GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2146, 1 July 1920, Page 1

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

The British Medical Association, at its annual meeting, decided almost unanimously that practitioners should not voluntarily disclose, without; a patient’s consent, information obtained in the exercise of professional duties. It 'instructed the council to devise steps in support of members maintaining professional secrecy.

While a wedding ceremony was in progress in a Christchurch church on Thursday the bridegroom suddenly fell over backwards in a lit. Restoratives were immediately applied, but it was ton minutes before the man could be restored to his full senses. After he had rested the ceremony was resumed, and the couple eventually drove away in the best of spirits, amidst the cheers of their friends.

Says the “Trade Review”; —Two notable sales of Auckland city property are reported. Brunswick buildings, with a frontage of 42 feet to Queen Street, and a frontage to High Street, have changed hands for £86,000. Palmerston buildings, with 100 feet frontage lo both Queen and Little Queen Streets, and which arc erected on a Harbour Board lease, with thirty years to run, have also been sold, the price paid being £32,500.

General Birdwood is a raconteur of no mean order, and his visit to New Zealand has clearly enriched and replenished our current stock of good stories. One that does not seom yet to. have gained publicity was told by the General in Dunedin, and concerns the habitual Australian use of a certain forbidden adjective. A. lady was visiting the Tower of London. Approaching a guide she asked, “Will you please show mo the Bloody Tower?” “I’ve met many Australian men,” was the cordial response, “hut you’re the first Australian lady I’ve met!”

Probably the most remarkable and uni(|ue botanical discovery in recent times has been made in British Columbia, Canada, where it has been found that a sugar of a very high quality, containing a rare trisaccharide in greater abundance than any oilier plant known to botanists, is yielded in no less strange a place than the foliage of the Douglas tir. The sugar will never be obtained in sufficient quantities to play a part as a food source, except to a few Indians where it grows. But further investigation will probably show it to be a value in chemistry and the concoction of medicines, owing to its containing such a high percentage of pure trisaecharide.

A slump in prices of fat stock is reported from Wairarapa, partly on account of glutted meal stores, but cbiclly owing to great scarcity of feed. Store cattle are a drug on the market. At sales during the past few days steers, which a few weeks ago would have brought from £lO to £l2, were difficult of sale at £4, while a line of forward store cattle which earlier in the season would easily have realised £lB to £2O, did not find a purchaser. Hundreds of head of cattle have been passed in at sales during the past week, as the bidding was not nearly up to what was considered the market value. Sheep are faring Inil little better. Some of the best Romney ewes submitted this season only brought 25s to 35s —animals which a few weeks agh would have commanded without difficulty ■los to (iOs,

As during (he. hts(; lew years Australia has been developing a very valuable business in previous stones in New Zealand, it has eaused sonic concern to manufacturing jewellers to learn that the Coinnfonwealth postal authorities leave decided not to accept jewellery and precious stones for transmission by parcels post to countries which have no agreeraent. with the Commonwealth for the insurance of parcels. New Zealand (says 'Melbourne Age) is one of the countries with which such an agreement has not been made. But the postal authorities point out that jewellery and precious stones can be sent to New Zealand by letter post, which is a much safer, if somewhat dearer, form of transit. The authorities also claim that the parcels post is not the medium of transit that should be employed for such valuable articles as jewellery and precious stones. A thrilling story of how the wife of a Russian general escaped from the Bolsheviks with £50,000 worth of diamonds concealed in her hat and in the buttons of her clothes, was told by Mr Patrick Hastings, K.C., in the King’s Bench Division. Mr Hastings appeared for Dir John Ostroumoff, a Russian, who sued Messrs Vickers, and General Peter Balinsky, their head representative in Russia, to recover £2,911 expense,- incurred by him in helping the firm’s Russian staff to escape from

the “Reds.” At grave risk of his life, declared Mr Hastings, Ostrouinol'f obtained passports for himself and Ba Husky, their families, and the staff of Vickers for the journey to Vladivostock. They had not got far before it was discovered that Mrs Blainsky had £50,000 worth of diamonds concealed on her, and the party were placed in the greatest danger. Ostroumoff said he was told that if his description of the party were false he would be shot within twenty minutes.