Musical License.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 16 November 1901, Page 4

Musical License.

About 200 licensed victuallers in Birmingham were early in the month served by the police with notices of objection to the renewal of their licenses on account of the placing in their houses of automatic musical boxes. It was stated that the employment of these machines in public houses brings the licensees within the scope of the Public Health Amendment Act, and that before they can be legally set up certain conditions as to size and accommodation must be fulfilled, and a music license obtained, A'

Andrew Carnegie. This is a pen portrait of Mr Andrew Carnegie!—Mr Carnegie is small in stature; he can hardly be more than five feet four and a half—quick and eager in move* ment, smooth pointed beard, sallow face* a spore figure, full of vivacity, moustache cut level with the upner lip in b:ack frock coat, striped tweed trousers, simple black tic—the description is jumbled—in him you have an essence man of immense capacity. You might call nim a product of the age—brimbful of its activities. Mr Carnegie is a multiple millionaire, but he is more, He is a Scotsman and an orator. His voice is not hugs and sonorous. It has a shrill touch in it, and is penetrative. He has a pleasant vocabulary, and a generous command of gesture. There is no excitement about the man.

Empi’ess Frederick’s Death.

Clement Scott, in his paper the Free Lance,gives prominflico to the following: ‘-The true story of Empress Frederick's death has not seen published. I learn from the best sources teat the unfortunate and truly heroic lady suff- red the greatest agony before her demise. She suffered with no less than seventeen cancers. Her piteous cries for days before her last moments were heard all around the castle which her Majesty had erected in memory of her beloved husband, and it was only by means of powerful narcotics that our Princess Royal, second only to Queen Victoria in greatness and goodness, obtained relief. The statement that she passed away peacefully is true in a sense, for the Empress really died insensible to the care of this world.

An epidemic of Marriages. Servia is in trouble now with an epidemic of marriages, remarks an English paper, The cause is the system of marriage banks founded as an encouragement to thrift, bu? which have proved to have quite an opposite, effect. The young men and maidens of Servia begin praying into these institutions at an early age on the promise of a premium on marriage. Immediately a small sura has been accumulated, the desire for marriage grows overwhelming with the result that the first offer is snapped up. In consequence, prematurely early and unhappy marriages are general. The matter has now reached snob lengths that it is seriously troubling the Government, and the advisability of abolishing these banks, which are held to be the root of the evil, is being debated, Newcastle Goal Trade.

The coal export trade at Newcastle is slack compared with what it was a year ago, and it is stated that some of the coal mine companies are violating the agreement made last year to maintain the selling price at 11s per ton. Several colliers are believed to have accepted 10s, and others even less. The opinion is expressed in business circles that the standard price of coal will decline to at least 10s at the beginning of next year, the miners’ hewing rate being proportionately reduced. For some months past the average number of deep-sea vessels awaiting cargoes has been from 30 to 40 compared with more than double that number a year ago.