GENERAL NEWS.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9351, 21 January 1909, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS.

Locusts in Algeria have* found a dangerous enemy in a fly. which follows them, and lays its *srgs where . they lay theirs. A la Ta issues from the egg of the fly and devours the locust egas _ The I; Va chdrigea into a chrysalis, and thou iuto a perfect insect, which folluWs the flight of the locusts,, repeating the same performance.

A peasant followed hy a goat walked in to the local bank at Aunlao to, pay' in some money. As he was going out a clerk that the goat had a piece of paper in his mouth. The clerk vaulted over the counter and caught the animal, just in- time to prevent it swallowing a bond worth £3OOO, which it had nibbled off the counter. , , Picture postcards arb being used in Europe for all kinds of announcements. Newly-married couples pose in wedding costumes for card pictures, which are sent to friends; proprietors of inns and restaurants use them for advertising purposes; the new baby is introduced to distant friends and relatives by means of the card, and engaged couples make use \of the same medium to show their smiling faces to interested persons at a distance. The , latest thing in that line is a card from Germany, with the picture of a wreath and 3 flower-covered coffin, under which a member of the bereaved family wrote: “So rnhte ‘ noser Seliger”—“Thus rested our sainted one.” The regulations governing the training Iship Amoknra have been amended.] In future the application by a parepfe oi gaardin of a candidate for enrolment ( is to be accompanied by an agreement providing that in consideration of the candidate being enrolled in a training ship, the parent agrees that if on the discharge of the pandidate from training ship the Marine Department can procure employment for him at saa and he does not take that employment and remain in it for at least six months, or if the “candidate leaves the training ship before the period for which he'|ia enrolled has expired, then, and in either of such cases, the parent will pay to the department the cost incurred in maintaining and training the candidate on the training ship. The amount is to be fixed by the Minister of Marine, but not to exceed £SO, and the aumoufc is to be deemed "a debt due to the Grown. ' Now that women are to have the vote in Victoria they may be expected to take an interest in the making of the laws, says the Age, and tneir early efforts might well be directed in seeking an amendment of Section 7 of the Marine Stores and Old Metal Act, 1890, which places a woman on the same a felon. At Charlton Court a woman applied for a license to collect marine stores. She was, it seemed, an ice cream vendor, and desired the license in order that she might barter ices for bottles. On referring to Section 7 of the Act, which governed such applications, Sergeant Nolan found the words “provided always that no license shall be granted to a female or to a person who has at any time been convicted of felony,” and, in spite of the fact that the police had reported favourably in respect of the application, the Bench was compelled to refuse it.

What Mr Henry Bracy described as a terrifying accident to the Steinway grand piano last Monday?; eveniny caused a slight delay, and not a little amusement at Madame Ada Orossley's concert in the Town Hall. The accompanist (Mr Harold Whittle) discovered that something was wrong with the w,orks when accompanying the violinist, M. Sametini, and deserted the stage after the first of the bracketed pioees had been played, leaving the amiable-looking violinist to “hold the fort,” which he did in good style, playing a couple of pieces excellently without accompaniment. At the conclusion of the number Messrs Whittle and Percy Grainger came on the platform, palled the keybord, pinched the back, and reached into the works. Then Mr Grainger left the stage looking serious, and Mr Whittle scrambled underneath with all the fervour of a distressed motorist. It was all of no avail—the soft pedal [would not work. Then a conceited-looking upright loomed into view, and was pushed and pulled up? the back [entrance to the stage by Messrs Grainger, Whittle, Horace Hunt, and Leslie (the hall custodian), supervised by Mr Bracy. After a . deal of manoeuvring ‘ the upright was placed in position, Mr Bracy said a few appropriate words of apology, and the concert proceeded. The Steinway was- repaired in time for Mr Grainger to show his skill in the second 'half of the programme.—Dominion. :