LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 27 November 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Liedertafel concert this evening.

The Gonville Tennis* Club will open their season at 3.30 on Saturday afternoon next.

A successful trial was held on the new tramways last evening. The car was run for some distance, everything going as expected and the running being very smooth.

The local swimming clubs will open their season with sports in the Corporation Baths to-morrow, commencing at 3 p.m. Admission to tha Baths will be free. Given a fine day there should be a large attendance of the public. The anniversary of the Dublin Street Primitive Methodist Church will be celebrated on Sunday next. The Rev. E. Drake will preach morning and evoning, and the choir will render special anthems at each service. The popular sacred song, " The Minister's Hymn " will be rendered in the afternoon at 2.30. The annual tea and public meeting will bo held on Tuesday evening next.

Leslie Wood, a railway locomotive j fireman, met with a painful accident \ on Tuesday morning while working on , his engine in the New Plymouth yards, j By some means he slipped on the floor ! of the cab, and in his fall broke the gauge-glass, which inflicted a .severe gash on hi& wrist and arm, necessitating ten stitches.

The first prize of the value of £500 in the New South Wales Eight Hours' Day art union was won by a vanman named A. Moorhouse, at present an inmate of the Sydney Hospital, suffering from injuries sustained by being thrown out of his van. Moorhouse read in a newspaper that the prize had not been claimed. He then sent for his ticket, and found that it bore the winning number.

A bullet from a Martini rifle crashed through the house of Mr R. E. Hayes at Karori on Wednesday evening, shattering tho glasswork. The weapon Wits apparently fired by some careless person, an dthe bullet has .been handed to the police, who are making inquiries in the matter. This is not the only case of promiscuous shooting which has. happened at-Karori lately. Quite recently somebody-fired a shot gun, of which the charge crashed through the window of a house adjoinin Mr Hayes's "and immediately afterwards a woman rushed outside crying that the shot had gone through her hair. The trouble is apparently caused by youths who should not b8 allowed to carry guns.

The actual surrender of M. Albert!, ex-Danish Minister for Justice, to the police was extremely dramatic. He strolled leisurely froto his private house to tho police headquarters. As he passed in b" the main entrance he was immediately recognised, and all officers and men of the police force present —rang to attention for their former chief, who acknowledged the salute, and. entering the office of a detective inspector, calmly bade him take down a report. "I wish to give myself '--■ to justice for fraud and forgery," he cheerfully observed, and, producing a receipt form Privatbankan for bonds worth £500,000, signed by two directors, the Minister quietly continued: "Look at these signatures —they are forged by me!"

About tho queerest antic the wind played the other night (remarks the "Sydney Morning Herald") was in taking full possession of an old lady, whom it upset, and bowled along Macquarie Street like a ninepin, Tiaving meanwhile robbed her of money and umbrella. The uiifortunate lady had first como up, out of Woolloomooloo, and was bound for tha city on a shopping exoedition. She crossed Hyde Park safely, and then a violent wind gustt near the Queen's Statue flung itself against her. It tore the open umbrella from one hand and made away with it; it snatched out of the other a couple of shillings in a handkerchief, and if it had not been for a girl who ran to her rescue and seized her from the violent gust, nobody can say what might have befallen her. As it was, she had to visit Sydney Hospital and have a cov-le- of - cuts attsnded to.

A campaign against the wearing of hats by women in churches and chapels has been started in Brooklyn, and it promises to be a remarkably vigorous campaign, too. In America and elsewhere the absurdest of fashions dictates that -women should now wear hats built on a oollossal scale, with brims as large as umbrellas. Dr Myers, an influential Baptist minister, leads the Brooklyn campaign. His argument is that the huge artificial flower decorations ,which the wometa., carry on theii^heads obliterate, the preacher from the view of most" of the congregation^ Moreover, the "glorious creations of the art" distract' the wearers and their neighbours. Mr Myers has succeeded in inducing the women of his church to surrender their hats and join with him in his crusade. The milliners, who may be looked upon as a threatened vested^ interest, are hostile, and St. PauL'scounsel to the Corinthians is being cused' to checkmate the crusaders. -_• , < The anniversary service in ■ connection," with the Baptist Church were continued.' on Wvßdntvsday evening, when ,a'i^a aiis public meeting were held. TheiV was a largo gathering at both fiinctionsf Tho tea-tables, which were tastefully decorated and laden with appetising viands, were presided over by lowing ladies: — Mesdames *'Sfrbng*3! Horsley, Smithf Reynolds, ~. BrpUghjp; Sanow, Beadle,' Fear, and Miss 'Carson,' - who were assisted by Mrs A. Loveday;Misses Turner, Smith, Sanowy Strorij,"----j Wiggins, O. and G. Horsley, and some' young men in the Bible class. t ,M;r 6.; I Carson presided at the public meeting, 1 which followed, and the Revs. Arthur 11 Dewdney and H. J. Lewis gave inspiringaddresses, the former minister* affirm* ing the applicability of Christian pr.in-, ciples to the." who round of life,*' anil declaring his belief that in the'"Gospel' of Christ was to be found the solutionof most of the problems that were agitating men's minds to-day; the: latter gentleman urged the desirability oi the " confederation of the Christian clans." Several anthems were render-' ed by the choir in an accomplished manner. ' :. , . ; ' ' .••"

"Another injustice to Ireland" was nearly being perpetrated at the Mount Eden Borough Council meeting the other evening. A petition was presented from the residents of Ireland Street i asking that the name of the street should h& changed, as there was another Ireland Street in existence in Pohsonby. This proposal did not meet ■ with" the approval of; a son of Erin, one Houlahan, a resident of the street in question, who waited" upon the meeting and wanted to know "what was wrong with the name, at all." Ireland Street was doomed to go, however,, and Houla-^ han, after vainly pleading for its retention, was moving off disconsolately when the Mayor called him back with the question, " Is there any other name you would suggest?" Instantly the old man's face lit up, and somewhat bashfully he replied, "There's Woodford; that's my native town jn County Galway." Councillors generally agreed that "Woodford Street. was not a bad name, and it was decided to submit it to the other residents of Ireland Street for their approval. . \

There is. says., tho "Advocate," a form of bribery which deserves the severest condemnation, and it is a form which is not confined to America. Some members of some Parliaments, who may already be more than well paid for their services, manage to mako handsome additions to their incomes by exacting fees from electors for either doing their duty or not doing their duty. Strange, to say, there appears to be no provision in any Act under such which a member can be punished for accepting "a consideration" for "services rendered." It appsars to have been assumed that no member would be guilty of such shameless betrayal of the public interest. Neither the Corrupt Practices Act nor the Criminal Cor>e Act contain any clauo under w'^Hi prosecution could b? instituted in Hl3 usual way for what is an offence against *;ho Stato. But there appears to be nothing to prevent any member of the Hou?e impeaching any member who is known to be guilty of receiving money for performing in his political capacity soma work to further the private ends of some individual Such impeachment could be followed by a Commission of Inquiry, and if this Commission found Iho offender guilty, a substantial fine should be accompanied by^ loss of his seat and denrivation of civil rights for the term of his natural life

As Mr Stone, manager of the Gafe^ works, was nearing his home at about 12.30 p.m. yesterday he observed a. downward flash which must have lasted some thirty seconds. Something, evidently a meteor, had descended rapidly and disappeared from Mr Stone's view in the direction of the Heads. The descent was followed by a loud report. The descending body, whatever it may havo been, left a fairly thick trail oF smoke behind it, this hanging about in. the air for some three on four minutes, and thus enabling Mr Stone's family (who had come but on hearing the report), to see it. Many people in town heard the report and speculation yesterday was rife as to its cause, a popular belief being that- it was the result of a submarine explosion.

A young American, Dr Louise Rabbmovich, the only woman member of tho faculty of the Pasteur Institute, isabout to be associated with a most important experiment. Her very brilliant, work with electricity as an anaesthetic (producing loss^f sensibility) has impressed tha meniDSTs of the Institute to such an extent that an operation will shortly bw. performed with its aid. It has been found that by applying interrupted currents of electricity to the human body a state of complete insensibility can be produced which does not affect the action of the heart. In view of the fact that tho use of chloroformand all drug anaesthetics must inevitably cause a risk to the heart action, this discovery in electricity is of the greatest moment to surgeons.

Professor Ernest Rutherford, thoNew Zealander who has just heet^ t awarded the Nobel prize for chemistryy' was in March last the recipient of the . Bressa Prize (£384), awarded by theTurin Academy of Science. It is his investigations into radio-activity that, have brought him fame, and that incidentally cast some reflected lustre on. the land of his -birth, which last year lie revisited. From 1893 to 1907 he was Macdonald Professor of Physics at the McGill ■ "University, Montreal. Beis now Langworthy Professor and Director of Phys. Laboratories, Manchester "University. In 1906 he was awarded tho Rumford medal, Royal Society.. Born in Nelson in 1871, Professor Ru^ thsrford ywas educatrd at Nelson College, Canterbury College, and Trinitjr College, Cambridge. In 1901 the New Zealand University conferred en him* the degree of D.Sc.

The Hon. Lady Forster, of Ballymaseanlan House, coLouth, who died-in May. daughter of tho second Baroit I'luhketj Bishbp of Tuam., Killala, and Achoury, left personal estate in the United Kingdom valued at £40,113. By her will, dated February 13th,» 1901,. tlu -testatrix left £2000 to her cousin,. William > Lee, fifth Baron Plunket. to repay the losses his father, the lato" Archbishop of Dublin, incurred in building the Cathedral at.Tuam, £1000' to the Representative Church Body of Ireland for the Sustsntation Fund of the parish ofßallymore, co. Monaghan, in memory of her father, and £1000 to tho said Representative Church Body; of Ireland for ihe Sustcntation FuTtth Tho residue of her estate, subject tor other provisions, the testatrix left upon trust for her two sisters or the survivors of them, and she directed that, I should any person benefiting under her will become a member of the Roman. Catholio Church, the share of suck person should be paid tr> the Representative Church Body of Ireland. Martin Lund, a San Francisco\ diver, bad a desperate fight with a largo octopus while searching tho hold of a sunken vessel. Soon after he had de-

scertded, the, octopus seized' his leg below thei;knee -with, a -tentacle five finches in diameter-. Almost immediately another tentacle encricled his, thigh The diver chopped frantically at thi; boast with his knife, and signalled to be raised to the surface. Two ' more tentacles slid out of the darkness, -' one of which gripped Lund's neck. The efforts of the men on the surface to raise him threatened to - draj£ off his helmet, and he was compelled to signal them to desist. Lund,. -!who.had only his left hand free, fought Ji^ke .a. madman, hacking, at the tent- - teles until i-he partially ' crippled theerifcmy. With a final effort the octopus drew Lund, to its mouth, andthe> ..divci;, repeatedly drove his knife "into ' its' head" until it was dead. When Lund was dragged to the surface he> a fainting condition. The ocrtppus was afterwards raised, and wasjfeced on exhibition. ~J?& recent visitor to tho Otira tufH&ef works in conversation with a Wellington .press representative stated:—' I ' had. read something about tho bad tim& -tho" men were having at Otira 3 but X *.:as<iure you that the statements made \ are utterly , incorrect. The works in. .' connection with tho tunnel are between: r a. niile and a-half and two miles front rj the Otira station, on that side of tho mountain, • and we did the trip on a dog-cart. Quite a township is rising at the tunnel face—dne-rbpmeoT cottages, with comfortable bunks for tho single men, and two-roomed separate'cottages for th» married folk. The men complained of great cracks in tho -houses. ■.■There are cracks, it is true, caused 'h'y the shrinkage of the timber, but they are nothing to talk about', and it is the- intention to lino the cottages as' soon as this shrinkage" ceases But .what we did not Hear about was the bath-house for the men. fitted with a number of baths that

wers supplied with hot and cold water, and hot and Md showers The tiny township is quite up t-i date. It hi«s a p;oneral store (which runs a branchof the- post offico). and there is a butcher's shop (owned by a man with a farm a few miles away), which ensures a supply, of frosh meat Amongst the: innovations 1 was shown a steam-heat-ed room, in which the men may dry their -Vjlo^hos without waiting for the inconstant sun or wind." '