NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS

Hokitika Guardian, 26 June 1929, Page 7

NEWS FROM ALL QUARTERS

CONVERSING BV WIRELESS. Tapping out his messages in Morse code on Sunday alteruoon last, a broadcasting amateur at Cheltenham .picked u.,, a icilow amateur in Chile, who was on the point of retiring for the night.

'Jen 'miiitncs later the Aucklander got into touch with a transmitter in Baghdad, who stated that lie had just

risen after a good night’s rest and was indulging in his favourite pastime for a few minutes before taking breaklast and setting out for his day’s work. Another licensed transmitter in Auckland lrequentiy lias long conversations with an amateur in Honolulu, whose favourite pastime is to discuss problems of the countries around the Pacific. Each holder of a broadcasting license throughout the world has his private call, and the calls are circulated in hook form, with the result that many long-range friendships are being established. Truly we live in a romantic age 1 EMPIRE’S BIGGEST PORT. In .spite of the efforts of other ports to attract trade from overseas Dominions and from, foreign ports, London seems to become more and more the ceiure for everything. Liverpool had to condole with itsell over the loss of the head office oi the White Star Line and other concerns peculiarly associated with that port, and now, according to a writer in the “Observer’’ it has to further lament the loss to London of considerable foreign imports which formerly went up the Mersey. Formerly the West African cocoa trade had its centre in Liverpool, but now London lias become the centre owing to the large amount of cocoa sent to the Continent. In the last issue of the “P.L.A.” the magizine of the Port of London Authority, mention is made that during the week after Easter no less than 17 large ocean-go-ing steamers, aggregating 160,000 ton were simultaneously in Tilbury Docks. In the same issue mention Is made of the fact that for the first quarter of this year over 90 per cent, of New Zeaexports of butter and cheese to the tniied Kingdom were consigned to London, as compared with 87 per cent for the same period, in 1928. COFFIN ON FIRE. Workmen employed laying foundations for an electric organ in the north vestry of Holy Trinity Church, Gosport, had a curious experience. A portion of a slab became chipped and there appeared a hole through which smoko came. The hole enlarged and more smoke came forth accompanied by the smell of smouldering wood. An electric bulb was then nut down the nolo and a coffin lying in the vault was revealed. The fire brigade was summoned, but the coflin suddenly burst into flames and the side collapsed. Chemical fire extinguishers were used to put out the flames. What was left of the coffin was examined. It had been ornately fitted and the breastplate bore the date 1830. The coffin was apparently in a good state of preservation until the air reached it. .he vault was resealed.

’PHONE CALL DEATH

So startled was Mr Alan Andrew Ferguson, aged 41, by the ringing of a telephone be! 1 which he feared would mean a message of bad news, that he dropped dead in his office in Stanley Street, Liverpool. At the inquest it was stated that 3lr Ferguson, who lived at Wallasey, had received a letter from a brother in Glasglow stating that their lather had taken ill following vaccination in anticipation of a visit to Paris. latter there came a telephone call from Glasgow that the .ilness was serious, and Mr Ferguson was discussing whether or not he should to his father when the telcponc bell rang again. Mr Ferguson apparently feared it was another message from Glasgow hut it proved to he a local call. Me fell’ unconscious while the telephone was being answered and died a few minutes later. A verdict of death from natural causes was returned. FUNERAL DISORDER. “You are here to make pleasure out of other people’s misery. our conduct is perfectly disgusting.” So said the officiating minister, the Rev. L. H. R. Stavcly, at a funeral in Middlesbrough Cemetery condemning the behaviour of the crowd whom he ordered to stand hack. “If there is any irreverence I shall stop the service.” -The crowd consisting mainly of women many with children in arms and perambulators. was so thick at the graveside that the mourners and the minister- had difficulty in forcing their way thromdi. Mr Stnvelv said afterwards that disorderly scenes in the cemetery on the part t morbid crowds were becoming inorensinglv common. People went to satisfy a desire to s'e others

suffering sorrow and crowded round giaves in an irreverent manner. O her ministers had had to rebuke crowds at the graveside. “ ROCKET ” BIPLANE. The Raab Katzenstein aeroplane works at Cn&sci (Germany) earned oat successful trial flights with a “ rocket” aeroplane. Great secrecy was observed. The machine, which is a biplane, has no tail in the ordinary sense of the word, and the rocket eases are built in behind the main plane. A system of refilling the cases with explosives automatically while the machine is in flight is'being investigated. CLAIM TO £18,000,000. A Manchester woman is claiming a Untune said to amount to £18,000,000 A sum of £9,(L0,0t0 was lei# by Airs Helen Blake, of County Mayo Ireland whose maiden name was Sheridan, on nor death fifty years ago. Airs Briggs or Bolton ltoad, Pendlebury, claims the money which is now believed to have doubled itself. There nre 114 claimants to the money in England Ireland and America. Airs Briggs said: “My father put m a claim 30 years ago. He was told that he was a direct descendant of Airs Blake, and that he had a better legal right to the millions than any other member of the Blake family. Unfortunately lie died before completing the claim..” MONEYLENDERS’ WA VS. What was described as an objectionable practice on the part of moneylendclers was referred to at Alarylebone •County Court. An omnibus driver who admitted that he was already paying small sums monthly under two previous committal orders, said that the plaintiff a moneylender, employed agents to go round public houses and collect money. “I myself,” said the driver, “have been held up outside the garage and 1 have had a letter from the plaintiff telling me that a potmap at a public house where my omnibus finishes the journey has authority to collect the money. I have done this more than once, and now the plaintnf disputes the payments.”