WITHDRAWING FROM ALBANIA

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 51, 29 February 1916, Page 4

WITHDRAWING FROM ALBANIA

There was a sigh of relief in December I when the Italian Government decided to go to the assistance of the Serbians. It was thought that 'an Italian army thrown. into .Albania would, in, spite of the 'difficulties, jqf ihe c,ountrjj,keep.tjfe enemy in the..inferior, and .enahl? ntUp Serbians to concentrate and lefit; But the Italians have not done all that was popularly expected of them. They did not cave Montenegro, and now the news comes that they have evacuated Durazzo, which means, that with the exception of the port of Valona, Albania has' been left to the Austrians and the Bulgarians, who are opposed only by Eesad Pasha'e Albanians. The whole of the Balkans down to the Greek frontier, with the 1 exception of Rumania and whatever the Italians hold at Yalona, is now in the hands of the enemy. The Serbian and Montenegrin armies have been either captured or driven off the land.

At first glance this is not a pleasing state of things. But it must be remembered that the conquest of Albania is a mere incident which cannot affect the main theatres- of war. We said that it was popularly expected that the Italians would hold the enemy, but probably the Italian Government and its Allies did not hope from the first to do any more than they have done. The Italians, like their allies, are taking a long view, and in suiting their actions to it they are allowing territory to pass into enemy hands whioh, if held permanently 3 would be a great menace to Italy. Baron Sonnino, in his speech to the Chamber of Deputies in December, emphasised the importance to Italy of this part of the Adriatic coast. "The political and economic independence of Serbia," he said, "had always been one of the pivots of Italian policy in the Balkans, and was vitally essential to Italy's existence as a Great Power. The political and economic absorption of Serbia by Austria would present a grave and constant danger for Italy." Italy, he said, would respond to the heartrending appeal that was coming across the Adriatic, and the Italian flag on the eastern side of the water would reaffirm the traditional policy of Italy in respect to Albania, which was to maintain its independence. "For Italy it was a vital necessity, an absolute necessity of legitimate defence, to bring about a state of things in the Adriatic that would compensate her for the unfavourable configuration of the eastern coast." Though she ie withdrawing the troops ehe sent to help the Serbians, Italy has no intension of letting Austria hold Albania. She counts on reaching a decision elsewhere. The advance of the enemy in the Balkans has produced a situation intolerable to Italy, and therefore "bdiirid'lier" more closely to the Entente Powers." " ■■' -' ■

The following is. Mr. D.,C. Bates' weather, forecast, for 24 hours from 9 a.m. this day:—"The indications are for moderate to strong easterly winds, backing by east to north, then freshening. Weather clouding over, rain later. Barometer falling. Tides good. Seas rough, and increasing on the coast."

,A strong claim for a Government grant towards the upkeep of the Auckland Museum "was put forward last evening by the president of,the Institute, the Hon. Edwin Mitchelsonjivho said he could never see what the Colonial Museum in Wellington did with the £3,000 a year it got from the, Government. ~ He thought the Auckland Museum (which last year had an income of £1,400) did far better with its small revenue. Mr. Mitchelson pointed out that the Wellington curator had stated that when the new Colonial Museum building was completed an annual grant of £8,800 would be required to start with. In view of the war it was realised tha,t nothing could be done at present in the way of securing a Government grant. The Institute had decided to ask the Auckland City Council to make an annual grant, and provision, will be made for the representation of the City on the Institute's council.

Some more evidence was heard by his Honor Mr. Justice Cooper, at the Supreme Court this morning in the important native land case, Herbert Smith (Dr. H. D. Bamford and Mr. E. C. Blomfieid) v. Toka Hotene (Mr. A. G. Quartley), and-the District Land Registrar (Hon. J. A. Tole, K.C.), in which the plaintiff sought to compel the registration of a native lease, claiming priority over certain rights claimed by the defendant, Toka Hotene, under a partition order made by the Waikato-M,aniapoto Maori Land Board, subsequent to the memorandum of lease. His Honor decided to.adjourn the ease in order to enable more evidence to be called. He , stated that he was prepared to give judgment on the facts, but that he would advise the parties to refer the legal points, which were of much importance, direct to the Court of Appeal Since the Russell statues were removed from the Auckland Museum and taken to the Art Gallery, and the Grey collection of Maori curios was transferred to the Museum the authorities of the latter institution have been busy setting up the collection. The splendid foreign ethnological collection possessed by the Museum will also be housed in the same hall. Some' of the most valuable articles in the Grey Collection were in danger from the ravages of the borer, but this has been attended to and further decay arrested. . The collection has been placed in specially constructed cases designed to show the articles off to the best advantage, and when the hall is opened in «boofe*a yja r qnth's time it is confidently i expected that the public will be agreeably astonished at the transformation.

Mr. Aghmead Bartlettt casually mentioned in the course of one of his lectures in Sydney that in most campaigns it was unusual for "the man in the firing line to see even his divisional commander, but General Bird wood made it a daily practice to inspect the trenches and pass a word or two of encouragement here and there as he moved along the line. Incidentally he told a story of the General, who happened to be wearing his decorations under : hisi great-c6at" 'while - making rj round one day. An Australian, noticing j medals as the General strode past, and evidently reflecting philosophically on his own'chances of coming through the campaign unscathed, in his best colonial remarked to his comrades: "H —- 1, I'll never ba long enough in this war to earn a row like that!" And he wne not. He was killed nest day.' Two cases set down on the civil list were mentioned before Mf; Justice Cooper at the Supreme Court, thia morning. The case, Tauranga Rimu Co. (Mr. J. R. Reed, K.C.) v. Clifford Charles Sheath (Mr. E. J. Prendergast), application for a writ of injunction, was by request placed at the bottom of the list. The action Benson Henry Wyman' (Mr. A. E. Skelton) v. William F. Boss, claim for £105 0/10, money alleged to be due on a promissory note, was. adjourned sine die. '"it - "was intimated to the Court that iiiS each--case there'was a prospect ■Of •settlement. <• ./The heavy-steel work requred for the large spans in the railway bridges of the Dominionj is understood to be unprocurable until the end of the war. The fact is seriously delaying the construction of the railway bridge across the Motu River, on the Gisborrie-Bay of Plenty route, approaching the Kowhai Boad station, near Motu. Temporary arrangements will probably be made to enable the train to pass over, but the line cannot be completed to the proposed terminus at Kowhai Road this summer, as had been anticipated. Permission having come to hand from Wellington, allowing Auckland civil servants a holiday on ■ Saturday next to attend the annual picnic, all necessary arrangements are now being made. Details have been entrusted to a committee, consisting of Messrs. T.vP. Gilfedder (chairman), T. Wallace (Public Works Department), H. W. Grey (Agricultural) E. P. Dykes (Lands and Survey); C. li. L. Harvey (Deeds Office), J. A. Ferguson, and A. V. Frarer (secretary). The rendezvous this year will be Pine Island, and the e.s. Peregrine has been chartered. Reports show that nearly every Department will be strongly represented. The police are furnishing teams for tug-o'7 war, and relay teams are being organised. The Permanent Force and Post and Telegraph Departments are also throwing in their lot with the general branch of the service in order to have a strong combination of forces. Invitations are to be sent to wives of Association members who are now at the front, or in camp. The committee, has decided to welconTe members of the teaching profession. Donations and trophies have been offered by several heads of Departments, and events for all ages and each sex will be held. Extra provision is being made for children. The question of handing the picnic proceeds to the Patriotic and Wounded Soldiers Fund' will be considered at the next meeting. The Commissioners have decided on leave being granted to a maximum num-' ber of officers, and only sufficient will be on duty to keep the various offices open. All boardinghouse keepers cited to appear in connection with the dispute now before the Arbitration Court in Auckland, are requested by advertisement in another column to be in attendance at the Supreme' Court to-morrow morning, at ten o'clock, to show cause why they should not be joined as parties to the proposed award.

At a meeting of the Christchurch City CouncQ last night the Mayor eaid that grave complaint had been made to him regarding the ventilation of picture theatres. A doctor had informed him that he had traced a number of scarlet fever cases to a picture theatre. Hβ considered the Council should see that adequate ventilation was, provided. The matter was referred to the By-law Com,mittee.

in the Supreme Court at Wellington yesterday. Mr. Justice Chapman concluded the hearing of a case in which Francis J. R. Heath sued Dr. Prendergast Knight for £ii7s damages for injuries resulting from a collision between defendant's motor-car and plaintiff's motor-cycle at Courtenay Place in October last. Negligence was alleged on both sides. Plaintiff suffered a broken leg. The jury awarded plaintiff £625 general damages.

A fire broke out just before midnight last night in a cabinetmaker's shop andfactory in Cook Street, owned by the trustees of the "Door of Hope" Rescue Home, and occupied toy Mr. J. F. Carri-' gan. The outbreak occurred in the upper storey, aud damaged a good area of lining boards and benches before it was put out. The building is insured for £100 in the Northern Office, and Mr. Carrigan's stock;and plant for £300 in the Norwich Union Office. The origin of the fire is not known, the building being occupied during the daytime only. The chief guide at Mount Cook, Mr. Graham, reports that Mr. S. Turner, FJLG-S-, of Wellington, accompanied by Guides Milne and Lippe, made a complete traverse of the "Three' Peaks" of Mount Cook last Thursday. Ascending from the. Hooker bivouac by the west face to the third peak, the party followed fche main arrete to the second and highest summit, descending by Green's route to the Haast bivouac. The weather was perfect, but tile mountain was ice-glazed, necessitating much step cutting. The Linda glacier was much crevaesed and difficult to negotiate. Orders were made in the following judgment summons cases at the Magistrate's Court by Mr. E. Page, S.M.:—K. C. Hocking to pay £31 2/, Wm. Sims £6 1/3; Eeuben Woods, £8 17/, Stanley Lawson £2 10/, A. F. W. Jackson £1 2/, and Charles Jordan £9 12/2. A defended case was also dealt with. Briscoe and Co., Ltd. (Mr. Durham) v. L. Arnoldson (Mr. Stanton). This was a claim to recover £76 12/ for goods supplied. Defendant paid into Court £71 6/10. Judgment was given for the plaintiff for the amount claimed.

The Defence Minister states that, although the Maori Force does not operate at the front in exactly the same organisation with which it left here, it is not correct to suppose ' that the separate identity of the Maori Force has been wholly lost. The Maoris are not mixed up, with the other Xew Zealanders in the same platoons, but platoons or halfcompanies of Maoris are distributed about, and re-grouped into other companies. This step has been taken by General GrixUey. because he came to the conclusion that the Maoris would be better looked after, and would "do more effective work under these conditions. General Godley insisted that this change was desirable, and General Godley must be the best judge as to the conduct oi affairs in the field. ' Alexander GoodaE and George Seagar, sawmillers, of Piriaka, have furnished a> statement to the • Official Assignee in Bankruptcy. They entered into partnership in June, 1914, and the cause of the business not proving succesoful was war breaking out, which prevented the sale of timber at remunerative prices, added to which price of horse feed and other ; They i three months owing to the County Council notifying them not to use the roads. The' machin-* cry and plant is valued at £1,921 14/1, upon which are bills of sale of £355-14/6----and £212 19/. The unsecured creditors amount to £524 14/7, and there are wages due to the extnet of £201 '15/10. On these figures the estate shows an apparent surplus of £621 11/.

More than ordinary attention -was manjfeeted along the waterfront at Wellington on Sunday last, when the new Federal-Shire steamer Devon steamed, into port, and was berthed at the Glasgow wharf. The vessel ie on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New Zealand, and is of a type entirely new to these waters. Although a new vessel, the Devon has a history. She was built at Dunkirk "by the Societie dcs Ateliers et Chantierr de France. She was on the stocks 'being built when the -war began. The outbreak of hostilities delayed°her finjsh, because of the calling out,of the men for the army. At the end of 1914, wien it was feared that the Germans would break through to Calais, the hull was launched, so that it could 'be towed out of harbour should that undesirable event occur. While being fitted out in. the •basin' at Dunkirk, the Germans in May last shelled Dunkirk, and it was then . considered advisable to tow the veseel away from tile port. Before she was shifted a 17in shell' burst close to her. Captain Robertson lias a piece of the ehell mounted in a prominent position in the saloon as a mascot. At the beginning of June, five tugs—three ahead and one at each quarter—towed her to London. Two destroyers .the while, steamed constantly round the vessel and ;her tugs to check interference by an enemy submarine. She reached London, and was safely 'berthed on June 4. The' .difficulty task of picking up the work where it had ibeen left incomplete in France was undertaken.

Mr H. F. 1 Chaffey, who has been prospecting in the ranges at the 'back of the Upper Takaka (Nelson) for the past eighteen months, claims to have made a most important discovery of a threefoot reef of molybdenite ore, which produces an acid of immense value for toughening steel, and in great demand at present. The epot is about sixteen miles back from Upper Takaka, and as the cost of packing the ore out would cost over £22 per ton, Mr Chaffey is endeavouring to obtain the aid of the Takaka County Council to construct a light tramway, which could foe taken to within a mile and a-half of his claim on a of one in sixteen. The National Electrical and Engineering Company's staff picnic took place last Saturday, when a -most enjoyable day was spent at White Bay, Waiheke. Sports were indulged in, to the great amusement of .participants and onlookers. About fifty persons attended the picnic, but unfortunately a laree number of the firm's staff are a t presen t engaged on country work, and consequently were unable to attend. • Respecting the. prevalence of enteritis at Featherston camp, the Defence headquarters supplied the ''Dominion" with the following figures: On February 4 there were 11 admissions to the hoepital and the total strength of the camp on that day was 4509. From then on till February 22 the respective figures were— February 6th, 5; 7th, 9: Bth 4- 9th.'o. 10th, 12; 11th, 7; 12th, 2; 13th V 14th 1; 15th, 4; 16th, s;'l7th 1; 18th, 3- 19th 3; 20th, 8; 21st, 1; 22nd - * '

A concert of unusual excellence; wiven at the Annex Hoepital, Domain last evening was much enjoyed by all present Musical iteme were given by Mrs Jack Baxter, Mrs A. L. Jones, Mr Fred BourkvMr Warhriek, and Mr Ned Fort's «o™m »ongs and recitations caused much