Telegraphic News

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LIV, Issue 2854, 8 March 1904, Page 2

Telegraphic News

FROM 008 SPHOIAL CORRBSPON DHNTS.

IB? Telegraph],

COCKSFOOT.

Wellington, Mar. 7

The Agent-General cables: "Cocksfoot market quiet. Little doing, but good feeling prevails."

London, March 6

The Russians at Siraminting are sorely harassing the people for supplies. They are impressing native merchants, at Niuchwang, as common labourers, and indications are [not wanting that in the event of a Russian defeat, the whole country will rise in revenge. The Russian Red Cross Society proposes to collect a reserve of 500,000 quintals, 53,000,000 lbs. of wheat, or six months' supply in the north-eastern part of the theatre of war. The " Standard's " Tientsin correspondent says that undoubtedly there will at an early date be decisive operations between Niuchwang and Haicheng.

Major-General Gillinski has been appointed Chief-of-Staff to Admiral Alexeiefi. He will be really an intermediary between Alexeiff and General Kuropatkin, whose professional jealousy is intense. The Russians are hurriedly putting the fortress of Sveaborg, in Finland, in readiness for war. The wooden houses in the vicinity of the barracks have been removed.

The Japanese Elections resulted in the return to the Diet of a largely increased number of Non-party members, who are a great improvement on their immediate predecessors. This is due to a revival of interest in national affairs, caused by the war.

Paris, March 6

Ihe Court of Cassation has declared that Captain Dreyfus's demand for a revision cf the case is admissable, and has ordered a supplementary enquiry.

The Birth Rate Commission, allowing the same rate of decrease as in New South Wales for the other States, estimates that from the period 1864 to 1902, Australia, through the reduction in the birth rate, lost 940,000 of population. The States' legislative regulation of employment has not yet, so far as can be traced by the statistics, had any tangible influence on the birth rato; but the Commission cannot over look the fact that restrictive regulations of trade effectually interfere with the continuity of employment in many walks of life, so tnat the income is more or less precarious, and cannot fail to indirectly discourage the existence of large families.

Sir Frank Sweetenham, in a letter to the " Times," replying to Mr Henry Oopeland's condemnation of his previous statement, says: "My statement regarding the Aboriginals of Australia is a matter of common knowledge winch I never before heard questioned. They have not migrated, but have unaccountably disappeared, very few being left. Respecting the charge that Australians did not allow the shipwrecked Malays to land, he says he relied upon the statement of the captain of the recently arrived steamer Petriana.

A painful tragedy has occurred at Limburg. Josephine Litncb, a widow, in order to prevent a long illness, shot dead her younger sister who was suffering from an incurable disease. Evidence was given that the murderess was greatly attached to her victim and gave her all the fortune she possessed,