GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2557, 20 March 1923, Page 1

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

Looms costing from £l2 to £2O a piece are becoming popular among women who are interested in weaving their own tweed materials.

The /“trade” of buying empty Hats, stocking them with furniture and letting them at exorbitant rates is now said to be “dead” in London.

Tlie present Pope, Pius XI, once studied at (lie Bodleian Library, Oxford, and visited London, Manchester, and other British cities.

About forty years ago a retired Indian colonel said he had seen a

pink duck. The story naturally created 1 a certain amount of jealousy among his friends. Later on somebody shot a pink-headed duck and gave it to the Natural History Museum, London. Since then the museum has collected nearly a dozen of the species, evidently without telling the hall porter, who, when asked: “Have you ever seen a pink duck?” gave a violent and vigorous denial. It now appears that the New York Natural History' Museum is without a pink-headed duck, and an expedition is starting 1 for India for the purpose of shooting tigers and, incidentally, to satisfy the cravings of the American ornithologists.

Seven thousand drivers are expected to take part in the London Safety First Council’s competition for the best driving record in Greater London. The competition began in 1918, but a special medallion or badge of honour is now offered to the holders of awards representing live consecutive years’ freedom from accidents, to include the 1923 competition. Nor the year there will be 350 badges of merit and of this number 100 will receive 10s in addition. Cab-drivers of all kinds busmen and horse drivers are included in the competition and it is estimated that about 00 men will be eligible at the end of 1923 for the medallion. “The London drivers,

as a class,” said a member, “are the most careful body of men in the world.”

. How a small dog was,kept for 18 months on a chain in a yard without a kennel or water was described in Kingston Police Court recently. Charles Underwood and his mother Mrs Elizabeth Underwood, of Acre Wood, Kingston, were each lined £2 Ills for cruelty. Inspector Bowskin of the K.S.P.C.A., said the dog was fastened up in a yard with a chain about 2ill. long and weighing about 51b. The yard was only 3ft. wide, and the dog had become too ferocious to handle. Charles Underwood, said the inspector told him that they had to keep the dog like that, as it had knocked some children down. Mrs Underwood admitted that it had been on the chain for 18 months. A veterinary surgeon said the dog was half mad with excitement at trying to escape from the collar of the chain. The Underwoods said it had the run of the house in the evening, and was sometimes taken out.

A ehemisCs mistake in making up a sleeping draught lia- resulted in t lie death of Eliza M>ss, wife of Dr Adam Moss, of West Kitin', Cheshire. At the impiest the jury returned a verdict of aeridenlal death and found that death was due to the administration of heroin by mistake. They expressed their sympathy with Dr, .Moss and with the chemist. It was stated that Mrs .Moss was suffering from pneumonia. hut on Christmas morning appeared to he recovering. As she was suffering from sleeplessness a \crona! sleeping powder was ordered by telephone from the chemist. Later the chemist telephoned to Dr. Moss saying he thought he had in mistake make up the powder with heroin instead of veronal. I lie chemist broke down while giving evidence. lie said he had been sull'ering from intluen/.a and was run down in consequence of much night work. When lie returned to his shop about 5 p.in. on Christmas Day he found the wrong bottle beside Ids scales, and this showed him that he had made a mistake. He had known Mrs Moss for many years.