA’ould haA*e sailed on for thousands of miles. The secret of the new motive power is that the camphor gradually dissolves, thus reducing the resistance of the Avater at the back of the boat. In the case of the experiment described, this caused a disturbance and forced the vessel onwards. Only a minute portion ot the camphor dissolved, and a piece as big as a pin’s head would drive a toy boat many miles. Much ground has to be covered before camphor can be used commercially a» a driving force, but if scientists achieve the success they expect, ships will cost little to run. and -all fear of a breakdown will be banished for th.j simple reason that there will be nothing 4o go wrong in a camphor-driven vessel*