INTERESTING ITEMS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 322, 21 December 1910, Page 3

INTERESTING ITEMS.

When going along the river Whiteadder, England,"some time ago, I saw floating down the river something which looked like a dead "fish, writes Mr John Herriot in "Country Life." Wading in, I found and brought ashore two eels, which in death were not divided, the one having attempting to swallow the other, with disastrous results to both. Whether it was a case of cannibalism or a gentle attempt to settle a matter of opinion I do not know. The length of the larger eel was two feet three inches, while his friend, who had proved too much for his digestion, measured one foot eight inches, and had been swallowed to the extent of seven inches.

If our French friends can claim to be the pioneers of the steamboat and the flying machine. England can hold the honour of doing most to explore the waters under the earth. The first practical diving dress was th? invention of ,Mr A. Siebe, of Brighton. The French adopted the Si°be system, and used in until 1557, when it was replaced by that of Francois Cabirol; and it is claimed that the apparatus of Rougnayrol-Dpnayroure has marked the last degree of perfection, despite the inventions of the Australian engineers, Gordon and Buchanan, whose metal cuirasse weighs 127 kilos, or rather more than 2791b. Such is the judgmeht of the French press.

The settlors on the northern coasts of Queensland arc finding that the most profitable production of the tropic island and coasts of that region are those manufactured from the cocoanut, a fruit which in the Facific Islands furnishes the principal food of the natives. "Copra," the main commercial product of the nut, has gone up to a high price. "Copra" is the nut of the-cocoanut palm, broken up into small pieces and dried in the sun. From it is obtained oil, very much in demand for soap-making, and, in a more refined form, for various edible purposes; 5001bs of "copra" will give 25gals. of cocoanut oil. Large quantities of butter are made from this product. The only woman who ever took part in a walrus hunt is said to be Mrs Peary, wife of the famous Arctic explorer. When Peary went on an expedition to Greenland once his wife accompanied him,, but was left behind with the Eskimos at the winter quarters while her husband and hi? followers went off to explore and map out the northern shores of the country. One day the Eskimos formed a walrushur.ting party, and Mrs Peary joined it. She sat in the stern of the boat, and when a shoal of walrus surrounded it she calmly fired at the monsters as they attempted to smash in the sides of the craft with their tusks. Lord Collins is one of the 13 judges on the retired list. The other 12 are Lord Lindley, Lord Gorell, Lord Toxteth of Mersey, Sir Edward Fry, Sk Ford North, Sir Arthur Charles., Sir Robert Romer, Sir James Stirling, Sir Alfred Wills, Sir Gainsford Bruce, Sir Henry Sutton, and Sir Arthur Jelf. Unprecedentedly large, indeed, is the number of ex-judges, their combined pensions amounting to £44,500 a year. The most active of these retired occupants of the Bench, despite his 82 years, is Sir Edward Fry, who, since he retired from the Court of Appeal in 1892, has acted as arbitrator in innumerable international and industrial disputes.

M. Lepine, the famous Prefect of Police in Paris, is going to England shortly to study British civic methods. The late King Edward had no firmer friendship in France than he had for the Prefect, who is believed to have saved more Sovereigns and Presidents from assassination than any other man living. M. Lepine is a wiry little man of sixty. Before he went to the Prefecture he fought against the Germans, receiving a decoration equivalent to our V.G., and then he practised as a barrister at Lyons. At the time of the great Paris strike of 1906 M. Lepine earned the name of the "champion riot killer." He controls from the Prefecture an army of 12,000 police, 6000 Republican Guards, and 18u"o riflemen.

"The promotion of Sir Rufus Isaacs to the office of Attorney-General puts him in the line of heirs-presumptive to the Lord Chancellorship," says the "Law Journal," and the quid nuncs have been busy with possible difficulties about the succession because of the vulgar notion that 'that most sacred fortalice of the Constitution, that inner sanctuary and holy of holies" is closed to subjects of the King professing Jewish religion. There is no foundation for this idea now, for the old statutory provisions excluding Jews from certain high offices of State, including those of Lord Chancellor and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, were repealed by the Promissory Oaths Act of 1871, and there is nothing in the common law to justify such an exception to the general rule that 'every subject of the King is presumably entitled to hold every office under the Crown.' " A novel wager has been recently made in a local club (says the "NewZealand Times"), the parties to the affair being two well-known racingmen, and the sum at stake is .£2OOO. The conditions of the bet are that a Wellington owners elects a pedestrian to beat a horse on the road to Auckland and back to Wellington again in February. The horse may be ridden by the lightest weight available, and may go at any pace, while the man will not be restricted to walking. It is understood that the horse selected will probably be a "musterer," while the man selected to defend the other side of the bet may be a well-known champion—at least, the backer hopes to secure the services of such a man. Both rider and pedestrian will be allowed the services of a man on a motor bicycle to convey information as to the position of their opponent. Experience of previous similar contests; is said to favour the pedestrian, as it has been found that horses "crack up" on the roads under the conditions.