ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
LONDON, WEDNESDAY APRIL 9, 1924
A ROMANTIC VOYAGE.
SCIENTISTS’ MANIFOLD QUEST.
From our Special correspondent. dartmouth, tuesday.
A slim barquentine, with bowsprit jauntily poised, is a fair sight anywhere for the eyes of Englishmen, especially men of the West Country; and when such a vessel rides upon her own reflection in the mirror of Dartmouth pool, her tapering spars pointing to the blue sky, she recalls all the romance of this ancient seaport. A worthy inheritor of the glamour of the past, the good ship St. George sails to-morrow evening, bound for the South Seas as an emissary of the Scientific Expeditionary Research Association, and, it may be hoped, with a title to good fortune. Rarely has science allied itself so effectively with beauty as when the St. George was chartered for this voyage to the obscure islands of the Pacific; and Devonians whose ancestors saw the Crusaders set out for the Levant, and Gilbert and Davis and many another Elizabethan sail for the Spanish Main, have agreed that the vessel keeps undimmed the lustre of their ancient name in the annals of exploration. It was a compliment to the sponsors of the expedition, to her captain, Commander David Blair, and to all connected with her that the town of Dartmouth should have invited the ship to make the port her official headquarters before she sailed.
Madeira, the West Indies, Easter Island, Valparaiso, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Marquesas, Galapagos, the Cocos and the Azores are the ports of call in a ten months’ trip which makes many people frankly envious of the adventurers who will sail under Commander Blair. These include noted scientists, experts in the subjects which have drawn so many of the learned bodies of this country to support the expedition. Miss L. E. Cheeseman, Curator of Insects of the Zoological Society of London, is one of three ladies to make the journey, and the other scientists include Mr. James Hornell, ethnologist; Dr. Cyril Crossland, marine biologist; Mr. A. H. Johnson, general biologist; Lieut.-colonel H. J. Kelsall, ornithologist; Mr. C. L. Collenette, entomologist; Mr. L. A. M. Riley, botanist; and Mr. L. J. Chubb, geologist. Messrs. S. L. Eaton and W. Harcourt are the cinematographers.
HIDDEN GOLD.
One of the most interesting fields of investigation will be Easter Island, where it is hoped to take casts of the gigantic statues which are believed to be the relics of an island civilisation long vanished. At Cocos Island the party will investigate some fascinating theories with regard to the location of hidden gold, said to have been shipped from South America a century ago and to have mysteriously disappeared. At the conclusion of this voyage, another is projected, to which it is hoped one of the Colonial Governments will contribute.
A splendid send-off to the expedition was given a day in advance, when a party of visitors inspected the ship at the invitation of the Scientific Expeditionary Research Association. The placid waters of Dartmouth estuary were kept busy by the repeated tours of motor launches taking visitors to the St. George, which was dressed rainbow fashion in honour of its guests. Under the chairmanship of Commander Blair, the company lunched in the charmingly furnished saloon of the vessel. The Marquis and the Marchioness Curzon had hoped to be present to bid farewell to Mr. Alfred Duggan, son of her ladyship, who is accompanying the expedition, but to the disappointment of all associated with the ship the late Secretary for Foreign Affairs found it impossible to make the journey. Lady Curzon hopes to pay a visit to the ship an hour or two before she sails. Apologies for absence and messages of good wishes were received from many scientific and public men, including Dr. E. J. Allen, Mr. E. C. Stuart Balter, Sir Martin Conway, M.P., Sir Alfred Mackinder, M.P., Major-general Lord Edward Gleichen (Royal Geographical Society), and Professor J. Stanley Gardiner.
The health of Commander Blair was drunk with musical honours, and he led the singing of the National Anthem before the final leave-taking.
BORDON BANK MURDER.
At 5.40 yesterday afternoon, an arrest was made at Bordon Camp in connection with the murder of Mr. W. E. Hall, the manager of the Camp branch of Lloyds Bank, on Thursday last.
Following exhaustive inquiries Superintendent Jones, of Alton, accompanied by Superintendent Davis, of the Aldershot Division, proceeded to St. Lucia Barracks, where they took into custody Lance-corporal J. Goldenberg, of the 2nd Battalion East Lancashire Regiment. Goldenberg was conveyed in a police motor-car to White Hill Police Station, where he was formally charged with the murder. He will be charged this morning either at White Hill or Alton Police-court. It is understood that only formal evidence will be given, and that a remand will he asked for.
Our Alton Correspondent telegraphs that in consequence of this dramatic development, the coroner’s adjourned inquest, which had been fixed for April 24, will be held on an earlier date.
It is not without interest to recall that Superintendent Jones assisted Superintendent Garratt in tracking down the murderer of Nurse Irene Wilkins at Bournemouth about two years ago.
Mr. Hall was shot in the back and in the head, and when the murder was discovered the bank was locked. Some £1,000 in Treasury notes and silver were missing. Bullets subsequently found were examined, and the opinion of military and police officials was that they had been fired from a Service Webley revolver. An inspection of arms at the barracks the following day was said to have satisfactorily accounted for all arms.
The body of Mr. Hall was brought to Swansea yesterday evening for burial to-day at Mumbles Cemetery. The widow and Mr. Bernard Hall, a brother, travelled with the coffin, which was covered with a large number of beautiful floral tributes, and on the platform awaiting the arrival were Mr. J. G. Hall, the deceased’s father, Mr. S. Harris, his father-inlaw, and his brothers-in-law. In the station yard a large crowd of sympathisers had assembled, and affecting scenes were witnessed as the remains were placed in the Washington car in waiting. The cortege then left for the father’s residence in Bryn-road.
SEQUEL TO “HOLD-UP.”
An inquest was held by Sir Walter Schroder at St. Pancras Coroner’s Court yesterday on Miss Emily Gowers, 75, the proprietress of a tobacco shop at 14. Kenton-street, Russell-square, who died in St. Pancras Infirmary on April 4. Her death was a sequel to a “hold-up” in her shop on March 7, when a man entered and demanded money from her. She was struck on the head by the intruder, who afterwards bolted.
Mr. Alfred Gowers, of 5, Colse-road, Forest-hill, brother of deceased, said his sister lived entirely by herself. He had seen her in hospital, but she could not remmber what had happened when she was attacked.
Miss Nora Dunn, a cook, said that she was staying at 14, Kenton-street, at the time of the attack. She rented the front basement from. Miss Gowers. At 7.45 p.m. on March 7 she heard a crash, apparently caused by something falling. The sound came from the shop, and she went upstairs to see what had happened. The shop was in darkness and the door closed. Witness did not see Miss Gowers or anyone else, and she returned to her room. Soon after she heard another noise in the shop above, and again went upstairs. The shop was still in darkness, and as she turned towards the door she saw a man rush out past her. He ran across thestreet and disappeared. Witness called out, “Miss Gowers, what is the matter?” Deceased replied, “Look; some ruffian has tried to strangle me.” A neighbour came with a light, and they found Miss Gowers crouched up by the window with blood on her head. The police were called.
In answer to a question by the coroner, witness said she thought the man who ran out of the shop was about nineteen or twenty years of age.
Dir. Christopher Thackery described the many bruises on. Miss Gowers’s head, face, and left arm. There was a 3in wound on the right side of the head and a smaller one at the back. Miss Gowers had told witness more than once that she was at the counter, and she thought that someone must have come behind her and struck her.
At this stage the inquest was adjourned until April 24.