NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 April 1925, Page 4

NEWS BY MAIL.

CHILDREN’S LOVE OF CLIMBING. LONDON, February 9. Dr J. R. J .eesoii, in a paper on the “Evolution of Man,” which he road at tho Gilbert White Fellowship at 6, Queen-square, W.C., on Saturday, said that for about two hours after it was horn a baby could be swung from a pencil, to which it would cling quite naturally. It lost that power, however, alter the first two hours.

Thousands of years ago, in India, gorillas gradually began to evolve and develop. Same came down to the ground and lived a pleasant life. Others remained in the trees. The present human race was not descended from monkeys, but from the same took, being cousins of monkeys about fifty times removed. We were the same form, hut had cast oil' the undesirable habits of a monkey’s relative.

We were now gradually losing our teeth because we were always cooking our food. There were examples in museums of former types of man, who, before becoming extinct, lost their teeth and had rheumatism. That fact was the writing on the wall. BELL-RINGING FEAT. LONDON, February 18. An unprecedented feat of change ringing has been performed on the 12 bells of St. Raul’s Cathedral. At the fourth attempt in four consecutive years a hand of the Ancient Society of College Youths (the old ringing guild) rang a complete peal in the method known as Cambridge Surprise .Maximus, of 5,280 changes, in I hours 1-1 minutes.

Only 9 peals have ever been rung at St. Paul’s and they were of a simpler order than tho last one, which is the most difficult, that can lie practised on 12 hells. Tho hells range from an Scwt. treble to the 3 tons 2cwt tenor.

Alfred B. Peck, who rang the tenor, had to pull over Its (I2ewt of metal 5,280 times.

No one man had ever “ turned in a hell of such weight.

A " RAT ” BURGLAR. LONDON. February 18. Peter McDonald, 22, who is alleged to burrow his way in rat-like fashion, was sentenced at Glasgow yesterday to six months’ hard labour for breaking into three shops and stealing articles. It was stated that .McDonald entered the first shop by breaking the back window. He made a bole in the ceiling. got on to the ratters, and crawled along the rafters to a third shop. GERMAN GRIP IN SPAIN. BARCELONA. January 26. The Union Navale do l.evanto, in which Krupp’s, the German steel firm, are interested, is shortly placing a new issue of CI2O,IKI!>. in bonds bearing 6 per cent., on the market. This concern Inis taken over the New Vulcan Works at Barcelona, the shipyard at Tarragona. the shipbuilding yard at Valencia, and the Gotnoz workshops at the same place. Krupp’s have also made arrangements to take over the .Micros iron ami steel works, together with the coni and iron mines of the same company m Asturias. in the imrth of Spain. Another German concent, the Maiutfaeturoras do ('oreho, S.A., will shortly ask lor 1160,000 in (i per lent bonds. PALAC E OF 1,700 YEARS AGO. ROME, Feb. 9. Professor Pnribeni, the Royal Superintendent of Antiquities in Rome, who lias just returned from a tour in Tripolianin, states that Roman remains found at Leptis Magna rank among the most perfect to be found anywhere, even in Italy. The dry desert sand lias apparently kept everything in a perfect stale of preservation, the Imperial Palace with which Septimius Severus graced his native city, being especially magnificent lor the beauty ol its marble and tbe richness of its statutes and sculptural decorations. I.eptis Magna also contains a public bath, in which great treasures have been found., In the professor’s opinion the small area which has been excavated so far makes Lentis Magna the finest Roman remains outside Italy. FIRM'S C 1,200,000 TAX. LONDON. Feb. I). On additional assessments in respect of excess profits duty the Inland Revenue authorities have been collecting large sums of money from textile firms in the West Hiding of Yorkshire finsome time past.

In one case it. is almost openly acknowledged that a firm has been [laying £](K),O!X) a month for the past 12 months. At least three more big concerns are known to be making heavy payments, although the figures are. not mentioned, while many smaller linns are also involved.

THE PRINCE’S PARTNER. LONDON, Feb. 0

'file Prince of Wales attended the British Legion ball at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, oil Friday night. He took part in many of the dances. Among his partners was Miss Mabel Southgate, a young Melton Mowbray woman, formerly a school teacher, who lost her sight in 1918 after an attack of influenza. About -It 10 people took the floor during his dance with her—a foxtrot. It was encored three times, and he danced with Miss Southgate to the end, himself joining in tli demand for more.

Before and during the dance the Prince chatted with Aliss Southgate on a variety of topics. He learned that she had a wireless set at home and he asked whether she had heard any of his s|K'o<-hes. She replied that she heard his speech on the closing day of Weniblov.

When she asked whether lie did not get tired ot making speeches, the Prince replied with a laugh, that lie. woutild have to make a lot on his forthcoming visit to South Africa. She asked him. whether he had enjoyed coming to Melton, and he replied that he loved tho place. In the intervals between the dances tho Prince talked with a number ot disabled ex-Serviee men.

SAVED BY BABY’S CRY. r.oxnox, Fei>. a. Awakened by the cry of a baby early yesterday morning, Mr Coombe, a dairyman, of Wooleomber-street, Dover found .that his house was on fire. “The bedroom was full of smoke,” he said, “ and the child must have cried as it was being suffocated. The staircase was on tire and we were nearly choked by the smoke, so my wife took the baby to the window. “I got out and dropped on the pavement. I called up my neighbours and we ran the shop blind up. 1 clambered up on the blind and my wife lowered the baby to me and neighbours took it. My wife, in lowering herself, missed her hold and fell through the blind to the pavement, cutting her head.” Mr Coombe said that the baby seemed none the worse for its experience. The fire brigade rescued the cat from the house,

50 YEARS OLD FISH. LONDON, Fob. 18. An electric eel that lived 12 years 7 months and 10 days in spite of the heavy work of giving shocks to visitors at the London Zoo was among the examples quoted by Major F. S. Flower at last night’s scientific meeting of the Zoological Society. In his paper—which was devoted to authenticated ages reached by fish, frogs, newts, salamanders and similar creatures- .Major Flower said that two out of three European cattish which had been turned out at Woburn in 1871 were reported by the Duke of Bedford to he still alive.

Other examples of long life in captivity included:

Carp 13 years. Mirror Carp 24. (fold Fish 12, Golden Orfe 29, Dace S. Sterlet AS, Helling 4, Fire-bellied Toad 11. Salmon 3, .Brown Trout G. Thunder Fish 21, Bull Frog 21, Natterjack Toad 13, Tree Frog 14, Female. Spanish Newt 18. Giant Salamander 52. The 12-yearsold sterlet was in Egypi and the 38-vears-old sterlet was a record held b.v the Brighton Aquarium. Leyden, in Holland, was the home of the giant salamander, which existed there for 52 years.

As a rough general rule Major Flower thought that the bigger the fish tin greater was the expectation oi life.

UNLICENSED CHUIMIES. LONDON, Feh. 18.

Marriages celebrated during the past sixteen years in the village church ot All Saints. Goulccby, Lincolnshire, which wine technically invalid arc to he legalised formally by a Bill introduced in the House of Commons by Mr Godfrey l.oeker-Lampson, Under-Secre-tary for the Home Office. 'Goiihchv is a village about (if miles north of llorncastlo, and the new church of All Saints was consecrated for Divine service on .lanuary 21st. 1908, in substitution for an ancient parish church of the same name. According to the schedule oi the Bill, issued yesterday, it does not appear that the new church was licensed for the solemnisation of marriages.

Many weddings took place between these two dates, and by the measure all banns of matrimony published and marriages solemnised before last May arc to he deemed to have been valid.

apprentice and girl. LONDON. Feh. 18

In the Court of Session, Edinburgh, yesterday. Lord Ashmore gave a decree of declaration of marriage in the action by Margaret Mailer Morrison, or Ewan, of Causewayside, Edinburgh, against William Martin Ewan inn., an engineer's li.tter, lately residing at Black-wood-crescent, Edinburgh, and now m America.

When the couple became acquainted in January 1921, it, was stated that the girl was 17 and the man. who was a vear or two older, was an apprentice en-

gineer. Lord Ashmore quoted a letter winch in his opinion alfordcd evidence that the man had promised to marry the girl and that, she had accepted him. The letter had been preserved by chance, and by this means she had been able to obtain for herself and her child such protection as the law could give

against the eonseqenco.s which had resulted from her misplaced trust in the promise of the man, He found them to be married persons and gave the girl expenses. AMONG THE REINS. LONDON. Feh. (~ Mr John Turner, a member of the Trades’ Union Council, and ot I Ilf Trades Union Congress delegation which visited Russia in the end oi last year, related in London last night some ot his experiences among the Bolsheviks. The delegates, he said, could not help feeling that the people looked on their visit as one of the greatest events since the revolution. They were greeted on arrival by a bund, like a village band, playing the “International.” Bands of earying quality played it 8 or 10 times a day during the visit, and time after time almost the same speech of welcome was made, as if from a gramaphone. Ho confessed that the International had become and he was not eager to hear it played again as long as ho lived. They were received at the 'I fades' Union Congress just as any royal personage might, he in most other lands. Children were wandering about the city picking up food where possible, and c hid only in sheep skin. I here wcit? difficulties in the way of carrying out the Government decree that these children should lie looked after, as the present homos were already tilled. He thought there was snobbishness among some Russians in dressing like workmen when they were not engaged in manual labour. He had visited a prison in Russia. On the civil side prisoners were treated with great humanity. Tolitioal prisoners were, however, on a different status, and he came away with a heavy heart after a conversation with a certain prisoner there. AEROPLANES FULL OF SOY EUEIGNS. LONDON, February 10. , Two “bullion-’planes ” of Imperial Airways, carrying about t'347,000 in sovereigns, have Howli during the week-end front London to Paris. The bullion had been consigned from hanks in Loudon 1o certain hanks in Switzerland. The aeroplane route was chosen not onlv lor its speed, hut also its safety, the risk of pilferage being considered much less by air than by land and sea.

The lead of gold weighing -' lons, arrived at the Croydon aerodrome from London under guard in a number oi special metal-hound cases. Still under guard, it was then transferred to the cabins of the two big freight-’planes, and, with an airway official as well as the pilot travelling to keep his eye upon it in the air, was flown high across the Channel and landed at Le Hourget aerodrome, outside Paris,

Here it was met by bank officials who took charge of it for its journey bv train to its destination at Bale.