THE FATE OF FIUME.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 12, 15 January 1924, Page 4

THE FATE OF FIUME.

When Mussolini seized power in Italy the neighbouring States were not unnaturally apprehensive that lie would use it in highhanded and arbitrary fashion to increase his own prestige, and to promote the Imperialist policy which he had preached to his people. And ccr tainly Mussolini's treatment of Greece, the bombardment of Corfu, and the deliberate flouting of the League of Nations might well have aroused anxiety in Eastern Europe, more especially as Mussolini indicated in unmistakable terms that when ho had finished with Greece his next, objective would he Yugoslavia. This was. indeed, an ominous threat, for the Adriatic question lias never yet been settled, and the tension at Fiume, where the Italians and the Yugoslavs were still face to face. w»r always liable to become dangerously aggravated. But it now appears that Mussolini has handled the situation in j th* Ardiatic with greater skill and i moderation than either his friends or his enemies expected. ft is now reported ! that a definite agreement has been reached between Italy and "Yugoslavia, by which Italy annexes Fiumc, but the Yugoslavs arc. given the free use of the port of Kiiiine for fifty years, with some important maritime concessions along the roast. After half a century Italyenters into complete and undisputed possession of Fiume: and, considering the large proportion of Yugoslavs in the city and the adjacent districts, this will be n bitter humiliation for Yugoslav national pride. But what is remarknble about the settlement is thai it should ever have been effected peacefully. Remembering the intense hostility of the Yugoslavs to Italy, their just resentment at the secret. Pact of London, by which . Britain and France adjudged Fiume to Italy without consulting Serbia, then the desperate efforts that President Wilson made at Versailles to right this wrong, and the danperous complications that ensued when d'Annunzio delied his own king and seized the city. Europe may well congratulate itself on any kind of compromise that gets rid of the Fiume peril without, recourse to war; and much of tlie credit for this highly desirable settlement seems due to Mussolini. A youth. 16 years of age. named Gordon Cray, living at Buckland, was admitted to the Auckland Hospital this morning. He was out shooting yesterday and when getting through a fence dropped his .sun. which exploded, the charge entering his right forearm and causing a compound fracture with lacerations. j The fact that the nightly illumination of Albert Park has not been provided during the past week has caused considerable disappointment to many of the visitors and citizens who had hoped to spend the cool of the evenings in these delightful grounds. Electricians have twice attended to the arc lamp that lights up the park from Princes Street, but without avail, nnd the paths have been in darkness night after night. The result has been that many people who would have gladly used the park have been unable to do so. Tlie clerk of the Manukau County Council wrote to the Postmaster-I.lenernl in October last, urging that a post oflice building be erected at Mangere. A letter was placed before the members of the Council, who met this morning, in which the Hon. ,1. Cr, Coates, replying Jto the request, stated that the matter had been fully considered, but he regretted that the application could not be granted, as it was considered that the present arrangements fully met the requirements of Mangere. The volume of business did not warrant tlie erection of a building, as the work of the oflice was small, and not likely to increase considerably until tlie district was more closely settled. An unrehearsed novelty event at Saturday's swimming carnival at Te Aro Baths created more spontaneous amusement than was provided by the actual event on the programme (says the "Dominion"). Just prior to the announcement that the next item on the programme—the pillow fight on the greasy pole—would take place, a loud splash was heard at the northern end of the baths, and the next moment the bedraggled head of a spectator, a wellknown enthusiast, emerged above the surface. Blowing with unusual vigour, but not losing sight of the ludicrous aspect of the situation, he made his way. by the aid of a powerful overarm stroke to the steps, where willing and smiling competitors assisted him out. "That's the novelty event." the stentorian voice ,of the megaphonist announced, amidst laughter. A wise committee postponed the real novelty event until later on in ! the programme.

An accident occurred on the Netherton Road between the store and the school on Friday afternoon to Mrs. T. '.Johnson, who ivas driving- when a motor 'car approached and endeavoured to pass I the liorsc and gig on its wrong side. with the result that the gig was heavily bumped, which caused it to swerve and then capsize. Mrs. Johnson was precipitated on to the road, and received la severe bruising on tiie left side and leg, and the right wrist was injured. 'Settlers assisted Mrs. Johnson to her home. No great damage was done to cither the horse or vehicle, and the c_T was also able to proceed on its way. | An amusing story of what can hapji*n on the New Zealand railways ii j related in one of tlie daily newspapers by Mr. Roy McDonald, a member of the (New South Wales Legislative Council. : "I.ast year I was in Xew Zealand.'' Mr. I McDonald says. "[ discovered wiicn 1 got on the boat for the return voyage that I had left my M.L.C. railway pass 'in Sydney. I had travelled over the 'Dominion railway system with a gilt pass on my watch chain. It was mv Australian Jockey Club membership token!" j Six occupants of an Oakland motor ear had a narrow escape on the Karaka j branch of the Tangowahinc Road yesterday, when the car, during a change of | gears, went backwards over a steep bank. I The fail was broken by soft raupo swamp, and the driver and passengers escaped with bruises and shock. Mr. F. Carr, of Dargavillc, the owner, was driving at tlie time of the accident. The car was the leader of several that were proceeding to the ceremony at Mungakahia. and the following car contained the Hon. J. (J. Coates, Minister of Public Works, who with others went to the rescue of the unfortunate party. It took ail day to get the Oakland back to the road, although it had landed on all four wheels and sustained only minor damage. "When we were about three days out from Tahiti,'' said Captain A. V. H. Waterson, of the Ling Nam. which arrived at Wellington on Sunday from South America. "ihe sudden cry of "Man overboard' went up. I immediately or- | dcred the vessel to be hove to. and con- | ducted its course while the crew reI sponded to the call to lower the boats. | These were in the water in quick time, j and within twelve minutes of the cry | being heard the man was brought up oil j deck. It was a great performance, consideling there was 11 heavy swell on at j the lime, lie was a Chinese, aged 87 | veal-.'" continued the captain, -and bad j leaped over tho rails. He was alive • when brought up on deck. but sueI cumbed .soon afterwards. At 5 o'clock thai night he was buried at sea in I European fashion." Among the reforms intn.iluecd by Dean .Stanley during his term of office was a reduction in tho fees for interment in I Westminster Abbey, vviiicli formerly j totalled about £160. besides the cost of scarfs, hat hands and gloves, for Which the undertaker made an extra ! charge. The fees paid the Dean and j sub-Dean for their services amounted to £40 (5/, and everyone else takin"" part in the ceremony, from the vergers to the choristers and organist, was feed on a lavish scale. The use of a linen shroud entailed a cost of £.> a reminiscence of the old law which sought to stimulate home industries by insisting that all persons should be buried in linen. This charge was not abolished by the Abbey authorities until 1871. When fiour is sent out from tlie mills to the bakers there is in each sack a ticket (states the "Lyttelton Times"). It sometimes occurs that in the hasty opening of the sack the ticket becomes submerged in the flour aud so passes unnoticed. In due course it reaches the consumer in the middle of his loaf of bread, and then the baker is called upon to answer irate questions. When asked at the Christchurch Bakers' Conference ,011 Tuesday whether it would not avoid trouble if tlie ticket were placed on the outside of the sack. Mr. T. R. Corston related that it was not always the baker who heard of it. It had occurred that where members of the public had bought a sack of flour from his firm' some had returned the ticket, drawing attention to the number on it, and inquiring what prize they had won. The man who can discover an ea-sy and successful way to overcome gorso will be one of the greatest benefactors to the farming community (remarks tlie "Wanganui Chronicle"). Many methods. : more or less elaborate and expensive. I have already- been tried, but so far the j results have not warranted the claim j that a certain remedy has been found. j During the past year or two interesting I experiments have been conducted by Mr. I Fred Moore at bis farm at Wanganui I East, and some remarkable progress has been achieved. The medium that he used was salt—"spent" salt, the salt that bad been used in conditioning hides and skins. Any salt, of course, would do. but this particular kind can be obtained ill quantities, and at a low price (4/ per cwt.) that makes the treatment a very inexpensive one. Three years ago the gorse-eovered land was grubbed, and the gorse burned. Mr. Moore was strongly advised not to burn, as it would only result in a stronger and thicker growth, and all the benefit of grubbing would be jlost. However, burned it was. and when new growth aopearod be covered the young plants with salt, with the result that the chemical killed lie growth. It is true that the land became barren, but only for a time, when a sowing of ryecrass and clover eventually look root. Young plants arc still appearing, but in lesser and lesser quantities, and again each is dosed and killed. At a meeting or the Canterbury District Committee of the British Empire Exhibition a motion was carried protesting against the Advisory Council's action in refusing to place before the flovernment the committee's recommendation that a representative of the Dominion's secondary industries should be sent Hi mc to attend the Exhibition nnd give information to inquirers regarding them. Mr. W. H. Taylor, of Paeroa. is the successful tenderer for the. completion uF approximately one and a half miles of concrete road in Te Aroha West, commencing where the Piako County Council left off the road formation at Herriesville. along to the glaxo factory. The road is to be constructed of six-inch concrete, ten feet wide. In a notice of the death of Sir. George Simons, of Whangarei district, -published on Friday, we stated he was for forty years clerk in the store of " the late" Air. Samuel Rawnsley, of Poroti. Mr. Rawnsley, fortunately, is very much alive and is at present carrying on business in Auckland as a kauri gum chantAnimal interference with telephone service includes bears that mistake the bumming of wires for a swarm of honeybees: squirrels that chew holes ' in the lead sheath of cables; ants and beetles that ..a* m.Uil, anil spiders that throw their webs across open wires causing short circuits when dew i gathers on the web.

The Waipawa Hospital Board has decided to authorise the matrons of both hospitals under its control to receive fees if tendered by patients, one member stating that he understood that at present if a patient tendered his fee at Danncvirke Hospital he was told to take the money to the secretary in town. "It not infrequently happens in that case,'' he added, amid laughter, "that, before he reaches the secretary's j oflice he changes bis mind, and I happen ito know of one instance where we did not receive" the money for three months." The s_. Cornwall, now unloading at Wellington, brings to New Zealand the highest voltage power transformers ever i seen in the Soutiiern Hemisphere. These iare the large 110.000-volt transformers j ordered by the New Zealand GovernI ment for the Mangahao hydro-electric power supply. There are seven of these mammoth transformers, each having a capacity of 4000 X.V.A., or capable of dealing with .3:100 horsepower. Six will be used to step-up the voltage at. Mangahao pore station from 11,000 volts to 110,000 volts (the highest voltage in Australia or New Zealand), for transI mission to the various stepping-down J stations on the system. These trans- ! formers are the largest ever made in I England. The price runs to nearly i £18.000. They are. oil insulated, and, in turn,,the oil is kept cooled by forced I water circulation. The number of gal- | lons of oil required by each transformer lis 1400 and the total gallons supplied under the contract is" 12,250. Each j transformer, without its accessories. I weighs over fifteen tons, hence special ' facilities have to be made for their Handing, transport and equipping for service at Mangahao. I A remarkable letter, remarkable alike i for its expressions of gratitude and for I its poetic vein, has been addressed to | the president of the Australian Sea- ! men's I'nion. on behalf of eight Indian j seamen who were recently stranded in Australia, and who were assisted to get home by the union. It ran as follows: "' Sir.- The uncommon, unusual, and unexpected sympathy and love that was showered ' upon vs —dejected, disheartened, helpless, shamed, benighted Indian sailors—from the generous, genial, i benevolent breast of your organisation, j like the soothing shower of rain j dropped down from the sky upon the ] dry, barrc land, is not only ever to be j remembered and never to be forgotten. 1 but it has bound us so much with the i tie of brotherly love and gratitude that Iwe cannot really express it in words!We do not know how we shall thank ' you for your spontaneous, disinterested I kindness, irrespective of caste prejudice | and religious animosity- It has given !us a chance to create a better fellowj feeling and understanding for the defence of people like us from the vile, iron grip of the so-called master. We I pray that the electricity of love and j affection will run from heart to heart of the men in our condition in every corner of the world, for the peace of the world and the preservation of I humanity." [ The swans that make their home in the moat surrounding the Bishop's Palate, at Wells, England, ring a bell j when they want a meal. A photograph lin "Country Life" shows a swan thus lealling for his dinner by pulling a rope attached to the bell. The Bishop's swans have been doil. t.iis for over a hundr.d [years. It took two years to teach the ! first swan to do the trick, but thereafter the knowledge was passed down' from generation to generation. Tlie ducks that share these waters with the swans ] are said to come to the window (just j above the belli whence the food is! j thrown to the swans, to pick up the ; | crumbs that fall from the royal birds' j ■ table, but the ducks have never grasped j the idea of ringing the bell themselves, j While tin has been in use for a great many centuries, yet ancient vessels of tin are so rarely found by archaeologists ; as to be well-night unknown. This is not ' due to the fact that tin rusts, for the | metal does not combine chemically with the oxygen of the air or that of water, but to the circumstance that a sort of decay does attack it, producing a change in its crystalline structure, the nature of which does not seem to be clearly under - I stood. This ends in reducing the tin to 1 a line gray powder. The process proceeds jmuch more rapidly at certain times than ■ it. does at others, and seems to be transmitted from one piece of tin to another, j almost like an infectious disease. j A romantic story is recalled by the . inclusion in the will of the- late Mrs. 'Caroline Soames. of Bath, of "the tortoise shell snuff box in which Pitt brought home the Pitt Diamond from Oolconda." Thomas I'itt. grandfather lof the great Earl of Chatham, went to India in the early days of the eighteenth century as an independent trader, i flouting the monopoly of the Bast India Compan\ r . and by his successful traffic in precious* stones acquired the nickname Diamond Pitt. His greatest coup was I the acquisition of the Golconda stone, j originally weighing 410 carats, in 1701. lin a manner and for a sum regarding I which there has long been controversy. I One story has it that he purchased it in the ordinary way of business from a I famous Indian diamond merchant. | Jamelliund. lor C 12,500. but another | tradition avers that it was found at Golconda by a slave, who revealed his | secret to a sailor, who enticing the slave •on board ship, murdered him. stole the | diamond, and passed it on to Pitt for j CIOOO. At all events, Pitt kept the. | stone for many years, and on his return jto Europe sold it to the Regent of France for £135.000. It figured among the Crown Jewels of Franco until the Revolution, when, after disappearing for a time, it was fitted into the hilt of Napoleon's sword. To-day. cut to about one-third of its original size, it is displayed in the Louvre and valued at nearly a quarter of a million sterling. During the week-end the premises of Messrs. Savers and Ward, drapers. Victoria Street. Cambridge, were entered, I and several pounds' worth of goods were ! stolen. Kntre.nce was gained through I the rear of the pries. '_es. So far no '< arrest has been made.