NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 2 July 1927, Page 4

NEWS BY MAIL.

VALUABLE DAFFODILS. LONDON, April 13. Gold is still the predominant hue in daffodils, though other shades are creeping in, and the massed thousands of flowers that filled every part of the Royal Horticultural Hall. Westminster. yesterday, when the annual Daffodil Show was opened. were a splendid sight. It was the hugest and most valuable display of the great narcissus laniily yet held. The new catalogues described named novelties with prices up to £2o a bulb, hut there were dozens ol unnamed seedlings shown, the two oi three existing bulbs of which would not be parted with for lour times that amount.

The display illustrated notably the public demand for brilliancy' of colotuing. Eantin l.atour. probahiv the largest ot the trumpet daflodils. was oil view. Its price is a guinea a hull). Ihe hell of the trumpet measures at least 2t inches in diameter, and the perianth 5 incites across. Little Minimus, the smallest, is barely half an inch across the whole flower.

•MIRACLE MAKERS. COPENHAGEN, April 13. In the back yard of a building belonging to a spiritualist congregation in Odense, on the Island of Funen, the Hope of Light resides. Every child ill Odense lias heard about the strange doings behind the walls where ‘'Brother Johannes,” who died 200 years ago. is giving eonsultaii,,„ every Monday evening,.curing nil kinds of sickness, hut especially .rheumatism and diseases of the .stomach. The authorities have recently had occasion to investigate the doings of the congregation, the members of which stale that numerous miracles have taken place. One ot the members, a business man named Jensen, declares that he has seen invalids ill row away their crutches and walk

Recently, lie says, a young girl win had been blind for eleven years called on the congregation. She had consulted various specialists without any result, hut ••Brother Johannes” made her see in the course of two weeks. He montiois another instance ot a voting girl who was hardly able to walk owing to overlying toes. She went to the congregation for help, and dttri |,e seance a cloth was laid over her feet . Through the medium ■•Brother Johannes” laid his hand on her head and the miracle took place. ’When the cloth was removed her feet were quite natural.

Apparently the times of miracles are not vet* past, and it seems as if Odense might become a new Lourdes. DEAD HUSBAND'S DOUBLE. PARTS. April 13.

A worthy citizen of St. Etienne was rending his newspaper in a tramwayear yesterday when a recently re-mar-ietl widow, whose first, husband had been regarded to have died abroad, claimed him as her lost spouse.

She cross-examined him in detail, but the man stoutly maintained that be was a bachelor. Tln> ex-widow as firmly disagreed, and insisted that the tramway-car bo stopped and a policeman called.

“You can easily prove tlnii this man is my dead husband,” she told the constable.” because be is tattooed all ever bis body.” The policeman took them to the police station followed hy a highly amused crowd. There the esteemed citizen was e mpelled I) strip before the inspector who was then able to satisfy the woman that the bachelor wns not tattooed and therefore was not her first husband.

DIAMOND JUBILEE. JOHANNESBURG. April 27. South Africa this year i.s having a diamond jubilee, though there are no special celebrations for it. Sixty years ago an Irishman, John O’Reilly, lound the first South African diamond during a bunting expedition on the tnrm ol Sellalk van Niekcrk, on the banks o: the Orange River. Since then diamond digging in Hi • Union lias given a round-figure output of value of more than £303,000,000. YYlieit O’Reilly visited the van Niekcrk farm be noticed bis host’s children playing with glittering stones,, which be was informed were abundant | tin the liver hank. One stone given to* him as a souvenir was afterwards sold to the then Governor of the Cape, Sir Philip YYodebott.se, for £BOO. A great “ rush ” of all kinds aius classes of people followed the discovery and in 1870 the blue pipes, rich with diamonds, were discovered at the plane now known as Kimberley, to which 50.000 people rushed within three weeks.

On alluvial diggings a claim is 15 feet by 15 feet, and a licence fee of 5s per month is payable to the Govern-

ment for each claim. In 1923 1.100 white men and 18.000 natives were engaged on claims, and the number is now estimated at four times that total. YVPITTE SLAYER'S RUSE. PARIS, May 17. Light, oil the subtleties of white slave, traffickers, surpassing the revelations of the League ot Nations committee which recently published the report (reviewed in the “Daily Mail”) of its world-wide inquiry, is thrown by an arrest made by the Paris police.

The prisoner is a certain ''.Mademoiselle Gahrielle. a pleasant lairImired girl well but discreetly dressed, wearing some but not too many jewels who occasionally c.ome into contact with the girl employees from a wellknown Parisian, shop as they wore talklunch in adjoining restaurant. “.Mademoiselle Oabrielle' aflable and engaging was regarded as a charming acquaintance and soon became the confidante ol the little troubles ol the girls. One day she called aside Mademoiselle Juliette—living with her parents in the. Rue .Mongo, and whispered in her ear; “1 have something very important to tell you. Meet me this evening at. seven o’clock and I will tell you what it is.

Juliette kept the appointment and

“Mademoiselle Gahrielle” told her that it was foolish of her to work tor the wages her empowers paid her, saying that she was worth much more and that really she possessed managerial genius. •‘Gahrielle” added that she had a post for her as manageress of a fashion house in Mexico with a commencing salary of £250 a year and commission.

“Don't- say anything to your girl friends.” said “Gahrielle'' to 18-vears old Juliette. “110001150 they might he jealous and seek to get the post. lit fact, don't oven tell your people until the deal is concluded. It would be better not to do so.” -

But Juliette told her parents ot the meeting and the conversation, and the result was that the police waited for “Gahrielle” and invited Iter to ncc impany them to police headquarters. There it transpired that “Mademoiselle Gahrielle” was a man who was identified as Gabriel Louis Filon, a notorious white slave trafficker, aged 35, living at 19, Rue tie Saintonage. Fillon confessed that lie dressed up as a woman in order the better to gain the confidence of the young girls whom he selected as his dopes.

1 BYZANTINE FINDS. CONSTANTINOPLE. May 7. The members of the British Academy expedition who are conducting excavations at the ancient Hippodrome of Stainboul, where chariot races were held at the time of the Byzantine Emperors, announce that they have discovered that the Potpliyrogenitus Column was constructed as a fountain. The column known as the Porphy rogenitiis is one of the three caned pillars which adorned the Hippodrome. , The excavators have traced a Lad pipe up the axis to the top of the pedestial, where there are spout exits on four sides. The water tell into a mosiae basin. The waterway supplying the lountain of the Serpent Column (brought to Byxantiiim from Delphi hy the Emperor Constantine in 330 A.n.) hits also been cleared.

the ghost ship. COPENHAGEN. May 7. The port of Reykjavik. Iceland, which is at present much frequented hy Faroe fishing cutters, believes that it lias been visited l>y a •■ghost ship” the story being reminiscent m the old tales of “The Flying Dutchman.'' which suddenly appeared and was believed to presage death and disaster for those who saw it. One evening in. April a functionary „i the port. Kristjan Jonassoii, saw an Icelandic trawler enter the harbour. Sailing alongside was a Farce fishing cutter with two boats in taw. in one of which were two men in. oilskins. It anchored alongside live other Farce cutters in the harbour. 'l'he harbour pilot- had hoarded the trawler, and lie, the crew of the trawler and the crew of the pilot boat all affirm that they saw tlie cutter but. that- no one was to be seen on board. The cutter carried the letters of identity I‘.D. but no figures; F.D. means that the cutter belonged to Fnglefjord. \Ylien the colter anchored Mr Jona son telegraphed to the port doctor to go on board to make the usual examination. but when the polite boat with the doctor, Mr Jonasson. and an engineer neared the spot where Lite cutter had been she had vanished. barely 15 minutes elapsed before tl,c police arrived, it was impossible fov the cutter to have reach'd so far as behind the islands lying, off the liarhour. Reykjavik messages to Copenhagen say that it has been impossible t„'find a natural explanation of the occurrence.

ZDU TRAGEDY. j LONDON. May 17. j There is an age-old falsehood to Die '(ilY.-l that "an ostrich can digest atiy- : thing.” This has just caused the ! death of Sheba, a much respected bird ' at the I. union Zoo. i After some (lays of keen disoimtnrt 1 Sheba died. The post-mortem was fol-low-ctl with interest hv the keepers, lui ! s me birds prove themselves quite useful little deposit m counts, alter death, since silver and copper coins arc sotnej times found in their insides tips trout | visitois to the gardens. ! Sheba's death, however, was lound '■ i,.,vc I ecu caused by a tin-opener. It was one of those slotted “keys’ which introduces us to Hie sardine. A I stone had wedged itself in the hanfllo ! and the bird's gizzard was badly I raved.

he', ii he stated once and f r all i that osti idles have delicate digestions. , They cannot eat grains of coin even I without swallowing stones to help , grind them into Hour. The stones , which we see the ostrich “eat’ a'e ■ 1 not lor food but to assist the flourmill arrangements in the creature s ! gizzard. i Silver coins when given by Zoo visit u\s are used in the same way and do ; little harm to the bird. They go ! Pack into circulation after the ini quest. Copper coins arc mildly poi- , sounds. Sheba left 3’d in bronze, worn , verv thin but good enough for auloI math- machines. : HUDSON HAY RAILWAY'. WINNIPEG, May 17. The Hon. Charles Dunning, the • Minister of Railways, has returned from an inspection of the Hudson , Bay Railway work greatly pleased with i the progress made by the 1000 men ; who are working along the grade to- : wards the Bay. I The work at present in hand will to 1 completed in August. The men will then move on to complete the hist link from Limestone River to Hudson Bay. 1 The route of the Hudson Bay Railway i.s front the Pas, (Manitoba, and Saskatchewan River to Port Nelson, at the mouth of the Nelson River, on Hudson Bay—a distance of -110 miles. Work on the railway began in 1011. but was discontinued in 1917 after a decision that the short navigation sea-

’ son on the Bay would not offer an effective outlet for the Prairie Pro- ■, vinccs by sea. 1 Advocates of the railway believe that it will provide a quicker outlet for Canada's wheat—bringing the wheat belt 1,500 miles nearer the British market—and that shorter rail transport and lower freights will build up ail expanding trade in wheat and cattle. Already more than. £1.000.000 lias been spent on the project, including £1,250.000 011 harbour works at Port Nelson.

GIRL SPY. ’PARIS. May 17. Letters which. iL is officially declared, leave no doubt that Jean Louis ('remot t. the Bolshevist member of the Paris City ( ouncii', and his pretty girl secretary, Denise (alias Louise; Chirac, who, as reported a month ago. are implicated with eight other prisoners In a great Hod spy plot, was seeking to pr he military and naval secrets, are revealed by the Surete Generale. the French Scotland Yard. ('remett and his girl secretary are stiil at large, hut the warrant requiring their presence before the examining magistrate has now been replaced hy 11 warrant for their arrest pending trial. Among the correspondence which has come into the possession of the detectives is a letter from Mile.' Chirac to a Red agitator at Marseilles asking him for precise details of the new tanks under construction at the naval yards at La Seyne. particularly the type known as Heavy Tank Type C, Whippet Tank Tyne C. and the intermediate size Vickers tanks. The Red girl spy adds that she particularly wants to know about the armour plate of the tanks, their armament and speed, and the instructions for their use. as well as a few details concerning new models of armoured

Pending the arrest of Cretnett and Mile. Chirac, the eight other prisoners are being held in custody. ICE-CREAM ARISTOCRAT. GENEVA. May 17. The gas tamo of an ice-cream stall exploded near the hotel occupied by the Soviet Delegation to the Economic Conference, causing a panic and wounding two persons. The police are inclined to believe that the explosion was not accidental, the ice-cream stall proprietor being a Rus--siair aristocrat refugee who has now disappeared.

WHITE SLAVE VICTIMS. ALLAHABAD, May 17

Rachael Troussicr, a pretty Frencli girl, tokl an extraordinary story in a Calcutta court during the hearing of a white slave traffic charge against Luigi l.avorante and Beniamin Pudnano. She stated that she and four other girls left Paris with the two accused men, who engaged them at 500 rupees (£37 10s) a month to dance. They visted 'Naples, Baghdad, Basrah, and Teheran, hut received no pay. Afterwards they went to Bombay and then to Calcutta. She continued with the men because she was destitute.

Padam Prasad, of Benares, was charged at the same court with selling a Nepali girl, Kumari Maya, for immoral purposes. The girl stated that Prasad forcibly took her from Benares to Calcutta, where she was taken to the house of a man named Hiralal, to whom she was told she had been sold. After five months she escaped and lodged a complaint, alleging most cruel treatment.