MINOR ITEMS

Evening Star, Issue 19785, 8 February 1928, Page 3

MINOR ITEMS

MURDERER DECLARED SAME Press Association—By Telegraph—CopyrightNEW YORK, February G At the hearing of the charge of murder preferred against Hickman, at Los Angeles, four alienists testified that Hickman is sane and able to distinguish right from wrong. UNIQUE GIFT TO NATION LONDON, February 0. A unique gift of £500,000 was anonymously sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Winston Churchill) to be managed in trust for the benefit of the nation. The capital is to accumulate at compound interest for a long period of years, and ultimately, together with the accrued proceeds, it will be applied to the reduction of the National Debt.

The bankers, Baring Bros., who will hold the money, forwarded a letter from the donor saying that gifts to the nation of historic sites and works of art are happily frequent, hut gifts to repay the debt are comparatively rare.

The donor expresses the hope that others from time to time will be prompted to add to this fund, or esteblish similar funds, the citizens and the cities uniting in an attempt to tree the country from debt. . Mr Churchill, publicly acknowledging the gift on behalf of the Government, says it is important and unprecedented in character. He regrets ho is unable to thank the donor by name. MUSSOLINI EXEMPTS LARGE FAMILIES HOME, February 6. Signor Mussolini has issued a decree freeing from all taxation members of the working class with a minimum of seven children, and other classes with a minimum of ten children. NEW SOVIET AMBASSADOR ROME, February C. The Soviet’s new Ambassador (M. Kurski) has arrived. OIL WAR SETTLEMENT? NEW YORK, February 6. Strong intimations arc coming from oil circles in New York that, although Sir H. W. Detorcling (director-general of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company) has cancelled his proposed trip to America, another representative_ ol the Royal Dutch Company js proceeding to New York, and there are strong prospects of an early settlement of the oil war. STATUE OF CHRIST DYNAMITED MEXICO CITY, February 6. The Homan Catholics here accuse the Federal military authorities of instigating agrarians to destroy with dynamite a great unfinished statue of Christ at Cuhilcto. LOCUST PLAGUE AVERTED JERUSALEM, February 6. An almost miraculous change of wind saved Palestine and Syria from a destructive visitation of locusts. For months past the Government anticipated the spring plague, and made elaborate preparations to combat the invasion. A vast swarming advance guard suddenly appeared near Petra, with the wind drifting it steadily towards Palestine The defence immediately mobilised, including batteries of flame guns, when the wind veered and turned 'he invaders in the direction of the most barren and rockiest part of the desort, where the insects arc condemned to die of starvation. PORTUGUESE REVOLUTION DENIED LONDON. February 7. The Portuguese Legation denies the widespread reports of a revolution in Lisbon and the assassination of President Cannons. U.S.A. IMMIGRATION BILL-QUOTA INCREASED WASHINGTON. February 6. An Immigra’ion Bill has been introduced iu the Senate with the approval of the Secretary for Labor (Mr J. J. Davis), under which the quotas from Britain and Northern Ireland will he more than doubled, and a net increase of 30.027 immigrants over 1027 will be allowed. The total for 1027 was 317,727. HINKLER “ HOPS (IFF " LONDON, February 7. Mr Her: Hinkler left at 6.16 this morninig on his flight- to Australia. FAMILY EXTERMINATED BY BURGLARS WARSAW. February (i. Four well-dressed men arrived at night at the residence of a wealthy landowner living at Klodow, and asked to be accommodated owing to running out of petrol. The landowner put up two, and a neighbor 'he remainder. The landowner at midnight surprised the men burgling a safe, and killed them. Shortly afterwards the accomplices arrived and attacked the landowner, who, assisted by servants, defeated and killed fho in: niders. It was later discovered that the strangers had murdered the neighbor and his wife and three daughters. LIQUOR ACROSS CANADA BORDER WASHINGTON, February/). The vast dimensions of the liquor traffic across the Canadian border were revealed with the publication of (he minutes of the Customs Conference, which was hold here last August. One Canadian house is said to have made 5,000.001 Viol in a year. There are fifty such organisations near Detroit. In the first five months of 1027 Canada exported 6,2.16,126d0l worth of liquor marked for the United States.—A. and N.Z. Cable. DIAMOND REALISES £5,C00 CAP.M TOWN, February 6. A largo alluvial diamond, weighing ■ll2 carats, was found at Barkly West, and realised £6,11(10, MAMMOTH TEETH IN TRANSVAAL CAPE TOWN, February (I. Further anthropological discoveries have been made in the dried bed of the Vaal River, at Rlnemthof. Transvaal. Two teeth found a few months ago have been pronounced to he those of mammoths thousands of years old.. To-day three smaller teeth were found, and they are considered to support the theory that Southern Africa was the possible cradle of the human race. BRITISH LABOR LEADER PRAISES GERMANY BERLIN, February 7. “You Germans handled the Russian question far more cleverly than the English ’lories,” says Air Ramsay MacDonald in an interview with the 1 Berliner Tageblatt’s ’ London correspondent. “It was my policy at the Foreign Office to help Russia back into lino with the Labor movement of the rest of the world, but the Tories shrieked that 1 was seeking to bring a revolution into England, which was absurd. Then the Tories broke off relations with Russia. If they had not she would now have been on the threshold of the League of Nations If the forthcoming elections on the Continent resulted in a series of Governments of the Left it would mean a tremendous advance in international politics. A year would show what could be done. Even if we fell then we would leave behind such good work that, our successors would inherit several Lorarnos.” AUSTRALIA’S HEW SUBMARINES LONDON, February 6. Comment has been occasioned by the Australian Navy for the first time in history becoming a party to what is generally described as n newspaper advertising “ stunt.” The official inspection by Sir Granville Eyrie (High Commissioner for Australia) of the submarines Oxley and Otway at Portsmouth, arranged for to-day, was con-

verted to a semi-private publicity parade at which two silk ensigns not provided through the usual channels wore presented to the ships. ’thus what should have ben a distinctive Commonwealth ceremony became a distinctly strange event, humorously reminiscent of ‘H.M.S. Pinafore.’ CYCLONE IN BRISBANE SUBURB SYDNEY, February 7, A cyclone struck Longbcach. Brisbane, with great fury. Verandahs and roofs wore torn from a number of buildings. Flying iron caused considerable damage. Telegraphic communication was interrupted. PAYMENTS TO KEEP MINE WORKING SYDNEY, February 7. Mr Sims, chairman of directors of the Stockton Borehole Company, referring to the statement of Mr Hoarc, fho president of the northern branch of the Goa! Miners’ Federation, that he received during tho past eighteen months amounts totalling £697 as payment for keeping the mine working, said ho was astonished beyond words, and added that Ids company would never countenance such a thing. It had never been before the hoard of divertors. His opinion was that there would ho no advantage from such a payment. r l he colliery was kept going entirely for the benefit of the men, and the shareholders had been paid only two dividends since the inception of the company in 190 S). Mr Willis, a Legislative Councillor, who for fifteen years was associated with the coal miners’ organisations, said bo bail never known anyone on the owners’ side to make a suggestion which could have been regarded as corrupt.