GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 284, 23 April 1913, Page 7

GENERAL NEWS.

The present total of the General Booth memorial fund in New Zealand is £9001). A sum of £340 was collected in Invercargill last week. The new American Cabinet chosen by President Wilson (himself a law lecturer) is composed of four lawyers, three journalists and two farmers.

The estate of the late Mr. W. S. Penley, the well-known theatrical manager, author of "Charley's Aunt," was proved in London at £15,642.

There is evidently still money to be made in rural land (says the Invercargill News). A farm out west that was sold a month ago lias since changed hands at £*2 an acre advance, representing in the aggregate £IOOO, and the buyers consider they have made an excellent deal.

The German newspapers publish statis-tics-showing that German armaments in 1912 cost 21s per head of population, as compared with 32s in England and 27s in France. (Icrmany's estimated "national fortune" of £13,000,000,000 is said to exceed that of France by £5,000,000,000, and to bo only slightly below that of Circat Britain and Ireland, which is estimated at £13,000,000,000 or £15,000.000,000. The German National Debt is said to amount to only £ls 10s per head, compared with £lO 10s in the United Kingdom and £33 (is 8d in France.

A curious phenomenon was witnessed on Whangarei Harbor, between Oncrahi and Limestone, at an early hour on Monday morning of last week. According to eye-witnesses, it appeared that a whirlwind swept up the harbor, and at one period of the disturbance raised a big column of water high into the air. The sea in the vicinity was greatly agitated in the neighborhood of the Onerahi railway wharf, which was swept by clouds of spray. The tail-end of the whirlwind turned inland and passed over Onerahi township, where it alarmed many of the residents, but no damage was done.

When time has permitted the Governor to see more of the back country lie will notice that senseless, indiscriminate slaughter of trees has involved irreparable injury to agricultural land on lower levels by the scouring of the ground and 'by flooding. Forest is Nature's regulator of the 'water from rains. In certain areas, when the trees are wiped out, (he rain has free play. Nature's revenge is pitiless. Soil, which was to be the friend of man, is turned into an enemy. It is carried from the place where it could have been useful into 'waterways where it gorges the rivers syhii forces them into riotous devastating behaviour over their banks. —Wellington Post. .

'Jt;l)e -legend of Kicking Horse Pass, the jcene of--wonderful engineering feats, is somewhat indirectly but rather interestingly connected,with New Zealand. The story goes. th£,t when Sir .lames Hector 1 ( whm for many years was Director of Geological Surveys in Xew Zealand) was a--young fe|lo\v, lie .was the head of an exploring- party sent out to discover a way through- the Canadian Rockies, and wits- wholly or partly instrumental in funding, itliis- very wondei;ful pass. While at work tlferti he was kicked and so seripliklr..a as "tljcy ctvll' ther'imojißfciirt'pOnie?,' that he was given apttfomdead.'tbutj' to the surprise of the Indians -frfto carried him to camj), he toisiiirt dnly.iisurtiviHl his terrible Ifljufiesii ' And : tir the-'pass, and to the SrS9«T'i(tt4he bottom of it, the legend ifejafi'tllflj' -■gJiMd'Aeiilrtiinfe ; '(>f -"Kickiiig •m.thet'ic seq'uel was tlijat rtlKifyjyajfrrf lie retired fffrnf flit* |M)lU''st ,, rVice. t «f'..tl)e Dominipn, ftf ?sK»ifthd,"Vsfr '.lames 'Hector revlMteJ"]he Rot'kies/fU'Minpanied by'>a 3p, aft(f'fMtrsil(l; td relate, the son co'nVh' , arid <lieil close to the prliife" atVh'ioii 'liis'MKUV.'iMiiy years lleM - e Jfi ? aVH''lV) , st ! 'li'fs'iife. One of the psil« df Rockies ! i/sS®eß'J'fSrtflt MebtoK[ and there is a TanW|i> xt ffitlßrt ! 'SWlff»rry , ''ljtU;d. A 1 so + t l fij;re' his memory. — : iiifaMWS l i&t -.-<*}••,9s'. the- Stock Kjx->clttfogfV,-CaOiu) by ! <?a.rd)p}«ifing'-tHi tl-ie-f three years before . Bns..MbijJitMi wow nien.tiWed on Fcbruayy 27-:'l«!f<tro< tli<? : LmHloiJ. : Ba.iiki , upt< > y Comit, ■ whtiah .siispVii(l< s <l.if«)'.'tiu''et» years the di£--charge 'W ■ ilaj'oivCecikdackson, late pf if,irtftii=ft»]f(l*>formei>lv : iii the'lndian. Anm\ Jte'iK-afcf the debtor tlirtnijsb" -reoO.OOC) received 911 j^'fii<{<'ull -u,i *('"jtt'n t'JI In love with a | prctly.'ac'jTessi persuaded her to l|i ijljnV late||i piaster cast of her head and -in order• that lie might J)jasfyr,/.tlie--stuil-'Jsnjt ||}>pjji;d .begging the. girl to hear djscpi.nforts of the operation. the., pUitqr. bfigfifl set, aijd th t c. ; ir.l,£oiuid,.!)-.yv ,t !'j|iig dillicplt. *• 1 she. ,cajlled.,lWi: lover-to remove tluj CT^Jaj S l i er,;..V,nt it-p stuck faSt. She shrieked (hat slie was dying, and the yq<uig ;; mair l i'ush(.'d. for a doctor: On tesriyalithe.dix'tor- looked'at the-girl, aijd said calmly"lt's not a doctor yon iva'iit:---il's a jnasoniV ..'Aiml mason It vas who. with a hammer, finally removal- the. plaster. - This incident was tile ¥d of the student's romance. ■ .. !

'A 1 eb.nple fO'ieri burst ih!Lpf"a police 'station one nigllt last week, add'ress/ng the .ypicefs on.dijtj', sa : id:' "Kof 'heaVens' 1 'sake 'coirte 'quiciily; a woman is being murdered." Questioned by the ollieei's, the'men stated tluit. they., w'er.e "proceeding along a street wl)on their ears were startled by ag,oi).isiug. screams. "It was .sqiugfJijing awfulj"- aaid the chief spokesman. 'lf a person was being (logged tft.death shy could not have screamed .louder." The-men explained that they had knocked loudly at the door, and had -even- kicked with nil their might, but ~!}0 ,response .was forthcoming from the hpuse; nothing but the dreadful screaming. A constable at once proceeded to investigate,'and going round to the back of the house indicated, knocked loudly at t'hc.door atid.'denuinded admission. After some •delay (he pathetic voice of a little child asked who was .there. The ollicer enquired what all the noise had been about, and libe little maiden replied that her brother "had been crying." The <loor flien opened, and revealed a little lassie of some six '-years 'old, who was ve'rv much perturbed when she saw the man in blue.' She stated that her brother had had a sore throat, and had been erring. "How old is vour brother?" asked the constable. ''Xine, sir," said the little maiden. "Where is your mother';" was the next query. "Out visitinsr."'was the answer. "Co back'-ito bed

and see that your brother is kept want } kindly advised the constable. . Such ii. <an instance of the mare's nests that the, wardens of the public peace are sorae times called upon to attend to.