NEWS OF THE WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3720, 4 January 1913, Page 4

NEWS OF THE WORLD.

A LIVELY FAMILY. The following four inscriptions are to be seen on a tombstone at Debreezin, Hungary “Joseph Moritz, murdered at sixty-two by his son. Isabella Moritz, wife of above, poisoned at forty-seven by her daughter. Elizabeth Moritz, committed suicide at twenty, after poisoning her mother. Joseph Moritz, junior, murderer of Ids father, died in prison at twentyseven.”

BLOW TO ITALY’S PORTIA. The career of Italy’s first woman advocate, Signorina Tekesa Labriola, doctor of law® and nrofessor of philosphv in the University of Rome, was cut short by a decision of the Rome Supreme Court that women do not possess the right to carry on the profession of advocate. The court refused to al’ow her name to be enrolled. This is all the greater blow as Si£norinn Labriola had already made a successful appearance as an advocate, pleding with great success before the military tribunal.

SAINT CAUSES A RIOT. A riot was caused among the superstitious inhabitants of Rovdac, a suburb of Cairo, by a strange light which played for a time on the red glass window of a new Greek church. The news was spread that Sheikh Mitbouly a famous holy man who is buried near the site of the church, had come out of his tomb and ordered the church to be destroyed. A crowd collected at night, and tried to execute the Sheikh’s order, but the police dispersed it. Early next morniifg the crowd assembled again in greater force, but was met by a strong detachment of police on foot and mounted. Some sharp fighting followed, in which one officer of police and a number of men wore wounded.

THE NEW NOBILITY OF CHINA

However, though China bias abandoned tho decoration of the pigtail, a new decoration intrinsically more satisfying has been introduced by Sun Yat Sen —republican titles of honor, bestowed by the President alone, for services to the State, in place of the old Imperial titles. The new are less high-sounding than the old. The highest is called the Great "Decoration, while below it come Decorations of the First down to the Fith Class. The old Imperial titles are to he incorporated in the class of the Great Decoration, while the subordinate titles in the lower ranges roughly correspond. Sun Yat Sen and his former ohief of staff, Hwang-tsching, are members of the First Class. Yuan Shih-Kai has in the meantime reserved the Great Decoration for the President, that is, for himself. Tin's •China will not lose all its decorations.

FIGHT WITH ARMED BURGLARS

A remarkable capture of four burglars and 20,000 cigars hidden in a . large grey motor-car was made by Custom House officers and police in the little town of Chambly, in tin .Oise Department. A large number ' of burglaries by men in a grey motorcar, who turned their attention more j especially to tobacco shops, had been reported for some time, and a strong ' foi<be of detectives, police, and Cus- : tom House officials went to Chambly. ,They found five burglars and a motor- ■ car at the Hotel de l’Oise, the one little inn of the'town. Forty police, with revolvers in their hands, eur'rounded the house and rushed the burglars’ room. Tho latter were all armed, and fought like demons. At , tho noise of the shots every house in Chambly. whose inhabitants had been warned by the police, poured forth armed men.. The burglars escaped by the windows, but they were hunted down, and four of the five were caught. Several bales of tobacco -and 20,000 cigars were found in the car.

DIPLOMAT AND THE CADDIES. A few days ago M. Tittoni, the Italian Ambassador to France, was playing golf near Paris. He is still new to the game, and his mistakes led to the uncomplimentary remarks by two caddies. After a time the Ambassador turned to one of his partners, Mme. Arthur Meyer, and remarked, with a smile, “It matters little that in the French capital you are the representative of a Great Power, that you conclude arbitration treaties and agreements on which hang the peace of the world, when before your caddy you fail to hit every time a little ball lying on the ground.”

PIG-TAILS AND RAZORS. Revolutions have their amusing and unexpected sides. From the “Colnischo Zeitung” we learn that the export of razors from Solingen to China has decreased enormously, though this loss of trade is compensated by a corresponding increase in the number of pairs of scissors exported to the Far East. The reason is the. Revolution. Under the Manchu regime the Chinamen who wore the pigtail as a sign of subservience were accustomed to have their heads shaved daily or at least weekly. With the overthrow' of the foreign dynasty, now" that the loss of the pigtail does not carry with it' the loss of the head, the Chinese barber-shops have become more and more European in character; and the hair-cutting performed an them has reverted to the European type.

BACHELORS NOl WANTED

An anti-race-suicide block of flats, where couples with large families will have preference as tenants over bachelors or childless couples, is being erected in Montreal at a cost of Some £40,000. The building will be triangular in shape, and will enclose a large plot of ground, which will be laid out with flower-beds and a fountain as a playground for children. There will bo twenty-four flats, all designed specially' for large families. The flats will average ten rooms, and each flat will be fitted with a vacuum cleaner, refrigerating plant, and a gas incinerator for rubbish. Most of the flats have been, taken by prospective tenants, and one father of a family has signed a ten years’ lease. “This building is not designed for those committing race suicide,” declares the architect, “and we would rather have tenants with families (than bachelors.”