AFTER A JOLLIFICATION.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 211, 19 May 1915, Page 3

AFTER A JOLLIFICATION.

j Officers of the 6th Welsh Reserve Battalion bore high: testimony to the character of Wilfred; Hopper, a sergeant in the regiment/ who was tried at Glamorgan Assizes for the murder of Private Enoch '■> Daniel Dudley.. Af-; ter heavy drinking/or-.Christmas Day at South Dock, Swansea, a quarrel aros» with Dudley, whom Hopper accused'of stealing a bottle of f whisky. Dudley and Private Lewis G&tes were placed under arrest, and Hopper was sent with the escort taking them to the Drill Hall. On the way Hopper ordered Dudley to give up* his bayonet. Then Hopper brought his rifle to the slope, and fired, killing Dudley and severly wounding Gates,-. Hopper was found guilty, with a, recommendation to mercy. Justice Atkin, in passing sentence of death, said he was quite > prepared to think that had it not been*for the state of mind to which Hopperrh'ad brought himself by drinking, this crime would sever have been perpetrated. The jury's recommendation- of mercy wouldnbe forwarded to thje proper quarter?,. HOW GERMANY ANTICIPATED HOSTILITIES. Another indication of how tjhoroughly Germany prepared for way. long, before the? world had any hint of it is the fact that the Passion?, players of Ober-Ammer,gau,w|ho now. form.a sky corps, in the German arm^. bad j orders from Berlin as far back as. last Easter instructing them not to,, announce the play for the summer of 1915, Side by side-witih that may be set another incident which has just come to light. On the first day of mobilisation one of the largest and most fashionable hotels in Paris, much frequented" by British and tourists, sent away all its 'guests without asking payment of tfcel 1 " ibills.- Notices were posted up j on. the entrances, "Closed during the war; : personnel utider the colours^*'The directors evidently did not feel, it necessary to explain that the colours were- those of' Germany. For j certain important, reasons the hotel was closely searched recently. In 43 bedrooms "occupied by the stag there were discovered, among other things, 39 savingsbank books containing the maximum sum- allowed to be* banked, but in every case the savings, except a few francs, had been withdrawn five or six days before the declaration of war. The whole staff had apparently received notice to be prepared. A JEW'S - CONVERSION. Declaring thoir eighteen-year-old son Samuel Weinberger, has been w.eaned away from the Jewish faith into thr Salvation Army, his parents, Emanuel and Rose Weinberger., of Somerville. brought a bill in equity in I:hc [Superior Court at Boston, eaeking«to enjoin. the Salvation. Army and Mrs Flora Furing 1 on, .of.. Somerville, from influencing him:against the religion of his parents, and seeking to have the army ordered to dismiss him from its service. This is the first time any court of equity in this State has ever been called upon to deal with a purely religious question.