BRIEF ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 115, 13 February 1928, Page 10

BRIEF ITEMS

FROM FAR AND NEAR Warships Leave Auckland—A Press Association message irom Auckland reports that the warships Laburnum and Wakokura left Auckland at 5.30 p.m. on Saturday for the East Coast. The vessels are to make an extensive search for the Northumberland rock.

Death of “Little Tich.”—The death is announced by a Press Association message from London of Harry Relph, the famous vaudeville artist, commonly known as “Little Tich.” He was born at Seven Oaks, London, in 18G8. and he made his debut on the vaudeville stage at the age of twelve.

Australian Industrial Conference.—The Federal Attorney-General has announced that Labour organisations will be allowed to nominate their representatives for the proposed Industrial Peace Conference.—Press Assn.

Norwegian Government Resigns.—The Norwegian Government has resigned and tlie ex-Premier, Air. Alowinekel, is again forming a Cabinet. The resignation resulted from a motion by the Radicals censuring the Labour Government’s declaration of policy being carried by 89 votes to G 3—Press Assn.

Girl Sets Fire to Cotton Mill.—A girl dismissed from a cotton mill has confessed, after her arrest, that she set fire to the mill in revenge, says a Press Association message from Riga. The premises were destroyed, the total damage being .£40.000, five hundred workers now being idle.

Compensation for Damage to Irish Property.—A Press Association message from London says that details are issued of further Supplementary Estimates amounting to .£794,153, of which £220,000 is for further grants of compensation for damage to property in the Irish Free State.

Earthquake at Vancouver,. —Vancouver Island was shaken by an earthquake, accompanied by a rumble, which awakened thousands of people. The shock was the sharpest at the Bamfield cable station, where fishermen reported two tidal waves.—Press Assn.

Death at Paparua Prison.—Detained in Paparua Prison, Christchurch, for medical treatment, a young man, Vernon Richard Pike, collapsed and died late on Friday. Pike was arrested on Friday morning on a charge of helpless drunkenness.—Press Assu.

Man Shot by Burglars.—Returning with his son to his Bayswater flat, Air. Alfred Webb found a burglar ransacking his room. A struggle followed in which Air. Webb was shot in the heaff, suffering a serious wound. from which he afterwards died. His son ano - crowd pursued the burglar, who threw away his revolver and escaped. Tbe polic flying squad in fast motors are prosecuting tlie search. —Press Assn.

Trans-Atlantic Television. —An interesting experiment in trans-Atlantic television is reported whereby pictures or faces and objects have been transmitted by short-wave wireless from London and were received, although in a somewhat blurred form, on the other side of the ocean. The experiments were conducted by the Baird Television Development 'Company.—British Official Wireless.

Convictions Against Soldiers. —Sir William Joynson-Hicks, speaking in the House of Commons, said that while sympathising with the recommendation of the grand jury at Birmingham that convictions recorded against soldiers and sailors killed in the Great War should; be erased, he regretted that he had. been unable to discover any practical method of giving effect therto.—Prss Assn.

Wanganui River Takes Toll.—Thomas Walker Zinsli, aged 26, married, with, one child, was drowned in the Wanganui River yesterday afternoon. He went in to assist a younger brother who was in difficulties and sank. His body was recovered three-quarters of an hour later. The brother was pulled out by a bystander.—Press Assn.

Suicide While Temporarily Insane.— An inquest concerning the death of James Vincent Forde, single, aged 32, who was found in a swamp on Friday night at Rakahouka (Invercargill) with his throat cut was held on Saturday. The Coroner returned a verdict that deceased committed suicide by cutting his throat while in a state of temporaryinsanity—Press Assn.

Swim Across Auckland Harbour.—J. D. Foster, aged 53 years, a member of the Ponsonby Swimming Club, was successful in swimming across Auckland Harbour on Saturday. He left Point Chevalier at mid-day and expected to arrive at Devonport, a distance of about five miles, somewhere in the vicinity of 4 o’clock. However, he landed on Devonport beach at 3.15 p.m., and was given hearty cheers by a crowd of watchers. —Press Assn.

Many Applicants for Bey's Job. —In answer to an advertisement offering employment to a boy at a wage of £1 a week, over 200 men, youths, and boys arrived, says a Press Association message from Melbourne. The crowd began to collect nt an earjy hour of the morning. When the doors opened there was a wild rush to gain entry. The manager of the firm said that he had seen nothing like it before in his 36 years’ business experience. He said that men begged to be given a job at boy’s wages. All the applicants were desperately eager for work.

Austrian Measure to Increase Birthrate.—A Sydney “Sun” message from Vienna says a Bill to increase the birthrate provides that the parents of several children be granted leduced taxation, and credits to build family houses, and the doubling of the supertax on bachelors capable of founding families. Civil servants will be given bonuses for children. Female employees on marrying will be given dowries. The sale of contraceptives will be prohibited without special tiermission. and children are to bo taught that childlessness is tantamount to treason.