A cat had been shut in the room for the purpose of catching rats. On entering the apartment later the occupier was surprised to find his cat with its head fast inside a jam bottle, and on closer examination was somewhat startled to notice that there was also in the bottle a young rodent.
The matter of extricating the cat, a valued one, was accomplished, without breaking the bottle. The rat, when cut off by his natural enemy from his only means of escape, sought refuge in the empty bottle, the mouth of which was just sufficiently large to allow the cat's head to enter.
• Three small boys, one aged 14 and the other two 11 years, were arrested by Detective Gibson, at Christchurch, on Friday, charged with the theft of tramway concession cards, valued at 54. The boys were alleged to have stolen the cards from the ticket printing office about three weeks ago, and to have been indulging in "joy rides" all over the city. Charged at the Juvenile Court on Saturday, they pleaded "Guilty".
It was explained that the tickets had all been returned except about 18 worth, and the boys, after receiving a lecture, were convicted and discharged, the guardians being ordered to pay 6 each to make up the deficiency.
• Earthquake, or the shock of big blasting operations? This was the problem which a number of residents of Sunshine and Anderson's Bay set themselves to solve last night, and thus ascertain the cause of the heavy tremor which passed over the former locality, more particularly at two minutes past 9 last evening. One gentleman who resides at Sunshine informs us that the tremor - which lasted about five seconds - was accompanied by a loud rumbling noise, and that his house and others adjacent were shaken to the foundations.
The shock, however, from inquiries we have made, was apparently not caused by an earthquake, but by a "blast" which was fired at the Harbour Board's quarry at Sunshine. One resident who rang us up last night concerning the shock, remarked that - quake or "blast" - he did not know what would be the ultimate fate of some of the residences on Sunshine if they were subjected to a few more similar concussions.
• One hundred and seven years ago - to be precise, on October 21, 1805 - "Britain's admiral", with 27 line of battleships, attacked the French Admiral, Villeneuve, in command of a combined fleet of 33 line of battleships, off Cape Trafalgar. The first British gun was fired at 12.10 o'clock; at 5 o'clock the battle was over, and no fewer than 18 French ships of the line had been captured, burnt, or sunk; the rest were in flight, and had practically ceased to exist as a fighting force.
By those five hours of stern fighting Napoleon's plan of crossing the Channel and conquering the British Isles had become but the baseless fabric of a dream, but England had to mourn the loss of her national hero, Lord Nelson, who was stricken down by a bullet while walking the quarter-deck of the Victory. The effect of the great victory of the English fleet on the destinies of the Empire can be even now but a matter of conjecture, but "At Waterloo," says Alison, "England fought for victory; at Trafalgar for existence."
- ODT, 22.10.1912.
