NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1096, 20 January 1912, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

The London County Council’s Year Book, 11 London Statistics for 1910-11,” has just been issued, and contains many interesting facts. The latest statistics relating to Greater London —the recognised area used in the census and other publications by the RegistrarGeneral—show that the population in its area of 682.9 square miles is 7,252,063, while the assessable value of the property therein is The total parliamentary electorate in the London County Council area is 670,110, At the last general election 95-4 °* the electorate were given the opportunity of voting, but 74.6 only availed themselves. London is well provided with places of amusement, lor in the County Council area there are 50 theatres, 48 music halls, 292 cinematograph theatres, skating rinks, concert halls, and dancing rooms. There are 6,778 on licensed premises in the metroboliian area.

A strange tragedy took place at Lake Colas, Victoria, last week. Nicholas King returned home under the influence ol drink. Becoming demented, he seized a tomahawk and attacked his daughter, Daisy, who struggled with him and eventually succeeded in escaping, screaming and bleeding profusely, from the house. What occurred subsequently in the house is somewhat a mystery. It is thought that King became calmer after a while, and concluded that Daisy’s wounds had proved fatal. With this in his mind he resolved to commit suicide. The younger children who were in the house state that “daddy kissed us and went away.’’ In the meantime Daisy informed the neighbours of what occurred, and with Constable Downer they commenced a search for King, whose body was found hanging by a wire in a plantation. Miss King’s injuries are not considered to be serious.

A story which tends to support a widely prevalent suspicion among the general pnblic that surgeons are “ sometimes too handy with the knife,” is reported from Paris (says the London correspondent of the Melbourne Age).- A railway employee entered one of the principal

hospitals there suffering from a disease in the right arm. An operation was declared to be necessary. The report states that it was duly performed by one of the hospital surgeons, but on recovering from the auaethetics the patient discovered to his stupefaction that the left arm, instead of the right, had been operated upon. There was nothing to be done but to submit to another operation. This time no mistake was made, but because the victim made a complaint abont the “mishap” he was released from the hospital, although he was told that bis arm was not healed, and that it would require to be operated on again. The unfortunate patient is going to sue the surgeon for damages. The latter protests that he was “ not to blame for the blunder, which was due to the fact that the attendant turned the table round the wrong way.