LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 42, 20 February 1915, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A well-known resident of Heriofc (Otago), named Harry Boylen, was found dead in a hut yesterday (states the Press Association). Part of the floor of the hut was burned, and also the lower portion of deceased’s body. An inquest is to be held.

The Durham Road' correspondent 'of the News’ writes 1 : Some lady tourists from Durham Road, while at Rotorua, sight-seeing, received quite a set back at the answer given by a Maori to a query as to where the sulphur spiiugs were, and it certainly proves that the Maori is “coming on.” “I say, John, where are the sulphur springs?’ - “How you. know my name John ?” The unexpected reply rather) flabbergasted the ladies, and a stammering,. “Oh— I—l—well, 1 guessed it!” was met with “Kapai, you guess the way to the suffer pritigs!” * . \ . inij .Ly* v It is popular, superstition that the presence of a member of the cloth Urn ’shipboard is a sure and certain omen of a’, calamitous or at least a rough trip. Imagine,, therefore, the feelings of nervous passengers in board the Riverina when it was, found oii leaving Sydney for Auckland that there were exactly thirteen representatives of the clergy. On this occasion tile apprehension was fully borne out by ah unusually rough trip, which made the vessel over twenty hours late in arriving. \Vliile the clerics accepted the Inevitable banter good-na, turedly, it would "perhaps bo-’liardly' correct to state that they enjoyed the joke.. ‘ : ,

“Betfvebn the devil' and the deep sea” would 'metaphorically and almost literally' have been applied to« circumstances in which the judges, at the Christchurch Regatta at Port Levy found themselves at one tone on Saturday:” The finishing post was at the bottom of a feteep cliff with crumbling sides, covered in places with very To get to the spot ihp. judges had'to be conveyed there/in a motor-boat. It was. accordingly with feelings (if'dismay that/aftbr having oom^orlalily; settled ‘ themselves Wh&j the ffiotor-boat had’ disappeared front sight, ’ they’ discovered : that a picnic party above them had/Set fire to the grass on the add, the flames were burning fiercely in a downward direc-j tion, despite the efforts of the picnick-j ers to heaV thein out. With their es-j cape up above cut off, the unhappy judges were contemplating diving into the at their' feet and- trusting to their" swimniink, abilities.; when the picnickers, gained the mastery of the flames,, and the judges once again breathed freely. ■ / .;V

A novel strike.'is reported from Newcastle (N.S.W.) Walsh Island workshops weth practically Idle on Saturday because about 600 of the men refused to work. The workmen are conveyed from Newcastle to the island in the steamer Tarara, on which they are very much crowded. It has been customary for many of tile men, on the boat’s arrival at Newcastle each evening to, jump over'the .side instead of leaving' by the gangway. The Tarara is a paddle stqamer, and the men crowding oh one side makes her rather unmanageable; On Friday the police thought it time to take action and prevent the men from swarming over the steamer’s side. Tim names of several wild disregarded the warning were taken with a view tp subsequent action. On Saturday morning there was nd gangway at* the ’ island, and the men refused to leave the vessel, which had to return’ to Newcastle with them. The Tarara, were she privately owned, instead of being the property of the Government, would not (states the Sydney Daily Telegraph) he licensed td carry ‘ ahylfiuig like the number slid does,, arid, further, would be com-] polled to carry more lifesaving appliances. , I

The term ’‘high explosive” is one that constantly occurs in modern warl Tare, and which’is to sortie extent not understood by the layman. The expression Tij applied to the bursting charge of modern artillery shells, and has no relation to the'propulsion of projectiles themselves (writes an authority). Dynamite and fulminate of mercury may 'be taken as types of high explosives, and gunpowder anil cordite as those of low explosives. High explosives have a definite chemical composition and are rich in oxygen. Lyddite, melinite, and othe;r suitable high explosives form , the bursting charge of nearly all naval guns,, but not for torpedoes, which are generally filled with gun-cotton. When used the latter is compressed, and is detonated by a smaller charge of fulminate of mercury. The volume of gas generated by gun-cotton is about 700' times the volume of the explosive, and the temperature is exceedingly' high. Trinitrotoluol, or T.N.T., is a coal tar derivative analogous to benzine. It is of about the same explosive force as picric acid, but requires a stronger fulmniate primer to detonate it. Under the name of trotyl this latter chemical is used by the Germans in their mines and torpedoes. British field guns do not use high explosive shells.