GENERAL NEWS.

Waikato Times, Volume 92, Issue 14255, 5 January 1920, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

Ecclesiastical circles in Rome are rery much alarmed 'Over the questijn of celibacy, which has been raised In an acute l'orm In <the Czeeho-Slovak countries. Six hundred Catholic priesta in Bohemia (the Central News states) have asked permission to marry, while another 800 have passed over to the Reformed Church in order to hasten their marriages without waiting for authorisation from Rome. In view of the discussion which took place some time ago regarding the practice on shipboard of allowing the cooks to have the fat they collect and to sell it as one of their perquisites, it is of interest to note that one of the specific complaints made by the warrant officers and sergeants on board the Ruahine, which arrived at Auckland last week, is that practically every particle of fat was removed from the meat by the cooks, and that the meat was invariably dry, juieeless, and unpalatable. While the practice may be'a very excellent one from the point of view of the cooks, it does not appear to be nearly so satisfactory from the point of view of the passengers. A number of people on the wharf at Bluff lately witnessed a passage between the captain and mate of a windjammer leaving port that was redolent of old tales of th e high seas- It is said that the argument had its genesis on shore, but by the time the two principal actors had reached the sea it had grown to quite a size. The comment of one man on the other was lurid and vigorous, if nothing else, and it could not have been expected that it would pass without being backed by something more substantial. Neither it did, and peopel on the wharf were interested spectators of quite a struggle, which culminated in the persuading introduction of an automatic pistol from the skipper's hip pocket. Comparative calm was restored by the time the police arrived, and the vessel was towad seawards followed by many curious eyes.