NEWS BY MAIL

Hokitika Guardian, 28 July 1922, Page 4

NEWS BY MAIL

DASH OF V.C’s CHARCER. LONDON, May 17. A military charger, after throwing its rider., Col. Price-Davies, V.C., at Lnffan’s Plain, Aldershot, yesterday afternoon performed some exciting circus feats before it fell exhausted in a kitchen garden many miles away. The lunawa.v jumped several fences and gates, and as it cantered through the main streets of Aldershot people rushed into safety and vehicles were "hurriedly pulled aside to give the animal a clear course. Some men tried to stop the horse, hut it had east its bridle, and the saddle had slipped underneath its body. " Once it turned a somersault near an approaching omnibus hut it got up and finished its adventure by jumping u high wall and falling bleeding and exhausted in a kitchen garden on the road to Knrnham.

Col. Pi ii e-Davies, who was badly locked by the animal in the fall, icooivi ,! medical Ireatmeut at the Cambridge i lospital, Alclvrsliot.

.MAI! I! I AGE COMEDY. PAR IV. Mnv 17

A mistake on the part of an official at the Mairie at Toulon lias led to a Gilbertian situation.

A voting woman with the Christian name of Marie Josephine applied for documents for the* purpose of getting married. The clerk issued papers in the name of Marie Rose, a woman of the same surname, who was horn the same year. No one noticed the* mistake* and the marriage took place. In her turn .Mile. .Marie Rose wished to get married, lint on applying for the documents was told to her surprise that she was already married. The* intimation came as such a shock that she fainted. The [mint to he decided by the authorities is who of tin* two women is married. Pending the tilling as to the bigamy laws, any I nether marriage ceremonies between the parlies have* been forbidden. RAILWAY TICKET FRAUD. LONDON. May 17. Kind-hearted men in London are falling victims to an ingenious fraud which is practised with the unintentional help of railway companies. The attention of men is attracted hv a pathetic looking unman who tells a piteous story of unhappiness. She as'is tearfully for assistance, saying that she wants to go to her home in the country, hut cannot pay the fare. If the stranger gives her money she pockets it, well satisfied with his simplicity, and spends it in London. If. on the other hand, he takes her to a railway station and buys her a ticket she is not perturbed. Wheii her benefactor has departed the ticket is handed in by one ot her men itiends at the hooking ollice at the station, and the return of the fare is asked for as tinticket. is not required. This ruse was tried last week at a London terminus, hut the man was cross-examined by the assistant sta-tion-master. The woman for whom the ticket had been bought made a conlession of her complicity to save her friend.

FAKED FURNITURE. PARIS. May 17,

French antique dealers are troubled bv reports that copies of old furniture ingeniously faked, aie being sold in Paris.

As some ol these forgeries have deceived experts, the Syndicate ol Paris Antiquarians decided to take action during the sale of old furniture which bad belonged to the late Marquise de Ganay. The stilt* was conducted by M. Laid Dubreuith at the Central Paris auction rooms.

Wlieii lot ‘JGfi, described as a genuine Louis XV table, was put up for sale am! the bidding bad reached CIOO and showed signs of going still higher, M. Jonas, the president of the syndicate, asked if the object was certified as a genuine antique. The auctioneer replied that it was. M. Jonas then announced bis intention of buying the table for LJOO on behalf of the syndicate so that its genuineness could be definitely tested. If it proves to be a modern copy, it is understood that M. donas intends taking legal proceedings against the auctioneer and against the exports who drew up the catalogue. btjnd baby. LONDON, May 2(1. During the visit of the King and Queen to the Royal Tournament Olympia, Kensington, W„ yesterday, a blind three-years-old girl, named Dons John presented the Queen with a bou<|UThe incident took place in the Blind Babies’ Nursery at the exhibition stand of Sunshine House, the blind babies home of the National Institute for the Blind, 224, Great Portland-street \\ . Doris was very much excited all the afternoon at the prospect of the presentation. When at last the Queen came and Doris was told to hand hei the flowers, she tightly clutched the bouquet and lisped: “But are you the real Qeuen?” , , , ~ The Queen, greatly touched .by the pathetic question, knelt down to the

sightless little mite and said, “Yes, I am tho Queen.” “Then,” said the child, “you shall have the flowers—because you are the real Queen.”

.‘I,OOO EXCITED HOYS. NEW YORK, May 17. The sporting instincts of Americans were aroused to a high pitch of enthusiasm by the staging* at Jersey City yesterday of a hoys’ national tournament to deride the “marble shooting championship of the world.” Michael Troiano, 14, the champion of Washington, journeyed from the capital on the invitation of tho Mayor of Jersey City to test his skill against Charles- “Buster” Reel), a l>oy of the same age, who was recently acclaimed champion of New Jersey.

More than 3,000 hoys witnessed the tournament, while hands played and picture men filmed the various stages of the game. It is estimated that tens of thousands of marbles changed hands in the course of the day, as hoys all over the country were betting on the result.

The superintendent of the State playgrounds laid out a circle a foot in diameter, placed 10 marbles inside it, then he marked off the first shooting line 20ft away. Through a megaphone the rules were announced.

Tho slim, black-haired challenger lifttod his right foot off the ground and shot his “taw.” A moment later the defender with his first shot sent one ol the 10 marbles rolling out of the ring, lie thus became “poison” and was at lihertv to shoot at Troiano’s “taw.” “WHY I LOST.”

Amid shouts the contestants for 15 minutes manoeuvred with extraordinary skill for position. Then “Buster” Rech sent the marble of the Washington hoy spinning across the ring and won first game.

In the first stages of the second game

Tniiiino outplayed the challenger magnificently. “Buster” was in a despor-

ate position when from a distance of 15ft he hit his opponent’s marble with a resounding smack and was proclaimed qhampion of the world. “Buster” shot with the knuckle and Troiano with the t.lminh nail, and the result is held to establish the superiority of knuckle shooting. Newspapers to-dav devote as much space to describing the match.as to describing a prize fight. The winner was formally presented with a silver clip, which he will probably have to deleud again next week, when a New York hoy will contend for the world honours oil Central Park.

GREAT TRIAL IN RUSSIA. COPENHAGEN, May 2(5

The Russian Government, fearing tin* effect of the sympathy of foreign Churches, is hastening the trial ot the Patriarch Tikhow, the head of the Russian Church, and 50 other ecclesiastics. They were brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal of Moscow because they resist the confiscation of t hureh 1 r;*a sui"*s.

The Hovi.’l Government recently salved that superfluous treasures ol the churches were to he eoiifist ateil ; gold and silver were to bo reunited. . other treasures were to he sold in M eslern Europe and America and the proceeds were to lie used >'so the Governnunt said) for buying food for the starving population. The proceeds might ran into milb ns il all ’he . hutches ol Rm-sia handed over tlnir valuables. This is evident if one reads Ihe list ni 1 1 ensures taken by a lenient eon’Ucatimi in a lew churches in .Moscow outside l lie Kremlin. There are • idd churches in .Moscow, not counting those in the Kremlin. An otiieial list enumerates the treasurs confiscated during the period April 1-27, including 3.058 diamonds and other precious stones, a silver crown with 50 diamonds, 3 stars with diamonds, [K-arls, 1,178 rubies, ],357 emeralds, 2 crowns with precious stones, 2 surplices woven of golden thread, 1 altar cloth of woven gold thread and 10 complete priests’ copes of the same material, and a great amount of gold and silver. The Russian priests maintain that the Patriarch Tiklmw should be allowed to call in counsel for the defence Lorn the Church of England and other West European Churches; hut the ease having started, it is too late to think ol getting foreign legal aid. » “Citizen Tikhow” —he is not considered worthy of the title ot honour “comrade” —will probably he sentenced to death. The Soviet Government is, however, prudent enough not to execute him and will probably reduce the -eutence to some years’ imprisonment. The Patriarch declared to the court that he lmd not been consulted when

tl)c decree about the confiscations was issued and he considered it a violation of his rights. Hence he issued a proclamation to the people urging them to resist the surrender of the treasures. !