NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 May 1926, Page 3

NEWS BY MAIL.

WOMAN PARACHUTIST. LONDON, April L All'S S. O. Elliot-Lynn, an air pilot, descended by parachute from an aeroplane in the view of thousands of people at Hereford on Saturday. On tho previous day she made her first Attempt, and when the machine was at a height" of 1,500 ft, and she had already climbed from the cockpit and was clinging to the side of tho machine preparatory to dropping to space, the engine failed and the aeroplane fell so rapidly that it was only with difficulty that a. landing was made. On Saturday the aeroplane climbed tu 1,500 ft and then the spectators watcl.-cd Airs Elliot-Lynn climb from the cockpit, hang for a second from the aeroplane, and drop like a stone. The parachute opened out almost immediately, and, with Airs Elliot-Lynn dangling at tho end of a long wire rope, the parachute came drifting to tho ground. From the time tho descent started to tho time she lauded in a ploughed field only 04 seconds elapsed.

There was a, tremendous cheer as the airwoman released the parachute and scilinibled to her feet. Spectators rushed to meet her.

TROOPER’S ESCAPE, LONDON, April 1

Galloping with despatches during military operations near the New Inn, on the Bordon-Portsmouth road, on Saturday, Trooper George SaYage, attached to the London Territorial Artillery, lmd a narrow escape. Aleeting a motor-car, as it came behind high, gorse, he spurred his horse to try to pass the vehicle, but the frightened animal sprang astride the ear’s bonnet. Before Air Percy Connett, of Aldershot, the driver of the car, could pull up, the ih.or.se rolled in front of the car and received fatal injuries, having to be shot. Savage leapt from his saddle and alighted on hushes, escaping another passing car by a few inches. The “war despatches” wore delivered by Savage on foot. RATS R \ID. LONDON, April I. A fight between rats and a police constable early yesterday morning outside the East Cavalry Barracks in Bar-rack-road, Aldershot, is described by P.C. Rogers, who was on patrol duty. When be approached the forage barn, ho says, lie found about 100 rats swarming over the roof and licking the morning dew from the slates. Drawing bps staff, lie said, he attacked the rats, hut instead of-taking to flight the famished rates made a stand, and some of them even sprang at the constable as he raised his staff to strike them. Then, as a. bugle sounded the Reveille in the neighbouring barracks, one of the rats, which P. C. Rogers describes as a “leader" or commander, gave a. peculiar squeak and the whole “army” fled, leaving only one dead rat as a viclom. The rats had played havoc with the s horses’ Easter rations in. the hum. "DEVIL” COAL DIGGER. COLOGNE, April I. The “Daily Mail” mission of miners had a new experience to-day. “For the first time in our lives,” declared Afr Clarke from Staffordshire, “we have soon the devil. \Ye have seen him reared up against .1 seam of lignite (brown coal), 50 to 100 metres thick, tearing 1,000 tons of it loose at a bite, tucking it into his stomach, discharging it at incredible s|ieed into tubs, and pushing it away with practically no liumlin assistance. 'Never have we beheld anything like it ill Eng-

Alr Clarke's “devil” is an endless chain and bucket excavator, operated by electric power, which digs out lignite, dminis half a toil of it into each of twenty wagons, and sends it away in the- almost incredibly brief time of one minute. Only two men are employed on each excavator; the machine does the rest. Of all the mechanical marvels we have seen in the last low days this has most astonished the Mission.

The daily production amounts to 11,000 tons of lignite, and 4,000 tons of briquettes, which ar» used tor f ucl. 'The output of briquettes in the whole field last year reached the enormous total of 4.000,000 tons. Oil behalf „of the Rihenish Aktien Gcscllschaft, who are exploiting the seams, Director Oolleric, of the DerglSiuvercin, had arranged to convey the delegates in the company’s motor-cars to the colliery at Kierberg, about- 20 miles trom Cologne, where they wore shown round by Heir Kestring, the manager, and Herr Kloos, the engineer. WINE TAX STOPPED. BERLIN, April 4. The Government has given Germany a. delightful Easter present. The tax on wine has been removed, and yesterday people dining in the restaurants found they had not to pay the 20 percent tax on still wine or the f>o per cent tax on sparkling wine. The wine growers of the Afosclle and the Rhine, who had been complhining bitterly of the bad taxes, are rejoicing and orders for wine are pouring ini