GENERAL NEWS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 25 November 1913, Page 7

GENERAL NEWS.

Two girls had just entered on the street from the homes in tho city recently to go to their employment, when they were accosted by a man understood to be a picket (says the Auckland Star). It is stated that he peremptorily demanded thorn to return to their house. They refused, and also refused to tell him where they worked, and, further, told him that t'hey" belonged to no union, and would please themselves. "You have your lunches, I see," he said, "while we are on the way to starvation. If you will work, then, would you sign a document to give at least one halfcrown per week to the strike fund ?" This was refused, and one of the girls, becoming alarmed, hastily decamped. The other girl stood her ground, and eventually trudged off to work.

Major Cloman, one of the Panama Exposition Commissioners, speaking at Duneclin of compulsory military training, said New Zealand had removed a great many of the rigours in connection therewith, and tho United States was watching the experiment very closely, and with very great interest, and was quite ready to take advantage of any success New_ Zealand might meet with in training a defence force. Nothing would please his Government more than to have New Zealand represented at the opening of the Panama Exposition by her Dreadnought, and also by a contingent of her land forces. They would like to see some of the cadets over there, and he was going to transmit this invitation to the proper officials in Wellington.

For one afternoon the ancient sport of hawking was to bo seen near Paris, when two of the last falconers m France gave an exhibition of the powers of the birds at the Juvisy 'aerodrome (says the Paris correspondent of the Daily Mail). Passenger flights in aeroplanes were also part of tho programme, and tho contrast was somewhat incongruous. At ono moment there wa« the green-clad falconer with a pair of hooded hawks sitting on his gloved wrist or whistling to Turo his tassel-gentle back again, and at tho next mechanics in brown overalls were seen twisting an aeroplane propeller. While one of the falconers threw up a pigeon the other would slip off the hood that_ blinded his hawk and launch the bird into tho air. Swishing round in great circles tho falcon sped after its prey in graceful flights. After overtaking it the hawk would pounce upon it either from tho side or above and lull with it to the ground. When the pigeon managed to escape the falconer whistled his bird off, waving a bunch of black feathers or even a live pigeon at the end of a string as a lure. A pathetic kill was that of a timid rabbit which was hobbling away over the plain for som« minutes before the falcon leapt upon it from the air.