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Gisborne Times, Volume XII, Issue 1070, 11 December 1903, Page 1

The outside walls’of many of the houses in Mexico are from throe to six feet thick, to withstand earthquake shocks. Two German lieutenants fought a duel with pistols at Wesel, in Prussia. One was shot through the liver, and died. To dock, scrape, and paint one of'our big ironclads costs on an average .£4OOO, and .this has to be done often twice a year. Quite a series of accidents in connection with the Auckland electric tramway system occurred on Saturday, says the Auckland Star. Two collisions and a fatal accident were reported on Saturday, and a fourth mishap of an;alarming character happened near the Junction Hotel, on the Epsomroad, about 7.45 o’clock. An Onehunga tramcar was coming into town, and being just before the the performances com menced. in the theatres.it was crowded with passengers. The road is very darn, and .the motorman states that he frequently sounded the gong to warn drivers of vehicles who might be in the way. When travelling at a fairly rapid rate he suddenly saw a large waggon on the track, and the notice was too short to avoid colliding with it. ' There was a heavy impact, but the waggon was fortunalety. loaded with wool, tbe elasticity of whioh, to a certain extent, lessened the shock, Alfred Jobson, the driver of the waggon, was thrown violently into the roadway clear of waggon, and car, and the horses bolted towards Newmarket. They ran into a trap which was overtaken, but did not cause much damage, and a* man named -Menzies managed to climb up the back of the waggon, put on the brake, and thus lessen the speed. This enabled two others named Tait and Nicholson to secure the reins and bring the horses to a standstill just outside Newmarket. Jobson was picked up unconscious and taken homo, but no bones were broken, and he is expeoted to recover from the shaking in a few days. The waggon, although .strongly built, was badly smashed at the back, the ironwork of the under-carriage being completely shattered. Though the passengers on the car were very much alarmed for a moment, nobody sustained any injury, and £lO will cover the cost of repairing the car’s battered front,